For the most part, I believe in that statement. I have found life is much more pleasant when that fine line of balance is established and ridden throughout training, competing, and just life in general. The problem I have with preaching the balance to the upcoming lifters is we have a group of Elite guys on the downsides of their "careers" and looking back they see the harm it cause them physically, emotionally, mentally.
It seems if they feel it's necessary for them to use the platform they have "earned" to try and prevent the next guy and or girl from making the same "mistakes." If you feel like you're one of those people that are willing to go the extra mile just to add pounds to your total, This will probably be refreshing. On the opposite end, if you're not sure about how deep you're willing to go to get a better number this may help you decide that balance is definitely for you.
Too much
Let's jump right into this, guys who have used a ton of gear: grams of test, tren, and so many oral's that they just stop counting milligrams to be competitive on meet days have become the first to say "trust me" it isn't worth it.
The guy that has used a fuck ton of diuretics to cut 30 40 pounds coming close to death just to be bagged up (IV) to get their fluids and potassium back up, he too at some point says "it wasn't worth it."
The guy who's gotten divorced, missed holidays, birthdays, children's activities all for the sole purpose of chasing that big total will at some point look back and go "what the fuck was I thinking?"
Physically
Piggybacking off the above, the side effects of taking that route can be one hell of a ride. Sleepless nights, severe cramps, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, erectile dysfunction, acid reflux, and these are just the usual everyday minor ones.
I could talk for a hundred hours about injuries I've seen over the years. Bones snapped, ligaments and tendon's detached, nerve damage, again this is a short list of injuries that occur on the regular.
The aches and pains of the sport will follow you long after you're done. It will become a constant reminder that you pushed the envelope and one day the envelope pushed back. Powerlifting is an unforgiving mistress who will chew you up spit you out and move on.
Mentally
I can't help but laugh at this one. Let's be real; we're all here because of some fucked up reason. I've said it a million times this is the "land of the broken toys." Psychologically the drugs will have you either King Kong or a Poodle there doesn't seem to be much of a gray area.
We lie, cheat, steal, we become a train on a one-way track of selfishness never slowing to stop to see if anyone around us is being affected by our actions. We get into the "by all means necessary " mode, and we find it all entirely justified in our mind when things work out on the platform.
Keep Up
I know right now you're thinking what the hell is he doing? He said he is against preaching balance, but that sounds fucking terrifying. Well, I won't try to sugarcoat it, it is.
It's like this, and trust me I've given this a lot of thought because I'm sure this will step on some toes and possibly hurt some feelings. If All these guys who preach this whole find a balance trust me, you'll thank me down the road sermon didn't go through all these trials and tribulations.
They A. wouldn't be "who" they are and even have the platform to pass on the knowledge they've collected, and B. why would they want to rob you of all the experiences whether good or bad that made them a lifter that you look up too?
Dave Tate told me once "you have to earn your regrets," yeah it's a cool shirt and saying but that will permanently stick with me. If you wanna make a run at being the best a lot of the shit above is coming your way make some fucking noise, learn from your mistakes and push the envelope! If this seems utterly ridiculous to you well, it is. Enjoy being mediocre if that's your thing. Only a very very small percentage of lifters will really be willing to take it all the way over something as idiotic as pounds on a total, but they are out there...trust me. #elitefts #5thset #EYR