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View Full Version : what it means to be tough and hardcore



karthik
11-13-10, 6:11 am
many times i'm sure people have asked this question either to themselves or to others such as friends and colleagues. feelings of self doubt, self consciousness and feeling the need to please everyone also seem to enter the fray when it comes to this.

after being in the game in and out since 2000, i have seen several things, and things tough competitors have had to put up with in addition to training, the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, the economy going bad, needing to find a job to sustain themselves and their families, loss and death of close friends, etc.

to competitors out there, and those who want to take it to the next level will probably know exactly what i mean when i say this, "what started out as fun and games, to be big to impress friends and girls, all of a sudden became a serious endeavor, which time had to be carefully allotted to get training done, in addition to working a job that makes enough money to sustain competitive eating, training at gym, equipment, and supporting your family as well."

Dare i say it, the stronger and bigger i became, the more humble i became, and the more i avoided socializing too much and trying hard to be the center of attention, because deep down i knew all those were distractions, that in the end just wasted my time, and caused jealousy and hate amongst others. Most big guys or giants amongst men as some would put it when speaking of competitive strongmen and powerlifters, usually are homebody's and don't party and go out that much, cause they know they will just be a target for hate and envy amongst smaller men yet at the same time loved and cherished by women for being extraordinary, and usually CAREFULLY select friends to hang out with, and so forth.

I notice this attitude the most when i train in commercial gyms, training nowadays in a competitive gym is a privilege, as strongman/powerlifting, are not considered mainstream sports, and as such unlike spoiled NFL players, we don't get to do this full time, we don't have a psychology coach, free massage therapy/ access to oxygen chambers to improve our breathing, or better yet, OUR OWN TRAINING FACILITY AND COMPOUND IN WHICH TO TRAIN IN, free of average/sub-average joe's that have nothing better to do than distract us with their b.s. and complain to management when we train "competitively".

This is something i'm sure all competitive lifters had to deal with at one point. We use the gym or as i like to call it Training Compound to "train", with a set goal in mind, to be the best in a competition, peak out, etc. we aren't interested in socializing with anyone or to create a scene. It can be rather annoying to us, when people stare at us, make comments of us trying to show off, or complain to management and say we create an intimidating atmosphere, and say we're crazy just because we rack deadlift 500 pounds 12 inches of a floor, which is simply just us doing our job, and nothing more.

This are the things that makes competitive lifters have to be hardcore, it would be too easy to give up and not train under such circumstances, but a competitive lifter can always make their own gym, train elsewhere, or better yet train in their own house with carefully selected professional grade equipment.

To me this what being tough and hardcore is all about, i have to say people like us are WAY MORE MENTALLY TOUGH AND HARDCORE, than spoiled pro athletes, and/or guys on t.v. with supplement contracts and so forth, because they get to train at carefully selected atmospheres while avoiding reality, and when they do face it after their sheltered life of media coverage and coming on magazines, they become has beens and no one ever hears of them.

jeff00z28
11-13-10, 1:00 pm
still lifting at eagles? i heard they moved their stuff to another building down the street

the_big_freak_shaw
11-13-10, 1:19 pm
many times i'm sure people have asked this question either to themselves or to others such as friends and colleagues. feelings of self doubt, self consciousness and feeling the need to please everyone also seem to enter the fray when it comes to this.

after being in the game in and out since 2000, i have seen several things, and things tough competitors have had to put up with in addition to training, the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, the economy going bad, needing to find a job to sustain themselves and their families, loss and death of close friends, etc.

to competitors out there, and those who want to take it to the next level will probably know exactly what i mean when i say this, "what started out as fun and games, to be big to impress friends and girls, all of a sudden became a serious endeavor, which time had to be carefully allotted to get training done, in addition to working a job that makes enough money to sustain competitive eating, training at gym, equipment, and supporting your family as well."

Dare i say it, the stronger and bigger i became, the more humble i became, and the more i avoided socializing too much and trying hard to be the center of attention, because deep down i knew all those were distractions, that in the end just wasted my time, and caused jealousy and hate amongst others. Most big guys or giants amongst men as some would put it when speaking of competitive strongmen and powerlifters, usually are homebody's and don't party and go out that much, cause they know they will just be a target for hate and envy amongst smaller men yet at the same time loved and cherished by women for being extraordinary, and usually CAREFULLY select friends to hang out with, and so forth.

I notice this attitude the most when i train in commercial gyms, training nowadays in a competitive gym is a privilege, as strongman/powerlifting, are not considered mainstream sports, and as such unlike spoiled NFL players, we don't get to do this full time, we don't have a psychology coach, free massage therapy/ access to oxygen chambers to improve our breathing, or better yet, OUR OWN TRAINING FACILITY AND COMPOUND IN WHICH TO TRAIN IN, free of average/sub-average joe's that have nothing better to do than distract us with their b.s. and complain to management when we train "competitively".

This is something i'm sure all competitive lifters had to deal with at one point. We use the gym or as i like to call it Training Compound to "train", with a set goal in mind, to be the best in a competition, peak out, etc. we aren't interested in socializing with anyone or to create a scene. It can be rather annoying to us, when people stare at us, make comments of us trying to show off, or complain to management and say we create an intimidating atmosphere, and say we're crazy just because we rack deadlift 500 pounds 12 inches of a floor, which is simply just us doing our job, and nothing more.

This are the things that makes competitive lifters have to be hardcore, it would be too easy to give up and not train under such circumstances, but a competitive lifter can always make their own gym, train elsewhere, or better yet train in their own house with carefully selected professional grade equipment.

To me this what being tough and hardcore is all about, i have to say people like us are WAY MORE MENTALLY TOUGH AND HARDCORE, than spoiled pro athletes, and/or guys on t.v. with supplement contracts and so forth, because they get to train at carefully selected atmospheres while avoiding reality, and when they do face it after their sheltered life of media coverage and coming on magazines, they become has beens and no one ever hears of them.

Well said bro, no doubt the true.