Post by Steve Gardener on Oct 16, 2009 15:13:13 GMT
Another attempt at winning (2x so far) the 500 word essay competition on MD.
That first touch of a barbell. How it felt in our hands. Is the straining, lifting and pushing of iron and steel our search for that oddly good feeling we had way back when?
Do you recall how your first workout went? What about those workouts which were just perfect. Maybe you didn't know they were 'the ones' back when you did them but now, with hundreds and hundreds under your belt you do.
A lifter might say 'It was the one time on the platform when I made no mistakes and exceeded even my own expectations'. A builder might talk of 'the best pump and ache I have ever had. My muscles literally cramped up and I knew I could have done no more'.
All might debate the feeling they had when those around them were all working just as hard, weights clanged and rattled on bent bars. Machines made that slight whizzing noise as cables ran over pulley wheels followed by the light crashing of the stack onto the small springs at the bottom and that's without mentioning the smells or the sounds from the little broken but still working radio when the tunes just seemed to fit the moment. It was as though they were at some sort of factory where each rep produces goods for the world and they all worked together as a team. A moment when it just gelled.
At the essence of all of these is the feeling as your hands take a grip around the bar. That slight bite from perfect knurling into skin thickened from years of lifting, helped by a touch of chalk on sweaty days. Fingers and thumb wrapping around and tightening for the heavy sets. The hand now locked and I mean LOCKED in position and you get ready to brutalise your muscles once again.
All of those lift weights, be they forum members, readers of many of our sports magazines and all with opinions of their own, many times different, will have these feelings as something they share. Every one, every one shares this. You can argue reps, sets and time under tension. You can debate that this guy or that should have won in your chosen part of the sport. You can be short or tall, light or heavy, black or white but you all sometimes get that feeling... Just sometimes it feels like the first touch of a barbell and you're reminded of why you go, why you put up with the aches, pains, trials and tribulations of life.
All of you share this. It's why, regardless of our differences we can appreciate the very best pro-bodybuilder when we're a powerlifter. It's why the best bodybuilder can tip his cap at the man squatting a 1000lbs and it's why we can still admire even the smallest, lightest, most skinny ass mo-fo if they go about their business with something akin to real determination. He or she will share the same feeling above with you all.
That first touch of a barbell. How it felt in our hands. Is the straining, lifting and pushing of iron and steel our search for that oddly good feeling we had way back when?
Do you recall how your first workout went? What about those workouts which were just perfect. Maybe you didn't know they were 'the ones' back when you did them but now, with hundreds and hundreds under your belt you do.
A lifter might say 'It was the one time on the platform when I made no mistakes and exceeded even my own expectations'. A builder might talk of 'the best pump and ache I have ever had. My muscles literally cramped up and I knew I could have done no more'.
All might debate the feeling they had when those around them were all working just as hard, weights clanged and rattled on bent bars. Machines made that slight whizzing noise as cables ran over pulley wheels followed by the light crashing of the stack onto the small springs at the bottom and that's without mentioning the smells or the sounds from the little broken but still working radio when the tunes just seemed to fit the moment. It was as though they were at some sort of factory where each rep produces goods for the world and they all worked together as a team. A moment when it just gelled.
At the essence of all of these is the feeling as your hands take a grip around the bar. That slight bite from perfect knurling into skin thickened from years of lifting, helped by a touch of chalk on sweaty days. Fingers and thumb wrapping around and tightening for the heavy sets. The hand now locked and I mean LOCKED in position and you get ready to brutalise your muscles once again.
All of those lift weights, be they forum members, readers of many of our sports magazines and all with opinions of their own, many times different, will have these feelings as something they share. Every one, every one shares this. You can argue reps, sets and time under tension. You can debate that this guy or that should have won in your chosen part of the sport. You can be short or tall, light or heavy, black or white but you all sometimes get that feeling... Just sometimes it feels like the first touch of a barbell and you're reminded of why you go, why you put up with the aches, pains, trials and tribulations of life.
All of you share this. It's why, regardless of our differences we can appreciate the very best pro-bodybuilder when we're a powerlifter. It's why the best bodybuilder can tip his cap at the man squatting a 1000lbs and it's why we can still admire even the smallest, lightest, most skinny ass mo-fo if they go about their business with something akin to real determination. He or she will share the same feeling above with you all.
