The drama of powerlifting
I’ve been powerlifting for over a year now and have recently started practicing with a new group. I love powerlifting. It’s one of the only hobbies I’ve ever truly and purely enjoyed. I would like to compete at some point, but only for fun. I am a severe perfectionist and attack almost everything in my life with a do or die mentality. It’s effective for business, but stressful. I found powerlifting and decided it was my hobby to enjoy, not to perfect. I don’t need to squat 500 lbs (at least for now!), I just want to lift, be happy and grow stronger.
This new group has a particularly aggressive 120 lbs woman who very obviously views herself as a 250 lbs man. Picture your neighbors chihuahua that acts like a pit bull.
The last few weeks have been very challenging for me, having to deal with her. She has shown herself to be little of a team player and more critical and condescending. I’ve dealt with some expected challenges such as being called a “kid” and some more unexpected situations like being asked, “are you just here to look pretty?” The 3rd grade girl inside of me responded with, “well I’m prettier than you!” Luckily, my adult filter avoided that sentence from leaving my head. I deadlift 240 lbs. I think I’ve proved I’m here to do more than look pretty.
This leads me to a couple of questions.
- What makes our nature so incapable of being truly happy for each other? Encouraging each other? Sure, we all have gotten good at faking it, but we all say nasty things in our heads and talk shit behind their backs.
- Are men better at encouraging each other than women? Is there something hard wired in a woman’s brain that leaves us constantly competing for male attention? Does a smaller group of women in a largely male sport intensify this?
- How do I approach the situation? With a head-to-head battle? Do I simply ignore her (easier said than done…I’ve been trying this with little avail)?
- At what point do I decide that this has become too stressful of an environment for my powerlifting, the hobby that I love? When is it time to move on?
This challenge of dealing with shitty people goes far beyond the world of powerlifting and women. How do you handle shitty people?
