Leadership - By David Sedunary

When I visited Brad Steiner and trained under him for 2 weeks, in May 2014, we spoke of many subjects and issues, one such subject was Leadership.

I had just retired from my job, and I had taught leadership with the help of another trainer. The course I taught was broken into subjects such as Communication, Leadership, and Managing Difficult people, which what we all do every day. I was fascinated to ask Brad as to me he was a natural Leader, had attended no College and had not completed any such courses in Leadership.

During the training I encountered many difficult people along the way, and Brad’s knowledge on the subject allowed me to answer some of those questions and difficulties I had. In our lives we have to show Leadership in all we do such a raising a family, Weight training , fitness and health,  working at a job you love, and generally being a good person. I used my tape recorder for all our conversations I am glad I did, as what I recorded for 2 weeks was gold. 

Below is mostly Brad Steiner’s interpretation plus some of my own.

 Leadership

To be a good leader you first must become so good in what you are intending to lead others in that they seek and appreciate your leadership (Australian Rules Football or Soccer two). They have respect and confidence in you. 

My advice is not to worry about "being a leader" at all. Just concentrate on doing what you love and enjoy and doing it so well that you rise to a level of achievement that draws others to you. Learn to be patient, courteous, respectful of everyone who comes to you (until or less they betray you) and treat all with whom you deal with, with utmost dignity and honesty. "Leading" them then becomes easy. 

Pay no attention at all to leadership "programs" or "courses". These teach you gimmicks and tactics for MANIPULATING people. Sooner or later, even if you become good at that garbage, it will backfire on you. Competence, reliability, trustworthiness, fairness, an uncompromising willingness to take responsibility for those under you, and compassion coupled with sympathy and empathy would be what I recommend to any "leader" if he really wants to be a leader. Not "seeming" to be all those things; but and truly BEING THEM.

Do not worry about the past. Nothing can be done about that which has already been done. Just resolve to do your best from here on in and learn from past mistakes.

Personal confidence come from demanding of yourself that you do that which instils a bit of fear and anxiety. Not terror and a paralyzing fear that you will never make it, but a moderate amount of fear. Then continue doing this, always increasing the challenges. Start right now. What means a lot to you, yet you have hesitated to begin? Do it now. Then pick something else. Follow that road. As you accumulate the experience of seeing that you can accomplish what you were not able to do previously, your confidence will grow. If that which you want to do is legal, harms no one, and is fundamentally rational, you should have no hesitation about forging ahead. And do not stop trying. Failures are steppingstones to successes. If you do not fail a lot, you will never succeed.

You be the judge of what success means to YOU. Listen to no one who tells you what you "should" succeed in or desire in your life. No one cares about your happiness and success more than (or even as much as) Y O U.

Life skills are achieved by living life and by approaching the skills you want and need and learning them; one at a time.

Look and search for ways to improve your skills. Need ability interacting with people? Look for ways and opportunities to interact with people —— preferably people who share, at least in part, your values. Whatever the skill set, participation and personal, persistent commitment is how to master it.

Along the way in life, you will encounter people who will prove to be mean-spirited, treacherous, saboteurial, phony, self-serving, dishonest, jealous, and so on. Shrug them off and out of your life immediately you perceive what they really are. Waste not another second on them. Just as you flush the toilet to get rid of excrement, mentally "flush" forever out of your life the living excrement you inevitably encounter. Focus your time, energy, love, and thoughts on that which is important to you and will bring you rich rewards. Waste nothing on life's debris.

Be extremely careful when dealing with friends who do not want the best for you. They can do more to wreck your life and happiness than a prison sentence! Be very, very careful when choosing a friend, a good friend is a reflection of yourself. One must take on leadership and responsibility when you marry, marriage is a potentially great institution. But the operative word there is "potentially" . . . so do be careful, patient, open-eyed, and rigorously honest with yourself, before you permit yourself to marry. You are far better off single than unhappily married. And most people are at times very unhappily married —— or soon will be! 

