+1. The OP said "being chased by an imaginary bear is likely more sustainable", and this is the kind of that that lifting heavy weights can simulate. Many top level powerlifters have said that when they're attempting a personal record lift, they pretend that they're lifting a heavy car off their wife or children. Nothing scarier than a heavy squat.
>Many top level powerlifters have said that when they're attempting a personal record lift, they pretend that they're lifting a heavy car off their wife or children.
One danger about that is that they might push themselves too hard. If it came down to lifting heavy car off my wife or child, messing up my back permanently is a price I would gladly pay for success in the endeavor. Messing up my back is not something that would be a great exchange for beating my personal record.
As a general rule, i'd guess top level athletes don't have the best outcomes when it comes to long term health outcomes for precisely this reason: at the elite level, there's a trade of between maximising short term personal performance and long term well being.
I don't get this chase for personal numbers. They are anyway smaller compared to everybody else apart from the current top dog, usually much smaller. Maybe this is the only way to motivate properly for some.
I enjoy doing moderate weightlifting not for bulking up or setting some arbitrary numbers, but for great feeling from my body (endorphins initially, long term just a body that works perfectly fine), to have strength and more importantly stamina to do whatever activity life throws at me. This is more than enough for me, very rewarding, and most importantly, sustainable.
