A few weeks back it was very cold – the gym was freezing, the bars hurt my hands and the sweat kept dripping in my eyes while I lifted.

Just one of those days.

All I could think was “there are a million places I’d rather be than here.” It was fucking miserable. So many of my training days have been miserable. I can’t count how many practices I’ve been in where it was worse.

I’ve played in -30 below weather a couple different times. I’ve run conditioning when it’s over 110 degrees. It all sucked, But never did I ever think I was hardcore.

Hardcore is a pretty new term in training – before you just tried to work harder than the next guy in hopes of performing better later. It had nothing to do with how big your training dick was. I don’t know a single person who has perspective that measures his training by how hardcore he is. Not one single person. A real competitor would never let his competition know about his training – I’m sure everyone and his mother has read Sun Tzu; appear weak when you are strongest, etc., Why would I want the other teams to know our guys were out doing wind sprints before they even got out of bed? Hell, they might take some notes!

The point is hardcore is a term made up by people who aren’t hardcore. It’s used by pretenders. It’s used to motivate those that need some rah-rah bullshit to get them up before a lift.

To understand The Beast you must first understand its rage. Its not a blind fury or reckless insanity, it is that measured focused intensity that burns hotter than any of your stiffest competition.

Therein lies the rub. Those who have cultivated the Beast, have trained, consistently, year in, year out, no matter the weather; day or circumstances don’t need motivation. They have discipline. And that’s why you train when it’s the last thing you want to do.