As most of you know I tore my bicep about 1 year ago and had it surgically reattached. in that last year in that last year I've managed to Total 2006 lb Raw. And 2121 pounds raw with wraps. Anyone with any shred of training experience knows that it isn't easy to reach those numbers and anyone who has ever had to have a surgery such as a tendon reattachment knows how much of a mental block occurs after a surgery like that. I'm not making this article to toot my own horn or inflate my already substantial ego I'm simply putting this out there because if you're not willing to accept the amount of effort you might have to put in, the amount of pain you might endure, and the amount of suffering you may put yourself through and the people that you care about through then you need to get the hell out of it right now. There are certain levels of commitment and there's nothing wrong with being an exhibition style lifter or someone who just goes to meets to compete with themselves but if you ever expect to amount to anything resembling records or notoriety you need to accept the fact that there will be pain of some sort

I wanted to put this out there for some of my readers because I just hit a hook grip Sumo deadlift PR at 675 lb for 2 reps and ripped the pad of my thumb open. I attempted to switch to hook after I tore my bicep but was too frustrated with the limited weights I was working with and how shity my grip was to stick with it for any substantial amount of time and went on to pull 751 lb at the US Open with mixed grip. It's taken close to a year to get even with in 85% of my one rep max on hook grip. Just another example of accepting the struggle and the demon of self-doubt and self battle into your life through powerlifting.

At the end of the day there are levels of commitment in this sport and there's nothing wrong with just enjoying it and doing it to better yourself. But if you expect to be great at anything you have to give it your all and in the wise words of Clint Darden go all in or quit. Otherwise you're doing yourself and anyone else who supports you a disservice