Commitment

Awaking each day, wanting only to get into the gym, and push my training to the next level, to surpass the efforts of the previous workout. As I head to the gym, the normality of everyday life begins to fade, to be replaced by the anger and rage that I will use to destroy every rep of every set in the next couple of hours. I am careful to avoid contact with any "normal" people, for this would surely lead to an unpleasant confrontation, a waste of energy and possibly a run in with police.

Finally I arrive, shaking in anticipation of what is to come. As I walk into the gym, my training partners acknowledge my arrival and begin final preparation for the insanity that is about to begin. I stop by the CD player and put in something loud and obnoxious. The effect is immediate--the "normal" people wandering aimlessly about the gym begin to pack their shit and head for the door. These people cannot begin to understand the commitment and determination that it takes to train the way we do and obviously want no part of it.

Quitting is not an option, barring injury. The last rep is just as important as the first--each one performed at 100%. The only rest is the time it takes for your turn to come around again. If ya need to get sick just make sure you get it off the platform. Nobody feels sorry for you or wants to slide around in your puke. Just clean it up and get ready for your next set. Don't hold up the rest of us. Drenched in sweat and gasping for air, the madness increases and continues until each lifter has completed every rep of every set… Or breaks trying. Nobody trains for second place. It's all out all the time. The goal is always to win. Every rep completed is one step further towards victory.

As the workout comes to an end, each of us knows that we have given 100% with the hope of being just a little better than the last time and looking forward to the next time when we will strive to improve yet again. If we do not improve, we feel as if we have done something wrong--we have let ourselves down. We cannot allow this to happen. We must find the problem and do it again and again until it is right. We are determined to reach our goal and nothing will stand in our way.