Jaunty's "My House, My Rules" Fatherly Advice Basement Bar

Lifting is a huge part of my life. Well at least I want it to be. I really like the pursuit of a stronger me. Its why I got my parents into it in their late 60's. Its why I use it to raise 1000's of dollars; Its something you can do that not only benefits your mental state (enjoyment, stress release, etc...) but your physical health as well. I will always chase for PRs, however like some of you mentioned, I won't make "sacrifices " for it. My family and such come first.
 
If someone who isn't really young says powerlifting is one of the most important things in their life, I'd expect an answer of yes to most of the following:
-You must compete a lot then?
-Do you get to travel around quite a bit with it to different gyms?
-Do you get paid or are you sponsored?
-You must coach others?
-You must be involved in the business side of it as well?

Say you meet a group of people and state powerlifting is one of the most important things to you and no matter what you make time and sacrifices for it. They ask you those questions and your answer is "no" to most of it. They then respond, so what do you do exactly? "Well I lift often per week at my gym, hit new #'s, and post videos of it". I'd be thinking wtf. Everyone should be able to understand it as a hobby, but this isn't some sort of grandeur lifestyle.
 
I can say yes to at least 2 of those. And to the question of compete often, I'd say no but I volunteer at almost every meet in my area (3-5) per year. Next year that will likely be more as I will likely put on my own sanctioned meet and there were 2 new ones this year that popped up before I could commit. So yes, I'd say powerlifting is a pretty big part of my life. More than a hobby, I'd say. Its something I hope my kids get involved with, and something I plan on being part of for the rest of my life. I might not be a strong guy, but I try to lift as much as I can when I can. I definitely don't put as much energy into actually lifting as I do into making sure others get a chance to.
 
I will say though that @Oblivian is not incorrect. people often make the wrong "sacrifice" for something that really is, just a hobby.
 
I really don't understand how the guys who see lifting as a priority in their lives have such a big problem with it not being a priority for someone else. Do you strive to be the absolute best you can be at everything that you do? I really doubt that because everyone has a limited amount of time and energy.
 
Pretty much, @DrBdan
I think that can be applied to most everything that you get involved in.
 
I really don't understand how the guys who see lifting as a priority in their lives have such a big problem with it not being a priority for someone else. Do you strive to be the absolute best you can be at everything that you do? I really doubt that because everyone has a limited amount of time and energy.

Yeah there are clearly many many hobbies where it is sufficient just to do it for the pleasure of it.

I read books... I don't read so I can be the best reader ever. I dive, because I fucking love being underwater. I feel no need to get progressively better, I do it because the experience is good. My dad sails yachts sometimes. He does it because he loves boats and the sea, he doesn't want to race. I play the odd computer game, although less and less often. I don't need to get into e-sports and enter into Street Fighter tournaments or whatever else is out there. Of course with many of these things, improvement is very nice... but it's clearly not absolutely necessary. (Although I will be trying to qualify for the Asia Pacific Pokemon Trading Card Game Championships, and will be doing everything I can to wreck face. That's more than a hobby.)

This is just such a normal part of life, for millions and millions of people.
 
Also, I have no visions of grandeur in the sport of Powerlifting other than to continue to increase the money raised with my charity, to have the Brockville Open sanctioned and to provide a cheap gym for under privilege kids to learn the lifts and stay out of trouble... I will never be elite, I will never make provincials, or worlds or whatever.
 
Also, I have no visions of grandeur in the sport of Powerlifting other than to continue to increase the money raised with my charity, to have the Brockville Open sanctioned and to provide a cheap gym for under privilege kids to learn the lifts and stay out of trouble... I will never be elite, I will never make provincials, or worlds or whatever.

Nice one. You never know, one of those kids could go on to become someone special in the sport.
 
Nice one. You never know, one of those kids could go on to become someone special in the sport.

I feel like weightlifting is one of those sports that go unnoticed by most youth because its seen as a means to a different end, like hockey, football, posing, being douchey etc... If I can provide an environment to offer 1 kid a chance to learn to enjoy the lifts and do their homework, finish school who would have otherwise ended up on our streets or worse, costing us money in jail or in the hospital, I've done my job here.
 
Well personally I only do BJJ, lift weights, and play music - I've cut other extraneous things out to focus on them, because between work, eating, and sleeping, there are only so many hours left in a week.

With all three of those things most of the satisfaction comes from progression, that is the metric by which you judge enjoyment of those pursuits - more weight, more technical knowledge of BJJ, more ability to play music I couldn't play before. Self improvement is rewarding and fun, whereas other things are just fun. I've only got so many hours to spend in my lifetime on activities, it's wise to spend them doing things that offer multiple returns.

As for Oblivian's post about the below:
-You must compete a lot then?
-Do you get to travel around quite a bit with it to different gyms?
-Do you get paid or are you sponsored?
-You must coach others?
-You must be involved in the business side of it as well?


All I would say to that is just because someone sucks at something, doesn't mean it's just a hobby for them. All of the above list suggests they're successful and stand out from the crowd, and therefore it's more than a hobby. But whether something is a hobby or not is up to personal interpretation. You might spend 15 hours a week in the gym chasing a 1200 total, but that doesn't mean it's not your passion or calling.
 
Do you strive to be the absolute best you can be at everything that you do? I really doubt that because everyone has a limited amount of time and energy.

As someone who competes at a higher level than most but is also around a lot of normal athletes, I'll weigh in here.

Yes, I absolutely try to be the best at everything I do. Honestly, I hate losing more than I like winning. I think this is the mindset as you get higher and higher up the athletic ladder. There is a competitiveness there that isn't there in "normal" people.

With that said, it's not like I have tons of hobbies. Most of my time is consumed by training, coaching, and hanging out waiting to go train or coach because that's how my life needs to be right now to give myself the best chance possible to achieve my goals.

I also don't give a shit whether or not anyone else wants to work really hard, outside of my athletes. It doesn't matter to me. It's not my life to live.

For what it's worth, I can't wait to be done lifting competitively in a few years so I can just go back to enjoying it.
 
But certainly you do other things in your life? What about cooking? Are all of your meals 5-star michelin rated gourmet meals? No? Why not? Do you not value the taste experience you get from eating? Do you not strive to improve the quality of your meals every day?
 
I don't think that is even remotely the same thing.

I don't try to walk like a speed walking champ or drive like a racing champ, either.

To me, that is you being pedantic about what I said.
 
But certainly you do other things in your life? What about cooking? Are all of your meals 5-star michelin rated gourmet meals? No? Why not? Do you not value the taste experience you get from eating? Do you not strive to improve the quality of your meals every day?

The Michelin stars only go up to 3.

While not 3-star Michelin rated meals, yes, generally speaking, I try to cook my food as best as I possibly can so it's the most enjoyable.
 
I make my food bland as fuck so no one else will eat it. Then I get more food for me.
 
I don't think that is even remotely the same thing.

I don't try to walk like a speed walking champ or drive like a racing champ, either.

To me, that is you being pedantic about what I said.

Sorry if it seemed like I was picking at you specifically. My point is that people do lots of things in their lives, some things they are more devoted to, other things they do for less "noble" reasons. Obviously lifting is very important to you and Jim so you've both structured your lives around it.
 
I think every hobby that I've had in my life has people that take it extremely seriously. It can be as small of something such as smoking meats, drinking beer, or shooting pool. I don't disc golf, but you'd at how many people who take disc golf as a way of life around here. In the grand scheme of things, most people will drop their hobby that they feel so hardcore about at some point and move on to something else. Anyone that says their mindset is like that on everything has obviously had other hobbies at some point in their life that they dropped.
 

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