Iron, Blood and Soil

P R Reddall talks about the transformative power of weightlifting, not just for the body, but for the mind and spirit, embodying an Odinic philosophy that champions strength, motivation, and counter-cultural values.

What better way to begin a New Year than to hit it hard with an article combining the finest triad of all: iron, blood and soil?

I am not the first writer to promote the value of lifting weights and I won’t be the last. The subject is not copyrighted to anyone and I make no apologies for offering my own take on the matter.

Arktos readers will have different body types, different metabolisms and varying levels of testosterone, but the fact is that working out with a barbell will make you feel good, and when you feel good you will have good thoughts and you will do good things.

Some years ago I built my own gym, as I found it too time consuming to travel to and from a pay-monthly gym, and it was frustrating to arrive there and have to wait for the use of a particular piece of equipment. My gym is no bigger than a large shed, but it houses a squat rack, a barbell, some iron and a punchbag. Money was tight but my motivation was high. We have all heard the saying, “Hard times create strong men” et cetera, but how about this:

“Weight lifting creates high motivation; high motivation creates great things.”

The modern world saps us of motivation and the technology which was supposed to make our lives easier actually uses up one’s free time. Therefore I wanted a routine which did not take long to complete.

In my book Towards Awakening: An Odinic Perspective, I suggested first building strength with low rep compound movements, then progressing to a higher repetition routine to promote hypertrophy. I still hold to this, as getting stronger is the bedrock to a good, healthy physique. However, I recently read up on Mike Mentzer’s High Intensity Training method (H.I.T.) and I like the well-thought-out idea of both training to failure on one big, epic set and then allowing the body sufficient time to recuperate. His workouts are brief and the rest period is long enough to allow full recovery of the central nervous system, which is taxed when doing sets to failure (however, Mike Mentzer firmly believed that going to genuine all-out failure flicked the muscle-growth switch to ‘on’).

It certainly looks like weightlifting is fast becoming a vital part of our Counter-Culture movement. This is good as esoterically the gym has much to teach, and exoterically, well, everyone admires a well-turned-out, masculine man.

The beauty of weightlifting in Odinic terms is that one can visualise the archetype of Thor or a folk hero such as Sigurd during training. The gods are much more than simple archetypes, of course, but bringing Thor to mind in this way is a great aid to training.

With a fine physique, a man is able to attract a good woman and thus begin a family. There is no argument against making an effort to create a good strong body. Nothing anyone can say will make me believe that it is better to be a physical wreck rather than strong and capable. And even if one is in poor shape at present, lifting weights with good form and high intensity will improve your mood, your motivation and your life in general. It seems to be the correct thing to state that it is good to get a medical check-up before beginning strenuous activity. But if your doctor looks in a worse physical condition than you do, find a fitter doctor.

Now the muscles grow, the testosterone increases, depression fades away, the jawline improves, pretty women look your way and the leftists get jittery. Such fun!

Buy a motorcycle, tell your lady to jump on the back, get some land, plant vegetables and own chickens, a cow and a dog. Worship the gods and ancestors and be filled with joy. Teach your children to do the same. Say it is “Tradition”.

There you have it. An Odinic plan for 2024. And it all began by building a gym.

Sig and Wunjo — Victory and Joy!

Lift, smile and overcome!