Do The Weights Lift You Up? Part 1

Do the weights lift you up? There are a number of fascinating ways weight training explains the world. The analogy between lifting weights and the weights “uplifting” us up can be a transcendent experience. Many of the principals I associate with training can be seamlessly applied to other aspects of life in order to achieve greatness. There are a number of analogies that can be drawn from training that establish a correlation between weight training and the very foundation that is needed to establish and maintain a life full of achievement and a few setbacks.

The path of weight training demands a certain amount of maturity, concentration, discernment, and the anticipation that mistakes will be made, yet growth comes from the lessons of loss and regaining strength, balance, and willpower through continuous awareness. In order to succeed in life much like weight training, it takes a tremendous amount of discipline, devotion, and determination. All of which are the attributes of becoming the best one can achieve. For many, starting up the path of weight training supremacy is effortless. However, this mentality can mislead many astray and down a path of losing sight of their purpose, stagnation, loss, and depression. Yet, starting out the wrong way does not mean you can’t end the right way. It’s about learning how to be a great finisher. This is where most trainees falter and run into a wall. The wall is composed of failing to match resources with means of implementation such as time and money align with schedules and a set regimen. The wall is composed of focusing on small setbacks that lead to failure when we turn from the lessons we can gain from trial and error of training. The wall is composed of seeing our goals but coming to a point at which obstacles challenge us and we are unable to find an advantage or any leverage to move forward. It’s almost as if trainees run into a headwind and can’t seem to push past the threshold. It is best for a trainee to realize that he or she must attain and maintain a needed longevity. The needed longevity is self-propelling as long as he or she realizes in addition to being inspired, a trainee must be motivated.

The point of self-edification and bettering ourselves begins with merely the drive and determination one posses internally. This manifests into actual progression one can reflect upon and improve in life and in the world of fitness and weight training. With this in mind, our mental and emotional content becomes an important resource. This combined resource enhances and enriches our ability to harness our physical strength essentially through a means akin to the cliché of “mind over matter”; however, this is no cliché. The psychosomatic connection between our minds and our bodies is strong from the consideration of stress and depression, to the release of cortisol leading to retaining body fat, to insomnia, to more positive attributes. These attributes can manifest as basic happiness and its correlation with endorphins and neurotransmitters that elevate a feeling of balance and peace which lower stress, increase healing, improve the immune system, and aid in greater progression in physical strength and appearance.