A rivalry increases focus, effort and performance and brings out the best of both sides of the competition. This is true not only on the athletic field, with siblings, in business, in establishing a territory, as well as, in many other walks of life. Rivalries can and do shape how we derive our thoughts.

A great example of this effect is the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln purposely selected three men as part of his Cabinet, who politically ran against him and had sharply opposing views: Attorney General Edward Bates, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase and Secretary of Sate William H. Seward. Creating this “Team of Rivals” and listening to their conflicting opinions brought greater challenges and these men with their disconsonant interactions turned America for the greater good of all. 

Rivalries move us to think differently, compete differently, train differently and even test us in unsuspecting ways. This can be seen in the athletic training room during rehabilitation, whereby we are charged with working as hard as possible to equivocate the strength of the injured appendage with the strength of the uninjured limb. Pitting one side of the body against the other is not only for rehab, but coaches and healthy athletes have used this technique in training throughout the advent of strength development history to make sure results are maximal.

Adding paint and dedicating a special Pendulum Machine for a ‘rival opponent’ in your weight room will elicit greater challenges, an incredible training response to Get Strong for the greater good of all.

The Pendulum Seated Squat Pro