Chomping at the Bit- College Nationals

All the work is about to pay off. The pain of discipline shall show its worth. You're ready! Remember the days that hurt, the days that did not end, the sacrifice put towards this one moment, one moment to show how far you've come. Anxiousness creeps as a slow shiver up and down my back as I wait for my moment. I am the race horse chomping at the bit. Open the gates! Let me unleash my wrath in the pits!

The taste of competition fills the mouth, unleashing a hunger too vast to be satiated, only kept at bay until the chains are loosed and the battle begins. I crave the moment. The College Weightlifting Championships are upon us. It's our moment.

Move... that's what I'll do. Move violently to victory over myself, over my opponent the barbell. Move to be better, stronger, faster... Move to lift my world. 

What will you do in your moment?

Pirate Weightlifting

Nationals 2013

Consistency

Over the last few weeks of training one thing I have learned is consistency, which is one thing I haven't been lately. I kept altering my foot work and my mental approach towards the barbell which then makes for inconsistent successful lifts with the heavier and important weights. That's no bueno in the sport of weightlifting. Thank goodness for good coaching though. After Glenn Pendlay fixed my footwork, which of course my other coaches have been trying to fix for a while... sorry Dave and Alex haha... it led to more power and consistency. Along with the footwork, I fixed my mental game. I used to get over vamped up before lifting and I couldn't control myself whenever it came down to lifting. So I decided to use a more calm approach by staying under control until the last second where I unleash all my power into the barbell. This also made me more consistent with heavier weights which in turn made me a better weightlifter.

Sure I'm new to weightlifting and I needed to find my own style but I also should have listened  to my coaches more consistently because they have been in my shoes and know what works and what doesn't. They also kept telling me to stay consistent with whatever style I do choose as well which I didn't adhere to very well either. Through this trial and error I finally found the light that had been blinding me the entire time.

Through this trial and error though it rang true that consistency is vital to accomplishing goals. My take is to first, be consistent in listening to those who are trying to guide you to succeed. They're trying to teach you to be successful in your discipline so their words bear substantial meaning and importance for you. Second, is to consistently believe the leaders, teachers, and coaches appointed over you because without your trust in them they can't help you and will eventually lose the desire to help you. Third, consistently follow through with what you have learned. Consistent follow through leads to consistent gains towards the goals you've set out to accomplish. Also, with consistent follow through, more right decisions will be made as long as learning from mistakes takes place. More right decisions lead to better results.

The tough part is being consistent even with adversity a.k.a. The Pits. It's easy to listen and follow through when conditions are easy and gains come steadily but staying consistent when nothing seems to be working for you is a challenge in itself. Keep fighting through and listen to the coaches and leaders. They've probably already fought and won the same battle in the pits you're fighting. Believe in them as they believe in you and you'll make it through the tough times.

Stay consistent my friends. Let's fight and win the good fight.

Why be Strong?

Why be strong? I ask myself this as the rain patters against the window beside me, putting me in a trance. Memories from my life uncovered with every drop heard as if the rain itself gave new life to the long forgotten events. All these memories have a common theme; strength. In today's world I really don't have to be strong. I could just sit here and let life happen all around me and not raise a finger. That would be easy, maybe even nice for a change. Maybe I wouldn't be sore all the time if I did.

All these memories... football, baseball, now weightlifting, I had to be strong. I had be strong so I could win, I had to be strong so I wouldn't break during a competition. I sit here pondering and think of many people who don't believe in competition and don't see the point in winning anything. They said it hurts. It's better to enjoy life without knowing pain.

They are right about the pain. Being strong comes from pain. You become strong by recovering from the pain though. Adapting to the stress. Then the next time you experience that pain it doesn't hurt as bad. It become more pleasurable in a sense. Now my answer to the question is clear.

Why be strong? To enjoy more of life... I enjoy what's in my comfort zone but each day I become stronger my comfort zone grows so I can enjoy more. Knowing pain is necessary to know pleasure. You see, it's not just physical strength that comes with training, it's also mental and emotional. The stronger I get, the more confidence I grow, and with the increased confidence I can control my emotional responses to stressful training. This goes beyond the training room though. Through these lessons I have learned how to be a better person, a better friend, son, brother... better at life. When I'm better at these things my life is more pleasurable, more joyful.

I can be strong and reliable to my friends and family now that I am stronger. I can handle the stress and pains of being there for my loved ones no matter what. You could say that by fighting in the pits and experiencing much pain and hardship I have come to know happiness better. I can see the good in a situation because now instead of pain, I see an opportunity to grow. When you grow, not only can you endure more you can enjoy more and with that shine your joy to others around you so that they to may decide to grow because of the example you have set.

