A Powerlifters Diary: Part 4, The final chapter

So yesterday I competed and won my weight division, quite convincingly but, that didn’t result in me being happy. Why, you might ask, well as mother always says ‘winning isn’t everything’. I think I finally understood what she was talking about yesterday and probably not in the way she had hoped. I do like to be difficult and different lol. Sometimes numbers don’t mean anything yet at the same time they can mean everything, for a moment in time anyway. See if you look at the numbers I got on the day, which if you were interested; squat 115kg, bench press 65kg, 140kg for my dead lift for a 320kg total, I got the win. However my plan was to achieve a 340kg total and I had felt this should be more than achievable with the figures I was hitting in training. Therefore in my eyes I failed miserably and went backwards from my last competition.

I could stop here and leave you merely with my own disappointment and numbers but there is always a twist, a moral to every story and a happily ever after, Disney movies teach us this from a young age. So the uplifting moment for me yesterday started by consuming a glorious burger from Burger Burger, the name and object so great they had to name it twice. This was one the best burgers I have had and I would recommend the joint to anyone that goes to Surrey Hills. This burger made me realise that my comp was not the end of the world and it really doesn’t matter in the scheme of life itself. This burger represented hope and was a sign of better things to come. My mood throughout my competition was up and down to say the least and I was left physically and mentally exhausted after, that’s probably why I saw the burger as my saviour. Amazing what some food can do when you are depleted.

The trip home comprised of a Disney song sing-a-long which kept my mood high and my mind off my performance. I went home and just wanted to hide away from the world, as the burgers powers were wearing off, magic only lasts so long and comes with a price. Not eating bad and then having something like that is never fun, had pretty bad stomach cramps for the rest of the day (but still totally worth it). So now I’m back to reflecting on how I went again feeling pretty shit about myself and questioning why and what I even like about lifting weights, this called for movie time, so obviously I chose to watch the Grinch. It then hit me I can either be like the Grinch and stay angry at the world and myself or I can embrace what has happened and return Christmas to everyone, I mean, accept it was a bad day in the office but that I have increased in strength and I will learn from this. I know Coach Brad said this to me on several occasions and ‘let it go’ but it took a while to sink through my thick stubborn head. Instantly after accepting what had happened I felt a weight lift off my shoulders and I felt and still feel motivated to go train and get back out there and show myself and the world what I can do. Never give up!

And they all lived happily ever after….The end

Rhiannon Leake,

4 U Body Fitness Mobile Personal Training Specialist