There were quite a few powerlifting posts in my Instagram feed this weekend. And I noticed that it was not the biggest lifts that were the most amazing.... but it was the ones that were a surprise. Not the monster (affectionately!) who squatted well over 700#, but rather the lifter who looked like a 'regular dude' (or dudette) and still pulled, or pushed a relatively big number. That 'wow, I didn't expect that' moment is pretty sweet. I again realize we are so, so much more than what you can see.
I know that for some people, seeing the biggest dudes do the crazy lifts is the only thing that charges them up. But for me, I like the element of surprise.....
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That's me. Talking to my weight. I have put on a few (ahem) pounds. Nothing major; but since I am still wanting to lose a few pounds (10 to go), ... and because I know I have been less than disciplined, ... it's kinda important to call myself on it.
So ... here I go.... now talking to myself: It's not sneaking up on you. It's not quiet. It's not even an IT. It's YOU, and choices YOU make. And I applaud you for having some compassion and enjoying that pizza. And that wine. And The Keg table bread and butter (all of it). And the midway at the CNE. But don't let that be the new habit. Compassion... and Control. In balance. Not one or the other. I restarted the clock on MyFitnessPal today: and will track from here, fresh. No baggage for the better or the worse. Now, I'll go eat some blueberries! Who says struggle is to be sympathized with? Certainly not Seth Godin. This one really resonated with me.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/08/the-lottery-winners-a-secret-of-unhappiness.html I really do feel fortunate about the struggle in the gym. It's not crazy or anything (I have seen some others suffering @ the gym..., but I am not nearly so hard-core). Nevertheless, unlike some other things in my life, it does not come easy. It is a struggle. I have mentioned it to a number of people as a peculiarity that somehow this was was part of it's joy. But I didn't have better words for it, until now. Thanks, Seth. Today a lady and I exchanged the usual casual hellos at the gym as we passed in the changeroom. "Morning" she said. "Have a good day". I responded in kind, to which she replied: "For sure. The worst part of my day is now over (pointing to the gym floor), so it's all good."
The rest is a brain ramble, pretty much just like it actually happened:
THERE IS NO WORST PART OF MY DAY!?!?! How amazing is that? I was in my first powerlifting meet yesterday. I hesitate to call it a competition; I pulled less weight than anyone. Well, except the guy that bombed out on his three benchpress attempts and didn't get to finish.
And I finally get the concept of only competing against yourself. I never understood it when golfers talked about it. And to be fair, I'm pretty sure a number of them (golfers and powerlifters) care a lot more about competing with the other participants than it being only about beating your best. But, I'm really not worried about the low weight, or my missed third attempt on bench. In fact, I'm really proud I tried for the 115# BP. I've never been able to do it in the gym before with the pause, & I was feeling really good. And maybe I could have gotten it if I was just a bit slower. But I actually tried something that had a goodly chance of failure ..... In front of a bunch of people. Because nobody wanted me to miss. It wasn't a competition at that moment; not against each other anyway. Just me and the bar. And everyone got it. And now I have numbers. A very clear place from which to improve. To measure progress. I was impressed by a lot of people yesterday. But I don't remember their numbers. Just their resolve. Me. The bar. It's so simple that it's hard to understand how I didn't get it before. But I do now. And that's progress too.... Jerimiah told me to work up to at least 140# for one every day for a week. Today is day 1.140 felt good so I went for 145...and then 150#. The pic is just the 140# .....Video evidence of the buck-and-a-half is on Instagram @rzales.
I am visiting Montreal this week... and went into our local office after a client visit, and Immediately ran into someone I trained on Project Management - in a 3 day session in Oct 2014.
She was like “Woah! Look at you, blah, blah….”. And reminded me that when I trained them, I had talked about adult learning, and how I had just joined a gym and was having to hold someones hand in order to squat, or I’d fall over. I guess I used it as an analogy to some other topic in the sessions. Anyway, I was 35# heavier then. And probably walking with a bit more swagger now. :) ......And she said … “I guess you figured it out . " Yeah, I guess I did! |
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