So I Was Wondering...

Here’s a picture: You wake up one morning. Everything’s normal, you do your normal morning routine. You begin your drive to work, and in a few passing cars, you notice some abnormally large men.

20"+ here, but the kind of guy who has a frame that you can tell from the neck up he’s jacked. You shrug it off, and think that that’s going to be you someday.

You eventually get to work, head into the office or wherever it may be, and every person you pass is jacked… even the women are bigger than you. (No offense, ladies.)

At this point you’re confused, and for obvious reasons. You don’t see people like this but once or twice at the gym, the only others you see actually squatting with big weight.

My question is this - How does this shape the way you feel every time you wake up in the morning, every shake you have, every time you go to train?

Most of us do this for ourselves… aesthetics, health, and because we like the way hundreds of pounds feel resting on your shoulders. But you know, deep down, whether you want to admit it or not, that there’s a certain sense of elitism that you experience from the lifestyle.

You know that a normal person doesn’t have the discipline, pursuit, hunger, or drive to do the lifestyle correctly. You know that you give your blood, sweat, and tears working out to separate yourself from people you believe to be weaker than you.

So what now? You’re smaller than everyone else you know now - in fact, you’re tiny compared to them; you’re weaker in the weight room, and you truly don’t much to show for yourself compared to everyone else.

A question like this is one that I feel can put things into perspective. Do you get a new sense of motivation that you had lost before? Or do you buckle up and realize that you’re only going to stand out in a crowd because you’re the smallest one there?

I don’t know, maybe it’s a strange question with a farfetched situation, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.

It’s not a strange question. I love making progress. I like hearing, “damn, you got bigger”. I do like the attention and I feel satisfaction that I worked my ass off (way harder than most ever have in their entire lives) and now have something to show for it.

I changed gyms a few months ago because I HATE being the biggest guy in the gym. If I woke up smaller than everyone else, that wouldn’t change my motivation. I am motivated by a sense of there being a need for improvement.

I am motivated by competition as well which is why I look for places to lift where I have a goal to push for.

I also know that this mentality is a rare one since most people seem to despise change. They can’t even comprehend it.

That means the responses to your post will be limited. Unless they have actually been bigger and stronger than most, they won’t have a clue what it is like to have it and then revert back to the way things used to be.

There is a point of diminishing returns, though. Just to toss a speckle of reality into this.

Nothing like a strong group of peers to inspire and motivate. Sometimes we achieve a higher level than we’d do all alone when the path has been cut by someone else.

Our hockey team has a bad habit of playing down to the level of our opponent. On the flip side, we tend to play UP to the level of our opponent as well.

Same logic here, in a way.

I, in a way, do have even more motivation since our football has a record board. It’s not so much as I want to beat everyone else, but I want to get on that board to show to myself that I have made progress and force me to try and regain that spot next year.

[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
Our hockey team has a bad habit of playing down to the level of our opponent. On the flip side, we tend to play UP to the level of our opponent as well.

Same logic here, in a way.[/quote]

Hah!

I know what that’s like…Ugh

That would motivate me so damn much. Most of you probably wont believe this because I’m far from “huge” but I am the biggest/strongest guy in my entire group of friends.

My one friend who I used to look up to has completely stopped training for size/strength and instead is purposely losing size for the girl that he’s with. I am quickly catching him/passing him in size and strength.

I really wish I had some close friends that I could look up to…as much as it makes me feel good always being the biggest/strongest in the group when I go out with my friends I still wish there was at least one guy who made me feel like I was nothing special yet.

I suppose that’s why I love T-Nation so much, especially the Brotherhood of Iron thread - there’s at least a few people here who I look up to, who push me to keep chasing after my goal.