Every time I leave the gym, I can't get clean. I scrub and scrub and scrub my hands, but they won't come clean. The chalk seems to be permanently embedded in them. Every time I go to the gym, the chalk residue just seems to keep building up, like sediment in an old pipe. I suppose that if I took a few months off from training, the stuff might eventually fade away, but the moment I pick up the barbell again, I would quickly just rebuild the same dull white film on my hands that seems to be sprinkled with sweat and a little blood, and sometimes a few tears. But how could I quit the barbell anyway? It has given me so much in my life. I studied it in high school with my father, I studied in college and was told that I could never monetize it, and I continue to study it today. From this study of the barbell, I have made a great living, sharing and teaching the ways of the barbell, and plan to do so, for the rest of my life. I plan on passing it on to my children. But you see, I could not have accomplished any of this without hard work outside of the gym. I work on my craft, I work on my family, I work on myself very hard. The reason I work so hard, to a large measure, is because of this chalk on my hands. The chalk on my hands from the gym represents discipline, determination, and consistency. These things are valuable in the gym, but they carry over to the outside world as well. When I leave the gym, the lessons I have learned in it stay with me, just like the white dust I use to grip the barbell. Without these dirty, dusty, chalky, sweat soaked hands, I would not be the man I am today. I would be softer, less successful, and know far less about myself as a man. So with that being said, I hope this chalky coating on my hands never fades, because as it goes, so goes the man.
*This concept was inspired by a podcast by Jon North called Weightlifting Talk.
