Strength

I can’t speak for anyone else’s entry into strength training.  I can only relate my own experiences. 

When I started lifting it wasn’t about what I could look like.  Body composition goals had NOTHING to do with it. 

I began lifting because it gave me a sense of agency.  It gave me something to control.

I decided if I made it into the gym.  I decided if I would prioritize something that was important to me, or if I’d let everyone else’s arbitrary expectations of me take the lead.

It was a modicum of control at a time when I didn’t feel like I had much. 

THIS. Is my choice.

That was 14 years ago.  My body has looked LOTS of different ways since that time, but lifting has been along for the ride ever since. 

And I’ve grown and adapted and realized how much further the metaphor carries through.

The iron doesn’t care about you. It either moves or it doesn’t. 

And if it doesn’t

It’s not because you’re a woman.  It’s not because you’re brown.  It’s not because you’re not educated enough or educated too much, or you speak too loudly, or you didn’t smile warmly.

It’s not because you’re a man. It’s not because of your family name.  It’s not because of the color of your collar or that you’ve struggled to find your stride in modern society.

If the iron doesn’t move, it’s because you aren’t strong enough. Yet.

Yet.

And YOU decide if you want to get strong enough to move it.  Is where you’re currently at enough or do you want to grow for it? 

The iron doesn’t care. 

There’s no wall to hang your name up on for most of us….Most of us never see the lights of a competition floor. 

So it’s between us and the person in the mirror.

 What’s it worth to you? 

What’s it worth to you to be stronger? This metric doesn’t matter to anyone but you. 

There absolutely ARE health benefits and correlatives and all of the reasons you should.

We ALL should.

But that’s not what I’m talking about right now. 

I’m talking about that voice in your head that whispers “you can’t do it.”

The one that says “it’s too hard.” 

The one that reminds you of the mile-long list of things to do, not a goddamn one of which involves keeping a single promise to YOURSELF.

This is about THAT.

And as always: I’m not here to tell you to go one way or another. 

I’m just telling you to make the choice.