Rf Religion and Benchpresses

Hey all, an interesting thing happened a few months ago and I thought it would be nice to share, in the hope that others would share similar experiences (not specifically religious).

About 8 months ago, I was in bad shape. I had just come back from India. I had gone to get engaged and it ended horribly.

Once I got back, the first thing I did, jet lag be damned, was hit the gym. It was bench press day and I needed to find a bench. As I usually do during times of stress, I listened to some prayers on my MP3 player (Hindu).

I noticed someone at a bench, he was pressing 315, easily. The thing I noticed was that he was saying prayers right before pressing the weight. Specifically, he was saying a prayer and crossing himself (I find out later he’s Catholic).

I walked up to him and asked to work in, and I also mentioned how, in a way, like him, I had prayers when I was lifting.

We talk for a bit and between sets, he tells me he was reading the Gita, which is the Hindu holy book. He was curious and wanted to “check it out”. He tells me of a specific line in there, the takeaway being that one needs to not be too attached to success or failure.

I’m not sure what it was, but my mood spun around. I needed to hear that. It lifted the fog of self pity I allowed to cloud around me.

Has anyone else had a similar experience, i.e. one where you get a lesson from someone, something you needed to hear…

yes, but not pertaining to religion

Pertaining to praying and lifting, my background is catholic with an orthodox lineage (ive gone to orthy church a few times). Anyways, to get my head straight, I usually kind of pray/meditate silently without drawing anny attention to myself, and then try to concentrate my mind on a single point, through breathing exercises and staring at my finger.

I know that sounds silly, but it helps get alot more concentrated work in on my bench, rather than just bruting out. So ya, religion helps my bench. But I didnt have some dude tell it did, it just kinda started as a way to concentrate my mind.