One More Set

[nihiloexnihil]

I know I am not alone.

I remember sitting, exhausted and my legs shaking, staring at my fifth and final set of squats after leg pressing more than I ever had in my life. I knew that the skin would rub off the back of my neck, that my legs would sear, that I might feel like passing out. I didn't want to lift it. I just wanted to pack up and stagger out of the gym. But I had one more set, and fuck it if I wasn't going to get it done.

And then I wept. Sitting there, alone in the gym, I wept. This weight could kill me. It would hurt me, no matter what I did. I knew it. I knew that every agonizing rep would feel like the weight of the world pushing as hard as it could, trying to crush me. I wept because I felt it, in that moment-- the spiritual and mental lightness of being that binds every single one of us in this game together. Every dry piece of chicken, every can of tuna, everything-- everything was culminating in this one moment. The moment I pushed past my limits, my expectations, and myself, to finish the impossible.

You see, brothers, you are the only ones who understand why I didn't give up on that last set. I can't explain it to anyone else, because no one else is willing to hear. All of us know something. The iron reveals it to us, in our darkest moments: it shows us who we are. We accept pain for what it is, and then we move beyond it.

And that is why I wept. I wept because I had just met myself for the first time.

[The Fate]

good shit bro. "Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength."...And I bet 99% of the world would have understood...good shit man. Although the next day im sure you couldnt even sit down to take a shit, but you limp around work and the grocery store with that glory-limp dont ya? walk with pride bro, and do it again, good luck.

[asaint]

That Was some really good shit bro. You just put in to words what is so hard for us to explain to people. The Dedication, eating, all the shit, we do it because unlike the fat fuck eating McDonalds, sitting on his ass, we know who we are. We know what we want to be. We Dont conform to the trends. We are a rare breed. And your moment of knowing who YOU are, deep insinde, 9 out of 10 people will never feel that in their lives. Good piece brother.

[pdiesel]

i like it bro..

[Natron]

I think i speak for everyone here when i say "Amen Brother".

[wedge]

Natron-Definitely Amen to that.
nihiloexnihil-that's the real deal and that shit goes through all our minds at some point. That last set, that last rep, that's where we prove our metal. That's were we earn the right to be called Animals.

[Pokoritel]

Damn good to hear that. Keep pushin and keep fightin.

[Hollywood]

Love it, I know exactly where you're coming from. We choke down all those eggs and cans of tuna, swallow all those pills for nothing, just to give up on the last set. To give up would be a waste, gotta keep fighting.

[Ironone]

Deep Shit Bro I Think We All Can Relate To That It Is A Defining Moment In All Our Lives It Is What Seperates Us From The Rest Of The World!!!!! Keep On Keeping On

[darkside64]

dude that was tite. You just summoned up my realization of this sport in the last couple of weeks. I push that pain, because I know somewhere in the world another animal is doing the same thing. People cant fathom what we do or why we do it; but everytime we beat the shit out of ourselves in the gym, or eat another can of tuna we make another step to our destiny

[dIdDy]

i do the same shit. You know...when you ask that question to yourself in the middle of a set. "Can I get one more rep without crumbling?" I have never crumbled, but I have gotten one more rep....and it feels good.