OBSERVATIONS

I have come to understand several things in my career as a coach and lifter. One that stands out for me is that the process of getting stronger draws various parallels to other aspects of our life. In essence, the barbell can become our life teacher, as well as teacher for life.

Getting stronger is a tedious process. If you don't respect the biological laws underpinning slow, incremental increases, then this process is, I'm afraid, not for you.

The truth of the matter is that we live in a world where we expect things to happen the way we want within five microseconds. Getting that text, receiving that email, or finding that spot in the parking lot without having to wait for a perceived lifetime.

Now is late. Only yesterday is acceptable.

But we can all agree that life doesn't work that way, does it?

Did Arnold Schwarzenegger build his Mr. Olympia physique overnight? He didn't.

Did the grand master Garry Kasparov beat the supercomputer by becoming this good at chess over a weekend? No. It took him decades .

Did anything ever worth having in your life just fall into your lap out of nowhere? I bet it didn't.

So why should getting stronger be any different?

If you are serious about becoming respectably good at something, then you need to master the art of crafting. A key aspect thereof is that you have to commit yourself to repeated cycles of failing, succeeding, failing again, still keeping going despite seeing very little light at the end of the tunnel - before eventually succeeding again.

Missed a rep in training? Back to the study table, getting to the bottom of it, and correcting the mistake in your next session.

This is the point where it gets tricky for most of us, because we have to do the one thing which the majority of us avoid like the plague: being honest with ourselves.

This requires us to look into the mirror and face ourselves in the truest sense - which for most of us is too painful. Hence most of us never change.

But, bluntly put:

There is only one constant in life - and that is change.

The program that took your squat from nothing to 60kg is not the same program that took your squat from 60kg to 90kg. The program that took your squat from 90kg to 110kg is not the same program that will take your squat from 110kg to 130kg. Remember: You cannot solve a problem with the same approach that caused it in the first place.

Along the process of getting stronger, you are also going to learn that it takes a disproportionately high amount of effort to keep adding weight to the bar in the long run. This is where the barbell can teach us one of the most important things in life: we have to get the job that we started done.

If you keep dedicating your time and energy to getting stronger - because you have by now figured out that this is really damn important to you - you are going to learn a new side about yourself which you likely would have not discovered otherwise.

The persistent application of action (and force) doesn't just make your body stronger. It is one of the most powerful tools you can use to grow as a human being. One that knows how to master challenges, how not to fluster when the road gets icy, and how to proceed with an honest and productive approach to whatever obstacle presents itself.

Let the barbell be your teacher, and PB's will keep coming your way.

Because every PB is a success, and success breeds confidence.

Now get under the bar, and make it happen.

#strengthtraining #hamptonwick #teddington