There are many inspirational stories in the history of fitness. Over the next few issues, I would like to introduce our readers to some people who have made historical changes in this arena. Though we may not all be able to affect others on the same scale, these are people who can inspire determination in us when we are feeling discouraged or have hit a plateau.
Paul Anderson has been known as the strongest man in the world – but his beginning aspirations were not so large. He began training as a teenager to compete on his small town Georgia football team. He wanted to increase his size and strength to perform as a first-team blocking back.
Though it sounds like the dream of a lot of teenage boys, that determination eventually took him even further. Anderson received a football scholarship and attended university for a year. It was then that he met Bob Peoples, a trainer who worked with him on squat training and introduced him to bodybuilding.
By 1955, Anderson won USA National Amateur Athletic Union Weightlifting Championship and went on to compete in the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Though the audience was doubtful of this ability, Anderson proceeded to break two world records. Anderson continued his success and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as well as Famous First Facts for lifting the greatest weight ever raised by a human being.
Anderson eventually retired and began a home for troubled and homeless young men. In 1977 he received the Golden Plate Award, given by the American Academy of Achievement to those who have made great accomplishments.
Anderson’s accomplishments go beyond fitness. They demonstrate to us that commitment and determination can change a smaller, personal goal into a greater one.
At BOOTCAMP 619, we believe that each person should start with a commitment to themselves and find the path to their greater goal.
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