The Granny in the Weight Room

She had to be in her late 60's, at least. Sweet, gentle, grandmotherly smile. Short, tidy, salt and pepper-colored hair. About 5'4, maybe, slender build.

Fragile. She looked fragile.

But she wasn't, apparently.

She bent down to lift the plates onto her weight bar in our workout class. Effortlessly, might I add. I looked at mine, and back at hers.

It took only a fraction of a second for it to register...

You have got to be friggin' kidding me! She had more weight on her bar than I did...

Image from fotosearch.com via Google images.

And so it began. My competitive nature kicked in faster than lightning striking a lone tree in an empty field. I mean come on, was I really going to let a granny out-do me in a weight lifting class? If you know me at all, you know there was no way on God's green earth that was going to happen.

So, show of hands... who has ever been outdone by the granny in the weight room? This could be a figurative granny, of course, but for me it was a literal granny.

I go to group workouts at the Amarillo Town Club and attempt to get my butt into gear with classes like Body Attack, Body Combat and Body Pump (yes, they are as hard as they sound). Last week I decided to double up on classes one day. What possessed me to do this I have no idea, but I went for it. First, 60 hardcore minutes of Body Attack. To give you an idea of how intense the cardio in this class is, if you exert 100% of your energy and go as hard as you can for the entire class, you can burn up to 1,000 calories, according to my class instructor. That's right, do the math; that's almost 17 calories per minute of class time. Now, following this class I committed myself to attending a sissies-beware weight lifting class, Body Pump. This one is 60 minutes of high-rep weight lifting. Thing is, you can set your own standards, deciding how much weight you want to lift throughout. You can go as light or as heavy as you need. So, since I had just nearly killed myself in a class the hour before, I figured I'd take it easy for this hour and get the reps in. (You'll come out of this class sore even if you do light weights). I noticed the older lady to my left after I loaded my weight bar for the warm up track.

'Nice and easy,' I had been thinking to myself. That thought vanished like mist on a hot, dry day. She was smiling, oblivious to my rude gawking. It took less than 2 seconds. Less than 2 seconds for me to quickly throw more weights on my bar before the class instructor cranked up the music... and before granny could notice that I had lighter weights than she did.

I matched her weight-for-weight during each track. Sometimes I put a little extra on, just to make a point to myself. After that class, I could barely walk. Once simple tasks like sitting on the toilet became catastrophic feats. Sneezing made my whole body quiver in pain.

If it weren't for that dang granny, I could walk without looking like I had been hit by a bus.

But if it weren't for that dang granny, I wouldn't have pushed myself as hard. I wouldn't have lifted those heavier weights... those heavier weights that, over time, will make me stronger. Much stronger.

That experience got me thinking about a question my friend, Denai Vaughn, recently posed on her Facebook page. "Collaboration or competition?" I have a naturally competitive personality. I want to win at everything, all the time. Basically, you won't beat me at anything. Ever. I can find competition in just about anything (I am the direct result of two highly competitive parents. I mean, 2+2=4, you know?). 

Now here's my question. What is your stance on competition? Was that granny a blessing to me, or a curse? Was it a positive thing to use that competitiveness to help push myself harder than I would have otherwise? How can that competitive nature help, and how can it hinder?

For me, a spirit of competition is essential. It's essential to our survival. It's essential to our success in the work place. It fuels drive, and determination, which breeds strength and endurance. We need that in everything we do, from our relationships (these days more than ever before we have to fight for our marriages to survive), to our work promotions. Strength. Endurance. Focus. Determination. These things can be learned from healthy competition. Of course, sports, in my opinion, are an excellent platform by which to gain these skills that will pour over into adulthood. Traits like commitment and passion are learned in an arena of competition.

There is always a place for collaboration, as my friend Denai strongly advocates. Collaboration is also essential. But for me, you can't have one without the other. Even when you are collaborating in the business world, you are still competing with other businesses in your field, yes? This makes your team strive to do more, be more, achieve more. When you are collaborating with teammates on the court, in the field, you are still competing against your opponents, correct? 

How do you implement a healthy sense of competition into your life, into your work? How about collaboration? Do you think it's true that, although different, the two can complement each other and work toward a common goal when used correctly? 

Competition and collaboration are as different as opposite sides of a coin... but they still represent the same coin.