This is just a few thoughts. There is no training secret or scathing dialogue about anything strength here, just some small observations from a small time athlete, coach and gym owner.
I have been a fan and pursued strength for many years. Even as a little kid, I was enamored with size and strength. Now, at 50, I have had a long career in strength sports. I have seen many things come and go, along with people and have witnessed lots of change. But, the biggest thing I see and still remains is the love and the pursuit of strength. Let me take this a step further. I have been on the platform to hit some respectable lifts, medal in weightlifting and hoist a trophy at Strongman but the biggest reward for me, was the sense of accomplishment, and more, the empowerment that it gave me.
That leads me to this. I have shared a few pictures. I will get them shortly but, a little more back ground. I am lucky enough to have my own gym…basically, I pay the bills and it is everyone’s gym. It’s always open and something is almost always going on in there daily. The gym was built in 2004 and has been steadily growing since but, that’s not the story here. What it is, is the people that come here and this is where the pictures come into play. Each picture represents an obstacle overcome, that part of strength we are all familiar with but, that’s only part of it. So, allow me to share a few short stories with you.
In the first picture, there is 40 kilos on the bar. It is loaded on an Olympic weightlifting bar. What is the significance? It is showing the time taken away from a sport I love and have competed in. I had to rest, I had to heal and I will never come back to that bar 100%, not even to the ability I had a year ago competing at the highest level as a master weightlifter. But, why is 40 kgs important? Because, I can do it again. I’m going to take it a step further but, onto the other pictures. The second picture is a Safety Squat bar. It is loaded with a 45 lb plate. The significance? He can squat again. He found a way to squat and do something that he knows will make him better. And the last two pictures are of a 55 lb squat bar loaded to 70 lbs. And what’s the big deal here? It represents the time taken to invest in conditioning her body with box squats, to me holding her hand for leverage so she could squat without the box leading to free squatting with body eight to box squats holding a kettlebell to squatting a 15 lb bar then adding weight to several weeks with an empty bar. The weight on the bar, represents accomplishment and more, a strong sense of empowerment that not only shows through in the gym but, opens each person up to the ability to use that empowerment in all facets of life.
So, why is this a big deal? I watch social media and the news and involved deeply in coaching and strength sports. I see how there is so much turmoil. A few examples…someone becomes a decent lifter and has developed a training method. Instead of providing facts, articles and results of their lifting and the lifters they coach, they write article after article, tweet and insta post of why so and so training is bad and why YOU shouldn’t do it. There is no article with the merits of his training, only dragging down what others are doing. There are people who post selfies of mostly naked bodies and then that causes an uproar. They are selling themselves to sell knee wraps or when did powerlifting become sexy…then someone posts lifting video and we find out who the best federation or why the judges suck or why Weightlifting nationals should have been held somewhere else and so forth…the general connotation is pretty negative. It’s exhausting sometimes but, the thing I never tire of is seeing people do something that they not only once that improbable but, that was likely impossible to them. We have got caught up in all the surface stuff, all the fluff and too much negative. So, all of you that are posting stuff like this, look at it deeper for a moment. Remember why you started. For many, it was just to try something, or to improve or to be better at something. In these pictures, it’s just simple empowerment. To get back to a sport that for a time that couldn’t be done, to a guy looking to find a way to improve his body and feel better to a girl that simply wanted to be stronger, look good in her clothes and confidently wear a bikini. The first guy is a strength athlete that has squatted over a grand, medaled in masters weightlifting and won at strongman…today, he snatched 40 kilos and it was fun. A programmer that wants to improve but due to injuries, can’t squat with a regular squat bar, squats with the SSB so he can train his legs to simply be more fit, stronger and look and feel better. The last 2 is a pharmacist and student and wants to be stronger and look good. But in the end, they all walk away with a sense of empowerment that goes with them everywhere.
Lastly, this gym and the online Ogre gym community is full of stories like this. I am blessed to work with them. So, while many of you will be quick to complain or be negative, I ask simply, think back to why you did this and remember that feeling of initial empowerment. There is nothing better in this world then those moments.
