I will never not take the opportunity to mention that I held the all-time world record bench press in the 275 weight class for a brief time (enjoy that double negative by the way). That was back when there was basically one division, Powerlifting wasn’t split into dozens of divisions so you really knew where you stood.

With that, I have taken the opportunity to spew a little venom over the years about people’s single ply, half wrapped, sub-master, fire academy, xyz fed, town, city, state, us, and world records. Not a weekend passes without seeing a couple dozen of these. Looking at a sea of trophies on a meet table with limited competition used to get me seeing red as well.

Rather than shake my head about it, I took a little more objective look at this the other day. It got me thinking, who am I to judge how someone feels about him or herself. Seriously, your mom might not care about your record or trophy, but if it blows your own skirt up, good on you.

Anything that gets your juices flowing to try and better yourself, have at it. If you are going after a fed record and it’s causing you to work harder, cool. Actually, in this day of social media heroes who never even step on a platform, I applaud those who have the fortitude to actually compete.

So there you have it, go chase those trophies and records. Brag about them and feel proud. Just don’t get too deflated when you have to show up to work on Monday like everyone else. Hopefully, you’ll get a pat on the back or two. If nothing else, you’ll have a cool new paperweight for your desk.