Are You a Bodybuilder?

Training Bodybuilding
1

I bodybuild simply for a large, heavily muscled physique, balanced and proportionate. It is rife with many goals and ambitions and gives my life purpose, and me an identity/persona.

It is what i have decided to devote my life to and that is the kind of dedication it requires to achieve the goals many of us desire. I believe this game is really one where you can’t fake it. The proof is in the numbers, strength, girths, weight, percentages.

This is not something i could truly admit to 5 years ago… i wouldnt say i was a bodybuilder, as people in the street wouldnt know it to look at me so i would just say i lift weights, even though inside i knew i wanted to be a bodybuilder, i couldnt justly call myself one without lying. I also truly doubted whether i would EVER make it to that beginning status. I knew the dedication it takes to truly be able to call oneself a BB, and after a few tough years of life, i have finally achieved the discipline required to call myself a bodybuilder or someone who bodybuilds.

As a 150lbs guy, a few years back, people could tell i lifted weights, if i was in a t-shirt (i have a small frame) but i still wouldnt call myself a BB due to the fact i drank and did drugs etc…

Not now, now people know i lift weights in a sweater and i train on the weekends, no alcohol, drugs or smokes. Just iron.

And i love it.

I now KNOW i will hit 200lbs, and i know know it is totally possible to be 220lbs. (i’m 5’8") and i will deserve those weights when i arrive at them.

I believe it takes a certain amount of time, knowledge, progress, sacrifice and dedication to truly “be” a bodybuilder, and i feel confident i have arrived at that point. Not that i will rest on my laurels with that, no. I am just beginning. This is the early stages, i have only just become someone who can proudly state their intentions with anything to back up the convictions of them, i intend to continue to work, nay, i intent to work TWICE as hard and eat twice as well as ever to become the finest physique my genetics will allow (setpoint altered via GH or not…!).

Are you a bodybuilder yet? Have you been someone that can claim that for years? Did that come quickly for you, or like me did it take years just to achieve that beginning status?

Joe

2

Yes, at this point I can safley say that I am a bodybuilder. But, like you I had to work for quite a few years before I looked the part.

3

Well, fellas,
what can I say?

I once fancied myself a strong man; as in strongman. Ha! I benched over 400 lbs for 2 reps, did 280 lbs on the behind the neck press and achieved a 220 lbs barbell curl. Damn! That was nice. Then I injured myself pretty bad. Ah, yes. I was seriously obese, too. And an idiot.

So, then I leaned down to a decent enough shape and fancied myself a bodybuilder. Wrong again, man. I was an idiot, still.

Right now, after more than 8 years as a lifter and more than 14 years as an athlete consistently doing some kind of sport, I’m finally able to pull all my experience, general common sense and external knowledge together. A pity it took me so long, but at least I’m on track. At last.

So, long story short: I’m en route from idiot/athlete to bodybuilder/athlete.

4

[quote]FattyFat wrote:
Well, fellas,
what can I say?

I once fancied myself a strong man; as in strongman. Ha! I benched over 400 lbs for 2 reps, did 280 lbs on the behind the neck press and achieved a 220 lbs barbell curl. Damn! That was nice. Then I injured myself pretty bad. Ah, yes. I was seriously obese, too. And an idiot.

So, then I leaned down to a decent enough shape and fancied myself a bodybuilder. Wrong again, man. I was an idiot, still.

Right now, after more than 8 years as a lifter and more than 14 years as an athlete consistently doing some kind of sport, I’m finally able to pull all my experience, general common sense and external knowledge together. A pity it took me so long, but at least I’m on track. At last.

So, long story short: I’m en route from idiot/athlete to bodybuilder/athlete.

[/quote]

At least you are on track, don’t put yourself down so much.
At least you have tried, which is a hell of a lot more than alot of lazy bastards can say, skinny or fat.
At least you have a goal and at least you have enough balls to go in frot alot of people some of whom are at that goal already, and state you have the same goals.
At least you have enough balls to try and achieve those goals and not just have them as a pipe dream.

Joe

5

Not yet.

I’m working hard to get there, the main thing holding me back is getting in enough food to grow…

6

Welcome, Joe Brook. From your writings and passion expressed, you are invited to my peer review bodybuilding propaganda commitee. Check my post for it on this forum.

Bradley Grunner
Minister of Bodybuilding Propaganda
T-Mag Bodybuilding Forum

7

I couldn’t say I am a bodybuilder, but I do know it’s what I want to be. I dedicate a lot of time to eating right, no drugs and very little alcohol. It’s a pain sometimes, because all I wanna do is go out with my buddies and drink with them, instead of watching them but I know if I do… I’ll regret it the next morning, if not a few hours later.

Though I am not a bodybuilder yet, I will be and that’s what keeps me going.

8

It takes a little something extra to devote yourself to being a bodybuilder. like everything else it takes passion and drive. no regular joe can hit the gym hard 4 - 5 days a week while at the same time preparing and having 5 - 6 meals per day.

