I say this all the time, and it bears repeating – your success in fitness (and life) hinges upon your ability to set and work towards worthwhile goals.
Not sure how to set worthwhile goals? Click below….
This is especially important for me because, honestly, I’m not one of those people who just likes to workout. I need a target on which to set my sights…. Otherwise the La-Z-Boy and a guitar are more appealing than the gym.
Stretching my abilities is what led me to kettlebells, obstacle racing, and most recently – powerlifting.
Here are a few things I was reminded of:
Have Standards
… and set them high (or low in the case of squats).
I didn’t just want to lift a lot of weight – I wanted to be a good weight-lifter. To me, that meant making all my attempts look professional. Deep on the squat, technical on the bench, and safe spine on the deadlift. Yes, that did mean choosing conservative weights, but I wasn’t about to get called out on technicalities.
What are your standards? What qualities do you demand of yourself no matter the circumstances?
Embrace (Slow) Progress
I’m pretty sure I added 10lbs to my bench press over the course of 3 months. That’s not much, but for me, it’s progress on a real weakness.
As you get stronger, strength gains get harder and harder to achieve. Each pound added to a lift can represent hours of work.
This is inversely analogous to weight loss. That first pound may drop no problem. But that last one…
Of course, quick jumps over plateaus do happen, but most of the time you have to respect the baby steps.
Don’t be Scared (or take yourself too seriously)
If you’ve been around me for more than 5 minutes, you probably already know I’m a goof-ball. I don’t mind doing weird stuff (like lifting weights in a singlet in public) if it leads to an enriching experience.
Is there anything non-life-threatening that’s holding you back from doing something you want/need to do? You have the right to be scared or uncomfortable. But do it anyway.
Take Responsibility
I think this was the first real competitive event I’d done since…. the last time I wore a singlet. You see, I wrestled for a (very) brief time in high school. It was probably the only sport I had real potential in.
The appeal of wrestling to me was the aspect of individual performance – no team to blame or coast with. This goes double for powerlifting. There is no “opponent” other than the bar and plates. But they can always be heavier. So really, it’s just the you of today vs. the you of yesterday.
When the entire goal rests on something as simple as “pick it up and put it down,” distractions have no place. Neither do excuses.
There’s Always Somebody Better
At this point, I’m pretty sure it takes both hands to count the number of records set and broken by Chase (pictured kneeling on my left). Confidence is important, but trying to keep up with a guy like him would break me. Refer to previous point – you vs. you.
Show Up
… it’s 80% of life as Woody Allen would say.
Though I’m still not even close to “entry-level” strong compared to most lifters, I came home with some bling. It goes to show that just playing the game is halfway to winning.
Bonus: Insanity
Did I mention the frigid Spartan Race 18 hours later?
…. But that’s a story for another day.