This is a conversation that has been had, but I think needs to be reiterated every now and then. We talk a lot about sacrificing for our sport, but who is making that sacrifice?
At face value, it is you- you’re doing all of these things. However, who is negatively impacted by your powerlifting-centric decisions? Ultimately, you enjoy powerlifting. At the very least you should, and I’d be curious as to why you’d do this if you didn’t.
Be honest with yourself, when you skip a vacation who is missing out? You’re skipping it to do something you enjoy while your significant other misses you.
When you are unrelenting about making meals and their timing; you’re not missing out on a holiday dinner, your family is missing you.
When you don’t take a promotion or get a different job to accommodate a training schedule better, you’re getting to train more at the expense of the quality of life of those who depend on you.
Don’t mistake this as thinking I’m above these decisions. I have begrudgingly made all of them. At the end of the day, I want to remind you this is a selfish and solemn endeavor. You cannot portray it as a righteous one. When you break these examples down, it is not you who is sacrificing- but those around you who care about you.
Ultimately, this is a hobby- one that will not repay what you have payed into it. People don’t think you’re “hardcore” for doing what you do, they probably think you’re a little silly at best and have some kind of problem at worst.
The other half of this coin is that it isn’t all bad. Some of these sacrifices are legitimately better. A night of training and good eating is undoubtedly better than a night of getting shitfaced downtown.
It is also quite stressful to be broke, and financial stress can absolutely shit all over your training. A quote from the great Kenny Patterson comes to mind from his appearance on Table Talk- “Powerlifting was always a solid 1B, your top priority has to be whatever enables you to keep powerlifting.” We don’t get paid to do this, so you have to find a way to buy in.
As with most things in life, seek the gray area- find a balance. Trust me, it is much less stressful to go through life without everyone around you hating you all the time- and a great way to be hated 24/7 outside of the gym is to constantly be flakey and distant from everyone who loves you because of training.