G’day Shredders,
As I hinted at on Day 504: Clear & Present Danger, my leg training session with Tom Venuto on Day 505 was a real-world, real-time education in real intensity.
Before I show you the video featuring the world famous QUAD BLASTER invented by Carlos Dejesus, I’ll take you back in time to Day 356: RTP Group Shred – 1 week Down! on November 1, 2007 and share with you a snippet of an email Tom sent me that afternoon.
Day 356: Declassified Email From Tom Venuto:
adam
I will get back to your last mail
shortlybut had to show you what you’re in for
hahahahahahahahahaha
Day 400: Quad Destruction Imminent!
As you can see this Quad Blasting Destruction with Tom Venuto’s “toy” at Strong & Shapely Gym in New Jersey was a long time coming and something I used to motivate myself throughout the entirety of M4 when I was training legs.
Ok, enough of the buildup! Here is the video below.
OMG – now that is painful to watch! It’s extraordinary to push yourself past your limits…like a revelation, shedding an old skin. That was massive Ad!!
Kel.
That looked painful! I think I’m gonna get me one! 🙂
Great work Adam! Can’t wait to see the full vid.
That didn’t look like it felt very good!
wow! that really looked painful!! can you still walk?
Adam,
Seeing you there hurts. Didn´t like that at all. If you seem in pain, you are in pain, then it hurts to see you. Surely there is a way to build up your body without torture….you can see am not about to try that one.
Lynda
There is “good pain” and there is “bad pain.” Good pain = discomfort, effort, and or the pain of normal muscle burn and exercise fatigue. Bad pain = injury. You gotta know the difference, and never, ever, push yourself into bad pain. Adam was very astute about knowing the difference. He had a previous hamstring injury and he knew instantaneously when certain exercises would aggravate that injury and he avoided those completely. Smart. Adam trained with as much effort as anyone I have ever met, and that quad blaster is honestly a very tough workout… on the other hand, being as Adam has that “movie producer” quality about him, I wonder if there was a wee bit of extra “dramatization” for the camera…. hmmmmmm 🙂
Maybe just a “wee bit” of epic-ness from the “drama king” – I mean AJ. 😉
HiLynda, I understand where you are coming from, and yes it was “painful” but as Tom said below there is a difference between “good pain” and “bad pain” and you must be self aware and be able to distinguish between the two.
Another thing to keep in mind is that this training session was literally 125 days in the making. I trained myself for the entirety of Mission 4 to prepare my mind and body for this workout and in particular the QB.
Therefore, there was no way I was going to give anything less than maximum effort. Also, training with Tom automatically increases the intensity level way beyond anything you’ve ever done before. That effort translates in the workout and vid footage as a lot of groaning but it was natural, I was not putting it on for the camera. Of the 6 workouts I did with Tom only a few had cameras, we trained like this every session and for Tom this is “just another day at the office”.
While I do train with intensity back in Japan, it is always by myself (no partner or trainer) so this was a different experience and I did learn from Tom higher levels of intensity and a ton of new training techniques which was my primary objective, i.e. learn from my mentor Tom Venuto who is a professional bodybuilder who has been at the top of his game of over 20 years.
On the “drama” front I plead “guilty”! However, I do dramatize events for a purpose, that is to try and convey and capture the essence of what went on at this particular session. For me, it really was a once in a lifetime experience and it really was intense!
Cheers,
Adam
On camera or off camera, Adam gave 110% every time… it’s that extra 10% that makes all the difference in the world.
Thank you for your kind words Tom, it means so much to me for you to say that. I will do my absolute best to recreate this intensity when I am back in Japan (minus the groaning!).
AJ
P.S. Jumping out of my skin for M5!
whatever the case, giving 110% is what it is all about. whether Tom V. is standing over you or you are by yourself. This is one thing I have taken from my short time with Adam and Tom. You can bet I will be pushing myself even harder now!
Adam, can’t wait to see what you have in store for your M5! Your drive and intensity and determination is contagious! Thanks! so glad you could experience this once in a lifetime moment(s) with Tom V.