Blog Post: 8
First Mentors, Influences and Building a Foundation. The Importance of Mentors It’s always best to keep it simple, as Marcus Aurelius said many years ago, “At every moment keep a sturdy mind on the task at hand, as a Roman and human being, doing it with simple dignity, affection, freedom and justice – giving yourself […]
Blog Post 7
First Mentors, Influences and Building a Foundation. Beginnings It’s always best to keep it simple, as Marcus Aurelius said many years ago, “At every moment keep a sturdy mind on the task at hand, as a Roman and human being, doing it with simple dignity, affection, freedom and justice – giving yourself a break from […]
Training in Temple and Dorian’s Surprise Question…
“Silence is a lesson learned from the many sufferings of life.” – Seneca From that first visit I made to Temple Gym just after my NABBA British final appearance, I made a promise to myself that if I was going to become a Pro bodybuilder and the best I could be, then Temple Gym was […]
Back Day With Dorian….A Lesson in Form and Humility (and His Dry Sense of Humour!!).
Hi, I’m Paul Baxendale and welcome to blog post number 5. This week we’re going back in time again to…….1993! And yes, we’re going back to the dungeon, we’re going to reminisce about my first back training day with Dorian, but first a few words about improvement….from the Roman philosopher, Socrates, you see it’s nothing new to wish to find a method to improve yourself, whether physically or mentally or emotionally; from the earliest civilisations humankind has been on an never-ending quest to improve oneself….well the leaders have always done so.
Bodybuilding in the UK in the early-Mid 1990’s – A Golden Era?
This week sees us back to bodybuilding in the early 90’s and the start of my top level competing with the EFBB, the British art of the IFBB, where each year they would give out two pro cards; one for the overall men and one for the overall women’s classes. Back then you really only had one chance a year to claim a Pro card and it wasn’t good enough to win your class at the Nationals but you had to win the overall, a huge task.
The World of the Gym – A New, Daunting but Inspiring Experience.
I was around 12 years old when I got my first set of dumbbells; I remember it well as my father had picked them up from someone in town and had had to carry them back to his car before driving home with them; he came home with shaking arms and also not very happy!!
My First Visit to Temple Gym – Meeting The Shadow!
Two days after the NABBA British final I woke up knowing I was going to go and visit Temple Gym for the very first time and, hopefully, see the great man himself….The Shadow, Dorian Yates. Although I had no idea whether he would be there that day, all I knew was that I was going to go at the time I knew that he usually trained which was around 10.30-12.00 in the morning.
Heavy Duty Training: a Philosophical Approach to Bodybuilding From the Depths of Temple Gym 1993
“I can’t call a person a hard worker just because I hear they read and write, even if working at it all night. Until I know what a person is working for, I can’t deem them industrious….I can if the end they work for is their own ruling principle, having it be and remain in constant harmony with Nature,” – Epictetus (Discourses, 4.4.11:43).