9

I do everything right to become a bodybuilder but cant say im there yet.

10

I used to think so. Quite a few years ago. Then I got this notion that it wasn’t cool anymore, that I needed to be a strength athlete, but became more like a poorly constructed mix of powerlifter/strongman/highland gamer.

The magazines of the day surely added to my disdain of “bodybuilding”. But I soon realized that you don’t need to compete on stage to be a bodybuilder. You can create your own personalized definition of what that term means.

It took some time, too long really, but I now know that bodybuilding does not HAVE TO mean too much time in the tanning booth, too much time posing in the mirror or hanging out on stage in bikini botoms.

To me it means building a strong, healthy, aesthetic body with an eye toward balance and symetry but always striving to add another pound of muscle.

I’m slowly making the transition strength-focused snob to open-minded physique-seeker.

11

In truth, I believe that I am on my way to becoming one. I have fully committed to the lifestyle. I started my life with the iron as an athlete gaining an edge. In truth I liked training for football more than the sport itself. I got big into the Olympic lifts, then got out of sports and into recreation lifting. Then joined a weightlifting team and briefly competed in the USAPL, started preparing for strongman, but realized that I was fat and stupid.

I have lost over 65 lbs, down a solid 10 from my avatar pic, and am now on my way to being a bodybuilder. I find it a comforting fit, and I now look the part. I will truly call myself one when I step on stage in Oct.

With this hobby, I finally feel like I am in control, I was a compulsive overeater for the vast majority of my life, I have only recently gotten that under full control. The iron is my outlet, the iron is my friend, the iron is my solace, and the iron isn’t going anywhere.

I now believe that if you are over 15% body fat, you aren’t bulking or gaining mass, you are just fat. If you have never seen your abs, what the hell is wrong with you. I was fat and it sucks, now I am not and well on my way to shredded. Bodybuilding is more than a sport, it is a lifestyle, one that must be embraced whole heartidly.

12

No not really I’m not really a fan of the lifestyle or the attitude many of the bodybuilders have. I lift for athletic purposes mostly, but do try my best to keep solid diet and lift heavy consistently.

I don’t understand the point of pointing out ‘hey look I’m hardcore ok?’

13

[quote]shizen wrote:
No not really I’m not really a fan of the lifestyle or the attitude many of the bodybuilders have. I lift for athletic purposes mostly, but do try my best to keep solid diet and lift heavy consistently.

I don’t understand the point of pointing out ‘hey look I’m hardcore ok?’ [/quote]

It sounds like you could very well call yourself a bodybuilder. Like you, what turned me off was that extreme lifestyle in the magazines and in articles and stories printed here on T-Nation.

I think of myself now (and very early on in my lifting career) as one of the 50’s through the early 70’s bodybuilders. Bodybuilding was a healthy endeavor for those guys and I identify myself with that era.

The whole steroid issue is what wrecked bodybuilding for me. But I’ve since realized that I don’t have to be a part of that extreme faction to call myself a bodybuilder.

14

Bodybuilder? No I dont consider myself that… a hardcore seeker of unadultered strength, speed and power, most definetly. Everyone got their own priorities but being “swole” isnt exactly my number #1 goal. Improving body composistion and becoming overall more mobile and athletic are high on my list of areas to work on.

15

I am a bodybuilder. I lift for the specific purpose of obtaining more muscle, losing fat, and obtaining symmetry. I do play lacrosse as a goalie, but I never lifted for that sport, and I started lacrosse way after I started bodybuilding.

However, I have not yet decided when the time comes that I could compete whether or not I actually would. I am fairly certain I will use steroids a few years down the road, but I have a few more years of good growth in me before I really start slowing down.

16

I would suppose it would depend upon the definitions for BB that we use. As some have mentioned above, it is for size, muscle mass, strength, lower BF, symmetry, athletic purposes etc.

The definition may depend on the goal as well.

Also think of it this way; the term is body BUILDER not body built. Some fear calling themselves a BB until X is achieved. That isn’t right. That 16 year old 120lbs kid that makes the decision to get serious and start training is just as much a BB as the pro that walks out on stage. BB is a journey as well as a destination. The kid and the pro are just a different points on the BB path. This isn’t meant to be all philosophical, I just see some worried that they’re not yet ‘big’ enough to use the term. If you’re serious, and your training…you’re a BB.

Just a thought

17

You’re not a bodybuilder until you compete

18

[quote]eigieinhamr wrote:
You’re not a bodybuilder until you compete[/quote]

Then what do you call the many people who compete BEFORE they’ve built their bodies up?

19

[quote]eigieinhamr wrote:
You’re not a bodybuilder until you compete[/quote]

That would be called a competitive bodybuilder.

20


One of these guys is a bodybuilder. One is not. Competition alone doesn’t make you one. Going to the gym doesn’t make you one…otherwise, every single weekend warrior who goes to LA Fitness would qualify.

Somewhere along the way, your progress is the determining factor, not the simple fact that you lift weights or jumped on stage.