To Achieve Anything Worthwhile, Patience, Commitment and Hard Work are Essential – Here is How to Cultivate Those Traits…

By Elliot Newman

To achieve anything meaningful in life, a “trade off” has to be made, because you cannot do it all.

I recently made the decision to step back on the Powerlifting Platform, and compete for the first time in about 8 years. Deadlift only.

To do this, serious strength training was going to be required. Such training takes planning, commitment and A LOT of hard work.

You have to show up to the gym, put the work in, rinse and repeat, over and over and over again.

To compete and compete well, I had to give something up…

Did I give up my business? 

Of course not.

Did I give up my family?

Don’t be ridiculous.

Those two things were ‘non-negotiable’ – both a HUGE part of my life.

So, it came down to GOLF.

Christ, I love the game of golf. But, what I realized was that I could live without golf. But, Powerlifting- specifically, the Deadlift – was a part of me. Ever since I stopped competing (for reasons I’ll go into another time), I’ve felt like I had “unfinished business” with the deadlift.

Hence, a tough decision was made:

To give up the game of golf…

And devote myself, physically at least, to hitting the gym HARD. Hard and often. I had to train hard, often and smart. That’s what necessary to deadlift and do it well.

So, on December the 8th I stepped back on the platform – and competed. At the lightest bodyweight I’ve ever competed at – 77.45kg. 

And, I went 190kg, 205kg, 215kg. Reasonably comfortably.

The video below shows my 215kg (474lbs) 3rd attempt – not easy by any stretch of the imagination. But, not HARD either. Probably another 10kg in the tank on the day.

How Delayed Gratification Can Equal HUGE and RAPID Results…

Today’s society is full of QUITTERS.

Few people want to work hard.

Few people want to stick at anything.

People give up at the first sign of hardship.

Nobody understands “delayed gratification” – putting the hard work in (at the expense of other things along the way), so you can achieve BIG in the end.

It’s pathetic…

People play tennis for 2 weeks when it’s Wimbledon. 

They go to the gym for the first 6 weeks of the year, then give up in mid-February.

They start businesses, and give up if they don’t earn a million dollars overnight.

My journey back into Powerlifting was a humbling one. 

You see, I hadn’t really touched a barbell for about 8 years (since I stopped competing). Sure, I’d worked out – with kettlebells and bodyweight. But, it wasn’t the same. I never really got my teeth into it like I did Powerlifting.

So, when I made the decision to compete again, about 6 months ago, I weighed 68kg and I maxed out, for 1 measly rep, on the Deadlift, with 130kg.

I was WEAK (by my previous standards anyway).

Fast Forward 6 months, and I pulled 215kg (that’s 85kg more), with less effort than I pulled 130kg 6 months earlier. DRUG-FREE (I have and always been DRUG FREE. That’s just my choice).

How did I make such fast progress?

There were several key factors:

• I made a decision to stick to a training system I know works – The Westside/Conjugate System. I didn’t make the mistake many people make in the gym of switching their program – “Program Hopping” – every 2 or 4 weeks (simply because they don’t make unrealistically fast progress)
• I made a decision to cut out anything physical that would impact on my training progress (no more golf, no more mountain biking)
• I made a commitment to sleep for 8 hours a night, eat as clean as possible, and do many recovery methods (including contrast showers, massage, Original Strength and stretching). All these things would speed up results, and minimize injury-risk
• I made a decision to go back to starting my day with my strength training (and while this has meant I’ve had to work later, to ‘catch up’ on work I’ve missed in the mornings, I’m actually more productive at work, because I’m back doing what I love in the gym – getting STRONG, particularly on the Deadlift)

How does “delayed gratification” work in this instance?

Well, it’s just about being PATIENT, putting in the hard work, and knowing that, in the end, it’ll pay off, and you’ll ACHIEVE something that’ll make you happy. While also giving up things along the way that you could be doing (like playing golf, or watching TV, or whatever).

There is no satisfaction to be had from:

• Quitting a gym membership 6 weeks into the year
• Playing tennis for 2 weeks a year
• Starting a business and giving up if it doesn’t make money straight away

You see what I mean, right?

People these days want HUGE RESULTS, they want it all, but they don’t want to put any hard work in. 

Well, guess what?

You can’t have it all.

You can either decide what you really want, and put the work in to get it (making the necessary sacrifices along the way, safe in the knowledge that your life has true purpose and meaning. Sleeping easy at night knowing you’re becoming a better person every day).

Or, you can jump from one thing to another, never sticking to anything for more than 5 seconds, failing to achieve anywhere near your true potential in any area of your life. And, one day, looking back on it all with regret.

It’s your call, but I know what the smart call is.

Go questions, comments or suggestions?

Leave them in the comments section below and I will get back to you ASAP…