Pissed Off, Crying, Listening to Mudvayne....

....or as it was originally titled "Stress is stress."

It has come to my attention that I can be a complete idiot some times.  Now before you starting weighing in your opinions on that one let me explain why I am an idiot as well as a hypocrite.

I am all for pushing through tough times.  Pushing that extra bit when it seems the hardest.  Giving it your all and then giving more.  It's something I've taken pride in lately, pushing myself to the limit, especially with weightlifting.  However, I am possibly to the point of negative returns.  It's not that I've over reached on lifting, it's that I've over reached on life and working.

My current work schedule looks like this:

Monday 8-5, 6:30-8 (Lift mid-day)
Tuesday 8-5, 6:30-8 (Lift evening)
Wednesday 8-5, 5:30-6:30 (Lift mid-day)
Thursday 8-5, 5:30-6:30 (Lift mid-day)
Friday 8-5, 6:30-8 (No lift)
Saturday 9-10 (Lift with team)
Sunday 10-1 (No lift)

Yep.  That's me, working 7 days a week, and attempting to lift 5 days a week.  I'm not saying that I'm ridiculously busy during all those work hours.  I'm also not saying that I don't like working.  I LOVE all my jobs.  What I'm saying, and here's a friendly reminder to everyone, STRESS IS STRESS.  YOUR BODY CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PHYSICAL STRESS AND MENTAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL/EMOTIONAL STRESS.

Now after that friendly little reminder I will tell you that my lifting has begun to progress in the wrong damn direction.  I find myself exhausted, weary, and irritable.  I come home at night too tired to cook and when I finally muster the energy I'm too tired to eat.  I try to work on my recovery routine only to fall asleep on the foam roller.  I try to stick to my normal lifting schedule but the physical stress adding to the mental stress is taking its toll on my body and my body is rebelling.

I can be quite stubborn though.  I keep trucking right along, honoring the commitments I made to be working this much.  I keep trying to push the lifting.  Lifting is my stress reliever but I'm too stressed to lift well and not lifting well is stressing me out.  It's a wicked, vicious cycle that often ends in tears of frustration.

Today I was feeling pretty determined to get in some good lifting.  I was hoping to just hit some solid lifts that I could build on next week.  Snatches started off great until I started missing lifts at a weight I've been able to power snatch before.  It started messing with my mind so I decided rather than trying to beat it to death I'd move on.  Push presses actually went very well.  So well in fact that I push pressed for reps more than I actually could snatch today.  Moving onto squats...yeahhhhhh.....I barely hit triple digit weight.....for one grueling painful rep....a weight that I've hit for high reps.  Needless to say I was overly frustrated with it.

All the work I've put into lifting over the last few months feels completely derailed.  I'm exhausted.  I'm aware I've done this to myself.  I'm too stubborn to make a change to my work schedule because that will change in a couple of weeks and I can't help but think I can gut it out.

But I'm still trying to push it all to the limits....

And that's how I found myself pissed off, crying, listening to Mudvayne....

*Note - this might not have actually been the song on the radio at the time but I know a Mudvayne song was playing at some time during lifting.  Ha!

It's Not Every 4 Years, It's Every Day

The London 2012 Olympics are rock-n-rolling along right now.  It's inspiring to see the best athletes in the world competing, their passion and dedication shining through.  It all culminates in a proud moment of triumph or a heart wrenching moment of defeat.  In case you need a visual, check out any of the Olympic commercials narrated by Morgan Freeman.  Those darn things will bring a tear to your eye...

What the average everyday citizen forgets is that the Olympic Games really aren't every four years.  For these athletes it's every day of their life for four years straight.  It's something most people can't even imagine.  Spending hours every day, training, perfecting, planning.  HOURS every DAY for four YEARS straight in quest of the ultimate prize, an Olympic Gold Medal.

There are many sacrifices along the way to achieving even the opportunity to compete at such a high level. These athletes will sacrifice time spent with their family and friends to get one more training session or recovery work in.  They will put career plans on hold, taking lower paying jobs that allow them to train and travel as often as needed.  For many of these athletes there is so little sponsorship, if any, that they have to bank on the good will of others to donate money that goes towards paying rent, buying groceries, paying for travel to events, and all the other basic needs of a high level athlete. 

It's not just the athletes that have to sacrifice things to get to the next level.  Parents will sacrifice their time and money to make sure these athletes succeed.  I imagine the desire to see your child achieve their dreams of getting on that podium is almost as intense as the desire to be the one on the podium.  It's a heart warming experience to see parent truly dedicated to the success of their children.

Coaches will sacrifice time spent with their family and friends to help that athlete get one more rep and just a little bit closer to perfection.  They'll give up weekends and evenings to carefully plan which events to attend and which to pass on to get to the next level.  Wake up early to drive an athlete to an event so the athlete can relax and focus on what they need to do.  Coaching these athletes is a whole different level of stress.  Your knowledge, expertise, and guidance of these individuals is being put to the test.  Together as a coach, athlete, and team you are laying it all on the line. 

All of these individuals will spend those hours every day for years on end making those sacrifices the average individual can't even fathom to achieve a singular moment in time that may only last 30 seconds.  It's every day for four straight years to achieve that brief moment in time where they raise your flag and play your national anthem as you stand on the topmost podium breathing in the glory, crying the tears of success that has been years in the making.  For those athletes it's NOT every four years, it's every...single...day.