Do what you want to do. Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. Life is too short for anything else.
If you’re not happy with your life, make some changes.
Here’s my advice: first, forget everything you ever read (or think you read) about a so-called ‘bodybuilding lifestyle’.
Here’s a good way to think about it: live your damn life as you did before you ever heard about bodybuilding…then, fit in a few extra meals a day–with a decent composition of protein, carbs and fat–and find an hour a day when you usually have some free time and train hard. Simple as that.
Sure, make sure you’re sleeping a decent amount every night and eating foods that will help you grow, but certainly don’t stop living the rest of your life. I always think of bodybuilding as something I enjoy and for that reason I find the time to get proper nutrition, proper sleep and time in the gym to stack on the muscle. It doesn’t mean you have to eliminate other things in your life that you enjoy. Consider it a hobby and you’ll be better off.
Oh, and don’t expect results over night. This is one of the biggest problems with people who spend time in the gym, they expect they’ll look like Arnold in a year, and a smaller version of Arnold after a few months. It doesn’t work like that, and unless you have freakish genetics, a boatload of steroids and ridiculous dedication you’ll actually never get that kind of size. Be happy with your gains, you’ve improved immensely from the looks of those pics.
Just set some reachable goals, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishments every time you reach one of them and won’t ever have the urge to post something insane like the crap that started this thread.
L85, actually does hit upon something…Is it any wonder L85 is “negative” when one keeps coming across articles making comments such as: [i]"These 3 principles are:
- Hard, heavy and smart weight lifting
- Quality nutrition
- Quality rest
All three must be in place if your going to succeed in building muscle. If just one of these elements is missing your not going to come any where near your potential and chances are you’ll fizzle out and quit your muscle building program. You need all three, not one, not two, but all three. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise"…or this…"You have poor sleep habits, Diet and training can be spot on, but if sleep sucks it is not going to happen. This not only includes getting the right amount of sleep, but getting it at the right time… You are stressed. Diet, training, and sleep, and supplement support can all be dialed, but if you are a 24 hour stress machine you can forget solid gains…but if you dont believe in the program you are doing it is never going to work, simple as that…You WILL consciously or subconsciously sabotage something you are convinced wont work. Simple as that[/i]…These are but a few examples, talk about negativity!
This is De Facto saying “all that liftin & protien eating is a waste of time Bubba’, might as well sit on the couch, eat pizza, and finger frick the remote because if everything is not perfect,you will continue to look like crap anyway, Hahaha”…I see this attitude all to often and I can understand why people just quit with this stuff coming at them all the time!..
I know I can’t fulfill these ideals in my ultra stressed, sleep deprived lifestyle and have to fight the urge to quit on a daily basis(when not seeing results)…
This dogmatic “perfection mania”, true or not, doesnt help the battle for those coping with real life and having physique goals, kids…
This is quite possibly the dumbest thread I have ever read. Common sense has truly taken a swan dive into oblivion lately. I am honestly sitting here wondering why this isn’t considered a trolling. People like this are why there are warning signs on toilet deoderizers reading, “do not eat”.
This is also why I truly believe many newbies should AVOID the info on this site in majority, especially since so many…including one who responded in this thread…seem to think every article is made for them and they have to follow every word.
[quote]Blacksnake wrote:
L85, actually does hit upon something…Is it any wonder L85 is “negative” when one keeps coming across articles making comments such as: [i]"These 3 principles are:
- Hard, heavy and smart weight lifting
- Quality nutrition
- Quality rest
All three must be in place if your going to succeed in building muscle. If just one of these elements is missing your not going to come any where near your potential and chances are you’ll fizzle out and quit your muscle building program. You need all three, not one, not two, but all three. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise"…or this…"You have poor sleep habits, Diet and training can be spot on, but if sleep sucks it is not going to happen. This not only includes getting the right amount of sleep, but getting it at the right time… You are stressed. Diet, training, and sleep, and supplement support can all be dialed, but if you are a 24 hour stress machine you can forget solid gains…but if you dont believe in the program you are doing it is never going to work, simple as that…You WILL consciously or subconsciously sabotage something you are convinced wont work. Simple as that[/i]…These are but a few examples, talk about negativity!
