A Life Weathered by the Barbell

A Life Weathered by the Barbell

I am excited about this new blog.  I am going to write about the passions of my life.  I hope that many of you can learn from my mistakes and my accomplishments.  This blog is a way of telling the story that needs to be told.  This is the story that I want my children to read, my family to read, and the people that really care about me to read. 

The last year has been filled with the evidence of mortality in this world.  My young friend Chris Moore passed away suddenly last year.  Chris was filled with visions of beauty, love, and life.  He was in search of the true meaning of life.  I am not sure that he found it, but he was well on his way. 

There have been other deaths like my friend and old powerlifting teammate Chris Clark just last week.  However it was Chris Moore that really sent my brain spinning.  It gave me a sense of urgency.  I don’t know how long that I will have on this earth.  I have a story to tell.  I have a story that I want certain loved ones to have when I am gone.  This is a story that will put me at ease when it’s completed. 

I have two young sons and a daughter that I desperately want to tell the story.  However I believe that it’s a story that all of you can learn from as well.  This is a story of a man that grew up in a life weathered by the barbell.  This story isn’t some meathead story about me pumping a barbell all day long, but the barbell sure runs parallel with everything that has happened.

I fell in love with the barbell early on in life.  I started training at 11-years-old in my local gym, “Little’s Health and Fitness”.  I learned how the barbell could be trusted.  As long as I put in the work, the barbell delivered the results that I was looking for.  That was a magical thing for a young boy use to a mother that moved him around very frequently not to mention three marriages.  She was a great mother just not so much of a wife I guess. 

I fell in love with the barbell when no one else cared about it at all.  Heck no one really knew about it.  When I talked about the Snatch or Clean & Jerk, people thought that I was talking dirty.  People told me hundreds of times to get a real job before I hurt myself.  I was never good at following the crowd, so I didn’t listen to any of them.

People talk about following their hearts all the time.  I actually followed my heart.  Sometimes following my heart didn’t lead me down a yellow brick road.   Sometimes that journey led me right off a cliff, but I would make that trek again.  Those journeys have left me with this story to tell.  This is a story of ups and downs, happiness and sadness, success and failure, and love and love lost. 

This is a real story.  I am not going to paint some unrealistic picture of a perfect life.  I am going to tell the story like it happened.  I believe that it will take years to tell the entire story.  Some things are going to be hard to discuss.  It’s going to take some time before I can actually feel comfortable telling this entire American tale. 

You can expect stories of my younger life, college life, Olympic weightlifting years in Colorado, my powerlifting years, my walk with Christ, and so much more.  I am writing this to calm my own soul.  I am not sure what will come of it, but I have never been more excited to start a project. 

Let me leave all of you with this thought.  I have never been sorry for following my heart.  I have only been sorry for the times that I didn’t.  I chased my passion for the barbell around the world.  My willingness to do just that left me with a life wrapped around the barbell doing exactly what I want to do.  I can’t promise that you will be so blessed.  However I can promise that if you don’t try, you will never find complete happiness.  You will always wonder “what if”.  That’s a terrible thing to spend your life contemplating. 

I was obsessed with learning everything possible that might help me get stronger.  That lifetime of learning is something that I can pass on to all of you.  I can take an athlete and make them great.  I can take a great athlete and make them unforgettable.  However there is so much more that I can teach.

Everyone wants to talk about the quest for greatness.  I want to talk about the ‘why’.  If you are an athlete and you don’t know the ‘why’, you are in store for a big fall.  You will hit a wall of sadness that is very hard to overcome.  It’s the purpose that makes it all worth it.  Inspiring others is the key to fulfillment.  If you are only in it for your own glory, I say get out now. 

I look forward to this journey with all of you.  I am not sure how many people will follow this blog, but I can promise that I am going to open up my life to all of you.  I hope that it leads all of you to a place of joy and fulfillment. 

Now I spend my days loving on my family, educating all of you, and coaching my athletes.  It’s a life centered on Christ.  I hope to teach my children all about Christ, and I pray that in my actions all of you will see His love.  That walk is between you and God.  It’s not something that I will try to shove down your throat.  I don’t think that I have that kind of power. 

Well that’s it.  The first blog is completed.  I am not sure how often I will publish, but I will eventually form a pattern.  I just wanted to get this one completed, so I could get this party started.  I hope that this will be an exciting and educating ride for us all.