What it Takes

I feel like I should warn you in advance that this post might ramble more than usual. I've been thinking about what I'm about to write the majority of the summer. I'm still not sure if I am one hundred percent clear on every point, but this forum is my place to put it out there. Maybe it will resonate with other people, maybe it will make you question my sanity. Either way I will be as honest and coherent as I know how to be. I do hope, if nothing else, I will be entertaining.

The question that has run through my mind in one form or another for a long while now is pretty simple.

WHY IN THE HELL DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!?!?

This, of course, refers to powerlifting. I don't for one minute consider myself anything special, most days I'm not even sure I consider myself an athlete. I work for what I want and I work hard. The last training cycle I worked after dropping bumper plates on my toe, through the death of a beloved pet, and through hip discomfort that made me wonder if there was something seriously wrong. 

As for the not feeling like an athlete part what can I say, sometimes I get dumb and fall into comparing myself to runners, wrestlers, body builders and I don't feel I come close to measuring up. I shake it off, but I'd be a liar if I didn't tell you I fall into that trap far too often. I see them as athletes, myself not so much.

What powerlifting takes, at least for me, is everything I have to give. If I am being honest it should take more than I have to give sometimes, because I am not above digging in my heels and not giving one hundred percent to the work I don't want to do. I understand my reluctance and digging in my heels has to stop if I want to be the best I can be. To that end I have started adding work that is super hard for me to every open gym session. I know I won't improve overnight, but I am going to put in the work.

Powerlifting takes a lot more confidence than I have in myself and my abilities. My awesome friend/videographer/moral support/handler commented after Regionals that I was the calmest and happiest she had ever seen me at a meet. I may not have a lot of self-confidence, but I recognize that I have worked hard and all the worry in the world isn't going to make my performance better. I have come to realize that I need to trust my training and rein in the catastrophic thoughts running through my brain.

Powerlifting might look easy on the surface, something it would seem like anyone could do. I agree with that on a basic level. Almost anyone can learn to squat, bench press, and deadlift. To perform those lifts well, to be competitive, takes time, hard work, discipline, and perseverance. The amount of  work put in by people like Stacy Burr, Marisa Inda, Stefi Cohen, Mark Bell, anyone at Westside Barbell to name a few is jaw dropping. I belong to several powerlifting groups and the people in them are phenomenal: they make the lifts look easy. The thing to remember is that to make it look easy you have to put in hours upon hours of work year after year. There are times the work is awful, a grind that will take every ounce of discipline you have to get through. Then the times I live for, the times I hope come during a competition when the bar feels light and explodes up with no issues. If you think powerlifting is easy and you can just pick up a barbell and be proficient I would like to suggest you watch "Westside Vs. The World" (you can find it on Netflix) to see what it takes.

I have been told I make the lifts look easy. I can assure you they never feel easy. There are so many cues to remember to be sure each lift is as close to perfect as I can make them. The problem is that due to the amount of time I have put into practicing my muscles know what to do. There are times, often in competition, when my mind gets the best of me and won't let my body just do what it knows to do. I get "stuck in my head". In fact one of my mantras while I wait for my turn on the platform is "get out of your head".  One of these days I hope to be successful in that endeavor.

Powerlifting is my passion and I love it. I can probably sum up my previous ramblings much more succinctly.... and if I had thought of that before now I could have saved you a lot of time. That's me: if there's an easier way to do something be sure to do it the hard way anyway.

Let's see:

1. Powerlifting takes all you have to give.

2. Powerlifting may look easy when you watch a competition, but you aren't seeing the hours, days, weeks, months, and years of hard work that went into the lifts you see.

3. The work needs to be done no matter how you feel. I know this isn't unique to powerlifting.

4. Don't overthink.

Reading back over this list I guess this applies to life in general, not just sports. Huh, maybe I am smarter than I think...

This is on the wall at my happy place. I read it continuously when I don't want to do the work. #noquit

Thanks for reading!