CLARITY

What it is, What it isn't, What we do, What we don't do

BY MARK TWIGHT

We have tried to be clear about who we are and what we do but apparently we have failed. In the words of Henrietta Collins, “We'll leave nothing to your imagination this time. We tried that last time and, in our opinion it didn't work.”

What It Is
Gym Jones is a gym. It is a physical location. Trainees engage in various forms of physical and psychological training to support sport performance or work objectives. They have been invited to do so, then invited to remain.

Gym Jones represents the point where the thought and action of athletes and professionals with diverse histories and objectives overlap. I'll never fight in a cage, Maximus (probably) won't stand on top of a mountain, and neither of us will set any weightlifting records. But Maximus, Dan John and I share components of our training.

Gym Jones is an attitude. It is perhaps best described as “utter commitment to the task at hand” and characterized by the mobilization of all available resources to achieve a particular goal. Because the occupations and sports done by many who train here involve considerable risk we take training seriously. That said no one pretends that it is anything more than it is.

The Gym Jones website is a window into our ideals and actions. The view through this window is incomplete. We don't post everything we do, or everything we believe. You see what we show you.

The training described in the Schedule section of the site is not a prescription or recommendation. It is a record of what was done by selected individuals on a particular day. The training is influenced by individual objectives, individual variances (height/weight, bio-mechanics), sport-specificity, current training status, and any cyclic emphasis that may be guiding the training. Ignorance of these qualifying factors limits the value of the information.

What It Is Not
Gym Jones is not a “program.” We use diverse paths to reach varied, individual objectives. We do not claim to know all of the paths and certainly not the best path for every given circumstance. We only claim that we are constantly searching, practicing, recording and progressing. This is a process.

The training is not a sport itself. Gym-specific fitness means little. Survival, overcoming genuine hardship, and improved sport performance mean something. Gym Jones exists to support these outcomes. Increased sport and work capacity results from hard work done by the athletes themselves. Fighters beaten, contests won, missions accomplished, summits reached, and records surpassed result from the specific, technical skill of the protagonists. The role of the gym is supporting.

Everything practiced here was used by someone, somewhere, sometime in the past. We deem methods appropriate and effective or not according to the particular goal. One size does not fit all. Individuals and their objectives vary so the mechanisms of preparation must differ.

What We Do
We learn by doing. We lead by example. Perhaps Emerson said it best, “what you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say." The resumés and accomplishments of the athletes who train or are associated with us speak for them.

We provide athletes with a location and opportunity to prepare intelligently for their sport or work requirements within the context of the areas where we are expert: relative strength, power-endurance, and endurance. We prepare athletes for repetitive application of power, for genuine endurance and ultra endurance. We provide what the individual needs on an individual basis.

We choose clients. Clients don't choose us. Some pay a fee, some don't. We choose athletes who resonate with our attitude and areas of expertise, and whose projects inspire us.

What We Don't Do
We do not strictly adhere to any single method but instead choose what is appropriate to the goal. I learned and practiced all sorts of training during my athletic career. I benefited from relationships with many mentors and coaches. I repay those teachers by not remaining a student. Instead I add their teachings to my own experience and knowledge to create my own way.

We don't train athletes to squat 800 pounds or to stack on 25 pounds of muscle in a year because we don't do it and we don't see the point. We don't train folks specifically to lose weight but no one who trains here has ever gained weight.

We don't treat the training as competition because, for our athletes, real competition or performance lies elsewhere.

In Defense of Elitism
As if it requires defending …

Gym Jones is exclusive. We exclude. It is not a question of elitism vs. egalitarianism because there can be no question; the black belt is elite, the white belt is not. The black belt is earned through long, difficult work, rigorous education, commitment, and persistence. Not everyone gets a black belt. It's not T-Ball. We invite athletes of a certain temperament and ability to train here because they foster the environment we prefer. It is difficult to improve while training exclusively with less capable practitioners. Talented athletes surround themselves with others of a similar or higher caliber – both mental and physical – and improve by doing so.

The parallel motive has to do with choosing who we want to spend our limited time with: why would we open our arms to any and everyone?

The Last Word
“But don't forget my ideas are only what's been written down in history by the great people of the world who've gone before. All I've done is condense the wisdom of the world into an attitude for athletics. Athletics aren't just running, it's a way of life”
Percy Cerutty

If you have read this, and you are interested in training at our Salt Lake City location click here to return to the Training page where contact information is located at the bottom of the page.