Good repost up at Conditioning Research earlier today. Now, normally I think anyone who talks about their philosophy of weightlifting is either a jackass or an idiot, and so not worth the effort of favoring them with your attention. This, though, shows clarity of thought and expression. Yes, the barbell is a tool and nothing more. When applied correctly, that tool can be used to do great things. When used poorly, it is counterproductive and dangerous.
Some people like to anthropomorphize the bar, make training a competition of self against the iron. This is wrong. Success in training is not a measure of excellence, it is a measure of being prepared for excellence. The numbers don't matter. We measure greatness on complex internal scales. I knew a girl once who smiled for a day after completing her first pullup.
The iron does not change. To say it does not care if we finish a lift is still to ascribe it too much motivation. When we say these things we are making excuses, searching for an enemy so that our failures can be put down to the action of powerful external forces. Nothing is ever our fault when we are surrounded by a hostile universe.
Failure is an opportunity. The bar does not change, but we must. Use the iron as a mirror and look back at yourself.
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