Some of you will recognize this picture

Some of you will not.

Those who do not, I will get to soon.

Those who do,

may recall this from the momentous last attempt of Lu Xiaojun with 207 kg

during the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships.

But why I am making a big deal of

an event from the past?

No, I am not.

I am using the picture as a reference to make a point

to my audience from the world of Weightlifting or Strength Training,

however few they are today.

The point in itself IS a huge deal.

And because it is a "huge deal" to me,

it is the most ignored

as well as the most misunderstood one in the mainstream.

Yes.

"Story of my life", as they say.

But before I get into it,

let me address the ones who do not recognize the picture or the person.

Lu Xiaojun is one of the few humans because of which this website,

and my other works exist.

No, I have never met him or spoken to him or know him in any other way.

All I have done,

is what many, many other humans have done - watched his videos.

But unlike others,

his videos affected me in a way I cannot explain in words.

For his videos planted a seed.

A seed of a desire so deep that my Mind had no other "alternative",

but to succumb to it.

And to make it THE ONE THING in my life.

What was the desire?

The desire was to be able to move LIKE him.

Why the hyper-emphasis on "like"?

Because when I say "move like him",

I imply FEELING the way he feels when he is moving.

And it only occurred to me years later,

one can only do so if they know the Truth about the sport,

and about themseleves.

...

Now back to the point I intend to make to the,

for my distaste of euphemisms,

backward, ignorant, and the blind-as-a-bat Weightlifting community.

As you remember,

this attempt was a "Do or Die" situation.

It was also the most this man had ever lifted in competition.

And to make matters even more unfavorable for a make,

you do remember him injuring his back during one of his attempts,

which had him grimacing in pain between these final attempts

and even resorting to numbing the area with ice.

Despite these oddly odds...

How did he make it "look easy" like he has always done?

How did he come out as a World Champion, yet again?

Now before some of you start ranting like little children ...

It is his "genetics", "technique", "practice",

"coaching", "help", and other nonsense,

please do me the favor of never coming back to my work.

For it is not for people who so easily fall for their Mind.

I mean every word.

You are not welcome here.

To the others,

I will openly say before you admit,

you do not know how he did it.

And in the same line,

add that I do know how he did it.

But before I reveal them to you in this post,

I will warn that it is not for the unserious.

That is, the ones who know exactly why they lift -

to kill time, to "get jacked" or to feed their ego in any other way.

It is for the serious and sincere ones,

who lift or are involved in lifting to be one of a kind

or for some other reason that they do not know yet.

For choices are already made,

but very few insist on understanding theirs.

Now that I have the pertinent audience's eyes,

here is the answer...

Other than all other traits he has trained for his entire life,

Lu was able to "smoke" this world record attempt

because of these three specific ones...

• Readiness
• Surrender/Relaxing
• Desire

Before I expand on these words,

I must say that what your Mind tells you about these words,

are a mere shadow of what I imply.

And because the English language does not come with a way

to communicate depth and emphasis.

...

What is Readiness?

Just that ... being READY.

And while the ability to be READY applies to every single thing in life,

in the context of Weightlifting,

it is Readiness that allows one to take huge jumps between attempts

or lift in the exact same manner no matter the weight.

Why?

Because this readiness is NOT in the Mind.

It is not an "Alright, let's go" self-imposed "readiness" in the head.

It is being READY in the body.

This kind of readiness is attained after one trains...

... to be READY...

... ALL. THE. TIME.

Yes!

It is the way of the legends.

It was this readiness that allowed Lu to lift this attempt like it was a warmup!

...

Moving on...

Surrender/Relaxation...

Another very important trait,

and thus, the most ignored and misunderstood one in the mainstream.

Surrendering or relaxing is not a "technique" or an "active doing".

It is an art in itself.

One that takes a lifetime to hone and master.

And it is Lu's relaxation that is obvious in the picture I have used for this post.

Just look at him!

Every single one of his body parts appears as if he is ready for a nap!

No I joke not!

His legs, his abs, his back, his fingers, and his face!

I will bet my entire life,

if at that moment you were to step on the stage and feel his body,

you will feel relaxed and lose muscles!

This ability to go from zero-in-intensity to ultimatum-in-intensity

is what makes legends like him do what they routinely do!

...

And the final one...

Desire.

No desire is NOT the way you desire everything else in life.

The desire I speak of is one of a kind.

The kind you desire your life with.

And I am yet to meet a person face-to-face,

who desires to be A LEGEND like the way Lu does.

And even more so in the society that surrounds us today,

dangling infinitely many desires in front of your eyes

tapping into your ability to ...

... DESIRE ONE thing.

Yes!

That is what separates the ONE from the many.

That is what makes LEGENDS who they are.

That is what makes "Lu" the farmer, Lu the LEGEND of Weightlifting.

When one is equipped with this DESIRE,

no matter the odds,

one is able to put them behind.

Even if that means uncomfortable pain.

For the pain is in the Mind,

and only the Mind which has been devoted to DESIRE

will "not be there" to feel the pain.

...

You must realize,

I am serious when I am saying these things.

For seriousness is the master trait that allows one

to train for these legendary traits.

To the one who is not serious,

these words will not even register,

even if by some magic they force themselves to go through it.

But the rare, rare ones who are,

will have understood every single word.

Thank you.

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