Our man loads the bar to 400 lbs. He chalks his hands, tightens his lifting belt and focuses, concentrating deeply on the upcoming battle. His eyes are closed. His breath slows en deepens. His entire body starts to expand perceptibly as the muscles to begin to gear up for the impending task. A slight sheen of sweat appears on his brow. He opens his eyes, steps forward, positions himself and takes several deep breaths. Then he squats down, grasps the bar and PULLS. The first rep moves up quickly. He lowers the bar until it barely brushes the floor, and without pausing drives up for the second rep. The process is repeatedfor one rep after another. The bar begins to lsow down after the first four or five reps. By the seventh rep it is starting to move slowly. The lifter is gasping for air. His face is tomato red. The veins stand out like cords across his entire upper body. Sweat pours down his body. He lowers the bar all the way to the floorbefore beginning the eight rep, stands erect, breaths deeply three times, then squats down, grasps the handles and drives the bar up for the ninth rep. He slows almost to a halt as the bar begins to pass his knees – grunts in pain – and drives upwards to a finish. He lowers the bar, barely brushes the floor and starts back up without pausing. His arms, shoulders, and upper back look like they were carved from granite ast the steelcord muscles stand out in stark relief, writhing furiously as he strains against the bar. He puls – pulls – pulls and the rep is completed. He stands erect, holding the bar at arms length, gasping for oxygen – then lowers the bar to the floor, stands all the way up and takes several enormous, gasping breaths. Ten reps down – five more to go! He squats down, grasps the handlesen drives as hard as possible. Every muscle fiber in his body is pitted in an agonizing effort against the weight of the bar. He screams in pain as he pulls against a bar that simply won’t move above his knees – screams and pulls – and then suddenly the bar is above his knees, then to his lower thighs and finally he stands in the finish position. Eleven down – four more to go. He lowers the bar, touches the floor and pulls – pulls – and grinds out another agonizing rep. His chest feels like an anvil is pressing down on it, his lungs feel like they are filled with cotton candy, his head is swimming, his legs, back, hips, traps, and forearms are on fire, and his stomach is churning. He lowers the bar, starts up again and grinds to a halt several inches above the floor. He pulls – and nothing happens. The bar goes nowhere. He drops the bar to the floor, and bends over in utter agony, hands on his knees, choking back the nausea and trying to control the pain tha racks his entire body. Twenty seconds later he pulls again – and somehow, utilizing strength from who knows where – makes the rep. The bar hits the floor and the lifter goes to one knee. He grasps in agony. Another rep is obviously impossible. Thirty seconds later he makes another rep. The bar rests on the floor. The lifter stands above it, swaying weakly. His face is pale and ashen. His shirt is drenched with sweat. You can tell he is finished. But don’t tell it to him. Thirty-one seconds after completing the fourteenth rep, the lifter squats down, grasps the bar and pulls number fifteen. The bar seems to be welded to the floor – and then, slowly, inch by inch, it begins to rise. The lifter’s face has turned from pale to purple. The veins stand out like fire hoses. He screams in pain. The bar continues to move – but , oh, how very slowly! He pulls – pulls – pulls and stands erect with the bar, shaking and quivering as he holds the massive poundage at arm’s length. He lowers the bar to the floor, stumbles forward and falls flat on his face. Five minutes pass before he finds the strength to roll onto his back. Ten more minutes pass before he can push himself to his hands and his knees. Two more minutes pass before he can stand and hobble slowly towards the drinking fountain. He has just completed a HARD set.
WHAT WE HAVE WITNESSED IS AN EXAMPLE OF HARD WORK.