I will always remember a chat I had with Maurie Craggs. Maurie, in his eighties. still lifts and competes in powerlifting. I asked him, ‘Will you ever stop?’. Maurie’s reply meant more than words. He said ‘When I stop, I stop for good’.
When I look to my future I honestly don’t see a reason why I could not continue to challenge myself physically and mentally with the pursuit of the barbell till my last days. I look forward to being able to bestow some Maurie Craggs wisdom on someone when I’m in my eighties.
I think about my top five reasons to crush kilos whilst always seeking challenge and improvement.
1. Kendra
Until July 1st 2021, my reasons to lift weights were selfish. With the birth of my daughter Kendra, it has very much become about more than me. I know that with what I do I set an example for Kendra as she grows up, good and bad. I want her to see how important physical challenges is, and all the good that comes from taking it on. I want her to see that all women can be strong. Ultimately the choice will be hers, but with me, her mum, her grandma, and all the strong women she will get to hang out with in the gym I’m sure we will see her lifting weights very soon!
2. Health and wellbeing
Even though I claim 28, I have just ticked over into the forties. Not just maintaining my health, but continuing to improve it is now ever more of a priority to me. I have a young family and I look forward to being able to do all the physical challenges that come with having a family. Not to mention the very nice side benefit of staying healthy, fit, strong and adding more minutes to my time on this earth to spend with family.
3. The challenge
There is no greater challenge than trying to achieve something for the first time. For me, lifting weights gives me this challenge. Setting down a number to lift on a movement or a date to compete excites me like nothing else.
4. Friendship
Years ago we worked out, we had worked it out. We swapped the beers on Saturday for barbells and protein shakes. The relationships I have made from lifting weights are the best. My best friends are all in the kilo game. The bonds that you will form after years of grinding away at a common goal become like nothing else. I literally have made friends all around the world with one common ground, the barbell.
5. Enjoyment
The gym is quite simply my happy place. There is no problem a deadlift can’t fix, so even on bad days I know a trip to the gym will keep my mind at ease and bring me great joy.
For me it is a place of meditation, inside the four walls of the gym there can be only one problem and that is gravity.
What’s your top reason to crush kilos ??
The Concept of Hardworking
Too often the concept of hard work in the gym is confused with who has the most kilos on the barbell or who spends the
The Missed Opportunity
For me it starts now, eight weeks out from my next competition. Every top set of squat, bench and dead, I follow a process of
It’s A Strange Sport
I call powerlifting one of the strangest sports around. It is the one sport where no one genuinely cares who wins and who loses. What