The Making of the Stonequest Series

In 1998 I bench pressed 305 pounds on decline and 285 pounds on regular. I am proud of these achievements, because of my ectomorphic body type. Some people are just gifted with strength. I am not one of these people. I train naturally without any synthetic help, so all I achieve is through hard work and diligence. I was never a weak person; I just did not have that extra edge that most athletes have. When I started lifting I could bench 135 for 12 without any training. That is my natural benchmark. In 1999 I could do that same weight for a set of 25! That is what intense training will get you.

Unfortunately, intense training will also get you injuries. My left shoulder is now chronically injured and prevents me from lifting very heavy. The injury was sustained in 1998. I attribute it to the narrow grip I had previously used while benching. I feel that it put an unhealthy stress on the shoulder joint.

In 2005 I was able to reach the same strength I had in 1999. I benched 225 for a set of 6! That was my best ever. At this highpoint my shoulder injury resurfaced. I ignored it for a while; this was foolish. At night I could not sleep on my left side without pain. It was not until a couple of weeks of this that I realized it was probably not a good thing to ignore. As a result I stopped lifting entirely for a time.

In the Summer of 2005 I was able to do qutie a lot with my biceps. One day I was showing off for my lifting partner. I was doing seated curls with 65 pound dumbells. Yes! It is true! I did about 4 or 5 on each arm. It was then that I felt a twinge in my left shoulder. I had aggravated the joint again. It was a foolish thing to do. Now I never use anything over 50 pounds on biceps.  The insertion of the bicep is actually quite high on the shoulder, near the top of the joint. This was where I was already weak and exacerbated the previous injury.

Basically, lifting is not really good for you.

I will still lift though. I enjoy it too much. I am just more carefuly now. My goal is to have 17 inch biceps. This will be difficult as they have been 16 for the past few years. It is nice to have goals though.

 Arnold Schwarzenegger is 60!!! He is being celebrated in this month’s issue of Muscle & Fitness. There was a great article I was reading today. It was most insipiring.

Arnold was decsribing his first experience in the gym in his village in Austria. It was all business there - an underground place resembling a dungeon. There was chalk everywhere and people would take the chalk and write down their workouts on the stone walls. It sounded like a really cool place. Arnold would do 20 sets of an excercise such as cleans, drawing a line for each one. If there were only 18 marks on the wall, he knew he had two more to do before he could leave. That kind of mentality allowed him to travel far in life. Reaching goals is very important. When you write them down in chalk, real or metaphorical, you make them honest. It is motivating - everyone can see it. This is how I view my writing. I have made a comittment and I am going to reach my goal. Even failure, though repugnant, does not daunt me. The possibility must always exist, but even that outcome is far better than to never have tried at all.

Yoda would say, “Do or do not, there is no try.”

I am going to “do” in order to reach my goals.

May you all “do” the same with yours.

 Sincerely,

 Dave Miller

Hello, I am Duane Culbertson and welcome to my web-log. I am very excited to have my own web-site, and I hope people will find it interesting. I will supply information regarding the Stoneseekers and the Stonequest Series here. This weblog will cover related topics and provide information about myself and my hobbies. In my writing I do my best to be as authentic as possible. Some may find this concept ludicrous “You are writing science-fiction/fantasy! Why do you need to be accurate?!!”

Well, the answer is that I want to stay consistent. Any universe must have laws that govern all that is possible. The Realm I have created is based on our own world. Therefore, I will do my best not to violate any conventional laws of physics in my writing. I have three degrees in science & engineering; however, I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect. Like everyone else, I make mystakes.

I am not a metalurgist, herbalist, accupuncturist, magician, physicist or computer programer. I have a degree in biochemisty & moelcular biology, but I am not a genetics expert. My expertise is my diversity. My other two degrees are in chemical engineering (primary major) and (masters) polymer science. I know a little about a lot. This has advantages and disadvantages. This weblog will hopefully remedy the latter. If you are an expert or maven in some field please let me know if I have strayed from the truth in my writing. I encourage posts from all people as long as they are courteous. I have many interests, yet I have not allocated the time to learn about them as much as I would like. I think this is true for most of us.

My main hobby and interest is in swords. I am looking forward to getting my first steel sword very soon. I am proud to be an integral member of Forte Swordplay:

 www.forteswordplay.com

We are an eclectic group of sword enthusiasts with backgrounds ranging from tai-chi and kendo to wing-chun and rapier fencing. Our main focus is on the German Longsword with an emphasis on the interpretation of the Leichtenauer system. Please visit the website for more information. I am the primary webmaster, so I would be happy to provide additional details, and I welcome your comments.

In time I hope to make available videos of our sword-fighting interpretations. First, I just need to get a digital camcorder. Simple enough.

Well, that is all for now. I am very happy to be on the web, and I look forward to building my fan-base. Please feel free to post here with any recommendations you may have.

Thanks & enjoy your stay,

 Duane Culbertson