Why We Lift: Rediscovering Purpose in the Gym and Why Lifting Doesn't Just Stop at Getting Jacked

I remember last year when I was prepping for the Novice contest (as many are right now), my motivation to lift sometimes waned a little. Nevermind the lack of food, low bodyfat, etc. Sometimes I really had to struggle to get the weights moving. However, the number one thing that allowed me to do that was the other factor.

What comes after this?

Not after the workout, or after the contest. After all the contests, after I'm done and just living life as is.

Where am I going to be?

Am I going to be healthy, fit, strong, and able to walk and lift like a young fit person will when I'm older, or am I going to have aches and joint problems and die weak and sick, instead of on my feet?

When I first started lifting I didn't just want to get bigger and stronger, I wanted to improve myself. I was in a state where I was out of school, in a new setting, and I felt a little unsure of myself--when you're not spending every day with the same people for seven or eight hours (or at least a new crowd of people) it feels a little overwhelming. I realised that I was my maker. I could walk into a gym and it wouldn't be like, "hey, look, he's lifting, that's different!" I didn't have to call attention to myself. I could blend in and be a new person.

The whole "bodybuilding" thing just came as an afterthought. I explored an eclectic number of training ideas and philosophies until I finally came to the conclusion, "this is what I should be doing. It's what I have to do."

However, if all that was gone, if I stopped competing, told myself I was never going to step on stage again, none of that would matter, because what I got when I first started lifting will always be there.

If you don't know what it is--and it's not the same for everyone--then, and only then, should you doubt whether to keep at this sport.