Prompt 4

How has a failure or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

There was a time when accomplishing certain fitness goals always felt extreme and as if I’d never get there. For the longest time I had this phobia of squatting anything over 225….even 225 made me cringe because it looked like so much weight all at once. To put it into perspective this is around 2011-2021….I was just starting to come into my own as far lifting goes and I was constantly testing myself. I was beginning to see results not only in my physique but in my overall strength. At the time I was doing two to three leg days a week and was really focused on building my legs. Friday was usually what I called my “Overkill” day….which meant I was going to work my legs until I could barely feel them. During these killer sessions I would notice that I was inching closer and close to being able to squat 225 and beyond….one day I decided to give it a shot! I set the bar to the right…placed 2 45 lb plates on each side of the bar and then the clamps that would hold the plate in place. I stepped back and looked at the bar with this sum that’d frightened me for some time and understood that I needed to attack it and not look back and that’s exactly what I did. I got under it….set it on my traps just right…stoop up….backed the bar out and set my feet in place. I took a few deep breaths and sunk down and realized I wasn’t going to be able to get back up. Luckily I’d set the safety bars to where I’d be able to release the bar if need be and be was needed lol. I re-rack my weights and proceeded to swear off squatting for almost a year.

Fast forward…two years I’m lifting consistently again and I’m realizing that I’m even stronger than I was prior to when I last attempted squatting with heavy weight….I figured I’d give it a chance. I went through my process got everything in place to make my attempt again….I knew had I failed this time I wasn’t going to do it again. Well…low and behold….I wound up not only being able to hit the 225….I was able to go higher with ease. Needless to say…that one failure showed me that it’s ok to get knocked down but it’s never ok to stay down!