Allright. First where am I now. I’m down to 95kg starting to have some definition,managing on little nutrition (hypothyroid condition too). Strength is OK I guess.
Much earlier I used to do some elementary contortion stuff. I never had unusual talent for it,just a tiny bit above the average guy. I kept retaining a bit when I started lifts and eventually gave in. I recently started doing it again for some reason. It is time consuming so it’s really hard to find motivation and energy for lifting. I’d say it’s much harder,far more painful (yet more natural) than lifting. Stretching muscles increases their length and lifting shortens them.
I don’t really find myself liking lifting,I just like the results,if any. I think people are intimidated into lifting because of the media images and also the attitudes of the fellow lifting community once they get there. A fair few of them have the attitude (not unlike some martial artists) that they are doing a ‘man’s’ sport and that puts them above the rest. That their idea of a good physique is the true measuring stick.
I wonder how many of them have inferiority complexes. Of course this is pure human nature,dominance psychology and those doing something else will also look down on lifters in their own way,though they may not be as vocal about it. But ultimately the lifting pride comes down to manhandling other people,which is sort of understandable from an evolutionary perspective,as we can assume there was a time when that ability or the means were more important than the ability to play badminton very well for example.
I suppose we are not at the level where we can ever escape the unconcious temptation of those influences. And when I said ‘pride’ I meant the smug kind. I think everyone should be proud of whatever success they make in hitting larger numbers or edging closer to the kind of physique they want.
When people shrink,the compliments and the hard image start to fall off,and larger fellow people will be giving them smug,proud faces over feeling dominant. So in a sense being skinny is the hard or brave thing,not being large.
Cons are:
-the nagging little injuries and aches that will easily crop up during the lifting career. You can say that these or those athletes have more injuries but that’s basically talking about accidents,while higher level lifting (for strength anyway) is all about getting into a risky position.
-the loss of flexibility. This may have been exaggerated by some but there is no reason to believe that it would not affect it at all. You can work around it but that just takes much more time and effort.
-the increasing strain,exhaustion and limits (as in sports performance) of carrying abnormally high body weight.