I use to want to be a lot of things when I was growing up, first a race car driver, then a veterinarian, and then…. a bodybuilder! I remember sitting in my room and looking through The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding: The Bible of Bodybuilding, the all time classic book by Arnold Schwarzenegger. I loved weights, the smell, the feel, the way they made you look after you got your pump on. I wanted to be a bodybuilder, I wanted the six pack, and the glares and stares that strangers gave you as they silently judged and mocked what they could not have… or did I? Wait, that is kinda boring… moving 20 lbs. dumbbells for 4 sets of 15 reps for the 211th time wasn’t as fun as it sounded… and who cares about that anyway?
Enter real fun – Olympic Weightlifting! Putting a weight that you never imagined possible over your head in a split second, now that’s a good time! Good-bye six pack (that I never had) and hello heavy weights!!!
I love the smooth and effortless movement of the Snatch and Clean & Jerk. They are skillful and elusive lifts that boggle the mind and defy the laws of gravity. Their beauty and grace are admired and respected and I will spend the rest of my life trying to perfect them.
I love you Olympic Weightlifting and I am sorry it took so long for us to meet but I know we will have a very happy life together.
xoxo Meshelle
PS: no disrespect to bodybuilders, you guys are super dedicated and have endless self-control, 2 qualties I lack….
