View Full Version : Did someone tip over your wheel barrow?
You've had it happen before. You're busting your ass, you just hit your heaviest set and some dude you've never seen before comes in and pumps out the weight you just did like it was a joke. He looks to be around the same age as you, bigger and he's leaner, and now you feel like you've got something to prove. Your whole mindset is fucked over and you immediately ask yourself, "I wonder what he's on?" Your wheel barrow was just tipped over.
It's nature to take pride in your accomplishments and triumphs. However, you must never forget that there will always be someone else out there who is bigger and better than you. Remind yourself that we all have something to learn from one another. You cannot afford to waste energy by focusing on what you aren't. Rather you must establish your own personal goals and focus on what you want to become. Hell, next time you're buying a t-shirt buy it one or two sizes too big and try to fill it out. Embrace humility as a tool to grow and you will not be disappointed. Leave your fuckin wheel barrow at home next time you set off to the gym and embrace the shadow you cast instead.
Hardcore4Life
01-18-07, 5:07 pm
I like lifting with guys bigger then me, pure motivation to strive to their level
peterpyper
01-18-07, 5:28 pm
ya it happens to me also but,im a beginner still in this game 2 yrs and a half and long way to go and alot to learn
Liftbig21
01-18-07, 9:54 pm
Great anology my man...some true shit right there...you against yourself...nobody else
KEEPtheZEN
01-18-07, 11:23 pm
The golds I go to in Austin has a lot of bbuilders and powerlifters. I first walked in at 165lbs and said to myself it is time to play catchup. The atomsphere is good for me, I feed off of it. Some need the solitude. Ying Yang I suppose.
Big Jawn
01-20-07, 2:32 am
My buddy Hector is a 100kg lifter, med. grad student. Hes squatted 800 under IPF conditions, and he pumps out reps raw with 500 + all day...that said it doesn't bother me at all when I'm beside him doing 150lbs less, it humbles me but is a great motivator.
pumpaholic
01-20-07, 10:23 pm
That is some good shit. Always important to stay grounded, but hungry.
i found that i don't get as good a workout when the "bigger" guys aren't in the gym with me...im in korea in the army and my gym is used by a lot of different guys...goes anywhere from a 120 pound Katusa (korean augmentee to the US army) who's doin an 85lb bench to a Navy guy who seems to be able to throw up reps at 315 like he's warmin up... the bigger guys humble me and make me wanna get that extra 10 pounds er so on my next set
TheOak_akl
01-20-07, 10:42 pm
Very good post T.Alan. Yeah, I have felt that way before, but like everyone else on here, It adds fuel to my fire. I want to work extra harder to one day be that guy that makes someone " tip over their wheelbarrow" and light the fire under them, so they too can better themselves. I love to train with a buddy of mine who started out in this iron game 2 years before i did, and i pride myself on matching his intensity and trying to outdo him
Übermensch
01-20-07, 11:02 pm
I don't get too fussed how much others are lifting. When people ask me how much i lift i say it doesn't matter as long as im progressing steadily thats all that matters. Im just focussing on the next increment above where I am, this mentality stops you from getting pissed off when people are better than you or getting a big head when that new guy looks up to you.
IRON MAN
01-21-07, 12:28 am
i used to lift with this friend of mine who would help with almost every rep and it would annoy the shit outta me. so this other friend of mine started coming and he was bigger than me so i started lifting with him and i was making gains like crazy and was catching up to him and i was so happy. we were almost equal in about 2-3 months in every lift except the bench. i was only taking whey. it was very encouraging and motivating
this concept probably only applies to "gym lifters" not "competitive lifters". My training partners squat in the 700-900 pound range, while i only do in the 500 plus range (i have not worn squat suit and or briefs yet), and one of my other training partners Rob Kolberer has done a record lift of 1010 pounds in his weight class. Lifters like that only inspire me to do better, there is no room for jealousy in this iron world.
