NAked Warrior - ZANDERBILT

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T H E P U R P O S E F U L P R I M I T I V E
on Dave’s face when Sean told him his 3rd squat would be 832, “Damn that’s a BIG jump
Sean! Can you change it to 819 or 826?” Too late. Dave’s close miss would later come back
to haunt us. Dave tore a pectoral muscle on his opening attempt bench press and came off
the platform holding his limp arm, “We got a problem.” He said. Our team doctor, Dick
Herrick, looked him over and the prognosis was not good. I remember the tense huddle
with myself, Dave, Doctor Dick and Sean.
Scully looked at Dave and said, “Can you lift or not? Tell me yes or no right now.” Dave
thought for a minute and said, “Yeah, let’s do it.” The doc said, “Are you sure?” He was
immediately cut off by Sean, “The man said he can go – so we’re f#@*ing going to GO!”
No deadlift warm ups. I dropped Dave’s opening deadlift to 704 and he pulled it with great
pain. As soon as he came off (in agony) we iced the pec and inched him up to 733. He made
that lift, but a Norwegian, who couldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole on a good day,
seized the lead. Every time Dave pulled a weight this guy would pull 4.4 more to maintain
his lead. After Dave made 733 the other guy made 738 to take the lead again. Dave went
out for his third and final lift in front of a packed house.
Dave went out for his third and final lift in front of a packed house. The Europeans were
mad/crazy with their cowbells and air horns. They’d whistle at us, their form of booing,
and clap in syncopated fashion for their Scandinavian golden boy who was about to upset
the Seven Time World Champ. Dave pulled 744 pounds 7/8’s of the way to completion
before it fell to the platform. No lift. I remember seeing the Norwegian jump five feet
straight up in the air and yelling in ecstasy when Dave failed. The auditorium, packed to
the rafters, exploded with joy. The heavy favorites, Goggins and Jacoby, had been upset. I
glared at the guy. Dave was upset and in real pain as he held his damaged arm. I didn’t
know what to say so I hugged him. Paybacks are hell and the next year a righteous and
vengeful Jacoby lifted at the World Championships in England. He decimated the field one
final time. He retired on top.
In the 275 pound class my protégé Kirk Karwoski destroyed the best competition the
world had to offer. He dispatched the others with such ridiculous ease it was anticlimactic.
This would be the 1st of ten straight IPF Titles for him. It was fitting that I was there: his
win was the culmination of six years working together. We truly collaborated over the
years: he was the ideal student. Engaged and inquisitive, he was never defensive or
entrenched. Karwoski was always receptive and willing to try new things. His home
brewed training had taken him to a certain level, a high level to be sure, but he knew that if
he were to leap into the Big Leagues he would need to up his game to an entirely new level.
The methodology needed to accomplish that lay outside his knowledge base.
I told him upfront that all his exercise techniques would need to be revamped, his training
template would be tossed in the trash can and his nutrition would need to be “squared up.”
He wanted it bad enough to comply. I started him off on what I would call “Modified
For complete information on Marty Gallagher’s The Purposeful Primitive, or to
purchase the physical book, visit http://www.dragondoor.com/b37.html now