This is De Facto saying “all that liftin & protien eating is a waste of time Bubba’, might as well sit on the couch, eat pizza, and finger frick the remote because if everything is not perfect,you will continue to look like crap anyway, Hahaha”…I see this attitude all to often and I can understand why people just quit with this stuff coming at them all the time!..
I know I can’t fulfill these ideals in my ultra stressed, sleep deprived lifestyle and have to fight the urge to quit on a daily basis(when not seeing results)…
This dogmatic “perfection mania”, true or not, doesnt help the battle for those coping with real life and having physique goals, kids… [/quote]
Equally dumb. Many people on this forum have stated their sleep is less than “perfect” yet have been lifting for years. Many here have gone to college and received higher degrees while continuing to train regularly.
In short, where you lack in one area, you can very often make up in the others. That is why I made sure I was eating enough to gain instead of trying to play some balancing act where I “may” gain some weight or “might not” like so many here seem to be doing.
This is life. Everything will not always work out to be perfect. Therefore, common sense dictates you do what you can while still trying to reach your own personal goals in life with the other many facets of your existence that don’t include lifting weights. If you can’t use your mind to come up with some sort of balance here, no one can think for you.
Some of you sound like you simply need to learn to grow the fuck up. Optimal may be a nice goal, but that doesn’t mean that “damn close to optimal” isn’t going to work either. This all or nothing bullshit that you just expounded upon shows you missed the point completely.
You don’t have to stay home all the time. I know too many “bodybuilders” thats never go out for such reasons.
Just learn how to take some food with ya. Nothing wrong with that. If your going to be at a club for 4 hours, just eat your meal before. Hell have a protien bar. Staying home wont pack on the muscle anymore then going out and being active / social.
I’m with Prof X, this thread is fucked.
My thoughts exactly. I put on 100 pounds while working two jobs and having family responsiblities.
To the OP, grow some fucking balls and stop bitching about everything. If you want it bad enough, go out there and take it, simple as that.
A
[quote]Professor X wrote:
This is quite possibly the dumbest thread I have ever read. Common sense has truly taken a swan dive into oblivion lately. I am honestly sitting here wondering why this isn’t considered a trolling. People like this are why there are warning signs on toilet deoderizers reading, “do not eat”.
This is also why I truly believe many newbies should AVOID the info on this site in majority, especially since so many…including one who responded in this thread…seem to think every article is made for them and they have to follow every word.[/quote]
[quote]Amsterdam Animal wrote:
To the OP, grow some fucking balls and stop bitching about everything. If you want it bad enough, go out there and take it, simple as that.
[/quote]
As someone who has been the whiner…this is exactly the answer.
You’re complaining about putting on 30 pounds of mass and adding a total of about 150 pounds on the big three lifts in a year? A lot of lifters would love to have those problems.
Stop trying to compare yourself to your friends. You’ve made great progress, so go celebrate by hanging out with those friends. Have a couple plates of chicken wings and a 12 pack, please.
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=762048
You haven’t sacrificed anything. If anything you’ve done yourself a service by avoiding alcohol and changing your lifestyle. You’re seeing gains yet you complain? If becoming a bb pro were as easy as you think it is, then everyone would be in the race for Mr. Olympia who had half a mind and a barbell. You might as well give up now and save yourself the major depression you’ll face when you start to lose your muscle from lack of dedication.
A major part of lifting is mental, and you clearly just don’t have the drive to see the bigger picture. If you don’t fall in love with everyone about what you’re doing to improve your body then you’ll never notice any of the positive changes you’ve made. Do me a favor; join a frat and start curling in the rack so someone with more dedication can laugh at you.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
People like this are why there are warning signs on toilet deoderizers reading, “do not eat”.
[/quote]
That comment alone has made this thread worthwhile.