Several books I would recommend which would increase your knowledge of Leadership are

Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill

The Magic of Thinking Big, by Dr David J Schwartz

How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, by Harry Browne

A New Guide to Rational Living, by Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. Robert A. Harper

Our Inner Conflicts; Self-Analysis and Neurosis (and) Human Growth, both by Karen Horney, MD

The Virtue of Selfishness, by Ayn Rand

The Art of Selfishness, by Dr. David Seabury

Will, by G. Gordon Liddy

Rules of Life by Jordan Peterson

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Use of a hard rubber ball; as a trigger tool - By David Sedunary

David Sedunary was a Remedial Massage Therapist for 25 years, he specialized in Trigger point Therapy, he is now retired. During his time, he has lectured and taught Trigger point Therapy to a number Physiotherapists. David practices what he preached and even now he still weight trains and regularly trigger points his own body by using a hard rubber ball. David claims he gets huge relief from Trigger point therapy.

Trigger points are hypersensitive spots in your muscles that give you less strength and flexibility.

 A hard rubber ball, or a specially designed Trigger Point Tool can be used when you have tight spots or Trigger points in the following areas: 

 Areas to trigger point are as below • Hamstrings • Shoulders • Upper back and Spinae erectors (muscles which run up either side of the spine) • Hips • Lower back Using the tool. 

Pain threshold when using the Trigger Point Tool.

As a guide 10 should be unbearable pain, 0 no pain, as you lean into the Trigger point aim to have the pain around about 6 to 7, wait till the pain fades to a 2. Then repeat once more before moving to another spot. Now onto each muscle group:

The Hamstrings. 

Always wear heavy pants and top when using the Trigger Point Tool, like a track suit. Hamstrings can be trigger pointed by placing the tool under your hamstring while sitting on a hard wooden seat. Push down on the tight spots holding until the pain fades, usually 1 minute for each area. Be sure to work up the middle/ inside and outside of the hamstring. Trigger point both hamstrings. To finish massage legs and have a hot bath. 

Shoulders.

Wear a heavy tracksuit top.

While lying on your back on a hard floor, place the Trigger Point Tool between your shoulder blade and floor. By using your body weight lean onto the tool, finding the tight spots, release when the pain fades. Be sure to work the muscle on the edge of the shoulder blade where it attaches to the upper arm. Work over the whole shoulder blade, be sure to trigger point both shoulders. To finish lay in a hot bath.

Upper Back and Spinae Erectors. 

Wear a heavy tracksuit top 

While lying on your back on a hard floor, position the Trigger Point Tool so it fits on either edge of your spine. Work up and down the spine, from the base of the neck to the top of the bottom ribs. By using your body weight lean onto the tool, finding the tight spots, release when the pain fades. Work up and down the spine slowly three times. To finish lay in a hot bath 

Lower back. 

Wear a heavy track suit top

While lying on your back on a hard floor, position the Trigger Point Tool so it fits on either edge of your spine, just below your bottom ribs. Work up and down the spine, from the base of the bottom ribs the top of the hips. By using your body weight lean onto the tool, finding the tight spots, release when the pain fades. Work up and down the spine slowly three times. To finish lay in a hot bath. Please note: After using the Trigger Point Tool rest 4 days before working that body part again. 

There have been times when I may only wear a thin T shirt when trigger pointing my upper body and lower body. If the days are hot at times, I don’t wear a shirt at all, or pants I use the ball on my bare skin. This also depends upon the hardness of the tool or ball you are using.

Just recently I had stiffness and pain in, my lower back caused by bad form whilst weight training.

My treatment was as follows.

Day 1 I trigger pointed my spinae erectors.

Day 2 I trigger pointed my hip muscles

Day 3. I trigger pointed my lower back muscles.

I then rested for 3 days and repeated, now all stiffness and pain

has gone. 

Also, I believe for maintenance of the body one should Trigger Point the above areas every 3 weeks and include your shoulders.

To learn and study more about Trigger point therapy buy

Myofascial Pain and Disfunction

The Trigger Manual Volume 1. And Volume 2. By Janet G Travel MD and David G Simons MD.

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The Direct Approach - By Jim Duggan

The August 1968 issue of Strength and Health had numerous interesting articles which would appeal to readers.  “Russian Training Methods,” “Strengthening the Pulling Muscles,” and John McCallum’s classic “Keys to Progress” are but some of the quality material available to readers of Bob Hoffman’s flagship magazine.  They were all great articles, but there was another article that caught my eye as I was perusing the contents.  It was written by John Grimek and was titled “The Direct Approach to Bodybuilding.”

