What got me “serious” enough to begin hittin’ the iron consistently?(instead of just f’n around)…It was that BBQ early this year…As I was making my exit with glad handing goodbyes, my pals wife (who was sitting in a lawn chair as I was standing) reached up to pat my arm and missed, instead getting a handful of my flab encrusted obliques and gullet from under my hawaiian shirt…I could see the shock and horror on her face and I’d hate to think what my mug looked like at that moment!..
My brain made a mental note at that second: “Somethin’s gotta’ change, this will not happen again”…She is out of the USA until early next year…I have been hittin’ it hard in the gym ever since with determination to hang in there for the long haul…
I wonder if she will notice any improvement when I encounter her (them) in a few months?
The adventure continues, an unexpected “long range goal”, eh? (I guess any motivation is better than none at all)…OK Old-Time Kids, give me your shock stories, I can’t be the only one something like this has happened to!..
[quote]Blacksnake wrote:
What got me “serious” enough to begin hittin’ the iron consistently?(instead of just f’n around)…It was that BBQ early this year…As I was making my exit with glad handing goodbyes, my pals wife (who was sitting in a lawn chair as I was standing) reached up to pat my arm and missed, instead getting a handful of my flab encrusted obliques and gullet from under my hawaiian shirt…I could see the shock and horror on her face and I’d hate to think what my mug looked like at that moment!..
My brain made a mental note at that second: “Somethin’s gotta’ change, this will not happen again”…She is out of the USA until early next year…I have been hittin’ it hard in the gym ever since with determination to hang in there for the long haul…
I wonder if she will notice any improvement when I encounter her (them) in a few months?
The adventure continues, an unexpected “long range goal”, eh? (I guess any motivation is better than none at all)…OK Old-Time Kids, give me your shock stories, I can’t be the only one something like this has happened to!..[/quote]
I think my concept of “serious” is a little different than some people’s.
Approx. 8 years ago, my wife gained 40 pounds when she was pregnant with our daughter. I gained 30 pounds right along with her. Needing to actually use my uniform allowance on new uniforms for my fat ass pushed me over the edge. I’m still working on fitting into my old pants at my current body weight.
Mine was when I rrealized that I’m 34 and WEAK. So weak I got tired playing with my kids…so drunk between 5-10pm I could not stay in focus to be much of any benefit for my family and household.
I was a self loathing skinny POS.
It was a lifestyle change and one of the best things I ever did.
I can honestly say I feel 100% different and better now.
My mom finances a lot of fitness equipment, and she got a few free passes to Gold’s after a really big deal with them. I decided to go, and surprisingly I didn’t feel anxious or self-conscious…I felt good. I had very rarely felt that way up to that point. And as crappy as most of the Gold’s trainers are, the one I talked to sent me here.
I’ve always had trouble with work ethic and sticking with any sort of fitness aspirations, but something clicked this time. At first I just wanted to “get mad swole”, then I read some of the diet articles here and really put my mind to finally getting lean. Somewhere along the line I realized that I would never be satisfied, so now I’m in it for the long haul.
I was a really skinny youth who never gained any weight through puberty. When I was 18, a friend of mine took me into his gym on a guest pass and I haven’t stopped in 27 years.
Gained about 100 pounds, mostly muscle since then.
I think my concept of “serious” is a little different than some people’s.
