"The 500 lbs. Deadlift Demonstration for Diana!" (Short Version)

One of the most emotional and important lifts of my life, the tears were very raw from the setup through the lift as I had so much pressure to perform this lift. You'll need to keep in mind: my friend Diana is the person I chose to give my ring to, the ring I'd worn since that very dark time. She is a superheroine who dedicates her life to helping the sick & wounded, working at a hospital and volunteering at sev DorrisWedding halter neck wedding bridal outfits ... eral others, and she bests me at seemingly everything. She is the first person in years to successfully get me to swim, dance, do cardio, wear a t-shirt/shorts, and do yoga while running circles around me in all. I'd wanted to show her the one thing I felt confident in: my strength and my dead-lift.

According to her later in the night, "Everyone in the gym stopped to watch it! To watch you!"

She cringes at the thought of me deadlifting and is afraid for my back and health. "It hurt me to see you hurt!" she exclaimed at the end of the day, which tugged at my heart. "I worry for your health! Your poor back is supporting so much pressure and weight."

Being a lifeguard, she'd watched my first two deadlifts (475 & 495) from the lifeguard perch at the pool on the other side of the glass and only got a chance to come in the gym when the pool was empty.

What was also special is the amount of props and respect everyone in the gym gave me as soon as I walked in. Somehow everyone in this college gym knew who I was and said things like, "Don't let Steven see you being weak" and "You're a motivation to me, man." It was very sweet and they became like an entourage. They had a laugh at my jokes, and said, "AND he's funny, what more could you want?"

One of them told Diana, "That Steven, he's a beast!"

"I know..." she said. "But I worry about him getting hurt. It's so much! And he wants to go heavier and heavier."

When Diana did come to the gym, they exclaimed, "Uh-oh! Here she comes!" knowing she was either going to tell me not to go too heavy or that it was time to swim, or that finally I'd get to show her my signature lift. She came in and said, "I saw it! Good job!" She came in just as I was slipping the 2.5 lbs. onto the bar, making it 500 lbs..

Also, I woke up with a stiff neck so bad, I couldn't get up and had to roll out of bed. Pastor Curtis Price saw that I couldn't even turn to my left today. Diana was aware and was trying to encourage me to stretch it and rest.

At the middle of this lift I got into a little trouble and lost my big breath, saying something that sounded like a cuss but was actually just air escaping. As I pushed through and locked out, I could see Diana begin to smile proudly (or with relief) and heard the guys telling me to keep pulling up and up.

At the top of this lift, I'd turned my head to the right, where Diana was, and said that was for her, then I plunged it down so hard that my glasses fell off.