Into the pits I go...

Growth 2013

Set the Example

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”― Mahatma Gandhi

Whether it's sitting in class and the teacher is waiting for a response or while I'm coaching athletes waiting for them to accomplish the goals before them, many do not start until someone steps up to show them an example of what to do. This is completely normal and I wait for an example to be set at times. However, there have been moments when no one steps up and nothing is accomplished. Everyone was waiting on someone to set the example and everyone missed opportunities to improve.

Improvement comes at the cost of stepping outside your comfort zones which is tough to do at times. Most people want to improve themselves whether it be in the classroom, at work, or with their health but never set out to do it until it's too late. I say do not wait because life does not wait. A lot of times all it takes is ten seconds of courage to take the first step and even if you get scared again the second and third steps become easier. The first step you took created an example for yourself to follow.

When the time comes for you to set an example, you'll set one for yourself and others. As one who is coming from the sitting and waiting mindset, you'll take on the mindset going and doing. Each hurdle jumped is an example for yourself to do better on the next one and each hurdle jumped is jumped with better skill and knowledge. You've also set an example that's better and better for the ones who follow you.

I'm not saying everyone should go out and be a General Patton or a Teddy Roosevelt. They are leaders of note and set great examples for all of us small scale leaders. I am saying you should ask yourself, when everyone is waiting for an example, a leader for two seconds, why are you waiting when you can set the example and stop waiting.

Stay strong.

Strength and Honor

A Lesson Learned

Look at your hands. What do you see? Callous, scars, blisters. They're all battle wounds, the rewards of hard work earned. They're what holds me together when I feel broken, beat up, cast down. So many people do not like callous or scars. It means that they have been hurt and are deformed from it. They're no longer flawless and that scares many. I do not understand that fear. Maybe I once did as a young child but it has long been forgotten in my years of sport and life.

Getting hurt brings pain and with it a lesson. You can choose to listen or fear the pain and ignore it with a vow never to hurt again. That's fine if you run, no one will blame you. What if you listened to pain's lesson? Pain would teach how to do it better next time. Many think Pain is an enemy but they're wrong. She is a dear friend of any who listens. It's why many parents let their children play in the dirt or spank them when they did wrong. The kids learn from it. I have learned from it.

The last six years of my life have been filled with lots of pain. Pain on the football field, breaking up with a long time girlfriend, suffering daily on a weightlifting platform, getting through college, you name it! There have been many days Pain has sat me on the ground and almost broke me. Imagine sitting on the ground with my hands on my face, numb, just blank for what feels like an eternity. Then I look down at my hands see my scars and callous which sends me back to the lessons Pain taught me. She calls out and wakes me from my numbed state. I see that I have been healed from my lessons and made stronger. The callous is my armor physically and mentally. The scars are tattoos portraying lessons learned. I feel a rush of defiance swell within and fight the urge to quit and run away. That would be easy, that would be normal. Easy is the road the ones without courage take.

Pain teaches courage. Ask the courageous people in your life and see if they learned courage while they were comfortable. They didn't. Keep fighting in the Pits. Whenever you feel like breaking just stop, look at your hands. They'll remind you of everything you've already been through and prove to you that you can take so much more. One day there won't be a need to fight any longer and you can pass your knowledge onto another who is fighting as you once did. Until then, stay strong and keep fighting.

Growing Pains

Have you ever been working for something you really wanted? Did it ever get tough and hurt whether it be physically, emotionally, or spiritually? Those are growing pains. Room must be made for anything to grow in any aspect of life. Making room in your life is what hurts. Even though sometimes these growing pains really hurt and can bring even the sturdiest knees to the ground, they make the growth meaningful.

In Olympic Weightlifting the most obvious growing pain is waking up everyday so sore that I walk funny. The amount of physical stress we put on our bodies at Pirate Weightlifting, the club I lift with, is extremely high. All of us push to the max every week. There are some days where we do not even want to touch the barbell from fatigue and muscle soreness. There have been days where I have been shaken from day dreaming by a teammate and I did not realize I had even begun to day dream. For all none weightlifting readers it might just seem like physical growing pains but if you dig a little deeper you'll find it untrue.

