A Weighty Matter

You may have noticed that as well as leaving politics largely alone, I haven’t had much to say about powerlifting for some time. (I suspect some of you are glad of that!) Well, there’s a similarly straightforward reason. I’ve lost interest.

It’s not a world, ultimately, that I especially care for, much as I enjoy the company of some of the people I’ve trained with. I don’t now see myself ever being good enough to compete, and the fact is that a game of football or pool yields a lot more pleasure.

But something inside is saddened by the thought of laying down the barbell. I’ve long felt an affinity with it – finding the right vehicle has been the challenge. As I type this, I suspect the truth is that I’d really like to be a weightlifter, but fear that I could never achieve the necessary flexibility. Maybe I should look into whether I could improve that sufficiently to dip my toes back in the water.

The further truth is I have accepted that I just don’t have an athlete’s mentality. I work with people who do – indeed I have regular contact with world class athletes. I don’t have that kind of drive, nor the drive to climb a political ladder. I am FEROCIOUSLY ambitious about other things though, and perhaps that’s the key. Perhaps ambition is calibrated to how realistic and important a goal is.

I think I shall return to my first love, which is weight training. The game’s not up yet.

UPDATE: If you are interested in weightlifting too, check out this terrific site, called Lift Up.