why?

I get asked that question a lot... why do I compete? Why do I train so heavy? Why do I get injured and thirst for more? It's understandable, I guess... Why would any sane human being beat themselves to a pulp, walking on the verge of pain and suffering, day in and day out and just come back for more? I honestly, can't tell you.

I guess it's like being an addict? Maybe... As I sit here and write this, 8 weeks out of surgery from a torn bicep, I am going nuts because I can't train as hard as I want to. I'm squatting 3 times a week, against my own better judgement because I miss the feeling that comes along with training and I can't handle doing it just once a week.

The thing is, it's not just me... there is a whole network of strength athletes that understand the pain I'm going through of being away from training. We all love it... the blood, the sweat, the spots we see after a heavy set or the being on the verge of blacking out.... it's that feeling of pushing yourself to the edge and back... a feeling that not many people in the world will know, and most are afraid of. We're the few and the hungry... we yearn for that feeling.

The thing is, for as insane as we are, we're just your normal everyday people... sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, workers, students, doctors, construction workers, etc... but no matter our walk of life, there is the idea that we adhere to... that mediocrity isn't enough. It's either go hard or go home. That's probably why when we get together, the eccentricity comes out... we've grown comfortable in our own skin because we know that it takes an inner drive and intestinal fortitude to even be where we are, on the field of competition. There is no room for pettiness on the battlefield.

I've met some ridiculous personalities in this sport.. from the shy quiet guy to the most extroverted people I've ever come across, but no matter what, when it's time to step up to that bar, we all turn into the same entity... a ball of channeled rage, fear, strength, excitement and whatever other feeling it takes to overcome the task at hand. It's the risk we undertake for the accomplishment of something bigger than ourselves.

Fame isn't something that goes hand in hand with strength sports... rather, it is only afforded to the lucky few, but glory and accomplishment are feelings that we get to feel everyday. How many people that don't have something they strive to be great at can say that? Every time you push out one more rep, 10 more pounds, shave off 2 seconds on a medley time.. it's an accomplishment, a gauge to yourself that you are getting better, that you are accomplishing something.

I learned a lot time ago that our time here on earth is limited... from losing friends from all sorts of causes, to coming face to face with a couple handfuls of Iraqi fireworks... and each time, it solidified in me the desire to make myself better than normal... it solidified my idea to say what needs to be said, regardless of the outcome.... it solidified my idea to take risks and whether or not they turn out in my favor, at least I know I'll never wonder what if.

So why is it that I love strength sports? Well, because every person I've ever met in this sport and I all know the same thing... "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."- Theodore Roosevelt

With all that said, I encourage you to go out and do something that you love, to the point that you'll do whatever it takes to be better at it... not great at it, but better at it than you are now... take risks, tell people things that you've meant to tell them for a while... don't be mediocre, because the way things are going nowadays, we can't afford anymore mediocrity