The Athlete’s Defeat
Tripp was physically fit throughout his early years. His favorite workout was the bench press. Before he got too busy with the demands of work and family life, he was able to bench an impressive 235 pounds—not too bad for a young athlete.
Shortly after he married, he told his wife about how he needed to get back to the gym. He said, “I used to bench close to 250 pounds you know!” But children shortly followed and Tripp was unable to resume working out at that time.
Eventually, his son became of age and was looking for some workout tips from his father. Finally he asked, “How much weight did you bench when you were working out, Dad?”
“Somewhere between 250 and 300 pounds,” Tripp replied. So proud of his father, Tripp’s son helped spread the news around school of how his dad could once bench up to 350 pounds.
After all this inspiration, Tripp knew he must somehow find time to return to the gym. He purchased himself a membership and devised a workout plan. He pressed on for two weeks but rapidly grew weary and frustrated at his lack of progress.
“I’ll never be able to bench 400 pounds again at this rate,” Tripp thought to himself.