Here is a question I was thinking about to myself. After I became fit and changed my life I had to find my path in fitness. It kind of took me all different directions at first. It started off maybe body building. Then I started to realize how strong I was and how I loved intense workouts and I got interested in crossfit. Of course at that time I had the games in site. I wanted to be the next crossfit games champion. During my crossfit experience I noticed my technique had a lot to be desired and I wasn't going to move any further ahead unless I fixed it quick before I developed anymore bad habits. So I hired my trainer who I have been with since. He introduced me to the world of olympic weightlifting. Now just in case you don't know what olympic weightlifting is.....it involves two lifts. It consists of the snatch and the clean and jerk. In competition you have 3 attempts for each lift to lift as much as you can. They combine your best lift in each to equal your total score. What happens in the snatch is you take the barbell from the ground to an overhead position and stand up with it. On the clean and jerk you take the barbell from the ground to the shoulders, stand up with it, then take it from your shoulders to overhead. So ultimately the clean and jerk consists of two different lifts. These lifts are full body movements and trust me look easier then they are.
So now going back to the question......why olympic weightlifting? I think every sport is hard in some way. Some sports maybe easier then others or better suited for certain people. I am sure I don't have the ideal body type for olympic weightlifting. I know for sure I don't have the ideal mindset. I have strength but in this sport just having strength is not enough. Of course doing some powerlifting competitions would probably be a bit easier. Nothing against powerlifting it is great and has it's own challenges by far. My goal for myself is to be the best I can be in my life and to continue to push myself to always be better. So why even compete at all? If I ask myself.....is it fun? Well yes of course there are a lot of fun moments but it is also very stressful and of course the most fun when you are doing well. Do we always do well? Not at all. Another thing to look at is do we only do something because it is fun? Is life always fun? I had someone say to me the other day..."hey! don't you go to my gym?" I said "I probably used to but don't go to that gym anymore." They said "I saw you always doing crazy stuff like box jumps....I could never do that" My response "yes you can!" Their response "No, I can't! I am afraid of heights." So all this rambling on brings me to one point. We can do anything we set our minds to. We have to conquer our fears and before we know it we won't be scared anymore.
For me olympic weightlifting has a lifetime or at least many years of pushing me to be stronger physically and mentally. To be honest the biggest success I am looking forward to conquering one day is my mind. I almost think that will be so much more rewarding then the physical part and from what I have learned about the mind it can even help you overcome a lot of physical weaknesses if you use it right. The body cannot function without the mind. Especially in olympic weightlifting were the movement has to flow. It has to be put together just right. If one little thing is off the lift is off and chances are that lift will not be successful.
If you want to see a lot of people overcoming their weaknesses and fears you should watch the biggest loser. Now I am sure this show has its faults but it is really a great show overall. These people go onto the show at the end of their rope. More weaknesses then you can imagine. They walk off transformed and confident in themselves. It is really amazing the life changes that take place.
So will I ever change sports? Perhaps one day but not for a while. I am very satisfied and have some things I want to accomplish and achieve in olympic weightlifting. Until then I am going to keep plugging away. This sport is very challenging and sometimes you feel like you are going nowhere. At that point you have to find the power within.
What challenges you in your life? What are your goals?
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