How often have we seen those wayward souls talking about "the good old days" and the way things used to be. Back when it was this and that, and NOT these and those and how if we all could just go back to that time it would be so much more enjoyable for everyone. And by everyone, they obviously mean themselves.
OKAY BUT think about it, wasn;t it so much nicer when we only had these things to worry about and oculd do say post (or not) whatever we wished?? Yeah maybe. And doesn't it feel as though we're being pushed out of relevancy for some weird amalgamation of what used to be and this new fucked up version of it? We are a part of a dying breed, and we have to hang onto whatever we have so we can make (noun) great again.
Similar rhetoric right? Kinda funny and absurd, right?
My take on this is that the individuals so accustomed to feeling oppressed, shit on, pushed out of the way, have no room to complain because they are not a part of a "dying breed" but already dead and just now realizing it. Hard to oppose especially when once realizes they loaded the chamber themselves and as willing as your high school prom date was, put the barrel in their mouth and went to town.
I'm sure you can see some parallels. There are certain ways of thinking in the sport of powerlifting, and in every other sport that seem to bog down current competitors and limit them from advancing or reaching their full potential. There was the rise of even more intense multi ply gear, wet suits that increased the dunamics of moving through water, new shoes that allow people to run faster and longer and with elss injury risk, and sometimes there are ways of thinking, honor, and pride that come along with new people in sports or new paths that a sport may take. Are these good things? Are they bad?
I ma here ot argue that they are neither, But looking back on history we can see that many timese there came a moment that individuals wanted ot hang onto an antiquated way of doing things, that didn't seem all that wrong or misguided at the onset. However, as the sport or endeavor grew, there came about a schism and the "old way" morphed into an entirely oppositional way of doing things. This school of thought, such as people following a certain training methodology, a certain attitude towards training, or our attitudes toward other people in the sport run the risk of paralyzing oneself and being unable to move out of where they are at, and simply will kill any opportunity they are given to be better.
AND I AM NO BETTER THAN THIS. I wish more people took my sport seriously. I wish I wasn't criticized for blowing up relationships, jobs, and normality for "just lifting weights". I wish I did not have training partners that bailed at the first sign of confrontation.
But this is how it is now. You can grow with it, or you can be left behind and shine in backyard meets, glory day stories exchanged during truck stop breakfast, and FAR AWAY from the top 10 ALL TIME list.
Because this is the kicker. When is the last time you have seen someone who is ranked in the top 10 ALL TIME, and I emphasize all time and I emphasize top 10, wish and lament and elucidate how much better it would be if we all went back to the way things were? Doesn't happen often does it? I wonder if this is because these people are ignorant to that fact or have given up hope that powerlifting will become what it once was.
OR JUST MAYBE
The top 10, through years of experience and bloody footsteps to find their way, they realize it is not about the current state of affairs. Neither is it about what comes in the present, entirely. It is about the seeds we plant and the paths we carve for those coming after.
To fixate on the past, will paralyze your present, and bring about all too familiar futures.
Learning from the past, and observing where we came from is as valuable as breathing. But being willing to kill it, and let it go for something better in the future, albeit very different is not as important as breathing. It is as important as the molecular make up of oxygen because WITHOUT IT the act of breathing would not exist.
