Discipline and Regret
By Matt Gary
I was first introduced to powerlifting in 1983 by my sixth grade
geography teacher, Mr. Spero Tshontikidis. In addition to teaching, Mr.
Tshontikidis was a competitive powerlifter in the ADFPA. He brought
powerlifting to our school and convinced the principal to allow him to
start a powerlifting team. The first day he mentioned it to the class I
thought powerlifting sounded cool so I decided to give it a try. After
all, what eleven-year-old boy doesn’t want to grow up to be big and
strong?
Mr. Tshontikidis taught us how to squat on the first day of
powerlifting practice. I had never touched a weight before let alone
squatted. I remember my hips and hamstrings were so tight that I had to
put my heels on a 2 X 4 in order to hit proper depth. I did three sets
of ten reps with 95 lbs. On the way home, I noticed my legs getting a
little sore, but I thought nothing of it. The next morning, I woke up
and tried to get out of bed. I took one step and fell flat on my face.
My legs were so unbelievably sore I thought I had seriously injured
myself. I had never experienced such excruciating muscle soreness. I
convinced my mother to let me stay home that day.
The following day I crawled back to school. I told Mr. Tshontikidis
that I didn’t want to be on the powerlifting team and that I would never
squat again. He tried to change my mind, but I didn’t budge. Later, he
would coach me on the junior varsity football team where I blossomed
into the team MVP as a freshman. Meanwhile, he continued to encourage me
to lift weights.
Though our school had a powerlifting team, strength training was never
emphasized for the athletic teams. Occasionally, after practice, some of
us ventured into the weight room. We were clueless. Typically, without a
proper warm up, we tested our manhood on the bench press, each of us
trying to out-perform the other. We never considered squatting or
deadlifting. After a few sets of bench presses, we usually grabbed some
dumbbells and did some curls. We reckoned, “What could possibly be more
important than working your chest and biceps?”
All we cared about was making our T-shirt muscles look bigger. We
were all young and ignorant about proper strength training. We lacked a
focus. More importantly, we lacked discipline because we weren’t
consistent. Contemplating my youth, my shortage of focus and
self-discipline was a colossal mistake. A lack of strength training at
an early age is one of my biggest regrets.
When I graduated high school in 1990, I began training with purpose. I
wanted to get bigger and stronger for college football but didn’t know
how to proceed. I asked around and finally met my uncle’s personal
trainer. At the time, Victor Furnells was a competitive bodybuilder. All
I knew was that he was big and strong. I trusted him and followed his
advice. He soon became my mentor. He always told me that the two
greatest pains in life are discipline and regret. At the time, I didn’t
understand those concepts. Most 17-year-olds lack discipline, especially
when it pertains to training. Likewise most high school kids have few,
if any, regrets in life.
He regularly admonished me about the peril of not taking strength
training seriously. He said it was unrealistic to expect continued
progress if I wasn’t disciplined enough to remain consistent with my
training. He reminded me that if I lacked self-discipline, I would
regret it later. Reflecting upon my youth, it all makes sense now. As
the famous 1972 hit song by Johnny Nash goes, “I can see clearly now,
the rain is gone.”
Webster’s college dictionary has eleven definitions of the word
“discipline.” For the sake of this discussion, I prefer to use the
meaning of discipline as “the rigor or training effect of experience or
adversity.” Regret means to feel sorrow or remorse for an act,
disappointment, or fault.
Experiencing life without ever exercising self-discipline ought to be a
crime. Obdurate behavior comes back to haunt you and remind you of where
you could have improved. Most people resist challenges and want things
to be painless. Exercising self-discipline is an arduous task.
Undisciplined people are usually devoid of self-respect and respect for
others.
If you last a lifetime without regret, consider it a miracle. Discipline
hurts. However, exhibiting discipline during worthy pursuits is only
temporarily painful. The pain only lasts amid your journey toward the
objective. Once you have achieved your goal, the pain is obsolete. While
the pain from self-discipline is transient, the agony from regret is
perpetually hurtful. Remaining remorseful for a wrongful act or
sometimes for the lack of action gashes you like a knife wound. Once you
think you have vanquished your regret and your laceration heals, you
look down at the scar only to be reminded of a missed opportunity.