To the OP: read this article, http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=06-019-diet , and then tell me if you still think that sitting around all day is going to bring you gains.
I heard that the Westside guys drag sleds and do farmers walks on their ‘off’ days in order to curtail their gains, otherwise they’d get too hyoooge.
This all reminds me of a buddy of mine talking about some jackass he knows. The guy would get home from a lifting session and his wife would want to go out to a movie or do something.
His response?
“No… I gotta sit home and grow.”
True story of a complete tool.
See the key word in the thread title is “Lifestyle” However the OP seemed to miss his own key word. In order to have a lifestyle, you have to have a life. We train to have a better, more fufilling life. The OP has no life, so therefore he can not possibly have a life style.
So please, get one. Go to Hooters (or you pick the place) drink a couple beers with your friends, eat some imperfect food, hit on a couple hot yet false and imperfect women, smile a little bit and you will think back on this time as a good time in your life. That in its own will change your perception, and your ability to make quality gains.
I leave you with a quote, but I do not know the source.
“Your perception determines your reality.”
How does this work into your situation?
[quote]Hambone1818 wrote:
Here’s my advice: first, forget everything you ever read (or think you read) about a so-called ‘bodybuilding lifestyle’.
Here’s a good way to think about it: live your damn life as you did before you ever heard about bodybuilding…then, fit in a few extra meals a day–with a decent composition of protein, carbs and fat–and find an hour a day when you usually have some free time and train hard. Simple as that.
[/quote]
Excellent post!
This should be a “sticky”.
Some facts to consider:
-
Some individuals are genetically gifted for bodybuilding. We all know of guys who look super muscular, but sometimes hardly train (or are not training at all). Some others are genetically cursed and will never be able to develop a bodybuilding-type physique… don’t get me wrong, they will be able to build a decent amount of muscle mass and get lean and muscular, but not to the point of being anything close to competitive bodybuilders.
-
The key points in building a better body are a) effort, b) progression and c) “long term”
Just because a program is written on a piece of paper by me, Chad or any other coach doesn’t confer it sudden magical powers that will turn you into a muscle-building machine! You will get more results from doing a bad program balls out than doing a great program half-assed. So in that regard, effort is kind.
Then you have progression. You have to try and progress in some way or the other in the gym… either lift more weight, do more reps with the same weight, take shorter rest periods, use more challenging exercises, etc. As long as you are progressing you will be improving. Now, from your post it seems that you gained something like 30lbs (probably 15lbs of muscle) and a good amount of weight on your lifts, in one year of training (maybe less). This is a pretty good progression if you ask me! Obviously you wont build a bodybuilding physique in only a year (unless you are genetically gifted, and if that were the case you wouldn’t be asking us your question). Heck, some guys will train for decades and will not look like competitive bodybuilders; I could practice basketball 5 hours a day, I still wouldn’t make it to the NBA!
Finally the key to success in building muscle and getting muscular is being in this for the long haul. Building muscle is a slow process. A natural trainee past the beginner stage can hope to build around 10lbs of solid muscle tissue in a good year. And the more experienced you get, the harder it becomes to add size. You can’t train hard for 8-12 months and expect to look like the next coming of Arnold regardless how good your training/nutrition plan was. You started out with probably 50-60lbs of muscle less than a decent natural bodybuilder of your height. Provided that you keep improving at a “normal pace” you can probably reach the same level in 5-7 years. It sucks to hear that, but it’s the truth. And even then, you might not even reach that level if its not in your genetic cards. The only way to find out is to train hard, keep progressing and challenging yourself and see where that takes you.
- There are few “REAL” natural competitive bodybuilders, at least on the national level. Most natural organizations don’t have a real drug testing policy. Some natural organizations use a polygraph/lie detector test (easy to beat) and others use a “visual assessment” test (the judges look at you at the registration and if you look “enhanced” you can’t compete… this is obviously far from being adequate). A few organizations rely on an actual urine analysis test (like they have at the Olympics) and even that test can be cheated. I’m not saying that there aren’t any decent natural physiques on stage, but that you should not look at the top natural physique for an easy to attain objective.
