Have you ever shown your wife my pictures?
For the record, I love steak and hate cardio-based classes.
I sense you’re having a hard time with your wife and her lack of support for your endeavors these days. That’s tough. Those of us who have the support of our partners to pursue our athletic passions probably don’t appreciate it enough. My husband bends over backwards and turns himself inside out to support my powerlifting. I am so fortunate.
So on a website that has a section for ‘Powerful Women’ who DL, Squat, Bench, etc, you called all Women crazy? And you also walked into a ladies group and voiced an opinion aggressively?
Yeah, clearly it’s the WOMEN that are insane.
…slowly backing away.
All kidding aside, I wouldn’t generalize it to women, more so the community that “doesn’t know”. I know just as many guys who want to “get toned and ripped but not bulky like you”.
I’ve often felt the frustrations you mention above but long ago accepted its not my duty to change it so it is what it is.
Thanks for making me go cross eyed trying to look at my elbows!
Obviously Im crazy or I would have just looked at them in a mirror!
Id say have her look at my pics i posted yesterday, but I think women that think this way
wont change their minds and it will be a losing battle.
First time in here in long time…sorry didnt go back and catch up, hope YOUR training is good!
Wimminz ARE crazy. And even though snap could likely slap me around like a bitch in prison and take all my lunch money, I stand by my statement.
Todd, you’re right, though, that I am ragging on my wife a lot. I have to give credit though, in the past few months she’s been wonderful. When I have to sneak away to do my evening cardio or my evening lifts in the basement, she’s supportive. A few years ago, it would have guaranteed a fight. I’m really grateful and owe her a massive debt of gratitude.
I was speaking of “women in general” and included her as an example. The ladies in my wife’s book club were all of the, overweight, all of them on some brand name diet (jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Deal A Meal, take your pick), all of them going to Pump & Tone classes at the Y, and none of them was losing a pound! And they felt like THEY were unworthy failures because of it!
How screwed up is that?!?!?! We’ve burdened these poor ladies with information so misleading it’s criminal, and then we guilt them into thinking the reason it doesn’t work is because they didn’t try hard enough! What a horrible, horrible farce. And when a well-meaning guy suggests an alternative, they get mighty aggressive.
You were right to call me out, Todd. Mea Culpa.
No worries.
Try to find the positive in some of it. (I know thats hard when you’re carb depleted and a moody bastard)
I used to survive through that frustration with my ex by saying that by using a program like WW or JC at least those programs are teaching people how to monitor intake vs expenditure. It’s a small step forward. Once someone can grasp that, you can then work on refining the differences in the quality of the food being consumed and how THAT makes a bigger difference.
Now go do some cardio!
Totally insane. All this is hitting you just when you need support the most.
I caught a look at a TV show hosted by doctors. They’re talking about losing weight, toning up, etc ect. They brought out one guy who obviously had spent some time in the weight room. He showed off some wimpy dance moves or something, and the docs ate it up like it would turn every woman in the audience into a Hollywood starlet. Seriously . . . actual MD’s promoting crap like this???
Kent, you’re coming down to the wire, and stress gets magnified. Here . . . you’ve done a fantastic job turning your mediocre body into muscular perfection. You’re going to look great on stage, and you’ve earned every bit. I can’t be there in person, but will be there in spirit.
Just don’t pull a Bertil Fox, please.
[quote]Canada_K wrote:
Wimminz ARE crazy. [/quote]
this is alllllll you need to know ~~~~~
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
. My husband bends over backwards and turns himself inside out to support my powerlifting. I am so fortunate.[/quote]
And he gets to ride a motorcycle in return. Trust me, this trumps everything.
james
[quote]Canada_K wrote:
We’ve burdened these poor ladies with information so misleading it’s criminal, and then we guilt them into thinking the reason it doesn’t work is because they didn’t try hard enough! What a horrible, horrible farce. [/quote]
I have to take issue with this. You seem to suggest that women are pretty pathetic in terms of brain power. If any person (woman or man) keeps doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, shame on them.
And I’ve never slapped anyone in my life. Yet.
No, I don’t think women are pathetic. I think they have been particularly targeted by a relentless media determined to sell them things they don’t need, whatever the cost. As evidence I offer every single print publication at the grocery checkout.
I’ve dropped 20 lb and 4 inches of my gut-line. Feeling good about progress today.
Looking good!
[quote]cavalier wrote:
Just don’t pull a Bertil Fox, please.[/quote]
As in “don’t murder your wife”?
Really?!?!?!
Wow, I must really have been ragging on her here. I’ll have to change my tune.
[quote]Canada_K wrote:
[quote]cavalier wrote:
Just don’t pull a Bertil Fox, please.[/quote]
As in “don’t murder your wife”?
Really?!?!?!
Wow, I must really have been ragging on her here. I’ll have to change my tune.
[/quote]
I heard disappointment but no Bertil.
You’re looking sharp btw. Keep it up, just don’t go cRaZy.
I know you wouldn’t go that far, Kent. Just be careful low blood sugar doesn’t make you say or do something you might regret later. I’ve been through mood swings caused by diet that can get me snapping at everyone in sight.
Was trying to think of a milder example than Bertil, but none came to mind.
Here’s an editorial I wrote for “another” website a couple years ago. I thought it might amuse.
GENOTYPE VS. PHENOTYPE ? WHO GIVES A S##T?
Whether it’s here, at work over lunch, at the gym, on Oprah, or in People magazine, everyone is talking about their body, and what “it” is doing. Anyone who is involved in some kind of diet/fitness regimen, and whose body doesn’t look exactly the way they want it to, inevitably talks about their body (or its constituent parts) in the third person.
