> But here's the best part for me: lifting is an escape, in a way that most other "leisure" activities (reading, watching TV, etc) are not. When I'm doing a ben

> But here's the best part for me: lifting is an escape, in a way that most other "leisure" activities (reading, watching TV, etc) are not. When I'm doing a bench press, it is a simple battle between me and gravity. There are no complex deadlocks to debug, no decisions around corporate strategy to make, no challenges with children's education. This. Lifting is my meditation, my center. When I was a kid I was very agitated and irritable...I was voted "Most Intense" as my high school senior superlative (and that was meant to be pejorative). I was also super skinny and picked on for that. People who only know me recently have told me they couldn't believe that was possible because I always seem so level-headed and well, bigger than most people...well years under the bar will be that kind of therapy for you. Lifting / fitness, the whole thing has been my savior in a way. Without it I don't think I would have the skills to get me where I am today. It has also gotten me to appreciate the journey, and not simply reaching the end of a goal/todo item. You never "lift all the weight"...there's always more to lift, and it's an eternal race between you and what your body can produce. It's incredible.