don't be a quitter

I grasped the frigid handle of the front door and swung it open. The first thing that caught my eye was a group of athletes upside down against the wall. They would kick up sporadically then flop down after a sweat inducing 30 seconds of attempting to breath upside down. My gymnastics years flashed back to me, I recalled myself doing 2-3 minute handstand holds and spending countless hours practicing the perfect handstand in my basement. My goal was always to get a strict press to handstand, but that goal was immediately abandoned after I messed up my wrist. 

Back to the handstands, these athletes were finishing their warm up and I had arrived just barely in time for the workout. They finished their handstands and we all grudgingly pulled out an one hundred pound assault bike from where they were lined up like an army against the wooden boxes that have wreaked havoc on many people’s shins. After the assault bikes were all lined up in the middle of the room the clock started counting down.

Our coach shouted, “3, 2, 1, GO!” so we started pedaling fiercely as if in a race against time. We had 14 minutes and 59 seconds left on that bike. As if these 15 torturous minutes weren’t enough, I made the stupid mistake of letting myself slip one negative thought through my mind. At first it was one, “You could of done those handstands if you hadn’t hurt your wrist,” but then it kept getting worse; “You are so stupid, you missed out on an entire year of opportunities because of one mistake. You ruined everything, and I bet if you had both wrists healthy you could make this bike go a lot faster.” Soon enough I had tears welling in my eyes and I let my feet off the pedals. Someone encouraged me to get moving, so I took a deep breath and tried to get a handle on my thoughts. Positive: “You can still bike, you can run and squat, all things happen for a reason, this is making you a stronger athlete mentally.”

The entire workout was like a teeter totter, my mind running back and forth between optimism and narcissism. When it was finally over I was proud to call out my results and I realized that I didn’t do that bad compared to two handed people. I’m not saying comparison is good by any means, but in all honesty it reassured me that I am at an okay place in my training and that I’m not losing athleticism even though I can’t work out at 100% physically.

I felt like giving up, I really did. I was already planning what I was going to do with all my free time that would no longer be spent at the gym, but then a quote by Lance Armstrong reminded me, “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or even a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” I’d rather have a handicapped arm for a year than to live in the presence of failure for the rest of my life.

Every so often days like these occur and that’s when I really have to tune in and focus on being positive. There are always going to be days when we feel like quitting, and things just aren’t going right. Those are the days that we have to take a step back and get real with ourselves. Is it really as bad as it seems? If so what can we do to fix it? Sometimes the answer is to just keep showing up. Eventually the downer days will lead up to a day or a week where we feel stronger than ever, where each rep is effortless.

I’m really looking forward to that week and I hope it happens soon, but in the meantime I guess this means I need to suck it up and keep moving forward. :)

Photo Creds:

https://www.facebook.com/649492038474180/photos/pb.649492038474180.-2207520000.1416023427./706479106108806/?type=3&theater

http://www.pinterest.com/tashanixoxo/weightlifting/

Champion

One day she signed away her life

and never turned back

She toiled for hours a day

with slow results that discouraged her profoundly

But she kept going

because she knew that champions never quit

Her friends were scared of her obsession

they left her out and slowly forgot

But she didn’t mind

because she knew that champions make sacrifices

Her family complained of her disappearance

they called her impolite

But she still trained

because she knew that champions are never absent

Her coach forced her to take days off

he said “even the Russians take breaks!”

But regardless she trained in her mind

because she knew that champions don’t win in the gym

Her supporters told her “great job!”

they said “you can do it!”

But she was already aware

because she knew that champions have faith in themselves

She never won a gold medal

and never qualified for the Olympics

But she never gave up

because determination is what makes a champion

~

A Few Tips That Will Make Your Life More Fulfilling

1) Don’t let anything own you. Learn to let go of the past; focus on the present and creating a better future.

You are at a national competition and you just bombed out on the snatch. There really is no need to continue the competition because you have no chance of placing, but you know deep down that placements don’t matter. What really matters is grit; how much will you have to keep going. You decide that you need to make these lifts, so you take a deep breath and focus on hitting your clean and jerks. You forget about your missed snatches because they are in the past and they don’t matter. You PR on your last clean and jerk, leaving you satisfied knowing that you were able to come back and make your last lifts.

2) Stay resilient, just go with the flow. Life is never going to happen exactly as you plan it to, so make plans, just know that they may change. Don’t get hung up on the fact that something didn’t go your way. Just try to make your situation positive.

One day you catch a lift funny and end up tearing your rotator cuff. You go to a physical therapist and learn that you will not be allowed to put any weights above your head for a few weeks. You could go home and cry about it, or you could go to the gym and squat. You know that your squats could use some work, so you decide to focus on getting the strongest legs you’ve ever had. A few weeks later you come back stronger than ever.

3) Stay calm; there is nothing more annoying than someone who gets angry and has freaks out all the time. The worst thing that could happen is that life goes on.

You are angry at your coach for not letting you make one last attempt at a PR that you’ve been chasing for months. You want to throw a chair at the wall because you knew that if you had one more chance you would have stood it up. You still have 5 sets of 5 back squats to do at 90% and gym rules don’t allow throwing chairs, so you decide to calm down and dial it in to hit all of your back squats. Life goes on and no chairs get broken. You realize you have your entire life to lift weights and you should be thankful your coach lets you max out once a week.

4) Don’t be afraid to try. If you are going to try don’t just half-ass it either. You either do it or don’t.

You just loaded the bar to a heavy weight that you’ve never hit before. You aren’t sure if you can make this lift. If you have this kind of attitude that bar could potentially smash your neck and break you. You need to be confident that you can hit this weight. Imagine yourself making this lift then approach the bar and show it whose boss. You are the only person who can stop you. Remember that you, as a human, are literally limitless in your capacity. You can do anything you put your mind to.

5) Set goals, but follow processes. Goals, like life, can change and often when people think about their goals they become overwhelmed. All you can really do is focus on showing up everyday and beating on your skill. Everyday you have the chance to get better so use it.

For someone who wants to go to the Olympics in weightlifting a good process goal would be to show up everyday with an optimistic attitude and give 110% in training. Walk in the gym with the knowledge that you could lift more than you’ve ever lifted before. A good process goal for non-max out days is to hit all of your lifts and make them consistent.

6) Don’t compare yourself to others. It sucks the fun out of your life. You are you. No one else knows your entire story, no one else has gone through everything that you have gone through.

Someone 10 years younger than you just squatted your PR for 10 reps. You start to get down on yourself and you tell yourself that maybe you aren’t that great after all. Then that person tells you that they have been lifting for 4 years and you realize that you were stupid for comparing yourself because you haven’t been lifting as long. Remember that there is always more to every story and never squat with your ego.

7) Don’t apologize for who you are. Keep it real.

People will love you for who you are, and if they don’t then who cares? You don’t need their negativity in your life; you have things to do. Don’t say you’re sorry if you’re really not. Some people are sensitive and here is my advice to them: SUCK IT UP. Life is a mental game and the strongest survive. However do not be an insensitive asshole just for the fun of it. You should focus on inspiring others, not putting them down. (If the real you is an insensitive asshole then maybe you should focus on being positive for your own good)

Everyday is a new day to wake up with a new attitude; you choose. No one can make you feel anything without your consent.