One of the best natural physique is Dave Goodin… and it wasn’t until he was in his 40s that he actually developed a great physique. It took him decades to get where he is at!
-
You CANNOT compare yourself with others when it comes to evaluating your progress. You simply don’t have the same genetic predispositions. For some, building muscle comes fast, for others it’s a very long and arduous process. Only compare yourself with yourself: are you better than you were a month ago? If you are, you are doing a pretty good job! Obviously some will progress faster than you, others will progress at a slower pace. You will just have to accept that and keep busting your ass.
-
Regarding living life. It’s true that you must eat properly, train hard and avoid destructive habits as much as possible. But for God’s sake, live a little. Even if you were to build a physique worthy of superman, what good would it do you if you keep it chained at home?
Or we could simply use the words of Dennis Leary:
"Whinny guy: I’m just not happy… I do not have the life I was supposed to have.
Leary: I’m just not happy, I’m just not happy …I was supposed to be the center fielder for the New York Yankees, life sucks get a fuc*ing helmet!"
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Some facts to consider:
<<<Finally the key to success in building muscle and getting muscular is being in this for the long haul. Building muscle is a slow process. A natural trainee past the beginner stage can hope to build around 10lbs of solid muscle tissue in a good year. And the more experienced you get, the harder it becomes to add size.>>> [/quote]
This right here is where a lot of guys, including myself have shipwrecked their progress and in my case their life.
Years back I went from knowing nothing for my first 8-10 months, but still making some progress because of being young and new, to learning some life changing truths and making spectacular progress for a complete genetic yawn over the next coupla years to leveling off and eventually losing the motivation to train.
If only I knew then what I know now. I had the unrealistic and immature belief that I had the right to gain 20-25 pounds a year forever.
[quote]lifter85 wrote:
Okay so back when I started lifting last december 2005, I read all up everything I could about bb’ing and how to get bigger etc etc, all of that stuff. Til this day I still read up on it all, and you always hear “If you are doing too much in your life, if you’re not getting enough rest, if you have too much stress, and if you don’t have proper nutrition and eat every 2-3 hours, you can kiss any gains you might have made goodbye”.
So since hearing this shit, I’ve allowed myself to go the past year basically sitting around doing absolutley nothing all day long, sitting here staring at a computer screen, eating non stop, waiting for my next meal to cook, no cardio or anything fun. Only problem with it all is, my friends who have jobs, who drink, who have harder majors than me, and get minimal sleep and don’t eat that well, are growing more than me!
I just don’t get how you all expect someone to lead a sedentary lifestyle to make gains that seem like they’re either gona come or not come based on genetics. I mean, I’ve given up so much in my life the past year just to hope to see good gains, and so far i’ve really hardly seen shit.
At least, nothing more than if i didn’t live this lifestyle. So what gives, why do they say you can kiss any gains you might have had goodbye if you have stress in your life and are doing too many things? Don’t they realize this is life, not just a vacation?[/quote]
Your so far off the mark i cant believe it! Who ever said that to have a great physique you have to give up everything else in your life and became a lazy bum??
What the fuck have you been reading!?
[quote]lifter85 wrote:
evansmi wrote:
so tell me, whilst giving up soo much and making soo many sacrifices, how many pounds did you actually add to your squat and deadlift?
on my squat, i’d say about 60 lbs… from 270 to 330, and it keeps going up…deadlift, well before i never did any single deadlifts, just reps, and i didn’t use straps…however bck then i might have done about 320-330.
Now am close to 405, so about 70-75 lbs, and it’s growing too. I’ve gone from 150 lbs super cut to 180 lbs now not very cut at all. but my bench press has gone up maybe 10 lbs max.
Nor do I look big with only 25 inch thighs, 14.5 inch calves, a 35-36 inch waist, a 42 inch chest, and 13.2 inch arms…all relaxed.[/quote]
Do you do any direct arm work on your triceps and biceps?