Two years ago, when I was on the brink of becoming the biggest I’d ever been, my doctor delivered the diagnosis that would change my life: Pectoralis Major Tear. A major tear in my then-massive pectoralis. I was absolutely devastated. After years of two-a-days, waking up at 4 AM, drinking nothing but chicken cutlet smoothies, I was now being told to do the unthinkable: Stop Lifting. This was a major blow to my number one goal in life: Getting Huge. But I #believewomen, so when my lady doctor said I had to stop, I stopped. During that darkest age, I saw a book on my mom’s then-boyfriend’s nightstand called The Unbearable Lightness of Being. A light bulb exploded in my head. That was it! Without weights to lift, I felt unbearably light. For example, I let myself eat cake and vomited on the spot. Unfortunately my mom broke up with the guy before I had a chance to read the book (he said he didn’t want to be tied down to a bartender with bad dreams?).

Returning to the gym for the first time post-pectoralis tear, I felt a little nervous!! But here’s the thing about the gym: Nobody Cares. You don’t know where anyone’s starting from or what injuries they’re dealing with. We’re all just here to get huge, and that’s beautiful.

Today between a pistol squat and a deadlift I had one of my bigger thoughts: what if we brought the grace of the gym…outside of the gym?? Chew on that, friends. Until next time.

-Bench