Doug’s Blog « Doug’s Quest

Costa Rica – La Ruta De Los Conquistadores

17 years ago Roman Urbina read about the Spanish Explorer Juan de Cavallón and his 20 year journey through the treacherous mountains of Costa Rica, in his attempt to explore the area. This expedition started on the Pacific Coast and finished on the Caribbean. Urbina, a recognized Costa Rican athlete and adventurer, decided to retrace that long voyage.

I am still intending to compete in The La Ruta Conquistador Race in Costa Rica Nov-09. The race is the Tour de France of Mountain Biking going from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea. It doesn’t seem like much- it’s only 300 hundred miles but it travels up and over 44,000 feet of elevation passing through rain forests, rivers and waterfalls. No one with any disease has completed in it yet. I had a sponsor providing the costs associated with it – registration, hotel, airfare & gear but they pulled out due to unspecified reasons.

As of now, there are around 8 weeks left and at this point it is very unlikely I could complete the race … Then again maybe I could. Discovery has mentioned a tentative interest in covering my participation if it comes about. Filming this preparation at so late a date as well as the medical testing needed throughout the race (With Type 1 – consistent blood glucose monitoring, multiple insulin injections and food prep are mandatory). I think it would be a mix of insanity and creativity but I think it can be done – at least for another few weeks. I want to finish the La Ruta Conquistador because first, no one else with diabetes or any other chronic disease for that matter has and second I would like to encourage other people with chronic diseases a reason to set out on their own quest.

For a great rundown of the La Ruta – check out this blog post from a 2008 rider!

Posted in Events, Obstacles

Diabetes New Zealand – Key Note

New Zealand was quite the change from South Africa and on the flight over I was glad to be able to stop off in Sydney, Australia. Australia is the place I’ve always wanted to live. It has endless amounts of wildlife and open space, the Great Barrier Reef and the people I’ve talk with from Australia have told me of the wonders of the unexplored and they seem to understand my sense of humor. Exploration of all things good will have to wait until next year as my stay there was far too short. I was able to connect and text with Monique Hanley. Monique had sustained a brutal injury during a bike race in the States.

Out of the 40 injured Monique sustained the worst of it breaking her back in three places as well as dislocating and breaking her shoulder. An orthopedic specialist attempted to remedy her shoulder but the first surgery didn’t work out as planned and she is still rehabbing. Monique is a Spartan and I trust with the help of her husband she will recover completely within time. I find it intriguing that most winners I’ve met, world class athletes as well as business leaders have had to overcome extreme adversities in some form or another. I wonder if it’s that everyone undergoes setbacks but the winner chooses to pursue regardless or if it’s that the winner will not relent until they accomplish their chosen goal regardless of any obstacle that presents itself.

Doug Burns 043 Adjusting to multiple time changes was easier than I had anticipated. London was 9 hours ahead of California, South Africa 2 hours ahead of London and New Zealand 11 hours ahead of South Africa. I flew from Sydney and landed in Wellington and then on to Nelson to help with diabetes New Zealand. The mountain range coming into Motueka was incredible and untouched and a little further south is the isolated area where the discovery of encapsulated islet cells immune to disease are found. These cells at are named Diabecell B. I had the pleasure of speaking with By Bob Elliot founder and president of Living Cell Technologies. He has the type of spirit I admire, he believed in the process he discovered and has kept at it regardless of detractors for over 30 years. He explained in detail the progression with shrinking of cell size, the effects post surgery of his research subjects and the acceptance of the process from other countries.

