Disclaimer:  Always seek professional help.  We as strength and conditioning coaches are professional in STRENGTH and CONDITIONING.  We are NOT Doctors or Mental Health Professionals

As Strength and Conditioning Coach we get to hear things far beyond our scope of expertise.  I have lived through so many experiences and connected with thousands of people over the years that I feel confident with my "Under the Bar" knowledge outside of the S&C field that I will always give my opinion (if I have one).

We are Educators, Drill Instructors, Task masters, Mentors, Best Buds, and "Big Toes" (Stripes reference).

"One more Rep!" is a phrase used by many trainers and strength coaches around the world.  "One more REP" means you have something more to give!  "One more REP!" is the direct opposite of "Last Reps" for many reasons.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a friend and teammate of mine, Dr. Bryan Mann about an issue that was a bit out of the norm for me.  Normally with a few people that I share direct messages with, we trade jokes, dumb memes, porn, and a few training tips.  When Dr. Mann told me of how he was feeling after writing about "Mental Health" in a section of his new Powerlifting book that Bob Young's suicide inspired.

Bob Youngs was EVERYONE'S pal and a lot of lifter's mentor.  Bob and I became very close in one weekend the first time we met at an EliteFTS seminar.

I also felt a close relationship to the entire tragedy because  (I speculate) I was the last person to speak to Bob the night before the surprising news.

That night, Bob never indicated that anything was or had been troubling him.  I never detected nor picked up on any signals that Bob was hurting in any way!

Dr. Mann questioned, "If Bob could succumb to the depression that would have someone consider taking his own life, then ANYONE could", and somehow we need to change the way "Mental Health" is perceived.

Ironically, another teammate, Clint Darden, sent me a message the same week paying me one of the biggest compliments I had ever received.  Not how smart, handsome, strong, or athletic I am, (darn it) but how I could always change bad situations into good ones and never did I seem "down" in his opinion, and how do I do that?

This topic inspired me to a point that I contacted our "Team Sponsorship" group or for the lack of a better term, The Team's Mentorship Group which consists of YEARS of experience not only in Powerlifting, Business, Athletics but in "scars of life" that are worn proudly.

I bounced the idea off the other three members (by the way, Bob Youngs was a "Mentor" as well) to see which direction we'd like to go with this topic.  We talked and I was reminded that we need to be clear that in no way are we "Medical Professionals" nor are we at all rightfully able to preach about the aspects of exercise in order to help depression.  I am NOT breaching the topic with "all you need to do is train and everything will be alright".

I am not going to go into the detail Marilia Coutinho did in her in-depth article  "Suicide and Lifting", https://www.elitefts.com/education/suicide-and-lifting/

nor will I get into the emotional, gut-wrenching writings as Bryan Krahn did in his article "Price of the Platform",  https://www.elitefts.com/education/price-of-the-platform/

What I am going to write is how does a 63-year-old competitive ass stays relevant and how I avoid depression knowing that my best reps are the ones behind me.

I am also hoping that I can get any and all of you readers to respond with your OWN story and methods of keeping yourself out of a very dark place.

Let's face it, this has been quite a challenging year.  How the heck does anyone avoid depression or that sinking feeling that we are caught in a real-life movie of "Ground Hogs Day"?

It is quite easy to focus on everything that is going wrong at that moment.  As I am writing this, I am taking stock of what is working against me at this moment:

Age

Arthritis

Degenerating disks

Chronic Sciatica

Chronic plantar fasciitis

Stress fractures

Diverticulitis, a blood clot, and an infection that was far worse than I ever let on that kept me in the hospital not too long ago.

And a plethora of other ailments that are ONLY physical issues.

Like everyone else, the stress of today's current climate with pandemics, politics, religion, and economics definitely wears on a person if that person focuses on it.

Have I ever been "down"?

Of course!  But I didn't like it down there.  The air was too thick and it stunk.

For me, instead of focusing on all the challenges, I determined I would focus on the SOLUTIONS to the issues and have dialogs with people that are close to me about them.

What can I do right now that addresses them?  What systematic approach must I do to accomplish these solutions?

Like any goal and objective, I had to first write them down, and put completion dates on them to give everything a sense of urgency and a timeline to work towards something AND I had to talk about them to people I knew and trusted to be held accountable!

"WORK TOWARDS SOMETHING"!!!

This is big.  No!  This is HUGE!

Whenever I focused on the past, I would witness a decline in my attitude.  What was back there?  The things that I couldn't change as well as my best lifts, best athletic performances, the best of my physicality.

Attitude, NOT amplitude is what determines my Altitude.

What can I do in the next month, week, day, 10 minutes that will help me obtain my goal?

The forward-thinking of what do I need to address next is what keeps me focused on the what if's of possibility instead of the would-haves, could haves of the past.

The "one more rep" mentality instead of the "last rep" is also a reason to continue with excitement rather than resentment.

Every single DAY I try to improve on some aspect of my fitness.

No matter what...The Gym is my domain and my environment to thrive.  Physical activity no matter who you are, what your lot in life is, what your social standing is is the great equalizer.

It doesn't matter what you have, who your family is. It doesn't matter what your politics are, or your social outlook is.

If you do WORK you get the prize, which can be the best nonprescription you can take to combat all the negative stin'n think'n.

Depression is real!  Physical activity is real!  The people engaged in the promotion of the people or the programs are real!

My gym is an unfiltered, dialog-inducing, nonjudgemental atmosphere that fosters what I call "Group Therapy on a LARGE scale".

Yes, we will banter with each other, but in the moment there is a witness to a "special line" that might have been crossed, we all rally around and put it to rest before anyone leaves that practice session.

I hope this isn't the entire dialog on the topic.  Too many people have a dark cloud that they might be hiding because the subject is taboo to them.

Physical Activity and discussions have helped me overcome many aspects of depression and anxiety.

To think you have an isolated situation and you may not have anyone that understands is far from the truth.

Life's ups and downs are normal.  How you deal with the down period can be done solo, but like most things in life, having a TEAM around you to engage with, makes it much more tolerable.

What thoughts do YOU have?  What is YOUR story?

This is Vincent Dizenzo and first, I'm flattered that my man crush Harry asked me to gives this a look. We have chatted on the subject a few times. Unfortunately, many of us know people who have succumb to depression and psychological issues. Some of us have been through them ourselves. There was a day when many would see that as a sign of weakness. I'm happy to see that's really not the case anymore. Yet, it's still difficult for many to admit.

I have had my own struggles. Even recently. I am very lucky to have an amazing support system in my wife that I trust implicitly. I talk through things with her. I have even discussed with her the possibilities of seeking professional help after losing my brother. It never got to that point, but I would have not given it a second thought.

I learned over thirty years ago the value of sound counsel. For years I suffered from a terrible recurring dream. I was in grad school at the time and had a good relationship with one of my professors who was a Dr. of Psychology. The subject came up in her office and she navigated me through it. To this day I have never had that debilitating dream again.

The point is, there are professionals out there for a reason. Use them. I'm sure many of you have had great team and or lifting coaches. Having the right tools can make all the difference.

Lastly, if you even think someone you know is going through difficult times, reach out to them. That's my story.