“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” Mahatma Ghandi

As the end of January approaches and people start to abandon their new year's resolutions, I thought it would be a good idea to share a story about the power of a consistent training practice.

This story is one of the oldest examples of strength training to improve sport that we know of.

The setting is Croton, a small town in Southern Italy, during the mid 6th century BC nearly 2,500 years ago. 

As a young man, Milo was walking home one day and saw a newborn calf that got separated from the herd. He decided to pick up the calf and carry it to greener pastures to be with the rest of the group. Milo enjoyed picking up and carrying this calf so much he made it part of his daily routine.

After four years of this practice, the calf had become a bull and Milo became a legend.

Milo was a wrestling superstar, 6-time Olympian wrestling champion, and 5-time periodonikes champion (the grand slam of ancient Greco-roman wrestling).

This story exemplifies:

1. The power of consistency

2. Progressive overload

Milo was not born the descendant of some Greek God destined to be a champion; he was a regular person just like you and me, well maybe. Just like every human who has ever lived, he had to put in the work to become a champion.

He made his training a consistent practice, and didn't try to pick up a massive bull on day one.

We coach and progress our strength training with athletes the same way.

We don't start heavy on day one, especially with our younger athletes. We coach technique and focus on accumulating volume from quality (meaning proper form) repetitions. Over time, the tiny gains from each workout will add up and you'll be picking up bulls in no time (or just able to perform much heavier deadlifts).

The strength you get from training will have a huge carryover into your sport, and it's more than just the physical attributes. You'll be confident knowing that you put in the work to get you to the next level.

If you're interested in training to help you become a better and more confident athlete, we're happy to set up a complimentary training session with you.

You can contact us directly at info@projectathletedc.com to set up a training time.