Making It Work
By
Adam Plagens
As a powerlifter, grad student, father, and husband, I hear piles of insane
BS from the general populace. “Wow, I could never do that.” “You can lift how
much?” “You must be on steroids.” “I used to do that and then I broke ____.”
Like most of us, I smile, nod, and continue my training. However, there was one
comment by a professor that literally blew me away. As a full-time graduate
student, my time is compressed into family, work, studying, training, and
sleeping. I eat somewhere in there, too. During a particular lecture on
statistics, my professor looked at the class, and pointedly stated, “I gave up
my health for this degree. That is what you do to succeed. You sacrifice your
own health to promote health behavior for others.” The first thought in my head
was, “Bullshit.” The first words out of my mouth were, “Sucks to be you.”
After class, the professor asked me about my comment, and I explained to him
that the world—professional and personal—is about sacrifice. I went on to tell
him about the kids, the wife, the 60 hours of work, the 20 hours of studying,
and the full-time job. Oh yea, I train to pick up heavy things, too. He just
stood there and justified his statement by saying, “You would be a world class
lifter without all those obligations.” I was floored. Here was a guy with a
doctorate degree bitching about how hard it was for him to get it.
I’ve stewed over this conversation for weeks…well, months actually. I still
don’t get it. From all of my years in the military and my years of training,
nothing—and I mean nothing—is a given. You work your ass off for it. You sweat,
you cry, and you bleed. You heal and then you do it again.
As I write this article, I want to lift more, heavier, and faster to spite
this man. His words are my fuel to improve as a father, a professional, and a
lifter. I want an Elite total, but I want more than anything to show this whiny
bitch that hard work has its results. Fuck the obligations. You make it work
with what you have. Too much schoolwork? Train early. Not enough free time? Push
a Prowler in the evening after the kids get baths. I may only train legitimately
twice a week, but that’s all I can do.
I’ve set a PR every week with a new bench press PR of 90 lbs more than my best
ever meet weight. I plan to do more. I train alone a lot because my schedule is
so dispersed. This is not an excuse. It’s a reason to try different training.
It’s also a way to mentally test your limits when you have to PR a squat with no
spotters. Complaining and whining about difficulty is for the mediocre. I don’t
want to be mediocre. My intent is to be Elite with all the obligations along the
way.
Adam Plagens is a father of two (soon to be three), a full-time security
manager, and a graduate student at Eastern Michigan University. He has been
training for the past four years in Southeast Michigan and is currently
preparing for the APF Wolverine in October. Adam is also an aspiring strength
coach.
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
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