USAWA

How ’bout a long winded reply?
Yeah the, “let’s compare what I do to everyone else’s what they can do” thinking is the most unfair way to treat yourself. This whole lifting thing is sooo much more than HOW MUCH you lift. How much desire do you have? Enough to make sacrifices to get better? What’s better? More weight? Yes and no.
Can you sacrifice some weight on the bar right now to clean up that technique that you know ain’t quite right? Can you start making sure you get those 8 or 9 hours of sleep EVERY NIGHT to help recovery? Can you stretch some while watching TV? Hell, stretch during the commercials, you won’t miss a thing.
Can you decide to make yourself better? I just listed 3 things that will help you lift more without actually trying to lift more.
Speaking of lifting more, does a World Record show how much desire and sacrifice went with it? Nope.
Case in point: By the time I trained the Middle Finger Deadlift 5 times I was breaking the WR in my wt class by 25lbs. I almost SKIPPED that workout!! Dead tired after a 10+ hour workday. Didn’t want to do nothing. Told my self to just work some technique on this lift, get a good groove. My goal was not to break my PR by 44lbs. As I warmed up, the weight just kept going up. Nailed the easiest 300lb lift. Got up to 344 and made my self stop there. 5 workouts is NOT alot of desire and sacrifice. I’m proud of the lift but I’m not looking through my training notebook and seeing years of progression, mistakes, injuries, setback ,plateaus and breakthroughs.
My overhead(dis)ability is just the opposite. In 5 years of competitive Strongman, I think I’ve NOT bombed on the overhead event TWICE!! I’m surprised they let me compete. Teenagers blow by me. I have fought like hell for every 10 lbs. I add to my overhead lifts. I’m sure that to those who see me fail year after year, I must look like an idiot. What they don’t know is I’ve learned more about me and my training in the past 5 years than I have in the previous 20. The mental toughness I’ve learned is hard to describe. With my overhead lifting, I AM able to look back in my training notebook and see years of progression, mistakes, injuries, setback ,plateaus and breakthroughs. More important than seeing that I lift more weight, I see how much BETTER of a person and of a lifter I’ve become. If you worry about being better the big weights come.
Competitions are fun, they give me goals to shoot towards. They give me a chance to commune with the other silly folks who like to lift heavy things. Competitions are NEVER about beating anybody, except me. I know my desire. I know my sacrifices. The only person I care to impress is myself. Any other way would be unfair.

Troy & James – GREAT POSTS!!

I enjoyed reading about the things that “go thru your minds” as you continue your journey in your lifting career. I will tell you that as time goes by many of your ideas and philosophies will change (or better termed evolved?) as you continue down the road of physicial development.

But I can see both of you have the right mindset for the longhaul – and that’s the important thing. Al

PS Every day in the gym is a personal battle between you and the weight in front of you.

I measure myslef with a yard stick.
ET

You must not be very tall.

Im sorry, I didnt realize we were talking about height

Well, i guess that’s the long and the short of it.

JEsse would have said something about a micrometer
ET

Yes, a joke of that CALIPER would be worthy of this conversation.

Not ever around to defend myself. Come on ET we all know all those heavy lifts are a way to make up for a lack of something somewhere….

Jesse

Nope, just part of the packaged deal.
ET