#SundayConfessions
10-1-17
EGO LIFTING

Here a subject that’s been running in through my mind for a few weeks. EGO LIFTING. What is it? Who defined it? Who enforces it? Is it a penalty? To ego lift or not ego lift ”tis the question.

According to the urban dictionary Ego Lifting is defined as The act of lifting heavy weights for the sole purpose of impressing other people in the room. This is usually done with awful form and gratuitous grunting noises. https://www.google.com/amp/www.urbandictionary.com/define.php%3fterm=Ego%2520lifting&=true

Reading this definition is funny because I think of these meme videos where people are doing all kinds of crazy things in the gym. A lot of the stuff can be dangerous I will admit but I find comedy in it. Our society has exploited comedy at the expense of others pain. Don’t act like you haven’t laughed.

Now there’s a difference between ego lifting and gym fails. Gym fails, in my opinion is when someone is doing way too much and the risk of them getting hurt, well here are a few vids so you can see what I’m talking about

https://instagram.com/p/BVDazCYgsqK/

https://instagram.com/p/BZh0XPagRBH/

As you can clearly see these people are doing it all wrong. These people can get hurt performing those exercises. How do you get to the point where you feel you’re doing something right then it goes all wrong? There are so many factors that goes into it.

What if all of these lifts/exercises didn’t end in failure. We would all be amazed at their strength, agility and ability. The fact they took a chance knowing the risk of injury I have some form of respect for.

I’ve been accused of ego lifting. I remember when I posted this clip I got some feedback saying I wasn’t performing it correctly. You have these people on the internet called the form police. I refuse to capitalize their name because I’m petty like that. These people sole duty is to watch & critique everyone’s exercise form. No one employs them. They have no union but there’s so many of them. They hold no degrees, awards, or certifications. I’ll take that back. There are some that are experts in exercise. Some are personal trainers or have won competitions in bodybuilding. They only make up a small percentage of these form police. Other than that, the other 99% of them in my eyes are worthless.

https://instagram.com/p/BWk49QGlict/

No matter what you do right they will find a flaw in it. Their purpose in my opinion is just to irritate people. They want to give you advice you didn’t ask for while they show fake concern. I don’t want go too in-depth talking about them, I was just giving you my definition of who they are and what their sole purpose is.

What I mean by fake concern is this. When a video or picture is posted if it is not done to “their liking” then it is done wrong but only in their eyes. One of the first things they’ll say is “be careful”. Their second response is usually “you should lower the weight” My response to that is the video has already been recorded, the picture has already been taken. To me that is fake love. It’s really a false concerned. No one is that concerned for someone else’s well-being in the eyes of competition.

I say competition because everybody is looking at someone’s body trying to model themselves after one way or another. If you see a physique you want yours to look like then you’re in competition to a degree. You’re chasing after a desired look that you currently do not have but want. There’s nothing wrong with that because we are all inspired by a physique that we want that we may have seen.

https://instagram.com/p/BWsbhczlyon/

This ego lifting phenomenon has come from the minds of these form police. When you start to lift weights, if the exercise is not done to “their” liking or doesn’t have the correct form according to “them” then it’s deemed an ego lift. I will say there is proper technique/form for all exercises but there’s always room for adjustments according to each individual’s needs.

How would we ever know our limitations if we did not push ourselves to those same limitations. How can we push ourselves past the limitations if all we are doing is constantly lowering the weight?

This is the part about ego lifting that makes me mad. It’s because someone would tell you to not push yourself because they are intimidated by your ability to want to push yourself past what their thinking of themselves are. Some people love to throw their personal insecurities onto you. That is not fair at all. The best way to overcome fear is to face it head on not throw it onto someone else.

This is how I view the term ego lifting. My body may require more weight to lift in order for me to achieve the desired look I want. As opposed to someone else looking at my videos or pictures, judging what I do based off of what they can or can’t do. If I can curl 80 pounds how was that an ego left just because you can’t? If you can squat 500 pounds how is that an eagle lift just because I’m not strong enough to do it? Do you see what I’m getting at here?

A lot of times one just needs to feel the pressure of the weights. You may not do a full rack or range of motion because the wait is too heavy I get it. The feeling of the pressure is what the body will need to better prepare itself for the next time one attempts the weight. I do not mind dropping the weight but only when I am ready to. I need to feel the pressure of the heavy weight so I know how to better train myself up to the point where I can do that weight comfortably. It may look ugly when getting it up or coming down, but it got done. It may not be to your liking but who asked you for approval?

All in all this whole ego lifting thing is just a derivative of fear from someone else’s inability. I encourage you to push yourself to the limit when it comes to exercising. I trust that you trust yourself to take the proper precautions and safety measures before performing any exercise that you have never done before. If you are lifting heavy weights then please use a spotter if available. If you come to a situation where you can’t get anyone to spot you, then know that what you are about to get yourself into you accept the risk of whatever happens after. Do me this one favor though don’t let someone else’s insecurities stop you from being great. The moment someone accuses you of ego lifting tell them this , “I AM NOT YOUR OPINION!”