With any physical growth there is also mental and emotional growth. Sometimes there is even spiritual growth. A person cannot only grow one thing about themselves because we are not just physical beings or mental beings. Try it and when someone says what is different about you there will be at least two things different about you. In weightlifting, as with all sports, the athletes have to battle their own mind and emotions to push physically harder. That's what draws so many individuals to sports. It's addictive! Every time I lift a heavy weight I have to first get my mind right, then I have to channel my emotions before setting my body to the task. There are days where I even pray for strength because I know my own body and mind will not get me through a workout. Why do we do it? It's worth it.

I gladly wake up every day to hurt. I take positive outlook on the growing pains. Once I have worked and hurt for what I yearn for no one can take it from me. I earned it with the sweat of my brow and the strength given to my hands. Ask any hard worker, they will agree. There are really scary times with it though. There will be times you want to give in or doubt your abilities. Have courage. You can do it. If you're a reader who has not striven for something because for the fear of failure or hurting it's okay to be scared but it is not okay to try.  The hardest part will be getting out of your comfort zone. Once you're there you'll be astonished at how you'll grow. So build up some courage and get out there and fight in those pits. Hurt some now so you can grow some later. You have what it takes.

Thanks and keep battling.

Questions

Questions, they can really change a conversation or outlook on something. Sometimes a person will ask a question and really throw you off guard to where you don't know how to react. Perhaps it makes you question the reasons why you even did what you did or why you said the things you said. I hate that. It puts me all in a frenzy inside my head and I can't think clearly to the point when I respond it takes a paragraph for what a sentence can confirm. By the time I finish putting together all those frantic thoughts, I don't know if I even believe myself because I'm confused as to what my purpose is.

Lately, I have remembered a piece of wise advice from my mom and its "Question Everything". She would always tell me that but it never really clicked until the past few months. I thought she was primarily applying it to school and question the professors until I know the exact answer so I could get the A. I was missing the big picture though. She was telling me question "everything" as in myself, my dreams, purpose, actions etc. It was about more than getting the nice bold letter A on the report card; it was about being successful in life!

How does questioning everything help you succeed? Seemed like nonsense at first but it isn't. When you start questioning yourself about the things you have done, are doing, or will do, the meaning and purpose of those actions start to uncover themselves. Before training in weight room today, I asked myself,"Garrett, why are you here? Why do you constantly beat yourself down in hopes to lift a barbell up? Isn't pointless, barbaric and chauvinistic? You could be out there with your friends in the sunshine or enjoying life and not sacrifice so much of life. Why?" I laughed at the little voice of doubt in the back my head and answered,"I do it because I love the pain of discipline. I love the release of rage against the barbell. Yea, so what if I'm an outcast among my the majority of my peers. They aren't like me. Because I stand away from the masses and head in a direction that others like myself have gone, I make a difference. I blaze another trail for those to timid or lost right now to follow. To show them their dreams can become reality if they cut off the things meaningless to them and have courage to do so. Don't question myself resolve to succeed. I've removed my doubts because I have questioned myself already."

I am asked quite often by others why do I sacrifice so much. I get laughed at for not drinking at parties or going out late on the weekends. They say it's so fun to just forget everything, to get so drunk you destroy yourself and the relationships you have with others... Not to me. I embrace the names freak, insane, and loser. I wear them as a badge of pride. I do what most do not, make my dreams a reality. I train insane because it keeps me sane and focused on my goals. I lift heavier weights higher because others choose not too and to push the naysayers further away from me in fear. In fear that I will accomplish what I've set out to do.

Misery loves company, which is what I see in the masses. They have not questioned why they do things not meaningful to them and why they continue to do them. They are miserable for it. They live for the weekend to forget their meaningless life in meaningless activities. I'm not saying that you readers are the masses but I'm sure many of you know the kind of people I speak of. Don't be like them, it's not worth it. It's okay to walk alone because you won't really be alone. There are plenty of us "against the grain" types out there to keep you company and motivated. Keep training insane and lifting heavy weights! Run faster, study longer, say no to that extra drink and get some sleep. Don't do something you know is wrong or sets you back.You'll be better for it. Come on, you can do it! Be a freak! Be the outsider! Get laughed at for your lifestyle. Let it fuel you. Don't stop because no one likes what you do. They don't like it because you're doing what they're too scared to...

Thanks Ma for the the advice. I love you and will always remember to question everything. I will continue to suffer the pain of my discipline as a weightlifter and my beliefs as a Christian. I will carry on with my dreams and when I accomplish them I will wait for you, the masses, to change your hearts and follow after. I will embrace you as friend then. Until then, I will continue training and becoming stronger everyday waiting for you.

See you soon.