Doug Burns 120 Next time there I will make it a point to have a little more time to address the questions most of us have. A few articles were done about my visit; one by Naomi Arnold with The Nelson Mail, a refreshingly polite reporter, and her photographer. We had a great time joking around, keeping me from falling off the jagged pinnacles and enlisting others to participate in the photo shoot. Doug Burns 116 I also had the pleasure of meeting up with Sean Busby from Utah, a great guy whose birthday occurred at the event. The following day I had a moderate Blood Sugar crash in the morning and was a little late to the kids conference. Sean covered the event perfectly and my job soon became keeping all the girls away from Sean – a major obstacle. Sean and I presented at the dinner and the conference closing on the following morning. We’ve booth been invited back to New Zealand in order to bring a health, fitness and sport message to the people there. We both intend to return but this time we need some pharmaceutical companies to step up and cover our costs. Both Sean and I had commitments that we were covered but we both ended up paying a portion of the events out of pocket. My thanks again, to Novo Nordisk and Abbott Labs for their last minute assistance.

NZ-Rugby Player Chris New Zealanders are incredibly loyal to their rugby team The All Blacks. Everyone there is proud of the team and was very willing to explain the games plays & history to Sean and I at the bar that eve. The All Blacks pulled off an incredible win in the last minutes of the game against their rival Australia – Rugby is a beautifully brutal game and half the people I met there had played in one fashion or another. There is talk about me helping with the strength and conditioning program for one of the teams there. Will keep you posted on it.

Posted in Events

Diabetes SA – Port Elizabeth, South Africa

I had the honor of meeting with representatives from all over South Africa for the Diabetes South Africa Convention; Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Pretoria, and Johannesburg all were present. The conference was held at the Protea Marina Hotel in Port Elizabeth and the management for the conference went out of their way to make me feel welcome and at home. Martin, the director was a kind gentleman and an iron grip handshake. Less was from Cape Town and had a roaring laughter that could be heard across the conference room. Everyone I met in South Africa was hearty and happy. Eric, Donovan and Nick from Novo Nordisk (makers of Novolog, Rapid and Levemir) are due much credit and many thanks. They were responsible for my attendance and also set up the media interviews. Frank Dzvonik of Abbott Labs, makers of the FreeStyle Flash, is also due credit for his participation and Abbot Labs appearance at the event. I and the Diabetes South Africa Convention thank them both.

S.A. Herald Pic The reporter and photographer from the South African Herald not only came to interview me but stayed for a small session with the kids. They went above and beyond in order to understand the life that children and adults with diabetes from South Africa face every day. At the closing dinner I was brought to tears when John, the former director of Diabetes South Africa told me, that children from impoverished areas are often neglected and sometimes considered cursed when diagnosed with diabetes. John had recently suffered a stroke, but never referred to it while he focused his discussion around “throwaway” children. We stopped to talk with some kids who literally had nothing, it sure is a humbling experience when I am able to touch a life like the ones in South Africa. One of the kids Michelle and I fed openly cried after we had given him a protein bar and some socks. I thought it was from the gifts, ones that I wouldn’t think twice about but I was later told it was because we shook hands. Before leaving John asked if I would return to his community, he explained how a white athlete, with T1 diabetes, could help change the lives of children and adults with diabetes in South Africa. I intend to go back and bring others with me next year.

Miche-SAfrica 034 Michelle and I had stopped in to see a small animal reserve south of Port Elizabeth. I’ve been an outdoors man since I was little and loved exploring the rivers, woods and swamps of Mississippi but I had become accustomed to seeing animals behind bars. At this reserve a variety of animals could be found just walking around, Zebras, Giraffes and gazelles. The lions were in pens but I think Jimmy Dodson could have jumped the wire fence holding them in. As we passed by we met the young man Darius at the gift shop inside. For 50 Rand (6 US dollars) you could hold a lion cub. Michelle ever the genius asked if he ever worked with the older cats we had just passed, 5 or 6 of them at 6-9 months old. I knew she hit a gold mind when he began looking around. He brought us down and slowly pushed open the door as the cats came up like tame puppies. I could understand Darius’ accent as well as he understood mine, barely at all but I could tell there were no instructions, just use your best judgment. We walked in and the cats came up quickly. One began gnawing on my hand and I could feel him testing my skin as he bit down on my forearms. When Darius rolled back his claws it was surprising as they were as long as my fingers with razor sharp points. As Darius turned to make sure Michelle was okay, the male jumped up both paws on my shoulders and head butted me. Out of reflex I laughed and grabbing the sides of his head, hugged him like you would a Golden Retriever. He pulled his big head back, and looked straight into my eyes, shifting from pupil to pupil. It was intense and mesmerizing and you can see the intensity in the face of the lion by my leg. The other cat is on the ground in front of me. The stare of a lion, even a young one, feels like he’s looking into your soul. I have had much respect for Lions, and I do believe it has grown from this experience.

