Empty barbell. Enter rack. Back straight. Put the bar on the lower shoulder. Keep your hands like hooks on the bar. Deep breath. Lift.

Walk back two paces. Feet 30 degrees, faced outward. Look at spot on the ground 15 feet in front or in a spot on the wall. Continue holding back straight. Focus on form. Take deep breath. Squat. Remember to push knees out.

Five reps. Back straight. Rerack.

Add ten pounds to each side of the bar. Repeat squats. Five reps.

Keep adding ten pounds on both sides up to the weight I set for myself that day. Five pounds more than last week.

Weightlifting requires discipline.

Discipline

Discipline and me have had a tumultuous relationship. It is an area of my life that I am constantly trying to improve. Weightlifting—being a combination of discipline and technique—has helped me become better.

Lifting requires maintaining correct form so you don’t injure yourself and the progress of adding weight. Getting stronger than last time you lifted. It means no cheating. No progressing to the next weight if you can’t do the current weight with good form. It means doing the correct number of sets and reps.

It may require holding your pride and going back to a lower weight when struggling. It is having the discipline to dial things down when things don’t go well.

It is the discipline of writing down everything. How am I improving over time? What did I eat for lunch that made the sets easier? How is the weight increasing over time? How am I progressing on the weight? What were the warmup sets and how many?

Weightlifting like other activities requires goal setting. The goal setting is over months and requires adjusting things if the goal is not going to be met. It is repeating a previous week’s workout if you don’t feel comfortable continuing. It is making it a core part of your life—a habit.

Habit

Lifting has led to me being more disciplined in other aspects of my life. In the Power of Habit the author says there should be a primary habit that you base you life around. I have been trying to revolve my life around a few things but weightlifting has been my primary habit for health.

It prevent me from drinking the day before a workout because I know it will affect it. Smoking a cigarette makes the pull that much harder so I curtail smoking. I started eating with more conscious effort. I drink way more water.

Will

I feel stronger. I have become a better Sisyphus — I am less tired at the end of the day after pushing that rock. I get less depressed. I have more mental energy and creativity. I can hold the rock up longer. Through this flagellation the body gets stronger. I want to lift heavier. The burdens seems lighter.

Each week a heavier weight. Each week a heavier pull. Heaves and sighs, grunt and moan.

Lifting has given me discipline.