IronLeague
01-22-07, 4:28 pm
You've had it happen before. You're busting your ass, you just hit your heaviest set and some dude you've never seen before comes in and pumps out the weight you just did like it was a joke. He looks to be around the same age as you, bigger and he's leaner, and now you feel like you've got something to prove. Your whole mindset is fucked over and you immediately ask yourself, "I wonder what he's on?" Your wheel barrow was just tipped over.
It's nature to take pride in your accomplishments and triumphs. However, you must never forget that there will always be someone else out there who is bigger and better than you. Remind yourself that we all have something to learn from one another. You cannot afford to waste energy by focusing on what you aren't. Rather you must establish your own personal goals and focus on what you want to become. Hell, next time you're buying a t-shirt buy it one or two sizes too big and try to fill it out. Embrace humility as a tool to grow and you will not be disappointed. Leave your fuckin wheel barrow at home next time you set off to the gym and embrace the shadow you cast instead.
That post just gave me a hard on.. Good stuff, spoken like a true Warrior.
Respect,
IronLeague
Follow the road to your own goals and objectives...not somebody elses. Thank you for this reminder, T.Alan.
Abs
Millhouse
01-22-07, 5:10 pm
I am so glad that I read this insted of checking my-emails before I take my paks and workout. Dam what was I thinkin??
sick post!!!
Pokoritel
01-22-07, 5:28 pm
I enjoy it when someone stronger just walks by me and does what i did but with more weight and more reps. It makes me stay focused and want to train harder, and i will tell him "nice lift". This isnt a competition against others there is no point to increase the weight and beat his record because the only person you should be beating is yourself. Good Post because you right this happens alot.
Great post...the only person that you have to prove something to is yourself and the only limits you encounter are self-imposed
Thanks for the props guys.
Don't get me wrong, it motivates me from the core when I see some freak come in and toss up some ridiculous weight.
Those guys are pure motivation. The problem arises when you start to become one of the "bigger" regulars.
I was training 4th of July '05 (of course I train on holidays) and Ray Arde came in when I was in the middle of my session. He worked his way up to the 160lb dumbells on incline press for about 8 clean reps, no spot.. got them up on his own.. about a week or so out from the USA'a where he took second to Fahkri Mubarak. I'll never forget how silent it became because everyone stopped training to watch him.
Once again, thanks for the props. I'll be sharing my thoughts more often.
I usually reply, "Yeah. So I can be with a shallow slut." The more dense of the confused or ignorant usually reply something along the lines of, "Why would anyone want that?"
Obviously I'm being sarcastic. I've found that it is far beyond some people's comprehension to understand that changing yourself from the outside is really grounded in solidfying yourself from within. It's not their fault that they fail to grasp that discipline and commitment aren't things you can go buy at the mall when you're ready to use them. I'm no saint, and we all know that this lifestyle will test those traits day in and day out. However failure would be to give in, and to give in would be to SUCCUMB.
To the common world it is merely pushing and pulling iron combined with consuming thousands of calories each day. To me it is the most complex but inherently basic guide to life. You know that you will receive what you put in and a half assed effort in any area would be cheating yourself. You know that pain is inevitable, you know that you will not win every battle, but you must learn from your mistakes and proceed. You learn how to deal with trial and error and you learn how to take pride in yourself. If you're like me you are constantly reminded of these lessons and you reflect them in your daily life.
When man first began to roam this earth a fringe benefit of being strong and intelligent was surviving another day to continue to roam. Now that its taken for granted, people have strayed so far from this idea that they think we're the ones with issues. When it all comes down, and that day has come for every previous civilzation, you won't have a damned thing to live with except for what you have solidified from within. I'll take the fringe benefits of that, but I will never forget how and why I earned it.
When man first began to roam this earth a fringe benefit of being strong and intelligent was surviving another day to continue to roam. Now that its taken for granted, people have strayed so far from this idea that they think we're the ones with issues.
that's some good shit
Looking forward to it bro...
Well said. It's not about the reward, it's about the work.
It's easy to wallow in the morass of mediocrity, to ingest the pablum force fed us from every direction. It's harder to realize we are sinking than to stand the fuck up. But stand up we must.