Howza (Tshepo Mosese) and I

Hawser is a leading actor and rapper living in Johannesburg and was diagnosed with Type 1 a few years ago. After our first meeting, we addressed a few of the kids there. Hawser was loyal to encouraging the children and made sure they knew his position on life and God. The Herald reporter took us outside and took some shots with the 2 little ones you see in the photo. It was an odd moment when the photographer lined them up behind Hawser and I and asked them to hug us. Neither one wanted to move but as soon as we acknowledged them with a pat on head they smiled broadly and hugged us both tightly. They were very beautiful kids – sweet and full of questions. Hawser and I chatted for a bit when I had to try my humor out on his – Straight faced I told him of my plans for he and I to form a new rap group called Oreod. I began my solo delivery of Ebony & Ivory – never smiling but watching him. He politely nodded as I delivered but I could see he was struggling to contain himself. I paused and started to smile and he broke out in laughter. It was an honor and pleasure to work with him.

Posted in Events, Perspectives

Children With Diabetes 2009 – Disney World

CWD Orlando 09- Truly the best event for children with diabetes anywhere on earth. This year we were back at Disney Worlds Coronado Springs Hotel in Orlando Florida. The week was spent reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. Every year I am touched by the passion and desire for knowledge each of these young adults possess. I was honored to spend my time with them and I look forward to next year! Last year I was asked to slow it down because I was running kids into the ground racing from ride to ride. This year I was having to race just to keep up with them

Part of the crew from Children with Diabetes Friends For Life 2009 - Maryam, Sarah, Abdullah ... some of the best kids you’ll meet anywhere.

One of the coolest and sweetest kids I met … Max is unashamed to show his guns and ready to fight the good fight. So many of these events present hearts full of life and hope regardless of having to deal with such a problem. Part of the problem for all of us is the physical aspects of diabetes but the emotional side is difficult too. Sometimes it’s very difficult. It’s hard on children because it’s sometimes difficult to identify your feelings when your central nervous system and brain are trying to maintain a stable range. Most of us who have had diabetes for a while have acclimated the the changes but it isn’t easy, especially when you’re younger or newly diagnosed.

Max and I - Flex Max!

There is only one Miss America in my life – Nicole Johnson – 1999 Miss America.

Nicole Johnson (1999 Miss America) and I

There is only one kind of fun food – chocolate ice cream! Both were @ Disney World! Nicole seems a little taller than I am but it’s because there was a downward angle on the camera lens or maybe it was the sloping angle of the floor :0 We all had a great time with others at Disney’s Boardwalk and walking around Downtown Disney too. Nicole has done more to change the face of diabetes than anyone else I know. Tireless advocate, happy mom and she said nothing about the chocolate ice cream cone I was devouring. Playing with kids all day and keeping up with all the athletes lets you eat things like this without worry, at least occasionally. This picture was taken at the Seashore Sweets Candy Shop on Disney World’s Boardwalk. The shop had pictures of every Miss America on their walls. From 1921 to present, everyone was there. Nicole’s picture was up on the wall but she never pointed it out. I would have had a laser emanating from my necklace to my picture frame if that was me Nicole asked the management to place a picture of me winning the Mr. USA on their wall. We’ll see if it’s up next year!

What can I say?

I Was Crowned!