     I realize that most people will see the word “bodybuilding” in the title and assume it was geared to pumpers and posers.  I’ll admit, that was my initial reaction when I first saw the title.  But, as I began to read it, I realized that there was some sound, logical training advice being disseminated by the “Monarch of Muscledom.”  In other words, you didn’t have to be a bodybuilder to reap the benefits of reading the article from beginning to end.

     There are words of wisdom sprinkled throughout the article that can apply to any person who “hoists the steel.”  “Vigorous effort must be applied if results are to be obtained.”  This falls into the category of being a no-brainer.  There isn’t a lifter anywhere who has succeeded without putting hard work over a long period of time.  There have been articles, magazines, and books dedicated to the importance of hard, heavy work on the basic exercises.  There isn’t a lot that needs to be said to support the importance of vigorous, hard work.  You can make the case that hard work is the sine qua non of success in the Iron Game.

     “Proper amounts of rest and sleep are also needed for faster recuperation of size and energy, but an excess of either should be avoided as they can produce sluggishness.”  The importance of adequate recuperation between workouts cannot be overstated.  This is especially important for drug-free lifters.  Many trainees who try to emulate the routines of the so-called “champions” from the muscle comics will find themselves overtrained and/or injured.  Following a six-day-per-week double split, as advocated by some steroid bloated druggie, will inevitably lead to failure.  The sad part is that most people don’t realize that you can build tremendous strength by lifting two or three days per week using full body workouts.  By giving your body two or three days of complete rest between workouts, you will recuperate and recover so as to be able to make continuous gains without fear of growing stale or getting injured.

     While proper rest between workouts is essential, it’s important to realize that there is such a thing as too much rest.  By all means, allow your body ample time to recover between training sessions, but don’t take things to the extreme by not training enough.  This comes down to knowing your body, and what works for you.  This leads to another important point.  

     “Select the type of program that you need, plan it wisely and sensibly.”  Choose exercises that work for you.  Do not pick exercises, or follow routines, just because others do them.  If you try to imitate someone else, you will wind up being a poor imitation.  If there are movements that do not work for you, then avoid them.  Years ago, when I trained with Drew Israel, he was a big advocate of the Hammer Strength Deadlift machine.  He purchased one for his home gym, and encouraged his clients to use it.  It was a beautifully engineered piece of equipment, but there was just one thing.  I couldn’t use it without hurting myself.  I tried it twice, and both times I wound up hurting my back.  I’ve never used again, even though there have been countless trainees who have made tremendous gains with it, but for me it was a losing proposition.  On the other hand, I’ve always used the Good Morning exercise with great benefits.  Many people frown upon Good Mornings, but I’ve never had a problem doing them.  Not a single problem, and I’ve been doing Good Mornings for years.  Basically, do what is best for you.  

     “The secret then is to provide the muscles with enough exercise and the kind of exercise they need to respond.”  While finding the right combination of exercises, and incorporating them into an effective routine, may seem like an endless quest, it is hardly a secret.  Back in the late 1970s, Leonard Nimoy hosted a show that explored various mysteries and discoveries.  I’ve often wondered if some lifter ever thought of inventing a show called “In Search of The Perfect Workout Routine.”  It would probably be a big hit with everyone who has ever wrapped his/her hands around a barbell.

     All kidding aside, we are all searching for a program that will stimulate gains, provide adequate rest, and build strength.  Some of us have been at it longer than others, but we all share a desire to get stronger and a routine which will provide us the means of achieving our goals.  When this article was first published in 1968, John Grimek was 58 years old, and he was still “slinging the Iron.”  He would continue going strong for another thirty years.  Sometimes it pays to revisit the old magazines and learn from the greats of the past.

     As I write these words it is Spring 2022, and I am proud to say that a bunch of lifters from Bruno’s Health Club were able to get together and have a reunion at our favorite restaurant, Domenico’s in Levittown, NY.  Due to the pandemic, and subsequent restaurant restrictions, this was the first time in over two years that we were able to meet up, even though a few of our group were unable to make it.

    Seated, left to right, Dr. Richard Seibert, Jim Duggan, Al Diaz,

    Standing, left to right, Bill Mannino, Chris Newins, Tom Tedesco.

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