Training: Why You Need to Hate what You Love
Training: Why You Need to Hate what You Love
by
Bill Clark
World Champion
Guinness World Record Holder and World Title Holder
State, National, and World Hall of Fame Inductee
Author and Motivational Speaker
Martial Artist and Strength Coach
Within the realm of God’s great creation, the ways to self improvement and the
betterment of oneself are virtually uncountable. But when it comes to competitive
growth and as I see it, there are only two. For the record, let’s define the phrase
“competitive growth” as either closing or increasing the gap between you and
others. To clarify, closing the gap refers to you being in a relative position behind
another, but you are improving at a rate faster than he or she. Over time and
should this positive growth trend continue, you would eventually catch and even
surpass this individual as the front runner. Of course, “increasing the gap” follows
the same logic, only you are already in the lead and continue to pull further
ahead. Before I get into the two ways pursuant to competitive growth, let me
also state that there are an uncountable number of strategies that can be
implemented to facilitate this growth, but still and in the end, there are only two
ways to achieve athletic growth--everything else is a strategy that belongs under
one of these two headings. So when it comes to training, why do I believe that
you need to hate what you love? Because that’s where the true starting point of
growth begins--not ends! Before I move on, remember that there are two ways
to grow competitively---either you are getting better or they are getting worse. So
finding that optimal point of training is where you want to be, and when you find
it, you’ll probably be doing both at the same time.
Let’s look at an example. Back in my early twenties, I decided that if I were going
to be what I thought I had the potential to become, training twice a day wasn’t
going to be enough. Although that put me into a very good position nationally, it
wasn’t going to bring me what I wanted--world titles. That being the case, I began
strategizing, talking to the best coaches in the world, studying recovery, optimal
training times, and everything I could get my head into that I thought would make
me better. What I eventually arrived at was a three times per day training
schedule, 5 days a week, beginning at 4:30 in the morning. What I noticed, and
this is not the least bit uncommon, was that when I first started, I couldn’t wait to
get up at 4:30 AM. But, after about two months or so, what I couldn’t wait to do,
what I loved, now became a true chore. And for the next several months, it didn’t
get any better either. In fact, I had never been more tempted to just roll back
over in bed--especially during the bitter cold mornings of January and February.
It wasn’t until my training partner at the time bailed out of the pledge that I truly
realized the value of what I was doing. My training partner was a very good lifter
and was a nationally ranked top 10er who had the potential to be a national
champion and top world competitor, but never quite developed that internal drive
to make it there. It is at that point, that I once again started loving what I had
learned to hate. I had climbed the mountain of sacrifice and discipline--that same
mountain that my good friend and so many others stop half way on. This is why
you need to get to that point, the point where you hate doing what you love. This
is where the wall is and this is the point where the sane people, those that lack
the deeper hunger for self-mastery and excellence will say “that’s it.” This is what
will separate the greats from those that could be.
At the state and national levels of competition, there are obviously many great
athletes, but there are also a lot of “goods” and “very goods.” The truth is, I
believe, that many of them could be great if they were willing to find a way over,
under, through, or around that wall that keeps them where they are, and the
secret isn’t motivation--it’s discipline. Once you master discipline, motivation will
return. Motivation is the reward for being crazy enough to keep doing what
others won’t, and “Yes,” you have to be crazy--but it’s crazy in the right direction!
The level of competition at the international and world level though is unique all
to its own and has a very different feeling attached. Why? Because at that level,
everyone else is crazy too. In addition to qualifying totals, this explains why each
country only sends along its top tier champions. They are the only ones from the
pool of tens of thousands that could reach that point of hating what they loved
and continue on and forward. Regardless of nationality, place of birth, economic
system, or whatever, the way to becoming a champion is universal and doesn’t
change. It belongs to those who will reach beyond that point where the sane
safely stay and yield to the pleasure of comfort. As for me, and I hope and pray
that you are in this elite group too, we will continue to hate what we love and wait
for the rewards of motivation to return. Take heart and proceed in faith because
this is the gateway to excellence!
Author: Bill Clark Completed: yes Created: Mon May 10 15:54:51 UTC 2021 | Last Updated: Fri Dec 22 01:13:31 UTC 2023