Cardell and Dr. Coleman.

I have worked in the fitness industry since 1977 and have owned a gym since 1984.

Since I went into business for myself, I've approached the teaching of strength training

from a completely different perspective than the industry's standard model.

I have taught all my members to lift barbells,

as opposed to machine-based exercise used by the commercial fitness industry at large. During my time as a

gym owner, I have made several mistakes, none of which had anything to do with my decision to teach everybody how to use

barbell safely, efficiently, and productively. Rather, my biggest regret was not doing so once

when I should have. Dr. Coleman came to the gym on the advice of his doctor.

He was in his late 60s at the time, still a working cardiologist,

diagnostic cardiologist, but he was not a terribly robust guy, even for his age.

At the time, he was a very nice man, excruciatingly polite to everyone and generous to a fault.

I remember the first question I asked him.

In fact, being one of the first doctors we'd had in the gym and me being curious about lots of things,

I asked him, how is it, Dr. Coleman, that a dog can drink nasty water out of a puddle in the road and be perfectly fine, but if I did that, I'd get sick as a dog.

And he rightfully regarded me momentarily as if deciding to respond, how to respond to a curious but dull child,

not an altogether inappropriate assessment, and calmly explained that there were profound

differences in the digestive environment between that of myself and my little bulldog girlfriend

Dumplin.

He was a patient man as well.

My friend Cardell ended up with Dr. Coleman as a personal training client.

Cardell and I had trained together for years, starting at the YMCA in downtown Wichita Falls, Texas in the very early 1980s.

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