Powerlifting saved my life; and killed my wallet
In all seriousness this is about 80% true. In my early twenties I decided that becoming a chef would be the greatest career choice possible. I loved cooking, I loved the rush of a kitchen and I enjoyed the pressure of producing the highest quality meals to people. I met a lot of great people in the past twelve years of working in the restaurant industry. Some of my best friends came from the twisted world of restaurants. And I met some of the most top notch individuals from all over the globe. I got to cook for some notable celebrities (Hello Victoria Beckham!) /s.
Little did I know that working in a alcohol and drug fueled industry would eventually catch up to me. I drank everyday; and I donāt mean a couple of brews, I mean eight to ten pints coupled with shots of Jameson. If there was drugs around Iād most likely do them. I remember dropping LSD after midnight and having to be at work in the morning. Now, I donāt regret any of this, in fact I sometimes miss it.
Until just 2 years ago I was overweight, tired, and hungover all the time. I was still doing my routine of eight beers a day, taking a few tokes here and there and generally still being self-destructive.
Iām not entirely sure what got piqued my interest in powerlifting. Weightlifting and fitness has always appealed to me, growing up my uncle was a bodybuilder, but I never took the steps to start the journey. I always rode bikes when I lived in Toronto, but I was never much more physically active than that.
I turned to YouTube and began watching videos of Brian Shaw, Jon Call. And I started reading Redditās fitness and powerlifting subreddits. I knew I wanted to get stronger and I knew that I needed to lose weight.
Once I made the commitment to start lifting I hopped on Kijiji and found a weight set that consisted on a couple of standard barbells, a bench, and 500 pounds of standard one-inch weights which cost me $350 as long I went to pick it up. I started lifting using the popular beginners program Stronglifts. I progressed really quickly and after a few months I decided to switch up programs.
I ended up reading Jim Wendlerās 5/3/1 article on T-Nation and decided that 5/3/1 was the perfect program to me to advance my powerlifting goals. I got hooked on the program and I ended up buying his books. I also sold off my weightlifting equipment to help fund a new Olympic barbell, a power rack, Olympic plates, some kettlebells and a pair farmers walk handles for the conditioning work. I had also stopped drinking alcohol entirely.
I ran 5/3/1 for over a year and decided to switch up my program again.
Now when I say powerlifting killed my wallet I say it jokingly. Yes, I have spent more than I originally planned on for my home gym, but I believe that I can completely justify all my purchases. There are probably a few things that I could do without. The reality is you can build a decent home gym for less than a $1000.
I also said in the title that powerlifting saved my life. I think that this is true because I have yet to have a drink since I started lifting, I have lost weight and Iām quite frankly Iām stronger and in the best shape of my life. Strong body, strong mind.
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