What does The PIT teach you?
By Matthew Lodge
For those that don’t know Matthew Lodge is one of the most intense committed athletes that have entered through the doors of THE PIT. He recently returned to embark on what we like to refer to as Festival Body…aka getting his body in shape for the music festivals over the summer time, no just jokes, Matt has just returned from his 4th serious knee operation and is still walking around on crutches….but this hasn’t held him back from absolutely destroying his upper body in THE PIT.
Matt Lodge at Carlton Football Club
I knew he was different from the moment I met him. I remember him rocking up to the initial interview sick as a dog, barely able to talk. Little did I know, that he drove more than an hour and a half from New South Wales to get the interview. A little sickness would not hold him back! 3 Knee operations would not hold this young athlete back from pursuing his dreams of getting drafted to Carlton Footy Club. But what stood out was his work ethic, not once did he ever whinge or complain, nor did he miss a session.
How you do anything is how you do everything!
So here’s what Matt has to say:
By hearing or reading this, you have defied modern society’s definition of normal. If you’re hearing or reading this, it means you are considering, or are already part of something that’s considered abnormal by those outside looking in, yet customary to the inhabitants of THE PIT.
The Christmas and New Year break approaches; everyone puts their feet up, ready to welcome in a new year with a glass of shit champagne and false promises of change and overhaul.
Kurt Tippett wont be putting his feet up over Christmas
However, I do urge that you use this time of break to seriously consider what direction you want to take your physical adventures to. Majority of PIT athletes are involved in high level competitive sport – you’re never too young to start reflecting on what you’ve achieved so far, and what you want to conquer heading into next year.
This year, there’s just one person who can fulfill every expectation for the upcoming twelve months. It’s you.
Not just in the PIT but in life. If you ever have doubts about doing something, bite the bullet and do it, don’t ever die wondering. Life’s too short and there’s plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead.
I hate clichés as much as the next person, but there are many elements of truth in them.
Take that attitude to the pitch, court or field. Most importantly, take it to your training – take that attitude to THE PIT.
You’ve already done half the battle by being allowed to train in the garage gym of a man who I am yet to meet like him. Someone who is single-handedly dedicated to realising the potential that you all have and get you to that next level you’ll have over your opponent.
AFL Star Bryce Retzlaff repaying the faith!
Repay the faith he has in you. Turn up on time, make no excuses and train til you physically have to crawl out that front gate.
The beauty of THE PIT, a place you could loosely call your ‘gym’, is the environment of it. No pretentious machines, no muck-about personal trainers; just fellow peers who all want the same thing.
It’s a contagious milieu, THE PIT. Doesn’t matter if you’ve been there for two sessions, or two years – the PIT will teach you a lot about life as it did for me. Three things it taught me, which I’ll elaborate on: self-standard, persistence and leadership.
I first came to the PIT as a 15-year-old, with the likes of the Tippett brothers, Sam Gilbert, Bryce Retzlaff, Broc McCauley, Joel Wilkinson and Dayne Beams recently drafted. Joey Hayes raved on about the standard that these guys set themselves to achieve their position on AFL lists.
A young Sam Gilbert training in THE old PIT Gymnasium before getting drafted to ST. Kilda AFL Club!
Similarly, Joey insisted there was to be no dead wood in THE PIT. I was thrust into the training group containing PIT legends such as Elliot Bath, Adam Oehlman, and Blake Bantoft; later joined by the Carseldine brothers.
PIT Athlete Callum Carseldine preparing for his break through AFL Season!
PIT High School Multiple Record Holder Elliot Bath Pushing the Heart Breaker!
If you don’t know who any of these people are, use some intuition and ask Joey. These guys trained balls to the wall, through blood, sweat and tears. Coming to THE PIT, I quickly learnt, was a privilege not a right.
If you find that coming to THE PIT is a chore or you come because your parents pay the fee, in short –%$^@ off. This is not the place for you.
These guys pushed physical limits to reach their full potential and, knowing them, will continue to do so in other aspects of their life. They kept their standards high. I spoke of THE PIT being contagious: such attitudes rubbed off.
Self-standards mean many things. In summary, it’s doing what people think are the “extras”, but to you is just what is expected of yourself.
A wonderful poem called “Man In The Glass” reiterates this brilliantly:
You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches and tears, If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
Brisbane Broncos Player Nat Barnes Personal standards of excellence in aspect of his life ensure he is proud of the man looking back at him!
Again, use some intuition; Google the poem and read it all – it’s a great motto to live by. If you don’t like what you see, do something about it.
If the standard is to train yourself to exhaustion, hit that standard every time you step into THE PIT. If it’s perfect technique on all exercises, then it’s perfect form or bust.
Set your bar high for this coming year, you may not hit it the first time; nor the second, third or tenth time. But, you’ll be surprised as to what you can achieve if you hold that standard.
It leads into my second lesson I learnt at the PIT: persistence.
Keep at it. If you’ve set the bar high, never lower it. That’s what the rest of society does.
The significance of a New Year meaning that people are going to start getting up at 6am every morning to go for a run usually lasts three days maximum. In the end, excuses start emerging: it’s cold outside, just a few more hours in bed or, the worst of them all, I’ll do it tomorrow.
Do it today. Do it until you are physically unable to do it.
A Young Dayne Beams perfecting his Front Squat technique before becoming a premiership winning best and fairest player with Collingwood Australian Rules Football Club!
Everyone has to start from somewhere. Champions aren’t made in a day; it’s a long process. Granted, it’s grueling and will reduce you to tears sometimes, but that makes the outcome all the more sweeter.
Learn to enjoy the process, because the euphoria felt upon achievement is one of life’s great treasures.
For my own example, in my first PIT session, four years ago. I held a front bridge for one and a half minutes, collapsed and threw up. Eight weeks later, I collapsed after another front bridge and vomited again – only this time I’d been going for 11 and half minutes.
I said before, that by being lucky enough to be a part of THE PIT, half the battle has been won. Particularly over summer, not many other people your age will be flinging heavy-duty ropes, boxing, lifting super-human weights, sending your head through the roof on a chin up or wrestling a medicine ball on a weeknight.
You are doing more; you are going the extra yard. When your competition rolls around and you’ve adopted THE PIT ethos, you will feel this unbridled confidence that you are physically more prepared than the next guy, and just about unstoppable.
And finally, the final lesson: leadership.
THE PIT is loud and vibrant. A good session amid the blood, sweat and tears is barbells rattling, exhaled grunts, screams of encouragement and the best of The Offspring that Joey has to offer.
The encouragement factor is enormous to THE PIT environment. Everyone is vying for the same goal: to be bigger, faster, stronger!
World Martial Arts Champion Mathew Parks Leaving behind a trail of Blood Sweat and Tears on his way to multiple world titles!
Help your fellow athlete, go through the pain and euphoria only felt in THE PIT, then take it back to your club or organisation and lead.
In this place, you will have friends for life. They may not be the best friends you’ll have, but see them down the street and you will most certainly stop for a friendly chat. After all you’ve been through something huge with them.
Not many places will you find grown men crying, young kids nearly drowning in their own sweat from physical exertion or girls giving it their all, and depositing fresh spew into the garden. Certainly won’t find that at any other gym. Although Saturday night, main street in Broadbeach is perhaps the only place you’ll witness similar activities!
PIT athletes, the battle is half won. You are training in the best facility in the country – a space that most people would use to park their car! Reflect on what’s being said here. Hopefully this article maybe changes your attitude to training in THE PIT or maybe it reinforces what is necessary to get to that next level.
Have a super break. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year – and then go dominate.
This has been a PIT public service announcement from,
Matthew Lodge