Weightlifting is hard.
Yes, there’s many other activities/sports that are objectively harder in some ways. And while I strongly believe that certain lessons learned in the gym can be broadly applied outside of the gym, a “bad” day of taking a weight from the floor to overhead will undoubtedly not compare to the challenges life will ultimately throw at you.
But, there’s no getting around it. In weightlifting, you’re performing and testing just two lifts; the Snatch and Clean & Jerk. These are lifts that take time to learn. You’ll constantly be developing not just your skill, but your strength, power, speed, mobility, body awareness, and much more.
One of the toughest things, mentally, is that there’s no “hiding” in weightlifting. Performing the same movements often, you know when things are going your way, and when they’re not. When you’re testing your maxes or competing you have a limited opportunity to put your months and often years of hard work to the test.
Part of weightlifting is about appreciating your best days without attaching yourself to them, while you recognize your most challenging days and know that every day won’t be that way.
There’s inherent benefit to doing hard things. By dedicating yourself to years of hard training with limited opportunities for payoff, you have to learn to enjoy the act of training (the process) as much as the result itself. Inevitably, if you’re invested in weightlifting as a pursuit, you’ll eventually experience some down times that will weigh on you mentally and emotionally. You’ll learn about your own resiliency, and it will provide some context with how you look at the more minor inconveniences in life. You’ll also experience the thrilling highs that can only be found in hard-won successes; a mental breakthrough, a new PR, or celebrating the “wins” of those around you.
Weightlifting is hard, but it’s worth it.
If you’re ready to get started with weightlifting in Richmond, VA, please contact us at info@rvaperformancetraining.com!