Posted in Events

Tour de Cure 2009 – Team Red Riders

This year I was honored when the Silicon Valley chapter of the ADA asked me to be the Red Rider team captain. The Red Rider team members all have Type 1 diabetes. After last year, I knew better than to think it was an easy ride in the park, in fact last year’s ride not only taught me to respect cycling but I also had some other challenges to overcome. A recent injury to my neck (severed bracihal plexus) makes riding difficult. The last time I rode I had severe pain in my neck and numbness in my hands for days after. Leading the team in this year’s ride was a big commitment, but not one I could shy away from. I wanted to be part of the event and really wanted to motivate others.

Doug Burns and Dave Prion

If I was going to be the team captain, I wanted to plan better this year. I went to my friend Dave Prion at Bicycle Outfitter in Los Altos. If you live in the Bay area, you likely know about them, the company has been helping cyclists find the right equipment for 25 years. Dave knows about distance cycling from experience. He has cycled across the United States, even on his honeymoon! I talked to Dave about my plan for this year’s ride and he made the appropriate adjustments to lessen some of the challenges I had encountered last year. Dave set me up on a Time bike which made the ride far easier and he refused to let me pay him anything for the loan.

When I arrived at the event I was very happy to hear that nearly 1700 riders had joined. The Red Rider team had about 30 members. We had kids, teens, college students and adults. They stepped out to do the 120K, 75K or 50k ride when they could have simply stayed home. Greg LeMond was scheduled to ride but at the last minute had to change his schedule so he could speak to the British Parliament in London. We missed him, but know that he can’t be in two places at once.

Paul Hollingworth, Doug Burns and Kyle Rose

This year, the ride was better for me. The climb up Kings Mt was easier but after ascending I realized most of the Red Riders were on the other courses. I found some of the riders with Type 1 including my friend Kyle from Team Type 1; we rode the the 75k portion together and chatted about cycling, new medical devices, and about a mutual friend Monique from Australia who’d just broken 3 vertebrae in a bike accident. The ride went well and I could tell that having the right bike made a difference. This year I was more semi comfortable during the ride, the bike was suited for the task (On the ride prior I had used what felt like a 100lb rental). I cannot thank everyone enough – the riders who showed up, the riders who helped me with their expertise – Greg L, Bob C, Ryan M, Marshall C, Kyle R, & Christian G and those from the ADA office – Richard, Alex & Allyson for putting on the event, and of course Dave to all I can’t say thank you enough.

After we finished the ride we indulged in the Waco Taco feast. Not only was the food great, but there were ample portions!

Posted in Events, Featured | Tagged ADA, Add new tag, Cycling, Red Riders, Tour de Cure, Type 1 diabetes

“The Best Time Ever” – Tour de Cure June 2008

My second bike ever was the Tour de Cure in Palo Alto, CA. (You may remember my first bike ride was in 1995 in Santa Monica) I thought it would be an easy ride; after all, it’s just Palo Alto. 120 kilometers sounds long but it’s only 76 miles and I was sure it was going to be a piece of cake. Well, here’s how it actually happened.

A week before the ride, I took my young son Jordan camping in the beautiful Redwood forests of Memorial Park. The last night as we were eating hot dogs we’d roasted over the campfire he said “Dad, isn’t this the best time ever?” Of course it was! Especially because I was unaware of what was to come.

As we were driving home, Richard Alleandro, the director of the Silicon Valley branch of the American Diabetes Association called. He asked if I’d stop by the ParkSide Grille in Portola Valley to meet some local executives who were involved with the ride. Jordan and I still smelled like smoke but agreed to drop by. When we arrived, Bill Petkopoulos, the chef, insisted we come in to dine. Imagine my relief when I found out that everyone table had just finished a 10 mile trek through the hills, Jordan and I fit right in. Just as I was relaxing I realized that Greg LeMond a past Tour de France winner was seated at the end of the table! Greg was going to lead the Tour de Cure this year and I was really excited and surprised to be meeting him.

Richard welcomed us and graciously gave me more of an introduction than I deserve. Greg and I shook hands and he shocked me by saying; “Doug Burns? No Way! I just read about you and what you went through on the plane ride here!” Greg and I really hit it off; we ended up spending a few hours together over the course of the week. It’s easy to assume a world class athlete like Greg may be hard to talk to, but he is one of the most congenial people I’ve ever met. He’s funny, opinionated, humble, and he can talk as much as I can. The week leading up to my “easy ride” was feeling like the “best time ever.”

