The following text is written by Craig O'Connell. Whether or not you use the 5/3/1 program or not is irrelevant to what we wrote. What is crucial is the attitude he took prior to his powerlifting meet; a commitment to pushing himself far beyond what he believed capable. This kind of attitude doesn't happen overnight or even all the time; there are small snippets of time when your actions and attitude become unstoppable. It may be only for 3 months or maybe a year. For some, it may last a decade. But when you harness these times you truly understand what is possible.
The last few weeks I've been reading about high level endurance athletes; how much genetics play a role in being at the top. And the same goes for any highly competitive sport. Most of us won't make it the Tour de France or the NFL. But you would be surprised how far you can get on attitude and work ethic. And trust me when I say the painfully average can go very far on these two things. Well, that and balls/guts. - Jim Wendler
Massive Conspiracy To End All Weakness
I stole the title of this entry from a 531 template. It fits.
In the last 13 weeks I also purloined the framework from Jim Wendler to construct THE strongest version of myself to date. Following a program outlined from his book I've been able to go Beyond what was once the outer reaches of my capabilities in the weight room. The ensuing words are not to recap my woes in the pursuit of adding more lbs on the bar than I have previously, its a recollection of the mindset awarded to me by having done just exactly that.
I worked as hard as possible throughout this time and needed remind myself once at the onset - that all Life is suffering. Everyone has pain, everyone gets sick. Inevitable Tragedy in all its permutations lurks in the darkness and strikes at us all - sparing no one. With my understanding of this confronted, I deemed the task truly worthwhile. Accepting this fact meant I gave myself permission to grow into something more and not concede to less. This was my attempt To End all Weakness.
I'll only give it a few words. But this doesn't have to be impossible and it CAN be for everyone. It was not special in the grand scheme of the universe but it was a highlight in the timeline for me to grow forth. Anyone can do this in any one or several things. One only needs to set their sights and go hard at the throat of the task. Tear and claw. Rip and gnash.
Personally, I don't like being a pussy and have run dry of make-belief reasons for the addition of a needless layer of difficulty to an already arduous road. I say that because I see the many subscribers to victimhood that easily make THE pain, monotony and overall battle into paragraphs. Day in and day out they stress the emphasis on the hurt so they feel special. This sad false reality bleeds far outside the borders of physical culture as I'm sure you have been witness too. But for those in the arena - hear my words shouted, and shut the fuck up about your daily internal struggle to freely lift weights - steel yourself already. Do not marry the absolute struggle of life with the voluntary choice of competing for the sake of making yourself a martyr. You do this to ascend not to loathe in self-tyranny and petition for pity and sympathy from your peers. Oppose excuses and revolt against pre-supposed shortcomings. Bear the burden properly. Always.
When I took aim, I sought a higher responsibility to grow stronger. I was very specific with this selfish pursuit of insanity. PRs in all lifts was my gold and would get me back on the victorious side of my lifting history. Anything shorter was a failure. Drawing a line in the sand between winning and losing gave every minute a great heavy meaning that I would not let go of. My goal was twofold, it was realistic and within reach so long as I was willing to be tested. To stretch that out I mean to say that I promised to get out of my own way and train at a noble level foreign to me. Do more of the good things and negate the bad. Use common sense whenever possible. Pledge to operate with a mind seething with the thought process of “Nothing Can Stop Me” and absolutely without fail - To try hard and believe in myself.
In these efforts I had my best ever day of competing. I did what I told myself I would do with little negotiation. In possession of my newly calloused mind, I never gave up and I didn't relent. The lessons taken away from a hyper-focused period of weeks overcoming gravity with weights have rewarded me the tools and opportunity to make my life better – not worse. That's the Great Why behind this all.
I can – We can.
Slowly. Methodically. Indefinitely End all Weakness.
