Hafthor was 23 years old and competing in the world’s strongest man competition the year I graduated high school.
I was 23 and in the crowd the day he attempted (broke?) a weight toss/weight over bar world record.
this day
At one point he walked right by me, MY bench presser arm’s length away, from wherever the athletes were resting to where the crossbar was set up.
Where I vary in outlook than most ; I didn’t see some giant jacked 6’9″ 400lber – I just saw another human.
In fact, I don’t like how instead of his real name Dwayne Johnson is referred to mostly as “The Rock” – it screams weakling to me by all who use the nickname…
INSTEAD OF lifting some damn weights themselves.
Truly you must face the facts that you didn’t wrestle in high school, while now as an “adult” you’re too pussy to starve yourself and box…
But you’re not out of luck, there’s an easy fix!
Two Steps :
•Lift Weights
•Eat Steaks
The world is a different place when you have the physical strength to ram most people overhead.
BY A PRESS
(none of that jerking bullshit)
This all said ;
Halfthor, his age that day, attempting/setting a world record is my age, to within a year, right now.
My severely balding fatty forever NATTY late 20s.
(I mean come on – hair loss without steroids – god and the universe are cruel 🙂 )
“You’ll know if you’re world class caliber by setting records”, you can find this sentiment and similar written plenty online.
I mean shit, I’m competitive in weightlifting…alongside the 60kg women.
Yep, I got that jerk and snatch – but really I just press, letting that carry most everything at this point, doing little else but it, pushups, and the kettlebell.
At my present bodyweight of 287lbs, where ;
•I can do a handful of pullups
•I can hack it delivering houses
•It’s, in some ways, far from the strongest I’ve ever been
•It’s damn far from the best gas tank I’ve had, though when I go zen mode my wind is fine
You don’t find many big guys hacking labor jobs.
I say that’s more psychological than physical however.
Give the body time to adapt to running a truck’s load of boxes to an attic and it will.
Most however quit before that point.
I am, in fact, stronger than most everyone I reasonably cross paths with, especially considering I’m not at the local powerlifting gym option.
Too many look at “I’m not world class” as a problem, instead of just going on the fucking journey regardless.
Do you like lifting weights?
Firstly I seriously doubt many who lift weights actually do, what with complicated programming, and overly much bells and whistles being involved.
The Cold Air Barbell Club has been my litmus test – “will I lift outside TODAY (in whatever that entails – in new england bro)”.
The answer for me is “Hell yeah, I’m going to lift weights!”
I’m signed up for the journey, though at times interspersed with much self loathing as I see a weakling via not minimally totalling national level records!
Though I can military press most humans as said above.
Psychoanalyze that!
Do you like lifting weights?
Yes.
Pretty sure I did before I even started lifting weights!
I wanted to lift weights, and time travel ability granted I would strongly expect that I would’ve been well served by having access to a 300 or 500lb weight set as early as 6th grade (definitely by 7th when I first had goatee and side burns) and some adult or other with reasonable knowledge to teach me :
•power clean & press
•squat
•front squat
•deadlift
•sldl
•row
add to that sprints of all distances, runs of 1-2 miles, lots of lunges, dips, pullups, chins, and pushups, and every sport under the sun – this paragraph having no age minimum unlike lifting where as dictator of earth all boys must press from the start of their 13th year on
What was I even writing about again?
Oh yeah. That I’m a no body.
Small and weak though fat at 287lbs, with a terrible total 🙂
/flow
Persistence & Tenacity