Answer:
INthe spring of 2008 I entered my first Strongman competition. At 24 years of age, this was the first time I’d ever competed in an individual sport. I grew up playing team sports like soccer and baseball, and although I dabbled recreationally in individual sports like golf and tennis, I never had the fire to pursue them competitively. As luck would have it, prematurely entering a Strongman competition changed my entire life; I’d always been somewhat of a competitive person, but learning to compete against myself made me a far more dynamic and ambitious human being.
Weightlifting taught me that there will always be room for excuses if you don’t put yourself in a position to be 100% accountable for personal results. Learning to do this is one of the top things I try to help clients realize, because it’s the ultimate cure for anyone struggling to break body composition plateaus; not only this, but developing a competitive mentality can also help make you a much more successful person in other critical areas of life. How is being competitive with oneself linked to such significant changes? I’m glad you asked…
Becoming competitive doesn’t happen overnight. As mentioned, I’ve always had a bit of a competitive streak despite never being elite at anything growing up. When I got into weight training at the age of 21 (at a robust 130lbs, dripping wet) my only end game was to look good; it was chest and arms all day, baby. Slowly but surely, and despite the resistance of my superficial and indolent drivers, I was influenced to incorporate effortful lower body exercises into my workouts. Although I was hesitant to put in the work at first, I quickly became hooked on deadlifts because this lift progressed far more quickly than my bench and I loved the feeling of getting stronger.
Less than three years after grudgingly beginning to train properly, I jumped into my first Strongman competition at the behest of a close friend (and the organizer of said competition). I was far from ready for this test and didn’t come close to winning, but this was the experience that I needed to light my internal fire of personal improvement. From that day forward, I paid more attention to my programming, to my nutrition and to my recovery. Not only this, but I subconsciously began to challenge myself in other aspects of life as well. There was no “Aha!” moment, nor did my immediate life change drastically in any way, but it was a small switch in mindset that began to alter the course of my life.
After this competition I participated in another few contests throughout the summer of 2008. I got smoked in the majority of these events, but I did get a taste of victory at the one and only lightweight show that I entered. More importantly, my drive and ambition to improve in my new sport led to a flurry of significant changes in my life outside the gym. At the time, I was working a job I disliked and living in a lonely new city; I travelled 4-8 hours roundtrip most weekends to see friends and maintain my sanity. With newfound confidence, I told my boss that I was quitting unless they’d let me move to Toronto and begin to manage this unmanned territory as a sales rep. At the time I was in the marketing department and completely unqualified to jump into sales, so this plan made little sense and I was fully prepared to quit; then they agreed to my proposal. Through sheer confidence and will, I had created a new job for myself in the place where I would be happiest.