[/quote]
[u]You won’t be sayin’ that after you hit 50, Doc![/u]…Like I said, motivation, any motivation to keep you on track can be positive, even when the source is negative…You don’t have to agree, just understand the concept…
[quote]KO421 wrote:
you started lifting to impress your friends wife? wierd…
well I finnaly got serious becuase ive always known what ive wanted to be/look like and I am going to fucking do it [/quote]
Wrong, as I said, I’ve already been lifting for years, but only to maintain, and I was slowly loosing that battle especialy after hitting 50…I had been treading water, not advancing…This incident changed that complacency, understand? That is the point of the post…
[quote]Rockscar wrote:
KO421 wrote:
you started lifting to impress your friends wife? wierd…
well I finnaly got serious becuase ive always known what ive wanted to be/look like and I am going to fucking do it
No, he realized what had happened to him from her comment.[/quote]
As ususal, RS, you got the point immediately…I had to get “over the hill” and figuratively “slapped upside the head” first, at least you learned a few years earlier! I had to understand that if I don’t do it now, at this age, it’s never gonna’ happen at all, and that’s a gut wrencher…and I’m still learning about somrehing I arrogantly and mistakenly thought I already knew about: Bodybuilding!..Humbling stuff…
[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
I started for football in HS…never really got off it.[/quote]
So you were already a mesomorph to begin with, am I wrong to assume you can fairly easily get and maintain the kind of shape you prefer, FI26?..Aging only makes the battle harder for endos’ like me however…
[quote]Kai Zen wrote:
Approx. 8 years ago, my wife gained 40 pounds when she was pregnant with our daughter. I gained 30 pounds right along with her. Needing to actually use my uniform allowance on new uniforms for my fat ass pushed me over the edge. I’m still working on fitting into my old pants at my current body weight. [/quote]
I can relate, Kai…Since I started squatting this year(something I’d ignored previously, assuming mere leg extensions would get the job done) I’ve gone down a few belt notches and am fittin’ into some of those old uniform trousers a bit less snugly than before…Ever so slowly, the body composition is changing for the better for this mean old bastid’…
A few months after my wife died of cancer, I went upstairs to check on my three year old. I noticed I was breathing really heavy from walking up the stairs. I was an athlete in high school and college, so I was bullshitting myself that I was still in shape. I finally was honest with myself and also decided it would probably be a good idea to stay alive for my three kids!
So… a few days later, I turned 40 and I gave myself the best gift ever - started lifting four days a week and cardio the other three. Three years later, still going seven days a week. I dropped 25 pounds of fat and replaced it with 25 pounds of muscle. Never felt better, ever!
[quote]t-sama wrote:
A few months after my wife died of cancer, I went upstairs to check on my three year old. I noticed I was breathing really heavy from walking up the stairs. I was an athlete in high school and college, so I was bullshitting myself that I was still in shape. I finally was honest with myself and also decided it would probably be a good idea to stay alive for my three kids!
So… a few days later, I turned 40 and I gave myself the best gift ever - started lifting four days a week and cardio the other three. Three years later, still going seven days a week. I dropped 25 pounds of fat and replaced it with 25 pounds of muscle. Never felt better, ever![/quote]
You really are a superhero, Bra’…The kids are quite lucky to have you as a role model…(Glad you wised up before you hit 50+, unlike myself!)…
I think my concept of “serious” is a little different than some people’s.
[u]You won’t be sayin’ that after you hit 50, Doc![/u]…Like I said, motivation, any motivation to keep you on track can be positive, even when the source is negative…You don’t have to agree, just understand the concept…[/quote]
People told me I wouldn’t be saying that by this age. Most of the guys who are doing well in NPC contests are in their mid to late 30’s (some in their early 40’s) so my goals are still well ahead of me. It is all about priorities. To me, considering the time I have put into this so far, bodybuilding is a large one. It falls behind career or education, but it still ranks up there. While I agree that ANY exercise is better than no exercise, I have known people more dedicated than me who remind me of what “serious” really means.
Turning 50 one day has nothing to do with it.
However, I respect you for making changes in your life regardless of when you started. I just see things differently.
[quote]Blacksnake wrote:
KO421 wrote:
you started lifting to impress your friends wife? wierd…
well I finnaly got serious becuase ive always known what ive wanted to be/look like and I am going to fucking do it
Wrong, as I said, I’ve already been lifting for years, but only to maintain, and I was slowly loosing that battle especialy after hitting 50…I had been treading water, not advancing…This incident changed that complacency, understand? That is the point of the post…
[/quote]
I see, my bad I misread your post a little. After rereading your post I see the point you where trying to get across, it was just a little strange the way you choose to do that…
I dont think I caught the 50 part, congrats on lifting at 50 that alone is awesome.
I think maintaing is always a bad plan, I relize that after half assing it in the gym and just trying to maintain. From now on I will always try to IMPROVE on myself, weither it be more muscle mass, getting leaner, getting stronger, whatever my goal is at the time.