"My thighs just don’t respond to exercise.’
“No matter how much I lift, my arms won?t grow.”
“This stubborn belly fat won’t go away no matter how hard I diet.”
“I’m a stocky person and my butt can?t get any smaller.”
Funny how when we can’t have what we want we try to externalize the cause. Let’s take this up a level and talk about body types.
“I’m an endomorph, so I’ll always be chubby.”
“You have an easier time getting lean because you’re an ectomorph.”
“I can’t gain muscle because I’m not a mesomorph.”
I have noticed that, left to their own devices, people DO have a tendency to gravitate to one kind of body type. Some people are lean, some people are tubby, some people are muscular. But it’s more to do with lifestyle than genetics.
Ectomorphs are people who naturally eat tiny portions of food, and when they do eat it tends to be lots of complex carbs, lots of fruit and veggies, and not a lot of meat. They tend to be highly active, and choose activities that involve lots of cardio.
Endomorphs are people who tend to enjoy sedentary activities and aren’t active by choice. They tend to eat a lot, and they like sweets and simple carbs.
Mesomorphs also like to eat, but they like meat and don’t care for simple carbs or sweets. They enjoy being active, but they don’t like cardio work and tend to choose weight bearing activities.
Flabbosuckomorphs (like yours truly) are really just endomorphs who make even poorer food choices, eat less protein, do even less weight bearing exercise, and slightly more cardio.
What am I suggesting? I’m saying that it’s not your genetics that are making you fat, or skinny, or muscular. It’s your preferences and lifestyle choices.
You may look at the skinny b##ch at work who seems to be able to eat whatever she wants, and still has no a$$. You mutter under your breath that she must have “a high metabolism”. Well if you make an honest comparison between your two lifestyles I’ll bet real money this is what you’ll find:
She eats less food than you. When she’s stressed out she goes for a walk instead of to the bakery. She rarely gets hungry between meals. She is aware when she feels full and stops eating.
She makes better food choices than you. She doesn’t crave sweets or chips. She usually makes her own meals from scratch instead of reheating something in a package. She enjoys eating fruit and veggies.
She is more active than you. She walks her dog, takes the stairs, maintains a garden, and thinks the best thing to do on a Sunday morning is take a brisk walk through the park. You have a fish, and don?t go anywhere that doesn’t have an elevator, and when you have free time surf the net and watch TV.
When she exercises she chooses cardio. Given the choice she will choose tennis, jogging, soccer, or activities that get your heart going.
In other words, she is slim because her natural way of living has lots of activity, and she likes eating good food and less of it.
You may look at your cousin who has the broad chest and big arms, and he eats everything in sight at the family reunions. You’re annoyed at how he just seems to be “naturally muscular”. Again, if you honestly evaluate his and your lives, I’m 99% certain this is what you’ll find:
He eats differently than you. Eat eats a lot of meat, complex starches, and probably veggies too. But he doesn’t care for sweets, or eat a lot of white bread.
He eats more than you. He has a big appetite, and he likely eats between meals. He can power down a 12 ounce steak for lunch. But, as above, he doesn’t pick junk food.
He “lifts” more than you, even if it’s not weights. He probably goes to the gym, and he doesn’t like cardio at all, he lifts weights. He probably has a job that involves a lot of physical labor. You probably avoid lifting heavy things.
In other words, he is buff because his natural way of going through the day involves weight bearing activity, and he tends to choose foods that fuel his muscles with lots of protein and complex carbohydrates.
Now I do accept that there are genetic anomalies out there. Guys like pro bodybuilder Lee Priest were born with washboard abs and he was freakishly muscular by the time he was 15. But these folks are literally one in a million. People like that are so fantastically rare, that we can’t use their existence on the planet to justify anything. The overwhelming majority of the world is NOT genetically gifted.
So what the hell is my point?!?!?
Your genetics are NOT working against you.
You have the body you have because of the choices you are currently making, not because of some built-in flaw outside of your control.
Other people who look better than you did not get there because they are “genetically gifted”.
Other people with better bodies are eating better, working harder, and making better choices than you.
Using your “genetics” as justification for doing, or not doing, something is a self-deluded argument that will ultimately slow down your progress.
Ultimately, everything is under your control. You take all the blame, and all the credit, for how you currently look.
Blaming anything on your genetics is an attempt to abdicate responsibility for your current state
Anyone who tells you that the way you look is due to genetics, or is outside of your control is trying to sell you something.
This May I am about to step on the bodybuilding stage and have my skinny little behind handed to me by a pal who is simply more muscular than I am. As much as I DESPERATELY would like to say it’s because he got an easier ride through life than me, I know he lifts harder than I do, and works harder, and got better results.
Dammit.
Damn you Kent…Now I have to do something different for the next Bulldog edition.
“Flabbosuckomorphs” - I like it!
Kent, I would really like to see you dig in after the contest and build some serious size and strength. I can see how much you want it, and life’s just too damn short. I know you have responsibilities with family and job, but please find a way.
Well folks, I should just admit the inevitable.
As much as this place has been entertaining, I don’t have the time to maintain a presence both here and at my other site, while I’m pushing for the stage. So I’m going to step away for T-Nation for awhile. Those of you who know me, know where to find me. Maybe when all the carb-withdrawl-induced drama is over, and I’m back chasing the big lifts again, I’ll come back and hang out some more.
I’ll be sure and post results and photos from the show.
Ciao… for now!
Nice post, Kent!
Good luck Bro. Be talking to you.