Doug with Greg LeMond

I spent the night before the Tour de Cure at the scientific sessions in San Francisco and attended a party for DLife, where I won a nice case of wine. I had to be at the ride by 6:00 a.m. the next morning but had no concerns as it was “just” a bike ride. As usually happens when you are enjoying yourself time got away from me. By the time I left I realized it was too late to make the drive home and my blood sugars were not cooperating. I pulled over for a few hours of sleep. At 5:00 a.m. I sought out my favorite wake up, Peet’s coffee, the stuff is so thick that if the cup tips in the car I can catch it before a spill! Good for waking up, not great for hydration just before a ride.

When I arrived at the event I discovered that close to 1500 cyclists were registered. Since I’d had such a busy week hanging out with Greg LeMond and going to parties, I hadn’t reviewed the route. No problem, It was only 120K how bad could it be? As we left the starting point, Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto, we rode through the beautiful gentle rolling hills and tree lined roads of Woodside. This was turning out to be easier than I thought! Bob, a new friend, warned me that there were challenging hills ahead; Kings Mountain was first on the list. We began our ascent and as I am built for quick explosive energy I locked in and pushed as hard and fast as I could. Halfway up I was exhausted but would not get off the bike. Finally I came to the top, dripping with sweat. Bob couldn’t believe I ascended so quickly with “no training” and congratulated me. So did Greg who’d simply been playing and chatting the whole way up. “Glad it’s over” I wheezed to them. I’ll never forget the smiles they gave me; they thought I was playing. “Yeah – we still have another 6000 feet of climbing.” I didn’t say a word but now I understood why everyone else took their time.

Doug with Lars Sorensen, Greg LeMond and Marshall Case

The ride was gorgeous, but absolutely brutal! Overexertion and lack of electrolytes caused my legs to lock up once as I was going downhill. Luckily it only happened once. At one point I felt like I was flying down the hills, I was really feeling confident until Greg blew by me like I was barely moving. I could not believe how fast he was going down the hills. It was probably only 30-40 mph but it seemed like 70 mph; and he was casually adjusting his shoes as he hit these tight curves. This inspired my much needed second wind. In my exuberance I ended riding extra distance by mistake. But I made it and developed an incredible respect for cyclists.

Posted in Events, Perspectives | Tagged ADA, Cycling, Diabetic Ride, Greg LaMond, Tour de Cure

My First Bicycle Workout

This was before I began competing again but I was looking for a new athletic pursuit. I had a decent Trek bike, nothing fancy, but I rode it like it was built for the Tour. I’d only use it on leg days and push as hard as possible – at this time I was still relatively strong – squats with 5-600 and leg presses over 1000lbs. My intent on the bike was to break the crank shaft or tear off a pedal. As I passed the Santa Monica Pier I saw a guy up ahead in his early twenties crossing the path. He saw me but just as I approached he jumped out in front of me drunk and it nearly cost him his life. The impact was like running into a wall and strong enough to bend the frame of the bike. It launched him off the ground a few feet where he struck his head on the curb. I thought he was dead but fortunately he wound up with only a few contusions and a laceration on his skull. I gave the bike away and returned to the gym.

Posted in Training | Tagged bicycle, Training, workout

The Cost Of Winning

The realization that praise was openly given to winners was not completely new to me. I had long loved the football teams the Pittsburgh Steelers and their rivals the Dallas Cowboys. At the time the Cowboys personified the All American team, patriotic and good looking too. Everything I wanted to be. On the other side of the coin were the Steelers, the biggest and meanest players on earth, The Steel Curtain. They lived up to the name players like Jack Ham – John Colb had these gigantic arms and ravage looks of power. Everything that I wanted to be.

