All I needed to know about life, I learned in the gym.
I’ve spent the majority of my training life in private gyms. 32 out of 36 years, I trained in gyms with no mirrors. Only for a few years while I was in college was this the case and one of those gyms didn’t have mirrors in the Powerlifting section.
We were taught to do the lifts based on feel, not visual feedback. As a Powerlifter, this was necessary, as there are not mirrors in meets.
It wasn’t until I got older that I saw another benefit to this. Every gym I’ve been a part of there’s been “shit talking” and “cracking on others,” what I like to think is a meathead way of bonding. Plus, if you could find that “thing” that could piss a training partner off it could be used to help bring out their best, if used in the right way.
I’ve seen some of this “shit talk” go too far. I've seen things go too far, fights break out, and people leave the gym pissed. All of this pales in comparison to the biggest enemy in the gym: Your reflection in the mirror. I’m not taking about how you look, but what you see inside. Many will say this is great and they love what they see when they look hard.
I won’t lie and say that and don’t need that distraction and bullshit while I’m in a place working on building who I am, learning how to become better, and training to get stronger.
You will not find mirrors in the elitefts gym or bathrooms.
I carried this lesson from the gym to the workplace. We are there to live, we are there to learn, and we are there to help others.
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