The Other Side of Strong

Early in my coaching career, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to intern under a National-level Olympic Weightlifting Coach. This Coach had come a long way from where he started and I think he saw the drive in me to do a similar thing. 

Part of my internship, of course, involved lifting in his gym. I didn’t realize quite how fortunate I was at the time, but I was surrounded by seasoned lifters who were incredibly strong and had a lot to teach me. 

Here’s how I blew my opportunity to get the most out of my time at that gym:

I tried to will myself to be farther along than I really was. Because I was intimidated by and admired the lifters at the gym who were stronger than me…which was everyone there, I thought that I had to catch up. I focused on proving how strong I was rather than diligently increasing my strength and working technique. I did this by overshooting my percentages and stacking programs rather than following the plan that was laid out for me. 

This led to predictable results, I didn’t get stronger and made myself look like an asshole. 

It took me about nine months to realize that by overshooting every training block I was severely limiting my progress and setting the worst example. I also lost the respect of the lifters I looked up to. 

Getting strong is a much longer process than any of us want it to be. 

It’s also a process that you have to love. Counterintuitively, if you make it about the outcome, things won’t go quite as well as you want them to. 

Because I’m obstinate, I usually have to learn all of my lessons by getting kicked in the teeth. I share the above story in hopes that you don’t have to learn in the same painful way I did. But if that’s your style, I respect it and will see you on the other side…