Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 269 – Schmidt Machine

[Mahler]

Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 269 – Schmidt Machine

Schmidt Machine (08-17-09)

Every once in a while my curiosity gets the better of me and I start exploring. Of course many of my expeditions into the internet jungle take me to information dealing with strength. Well, recently I made a discovery. There is a device I came across, which has been around for a while and unknown to me, yet it is a vital tool in assessing strength. To my surprise, I found that it’s actually used worldwide to gauge strength. So, today I would like to introduce you to the Schmidt Machine. Yes, you read that right. It’s the Schmidt Machine.

Okay, hold on just a second. Before you click the little “x” at the upper right hand corner of your screen and write me off as having crossed over into the dark side, let me explain. The Schmidt Machine is not what you might think it is. It’s most certainly not the German equivalent of that device invented back in the 1950’s and bearing Rudy Smith’s name. It is not the machine that most proponents of free weights will tell you is nothing more than a glorified clothes rack. What the hell is it then, you must now be asking.

Well, I have been taking a few liberties, here. The Schmidt Machine is actually known in the engineering world by its more proper name, the Schmidt Hammer. The Schmidt Hammer is a tool containing a spring-loaded mass which when placed against a slab of rock or concrete can be fired and subsequently measures the rebound to gauge the strength of the material. It’s a way to measure the strength of concrete without having to place it under so much stress that you destroy it in the process.

Concrete is the most widely used man-made material on the planet, I discovered. And what I also found was that it was composed of some not very strong ingredients which when combined in the right proportions turned into one damned strong material, indeed. When you think about it, strength training is a lot like making concrete. You start off with some simple ingredients, not necessarily very powerful in themselves, but you can, with the right proportions, turn them into something very strong. Using your body, some weights, and a little determination, you can build strength.

I found it interesting, too, that one of the simplest, yet most important ingredients in the manufacture of concrete, was water. So, you know where this is going. You can have all the right ingredients for becoming strong, but unless you put in a little sweat, you are going nowhere. So often I read or hear from people who are disappointed in their progress and the reason for that disappointment almost always comes down to not putting in the effort, not adding that key ingredient of a little sweat, to act as the catalyst. If you are willing to do that on a regular basis, you can be a builder of strength. And, the Schmidt Machine? Hey, that’s you! You can gauge your strength with each workout, as you grow stronger and more robust. You measure with each extra pound you lift, what you have been and what you have become, because you have taken flesh, iron and a little sweat and become the engineer of your own strength.

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Copyright 2004-2009 John R. Gesselberty. Mahler's Monday Morning Motivators (MMMM) may not be copied or used without permission of the author. All rights reserved.

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Have a Great Week!

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[kingkop182]

Thanks

[ninja]

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