Within time I felt confident enough to compete in a local powerlifting contest. I was as nervous as could be but felt ready enough to try. The contest was the Gulf Coast Powerlifting Championships, it was being held at a local YMCA in Ocean Springs, down a few cities down from where I lived. I was in the novice division and in the 148lb class. I didn’t even place but it occurred to me that I had become good enough to actually compete so I could get better. From my perspective living had to do with winning. This meant not just doing well but actually “winning.” Winning meant becoming and looking stronger and so I unloaded every ounce of energy I had to getting both.

I loved the new physical change I went through. Within time I grew bigger and stronger. Before I had left high school I had set State, Regional and then American records in powerlifting. I was now an entity and damn proud of it. I did a couple of television commercials and loved every bit of it. I was squatting with 500 pounds, doing bar curls with 185 pounds and doing overhead presses with 205 lbs.

One of the benefits I got by competing in strength sports is that it created a powerful physical foundation to build a physique upon. You learn to literally will the weight up and force your body to comply with your wishes. If you can master this aspect of the game, winning then becomes a matter of focus. Powerlifting is a pure strength sport in that it is only about what you can lift, how you look has nothing to do with it. Bodybuilding has only to do with your appearance. It doesn’t matter how much you can lift, it’s only about how much muscle and how little body fat you have. Mastering both worlds gave me a unique advantage – not only did I look strong I was getting strong.

I continued training using every ingenious method I could to get the most from my body. I studied the mechanics of motion, the locations and functions of the muscles but most importantly I tried out every theory I could find and rejected or revised them accordingly. I made up my own theories, “What if you trained the muscle to failure but then ran an electric current through it, will it still contract?” After nearly ripping the muscles of my legs off with a jolt from a wall outlet I decided to stick with the hard work. Besides the other joy that hard work provided was a rush of adrenaline and endorphins that lasted for hours afterwards.

Posted in Perspectives, Training | Tagged Anatomy, Body Building, Competitions, Muscle, Power Lifting, Strenght, Training

Memories And Long Term Friendships

I am still friends with a couple of the guys from back in the day, Frank Kish is now the Director of Tech for Lockheed Martin, Ray Campisi and Vinson Keyhea. I had always been interested in exploring and discovery. As a kid we used to trek through a secret location we had found “Shark Tooth Creek.” We found every type of fossil imaginable, teeth, tusks, claws–some of ours ended up at the Smithsonian Institute. I found an old metal washer nearby, heavy and tarnished dark grey. When I looked closely though, I saw an eagle on the back. It was Silver Dollar from 1925. The rest of the day I kept digging in the creek trying to locate the rest of a treasure chest. I didn’t find it but I still have the coin with me today.

Doug and Ray

When I had first moved to the South, Frank Kish and I made daily runs into the local swamp areas. We found prehistoric looking creatures, huge water snakes, alligator snapping turtles, and some fish we didn’t even know existed. We caught a reptilian fish called an alligator gar. It looked like something from prehistoric times, scales like a lizard, big teeth and looked almost like it could walk. We’d get into trouble with locals by cutting through their territory, which were sometimes guarded by fighting dogs and moms with shotguns. But I didn’t care. I was becoming stronger and faster and it was beginning to show.

Later in midway through high school, a friend Dane Powell and I thought it a good idea to go exploring in Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana. Dane was into running which I could care less about but he liked exploring too. He was born and raised in the South, was an avid hunter and knew his way to Honey Island Swamp. An immense area with gators, boar, tons of poisonous snakes and huge biting turtles. The story goes that escaped prisoners who tried making it through were never seen again. The same was true of hunters who simply got lost. The problem is that the waterways and swamps all look the same. Once you lose your bearings it becomes very difficult to distinguish between new territory and your last 30 feet. One time, Dane and I embarked on a search for wild boar but had come prepared. We knew gators were here but we also knew people exaggerated the number and frequency of attacks. What we weren’t prepared for was an onslaught of water moccasins and cottonmouth snakes. These snakes are in the pit viper family, very venomous, though death is rare from a single bite. The problem is that they are extremely aggressive, they bite underwater and they bite repeatedly. I had a split personality in that one side of me loved the adventure of exploring and being gone for days but the other side wanted to overcome and win every challenge set before me.

