I am too impatient to fish and, when I attempt to golf, I have a slice wicked enough that, if I could hit the ball far enough, it would circle around and hit me in the back of the head.
But since every preacher needs a hobby, a diversion to give an outlet to the normal stress of the ministry, a few years ago I started lifting weights. As I hit each new plateau on bench press or leg press, it merely fueled my passion to go further.
As I got reasonably decent at the bench press, some of the really good lifters (and great guys) in the gym took me under their large, beefy wings. They corrected my form, pushed me to do more, and eventually convinced me to start doing bench-press competitions. I have done several now and really enjoy them.
A week or so ago I was in a contest and it turned out to be a big one. Guys I had never seen before showed up – really strong guys.
When it came my turn for my first lift, I opened up with 305 pounds. I got that relatively easily so, for my second attempt I did 310. I got it, but it was a struggle. Halfway up, the weight just stopped. Normally that is all she wrote, but somehow, after a few seconds of pushing, I got it going upward again and completed the lift.