02 Apr Parallels

By Paul Oneid

The word parallel is kind of a touchy subject in powerlifting because some people have trouble breaking it and others feel the need to comment on its policing.  All of that non-sense aside, for many of us, lifting is a means to draw parallels to life.  I became a strength and conditioning coach because lifting improved my life.  It raised my confidence, made me work harder and gave me a more positive outlook.  I wanted to improve the lives of young people through training.  I paralleled the progress I made in the weight room to the progress I needed to make in my life and I wanted to help others do the same.

[wa-wps]

We all start training as a means to improve ourselves.  We work our tails off in the gym and in turn, we learn how to work our tails off in the classroom, office, or sports field.  We break PR’s and this spurns the confidence to try new things, take risks and conquer new endeavors.  No matter the case, we use the lessons learned in the gym to fuel ourselves outside of it.  I have said it before, but training is a vehicle for self-improvement in all aspects of life.  That is, until it isn’t…

Brian Carroll has written about it many times, most recently in his post-Arnold write-ups, but in order to be the best you can be in something, you have to be unbalanced.  You have to be able to turn “it” on and focus in on the task at hand.  Lifting needs to be the priority.  No longer can you use lifting to parallel your life, because when “it” is turned on, lifting will detract from your life.  This is exactly what you want, but not all the time. 

Personally, I never felt that this was the case…that is until my performance at the Arnold.  I am quite good at compartmentalizing and can turn it on when needed, and off when needed.  I can put (what I feel is) my full focus onto something and then switch and put my full focus onto something else.  This ability is likely what allowed me to do what I have done in my educational, professional and competitive life to this point.  The problem with compartmentalization is that if you want to be at your best, you need to be all in, fully engaged and mentally prepared.  It doesn’t matter how well you’re able to shift your focus because there can only be one singular focus at one time in order to be a champion.  Compartmentalization needs to go out the window. 

Being in a state of singular focus, while being fully engaged is quite a unique feeling.  Learning to achieve that state takes time, focus and practice.  Once you can get to that place, your full potential is at your fingertips.  Brian wrote a great chapter on this in the 10/20Life 2^nd Edition.  How does one learn this?  How does one refine this ability?  Well, for me it was simple – I drew parallels.  The same way I had used my lifting to excel in areas of my life, I am learning to use my life experience to hopefully excel in lifting.

When I was a student, I could study for hours and hours on end and remember everything.  I had a routine I would go through everyday.  I literally planned every minute of my day, all the way down to eating and travel.  I stayed within those constraints and never varied from them.  I lived my life in a completely controlled manner.  I had little quirks about my schedule and even when I was not in front of the books, the material was always on my mind (ha NERD!).  Yes, I do understand that you cannot control everything at all times when you have a job, family, children, etc., this is simply an example. 

I am going to be honest here – I have never been able to do that with lifting.  Yes, I sleep on a regular schedule, I don’t drink, I eat clean and I train hard, but aside from within a specific training session, I have yet to be able to fully “turn it on” when it comes to powerlifting.  Training was always my release.  It was always the place where I would let go of things.  If you remember I love to train, but I have never been able to dial in on training outside the weight room.  Because of my experience at the Arnold, I realize that in order to succeed in my goals, I need to learn.   I am going to parallel my education in order to do so.

While you may not have that same ability when it comes to schoolwork, there is something in your life outside of lifting that you are able to dial in on.  Whether it is cooking, video games, anything.  There are steps you take mentally to block things out and engage yourself.  Now, how would you do that with lifting?  How would you immerse yourself into your training in a way to optimally perform? What is your parallel?  For some people it comes easily, but before you answer with “Oh I can dial in and turn it on with training,” I want you to really question whether that is true.  Can you be so engaged that you let other priorities fall by the wayside (temporarily) in order for you to be successful?  I am going to bet that either you can’t, or you’re lying to yourself.

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Paul Oneid

Paul is an elite level raw Powerlifter with personal bests of an 805lbs squat, 440lbs bench, 725lbs deadlift and a 1960lbs total in the 242lbs class, as well as an 800lbs squat, 430lbs bench, 700lbs deadlift and 1930lbs total in the 220lbs class. Paul brings a deep educational background to the team as he has earned Master’s degrees in both Sports Management and Exercise Science. He is a former D1 Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach, who now works as a Functional Rehabilitation Specialist in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Paul provides coaching services in the areas of training and nutrition through his company Master Athletic Performance and is also the co-founder of a technology company, 1-Life Inc. Stay tuned for more information on that in the future!

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