Friends In LA

Training with these new friends was spectacular. For the first time in my life I had become the leader and I clutched it tightly. Kids at school began asking for advice on how to get in shape. I had become the strongest kid in my school so the first part of my plan to set records in powerlifting was completed. Next on the list was the football coach, Coach Hamilton, who could bench over 300lbs. At the time it seemed an astronomical amount of weight but soon I had surpassed him and everyone else as well.

Posted in Perspectives, Training | Tagged Exploration, Friendship, Goals, Leadership

Reinforcing The Foundation – My Formal Training Introduction

I continued to improve in my Spartan gym along with swimming in the wolf river, weekend hikes through the woods and swamps but I new I needed to advance. I moved from my homemade gym to a place called Rhodes Fitness Center in Gulfport Mississippi. It was here that I found out what real strength and lifting was about. The owner Doc Rhodes had competed as a powerlifter and won the Pan American Games, I also was able to meet and talk with other powerlifters there. Powerlifting is a strength contest consisting of the bench press, squat and deadlift. If you’ve seen the World’s Strongest Man contests, most of the athletes are powerlifters. Olympic lifting consists of the snatch and clean and jerk. I used both, but preferred powerlifting because it relied on pure strength. After all Sampson hadn’t lifted the lion over his head he used brute power to subdue it.

At Rhodes I stumbled around the gym pretending that I knew what I was doing, but I had no idea. I had developed a great deal of strength with my training but at Rhodes there were no rusted iron wheels or vines to climb. I found some dumbells and began training with what I knew. When I’d stand still long enough I would watch what others were doing and go try to mimic their form.

After I had trained a few times Doc came over and introduced me to a phenomenal athlete named Vinson Keyhea. Still a teen he had set regional records in the deadlift and was know in our school and throughout the South. I was amazed at his physique, his traps seemed to be connected to his ears, he had huge muscle bellies but was still very lean and vascular. After he cracked a few jokes we became instant friends. Doc and Vinson took the time to explain what the lifts were, how to not over-train which they both knew I was doing.

I needed to do to become incredibly strong. I had done squats but even with the pulley’s it didn’t amount to much weight. Vinson was squatting with 500lbs and it didn’t faze him at all. He invited me to join him and carefully showed me how to squat properly. I was in awe and happy as could be. I began to notice most of the lifters I met there were genuine and helpful, not arrogant and cocky as rumored. It wasn’t because I had a disease either as I hadn’t told anyone until much later. I joined Vinson, we squatted until my legs began shaking and left to go eat. I felt like I had found a family and lifting chalk, lifting belts, power suits and wraps was my new the attire.

Both Vinson and another friend Ricky Greenwald were physically superior to me and it wasn’t just the training. Their muscles were naturally bigger and stronger. Bigger than all the other kids in my school and most schools in the US. Ricky had enormous biceps and triceps and calves, Vinson was virtually made of muscle and both had incredible strength, naturally. Ricky told me he didn’t do anything to get his huge arms – he told me it was gift from his Iroquois lineage. I had learned from the magazines that pretty much everything Ricky ate was junk food but it didn’t seem to matter with him. He was everything I wanted to be physically and yet didn’t have to do a thing to have it. Ripped off again, it was my first introduction to a genetically gifted athlete.

This was my first introduction to genetics, an area in which I was shortchanged and one I was fascinated with. So many why’s so many thoughts on how to get over the obstacles. Vinson and Ricky were the opposite, every muscle on their body was big and full, and they didn’t even try. His calves attached at his ankles and were as large as my legs. His forearms were like clubs and much larger than my upper arms. He ate a diet of whatever he felt like eating which caused me to wonder.

Posted in Perspectives, Training | Tagged Form, Friendship, Professional Gym, Technique, Training

Doug's Quest