Not really. It’s the same thing as somebody wanting to be a pro at any other sport. When I played high school football, my goal wasn’t just “to be really good at football” it was “the be good enough to play in the NFL”
Based upon the two pictures you posted, I don’t really see how you can objectively know this. Furthermore, being “big” is much different from being “muscular”.
You have a lot of optimism and a lot of positive ju-ju…and that’s amazing. If you want to be a pro, then do it. Based on the photos you posted in this thread, nobody can tell you yes or no. Just train for a few years and you’ll know if you’ve got what it takes.
We are talking about exercising now.
Judging by your pics you remind me of those guys at university who would say in semester 1 ‘‘I want to work on rockets with SpaceX’’ yet leave the program 2 months later. Then come back. Then leave again.
You should get into basic shape before boring people with I want to be a ‘‘pro’’.
I don’t chime in on BB because there are many more knowledgeable than me, but I’ll say this-
If you truly feel this way then go for it. Don’t just sip the cool-aid, chug it. Take it as far as you possibly can and without hesitation.
Too many people hedge their bet on genetics, and yet there is a whole history of great bodybuilders long before genetics was even part of the conversation.
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I still don’t understand why you guys feed into people like this troll.
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Yea, there is no way this guy isn’t a troll.
I see your point but I don’t think the guy thinks he will get it immediately. I think he is inquiring about whether it’s in the cards or not eventually.
This is the sort of shape and symmetry in the 90s and these are men if I recall corrrctky did not even place top five at the O. I’ll check though!
These guys would have DEE-STROYED many current pros!!
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More 90s conditioning, shape, and size. I will stop throwing off the thread with old pics, but it goes to show why I think the OP should go for it. If it was the 90s or 2000s I think I would just be the most negative bastard around because the level these guys were on was other-worldly. Id probably just tell everyone who asked the question, “No, you can’t!” Lol!
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Great post! I earned my pro card in a small but growing federation run by a guy who truly cares about competitors and is doing all he can to make something out of it and trying to make BB shows something fun to participate in and attend (e.g., not making the shows a freaking all day marathon, connecting competitors with judges, putting out a magazine for the fed, teaming up with supp companies, etc). I went into my first and only show so far not expecting a damn thing and beat three men who have better genetics than me. People might dismiss my accomplishment as just some ordinary dude winning a hardly known BB show, but I say it was the one of the most important days of my life, likely in secondary importance to marrying my wife. (When I succeed in having a kid, it will fall to the third most important day, lol.)
I don’t give a shit about anyone’s thoughts on bodybuilding or who dismisses what any bodybuilder does or anyone who holds something dear to oneself. If it’s important oneself/you, then it’s important! I finally wanted to look like and be considered a bodybuilder. I wasn’t expecting anything else! And I plan on doing a few more shows as a pro in this organization (well, as long as I don’t drive my wife crazy, lol).
I don’t know if the guy is a troll or not, but he appears ignorant. Ignorance aside, if he can live a normal life (employment, pay for his own bills, food, drugs, medical care if needed), and is willing to clean up any mess that results from an all-consuming lifestyle that carries risk, then I say he should try and it for a decade and see for himself if he can do it. Winning my own show aside, I had no idea I could get into the shape I got in. I thought I was stuck with love handles and a flat chest for life–seriously! But I TRIED!
This is not a post for self-aggrandizement. I am simply exhorting the OP to take a look at the big picture and exhorting him to take a stab at it PROVIDED he understands the sacrifice and risks!
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Yeah, this. And we don’t know how good one’s genetics are until they bust their ass for months or years on end! And there are some men who beat others with better genes from sheer determination and willing to put up with more pain.
Fair points. Do you have other pics?
i feel proud when a Turkish bodybuilder is praised on an American bodybuilding forum :))
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He is one of my favorites.
That’s a good thing. I like your perspective on BB as a whole, and really like that you put it out there in an honest, earnest way while remaining positive.
I’m looking back with some regret. There were a lot of misconceptions and missed cues that I’ve recently come to realize really held me back. I’ve had contact in the past with some competitive BB’rs and people related to the sport. They’d ask if I was going to compete, where, when, etc. Other people, co-workers, even a cop (weird story) asked me what kind of cycle I was running. I wasn’t running anything.
I just never realized that normal people could do it. I honestly thought that if you weren’t 220 and up ready to step on stage, then why bother?
Then I started looking at some of these prep threads. Robsteins transformation. Your prep thread. Some of Stu’s old training vids. Normal people- totally going for it. Not in a freaktacular gonzo promotional video on the latest super heavyweight pro kind of way, but as normal people with an intelligent, methodical, dedicated approach to becoming the best that they can be.
And I think “oh, shit…”.
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I am going to try to post another picture when I get a little leaner. My waist is around 32 now so I lost some fat. I am making good progress.
I too look back on some of the garbage I used to think, read online, and even hear in the gym. Often times what I would read or hear was from people who had no business mouthing off or expressing their opinions as if they were from an experienced and authoritative position. I certainly was hesitent before deciding to go all in and do my first show. I seriously thought that if I wasn’t 200 lbs shredded that I’d be making a fool of myself. Hell, I still recall considering leaving and going home after weighing in on that cold (I had no bodyfat at the time -lol) morning in May 7+ years ago. Luckily my training partner wouldn’t let me escape…
The point is, we’re not all gonna look like Arnold. Heck, most IFBB Pros, who do have crazy genetics to reach that level in the first place, won’t even come near looking like Arnold. Sometimes you just get that perfect storm of everything you need: Genetics, Training and Nutrition, Posing, “Supplements”, the “right” line-up of competitors, even the fake tan… but if you obsess about it all, even if you just obsess over a few factors, you may never pull the trigger.
How many times have you seen people online, always experts on bodybuilding, never competing themselves, yet always discussing how they’d do if they ever did… again, never pulling the trigger. Eventually, too many years go by, and even if they do step up on stage, all you will hear about is how they would have done better if they had been younger.
It’s never too late, just be honest with yourself, and as I continually reminded Brad going into his first contest at 37 years old: What do YOU want to get out of THIS?
S
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How old are you, if I may ask? (Asks the guy who made his stage debut at age 52.)
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