In an end of the year bit of introspection and retrospection, I keep coming back to the things we forget when it comes to training. I'm as guilty as the next of forgetting certain aspects to my training. I may not do some auxiliary lifts as much as I should or not be diligent with rehab or even forget to focus. Outside of all that there is one thing that shines above the rest I think many people forget along the way. It's a simple thing really: having fun.
Many of the weightlifters that I know and train with on a regular basis, the ones that are truly serious about competing, the ones that keep coming back after injuries and surgeries and let-downs, are just like I am. We find the destination we're looking for, we plan the path and the process that will get us there, and somewhere along the way we've forgotten why we started doing this in the first place. We get so wrapped up in the process, thinking that it's the only way to get to that destination, that we have forgotten to have fun with what we're doing.
The process and following it to the exact becomes an obsession. The closer we get to the destination, the more obsessive we become. Any slight deviation from the path and the process will send us over the edge, down a spiraling staircase of emotion, hitting every step on the way. Frustration, anger, sadness, the full gamut of negative emotion. Because it's become an obsession its hard to step back, take a breath, and refocus. It's even harder when you feel you're traveling that path alone; the path, the process, the obsession becomes so single-minded in it's intent.
There is nothing wrong with being single-minded, determined, focused, dedicated. The problem happens when those things so overwhelm the person that it stops being fun. Like many before me, I started lifting weights because I liked it. I had no set goal other than to enjoy it. I started competing in weightlifting because I enjoy competition.
Over 9 years later, I'm still competing and still trying to find my limits. Over those years there have been many highs and many lows to my performance but I keep coming back. Maybe I'm the proverbial glutton for punishment. Mostly I just love this sport. I might not be training optimally or to my full potential, it happens. I have definitely had a full on roller-coaster year of battling injuries, coming back stronger than ever, hitting new PRs, and then doing what I feel was my absolute worst in a major competition.
I know that I have gotten myself wrapped up in the process. I have forgotten to have fun. I need replace days that leave me frustrated and aggravated and ready to scream. I need to replace them with days that look like this:
Or days with my teammates that look like this:
They're not top weights. Hell they probably aren't even technically-sound lifts. They are what we often forget......fun.
Many of the weightlifters that I know and train with on a regular basis, the ones that are truly serious about competing, the ones that keep coming back after injuries and surgeries and let-downs, are just like I am. We find the destination we're looking for, we plan the path and the process that will get us there, and somewhere along the way we've forgotten why we started doing this in the first place. We get so wrapped up in the process, thinking that it's the only way to get to that destination, that we have forgotten to have fun with what we're doing.
The process and following it to the exact becomes an obsession. The closer we get to the destination, the more obsessive we become. Any slight deviation from the path and the process will send us over the edge, down a spiraling staircase of emotion, hitting every step on the way. Frustration, anger, sadness, the full gamut of negative emotion. Because it's become an obsession its hard to step back, take a breath, and refocus. It's even harder when you feel you're traveling that path alone; the path, the process, the obsession becomes so single-minded in it's intent.
There is nothing wrong with being single-minded, determined, focused, dedicated. The problem happens when those things so overwhelm the person that it stops being fun. Like many before me, I started lifting weights because I liked it. I had no set goal other than to enjoy it. I started competing in weightlifting because I enjoy competition.
Over 9 years later, I'm still competing and still trying to find my limits. Over those years there have been many highs and many lows to my performance but I keep coming back. Maybe I'm the proverbial glutton for punishment. Mostly I just love this sport. I might not be training optimally or to my full potential, it happens. I have definitely had a full on roller-coaster year of battling injuries, coming back stronger than ever, hitting new PRs, and then doing what I feel was my absolute worst in a major competition.
I know that I have gotten myself wrapped up in the process. I have forgotten to have fun. I need replace days that leave me frustrated and aggravated and ready to scream. I need to replace them with days that look like this:
Or days with my teammates that look like this:
They're not top weights. Hell they probably aren't even technically-sound lifts. They are what we often forget......fun.
