What is your purpose for training? Is it strictly to compete, to win, hit PRs, or, is there something deeper that drives continued discipline? Or, conversely, are you struggling to even show up at the gym? Maybe you don’t have access to a any equipment at all.
With the current state of the pandemic, gyms are closing, meets are scarce, and motivation is low. We all have been impacted by COVID to some degree, maybe even gotten sick, or worse, lost a loved one. Our healthcare workers are exhausted, the political climate is a wildfire, and stress is at an all time high. There is a lot of uncertainty right now, but I’m trying to remain optimistic about 2021 and beyond.
I recently found myself in a bit of a slump. I like to joke that my personality is an existential crisis, but my joke had taken on a much truer meaning as of late. No matter where I went I didn’t want to be there. At work, at the gym, it didn’t matter, I couldn’t wait until I could go home. What’s the point, anyway? I’d say to myself, full of negativity. However, sometimes a seemingly insignificant experience can have the biggest impact on your worldview.
Last week I was scrolling through social media and I came across a cartoon about Sisyphus. If you are unfamiliar, in Greek mythology Sisyphus was the king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). He was punished for his self-aggrandizing craftiness and deceitfulness by being forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll down every time it neared the top, repeating this action for eternity.
The cartoon depicted Sisyphus rolling his boulder up the hill as Indiana Jones was being chased by a boulder coming down the hill. It was a silly cartoon that made me laugh, but it also reminded me about an essay by Albert Camus titled The Myth of Sisyphus, which saw Sisyphus as personifying the absurdity of human life, but Camus concludes “one must imagine Sisyphus happy” as “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart.” Which, of course, led me to think about my existence, harbor on the past for a moment before worrying about the future, and then asking myself how I find meaning in the struggle, how do I picture Sisyphus happy?
As a powerlifting coach and athlete, I can relate to repeatedly doing the same task, or same lifts, over and over again for what seems like an eternity. I’m just glad I have more variety than Sisyphus along with a couple of rest days. But training isn’t a punishment, although it may feel like it sometimes, nobody is forcing me to train or compete. I do it because I love training and I love the sport, and to find meaning in the absurdity of life.
I imagined Sisyphus, day in and day out, rolling the boulder up the hill only for it to come back down again. At first, I’m sure he wasn’t very skilled at completing this task nor was his body prepared for the work. Is anyone prepared for 24/eternity of rolling boulders up a hill? This must’ve led to a lot of frustration, fatigue, and maybe even an injury or two. This would’ve forced Sisyphus to seek other solutions to more effectively move the load, and strategies to conserve energy, or at least I’d like to think so. The only other option to fall victim to pessimism, and truly suffer the absurdity of his punishment.
That is how I pictured Sisyphus happy. I actually imagined Sisyphus troubleshooting, moving the boulder in different ways, experimenting with work:rest ratios. I pictured the days passing, Sisyphus accepting his fate, and almost excited at the idea of becoming highly skilled at the task he was destined to repeat for an eternity. An open complex system interacting and adapting to their environment. It made me realize how much I love learning, especially when it comes to a subject I am passionate about, like powerlifting. Life can hit hard sometimes and seem like a punishment that will last for an eternity. It‘s easy to let negativity envelop you, believe me, I know. But unlike Sisyphus, we won’t be given an eternal task, we need to identify our own.
For me, it’s powerlifting, both as a coach and athlete. Getting under heavy weights day after day, month after month, and year after year can be a struggle, but I find meaning in the relentless pursuit of strength and seeking out the best ways to do so. I know that I will continue to do this for as long as my constraints enable me to. But that is my purpose. I’m never going to be a world champion, I’m too old, but I can keep getting stronger and hit personal milestones in both training and competition. And I can guide lifters’ to do the same.
