This week we will be hitting our own version of the Olympics. We get to test ourselves in a new way. Take what we have learned over the past couple weeks, and apply our efforts to 5 lifts and 5 WODs (Workout Of the Day) that may yield new heights or new lessons.

Here is one question that you should ask before this week: What is success to you?

Last week, the darling of the US weightlifting world hit the olympic stage for the first time. Mattie Rogers has trained for 7 years for this moment. She had gone from cheerleader, to internet meme, to American Champion, and even 2nd in the world.

She had missed out on Rio and finally she had earned her Olympic Rings.

All the hours in the gym, weight class changes (not her choice, the IOC completely eliminated her weight class recently), and sacrifices led her to a room with only her and the judges.

After her hands touched the bar, all of her greatest fears became a reality.

She went on to hit one lift in the snatch. Something you never want to see when you’re vying for an olympic medal. Mattie then goes for her clean and jerk with a starting weight, something she is supposed to hit easily, and misses. She actually misses twice.

With only pride left to fight for and a her podium chances dashed, she steps up to the 138kg bar one more time. (Watch the lift here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0kQYfBrA1Q)

Watching her lift, you see an athlete. Someone who cares so deeply about her sport and how well she does. You then see all that tension break as she holds that bar overhead. This wasn’t the olympic journey she had dreamt of and it definitely wasn’t the one the weightlifting world had expected of her. But, it is a story of success all the same.

Mattie, as does everyone, has a choice. We can choose to be hard on ourselves and focus on the negatives. Or, we can take our lumps, learn, and enjoy what we have accomplished! Rogers chose the latter the very next day.

While it is one of the hardest things we can do, taking a chance to become better is crucial to our growth. How we take the outcome is just as important, if not more so.

So I ask you again; what is success to you?

Think about this as you enter this week. Think of all the amazing moments you have experienced with this group of people you call your Fitfam! Think of the work you’ve put in and how it has made you a better athlete. Remember all this misses and how they made you a better person.

Success is not just the end, it is the journey that takes you there. Know that, regardless of your results, you are a champion in what ever you put your efforts into.

Failure is always an option, being defeated is not.