Success in athletics, achieving supreme fitness, and staying healthy all
require self-discipline. Remaining disciplined necessitates steadfast
persistence. In the arena of achievement, you either stand unwavering in
your quest or falter and succumb to the pain of self-control. Discipline
connotes repetitive behavior. Moreover, it routinely obligates one to
either deprive the self and/or go the extra mile. Being on time for work
every morning, preparing your meals in advance, double checking your
homework assignments, staying after practice to work on your skills,
keeping meticulous financial records, spending adequate quality time
with loved ones, sticking to your diet, not missing workouts, going to
bed at a reasonable hour, reading your bible every day, and keeping your
word are all prime examples of exceptional discipline.
To me, discipline is doing what you’re supposed to do even when you
aren’t up to the task. Though not a fan of competitive bodybuilding, I
appreciate and respect the discipline that is required when dieting for
competition. In organized team sports, anyone can stay after practice
when the coach releases you early and you have spare time. The real
indication of discipline is staying late after practice when you’ve just
played your best game. Anyone can succeed during the good times when the
obstacles are few. The true measure of a man’s character is when things
go badly, the odds are against you, and your back is against the wall.
This is when you find out what you’re really made of.
It has been said that life is a journey, not a destination. Fixate on
and appreciate the process rather than the outcome. I played football at
many levels, from boys’ club as a youngster, through high school, my
freshman year in college, and one year of semi-professional. Of the time
I spent playing and practicing, traveling to games, and watching game
film on our next opponent, it was the camaraderie I shared with my
teammates on the practice field and in the locker room that I enjoyed
the most. Even today as I compete in powerlifting, as much as I relish
the competitions, I prefer training hard in the gym. The countless hours
centered on the singular goal of becoming as strong as possible make it
all worthwhile.
My favorite inspirational quote is by Theodore Roosevelt: “It is not the
critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man
stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The
credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is
marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and
comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error
and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows
the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy
cause, who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and
who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So
that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know
neither victory nor defeat.”
This quote has coached me to live life with fervor and to harbor few
regrets. I don’t want to be the one always saying, “I wish I had done
this or I should have done that.” Accordingly, I try my best to work
relentlessly regardless of my goal. Then, at the end of the day, I can
sleep well knowing that I did all I could. The best time to tell someone
you love them is right now. Do not waste another moment. Procrastination
is the badge of fools. Cherish your family and friends because one day
they’ll be gone. Speak with sincerity. Chicanery leads to nothing but
discordance. Those that matter can tell the difference. The time to
start eating better and cleaning up your diet is today. If you want to
feel and look better, why wait until tomorrow? Do it now.
Stop missing workouts. Your training partners depend on you as much
as you depend on them. Consistency is paramount to accomplishment.
Travel more. See the world. God created the most awesome planet for us
to explore and enjoy. Do not wait until you’re too old to travel.
Compete! Always measure yourself first and then evaluate yourself
against others. The only degree of improvement that matters is the one
you make. Be disciplined. Once the goal is attained, the pain of
sticking to the plan subsides. Pain disappears, satisfaction arrives,
and contentment washes away the possibility of regret. Aim even higher
the next time. Our minds limit us more than our bodies. Believe in
yourself.
Roosevelt added, “With self-discipline most anything is possible.” For
the past thirteen years, powerlifting and the pursuit of strength have
been at the forefront of my physical endeavors. I have had my share of
injuries and possess a high tolerance for pain. However, it is nice to
differentiate between good pain and bad pain. Instilling self-discipline
begets good pain that ultimately transforms to fruitfulness if you
endure. Missed opportunities engender regret. Regret evokes bad pain.
Last year, I trained tirelessly for the USAPL American Open
Powerlifting Championships in Scranton, Pennsylvania. My training went
well, but I was definitely not at my strongest. On Sunday, December 2,
2007, while warming-up in the squat, I tore the vastus lateralis muscle
in my right leg. The pain was immense, and my leg still hurts to this
day. Nevertheless, I am content tolerating the physical pain because I
can’t imagine the mental anguish I would feel had I chose not to
compete.
Matt Gary is a full-time strength coach in Rockville, Maryland. He
works one-on-one with many high school and collegiate athletes as well
as elite powerlifters. His educational background includes a bachelor’s
degree in kinesiological science from the University of Maryland. Matt
is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) via the
National Strength and Conditioning Association and an active member of
the USAPL where he maintains his status as a national referee and
assistant coach on the USA Men’s and Women’s world powerlifting teams.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the
strength training industry by providing the highest quality strength
training products and services while providing the highest level of
customer service in the industry. For the best training equipment,
information, and accessories, visit us at www.EliteFTS.com.
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