Have you ever had a dream or idea that seemed so absurd that people considered it impossible? Those dreams where people tell you to reel back in your imagination and maybe try the “SMART” goal process. Only then could you achieve your smart, realistic, and simple goal to better things in your life.

In this edition, I want to highlight an individual who achieved one of the greatest accomplishments in weightlifting–a feat so great that his record was left unbeatable for years as he was crowned the World’s Strongest Man in 2017. Eddie Hall, a professional strongman from the UK, was the first man to deadlift 500 kilograms (1,102 lbs) off the ground, surpassing the original world record by 35 kilos, or 77 lbs. So how’d he do it?

Eddie hall deadlifts 500 kg.

In 2020, Hall created a short film describing his training and mental processes leading up to the event. Months prior, he had already set the previous world record deadlift at 463 kg. But he didn’t settle there.

The following months Hall trained and met with psychiatrists in order to lift as much weight as he possibly could in the following competition. He studied religiously the human brain and the possibility to gain access to 100% of his muscle fibers, and even studied incidents of parents lifting entire cars in order to save their children from underneath in unheard of feats of strength.

After months of training, he finally did it. In a video of raw emotion, power, and struggle, people witnessed history as Hall broke a barrier that people thought was going to rest unbroken for centuries to come. After the lift, interviewers asked him if he ever had any regrets or things he would change about that day. “If I could do the whole thing over again, I would have added another 10 kilos on the bar. I knew that I had more in me,” he said.

There are times when things get tough and need a new approach. People reach plateaus in performance, or people get burnt out of their work. I don’t want to say that I’m on the same level as these individuals, but in my own personal experiences I have walked in their footsteps as I begrudgingly practiced day in and day out in order to achieve my own sense of greatness in my sport.

Achieving greatness is more than just completing the task at hand. It’s more than standing at the top of the podium holding a big trophy, or the praise afterwards. To me, achieving greatness is the recognition of the path towards an achievement, then moving on afterwards.

When it comes to working towards things that are important in life, nobody said the grind was going to be easy. Sometimes it takes that extra push of adrenaline from those around you in order to be the best you. There was absolutely no possible way that Eddie Hall would be able to deadlift half a ton off of the ground without the undeniable support from his peers and colleagues.

As we continue throughout our daily lives, it is important to recognize that sometimes things aren’t the easiest to deal with. However, one true way to make a circumstance more difficult is dealing with that circumstance alone. To close, make sure you are taking care of yourself. You are not alone in this world, let alone at this daunting place we call college. Thank you, and see you next week for another edition of Achieving Greatness.

Bodybuilding: A sport where people show off their physiques in front of a judge and get scored based on things such as fullness, conditioning, and symmetry. Some consider it a bit of a strange sport, some hardly call it a sport at all, but most of all the challenges that go into bodybuilding are often overlooked. 

Countless hours are often put into bodybuilding whether it be through training in the weight room, staying on a strict diet, or, unfortunately, using steroids in order to achieve a dream physique.

The sport is less of a fun thing to do on weekends or for two hours a day. Instead, it’s a lifestyle.

In this blog, my aim is to bring awareness to different forms of weight training and competitions and the sacrifices people have made to get to their level. People often lift weights to become healthier or look better, yet often when people push their physiques to the limit lifting weights can become harmful to their bodies.

I want to not only raise awareness for these problems, but also shed light on mental health issues in weight-training related sports as well as explaining the hard work and grit that these athletes train through every single day of their lives. Sports like bodybuilding, powerlifting, and olympic weightlifting are often pushed under the rug as sports like basketball, football, and other popular sports take the forefront of news culture today.

My goal for this blog is to help show people the realities of these sports: the good, the bad, and the ugly. And of course it’s not going to be all solemn topics–personally I love the idea of lifting weights in order to compete and push one’s body to the limits–but it is also equally important to talk about the importance of mental health in sports, especially in the ones that are almost entirely individualistic.

So let’s start at some consider the golden age of bodybuilding, and often when people think of the sport one particular man comes to mind. His name is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Pumping Iron was a documentary that was made towards the buildup of the largest body building competition in the world called Mr. Olympia. It showed multiple videos of Schwarzenegger working out in Gold’s gym and prepping for his big event, almost idolizing him. Some may look at the documentary and rave at Schwarzenegger believing that he was the greatest bodybuilder of all time. However, there is another character in the story: Lou Ferrigno. 

Ferrigno was almost a complete contrast to Schwarzenegger. He was quiet, and instead of working out in Gold’s Gym where Schwarzenegger trained (although later reports said he wanted to train there), he instead lifted at his house with his father as his only company.

The dichotomy between lifting in a commercial gym around other people and being famous at the time versus someone who is not well known and lifts in his own basement becomes quite apparent in the film. After seeing this, it makes the audience realize that there is more to just lifting weights and eating right in order to be the best. The sport also takes an incredible mental toll on Ferrigno who has nobody else to confide with except his own father.

Take a look at it this way. Five guys walk on stage all looking incredibly muscular, perfectly symmetrical, and shredded to the bone. But who’s going to win it all? The one who owns it. Schwarzenegger, a person who is overly charming and extroverted versus a quiet and reserved Ferrigno that knows who his trek to be the best is definitely an upward battle. With that in mind, even if Ferrigno looked more muscular than Arnold, would it have been enough to top Schwarzenegger’s pride, swagger, and confidence on stage?

Personally, I think not.

As I continue this blog, I want to look deeper into the mental toll of weight-training specific sports as well as taking a deep dive into different individuals and their battles to become one of the greats in the sports of bodybuilding, powerlifting, and olympic weightlifting. Mental health in sports must not be overlooked, and I hope by providing this information I will be able to help people lead healthier, happier, and more motivated lifestyles.