Since I’m just starting, and I got a lot of ground to cover, just wondering where all of you started at and why you decided to work out. I’m 16 145lbs and 5 foot 6. Looking to get stronger for 1) Of course to be healthier and 2) Sounds corny, but yeah to help out people that get picked on. Sounds cheesy, whatever. Hate seeing when people get made fun of so hardcore they cry. Especially relatives.
Overweight,240 pounds at 15.Height about 5.5.
Started woking out partly becaue i wanted to be badass enough to kick the people who picked on me’s asses,part because i’ve always loved lifting ehavy stuff and anything strength related.
15 at 5’9 152 pounds, I started because i wanted to become stronger. Two because i love bodybuidling and three girls love a huge guy.
Welcome. I started out at 105lbs at 14, and am currently sitting at around 150 lbs.
-Fireplug
Started when I was 18, weighing in a whopping 130 pounds at 5’8. Here I am at 22 weighing in about 170-175.
I started weight training because I figured that I needed some muscle to go with them ribs I had sticking out and chicks dig it when that happens.
Started at 17, 5"9 @ 155 lbs 20% BF
Now at 20 im still 5"9 @ 212lbs 13-15% BF
T-Nation came into my training only about 1 year ago.
i was 15 years old 165lbs 6’0. started lifting to thicken up and get stronger i had alot of ppl that fucked with me becouse who i chilled with at the time and i was in a new school with only like 5 friends that i new. so i decided to bulk up to protect my self and my friends.
Jan 04
height 5-9
weight 205-210
BF ~30%
May 05
215
BF% 17.8%
update June 09
230
BF 18.2%
My friend and I were out one night. There weren’t many places to hang-out in town when I was younger (26 now, I was 16 @ the time), so we were in a McDonalds parking lot downtown. Kinda out of our element. 5 guys didn’t like the way the two of us looked I guess. Probably thought we were gay in their tiny little minds. They figured they would lay a beating to us. My friend had one guy on him, (he was 6’1" 200 even at that time) while the other four decided I was a good mark (I was 5’8" and 165 “soft” lbs). I held my own and came out with a broken nose from the guy with the rings on his fingers. After I looked hime dead in the eye and screamed “you broke my f*@kn’ nose!”. He had sworn before the fight that he was going to knock me out. When I didn’t go down after his assult, I think he got a little scared. They basically left us alone after that.
I contributed my “attention” in the attacks to the fact that I was the smaller guy at the time, so I vowed to myself that wouldn’t happen again. I would not be the “small” guy. I hit the irons, and continue to this day.
Now I’m about 5’11" and weigh about 190-200 (lean at 190, but not ripped). I would actually say that I’ve gained more than 30+ lbs over the last 10 years, because my body comp is much better.
What ever your reasons, be passionate about what you are doing, and the results will come. Work on making your body and mind as strong and as sound as they can be. For those that would challange you in life, phisically or otherwise, nothing beats being the “bigger” man.
170 pounds at 6’4".
Now at 220. Same height.
160 (at one point during wrassling, otherwise 175) Pound at 5’10 freshman year around 12% body fat (remember I wrestled)
now 221 6’, roughly 14% body fat
On what Papa wrote:
Thats funny, I had a similar story. And that story leads to my motive to help out the smaller guy. I was at the mall with 3 of my friends, and two douches came up asking for a dollar. My friends told them to come find us and chug a “Fire” hot sauce from Taco Bell. Notice how I didn’t say anything, yet I was targeted for being the “leader”.
Well we didn’t see them for the rest of the night, and wasn’t planing on it. Until when we were ready to leave and were waiting outside the Boscov. They somehow came out the same exit, and showed us the full packet. My friends said they had to chug it, and the guy put one packet in his mouth. He didn’t swallow but decided to spit it all over my white shirt.
Boy was I pissed, and me and my three friends bitched and the two guys ran off. We chased them, but they were either to fast, or had a start. Next week he the guy who spit on me wanted to settle this by a fight. He said I was telling everyone he was a pussy. This was a lie on two accounts. 1) I had 3 friends, they were there with me. 2) I was in 8th grade, he was in 10th or 11th at the time. Two totally different schools.
I went outside, with a crowd of people. I stood there with him, and made him look like an ass. I stood there, he pushed me wanting me to throw the first punch, but I never did. Renta-cops came and of course I pressed charges, hell why not eh? This guy isn’t bothering me anymore, but his fat friend still is. I don’t think i’m that weak, but I don’t want to try it. He keeps calling me “Albino Fuck”, I guess I am kinda pale. Oh well.
Every time he says something at school I say to my self next time i’m going to drop him. I guess it’s not worth it though. But yeah, that’s my life story, whether you wanted it or not.
Started at 9 yrs old, 4th grade wrestling at 55 lbs. Continued till graduation at 143. I had many obstacles to lifting as an adult. Always hovered at around 143-145. Found T-Mag in 2000-2001.
Currently- 33yrs old, 165 lbs.
Bench- 295(have to re-test tomorrow)
Squat- 365 (one month ago-retest soon)
Dead lift 415(new p.b.!)
My discipline has been somewhat lax. A lot of people have done more with less, but with a great deal of exageration I can honestly say that I have gained 110 lbs and my lifts have increased tremendously.
Have fun!
Started at around 225 with a lot of fat and not that much muscle, I started working out because I had to do something other than school and work, so a friend of mine invited me to his gym, since then I’m addicted (febuary 2003) . Now I’m at 205 and I look a lot better and I’m also a lot stronger. I don’t train for any sport, I go to the gym because I enjoy it and want to be bigger/stronger/healthier. However, powerlifting is slowly getting me !!!
Oh yea, forgot the heights. I was prety short at 9 yrs. old. Currently holding at 5’9".
[quote]PiracyPatrick wrote:
Since I’m just starting, and I got a lot of ground to cover, just wondering where all of you started at and why you decided to work out. I’m 16 145lbs and 5 foot 6. Looking to get stronger for 1) Of course to be healthier and 2) Sounds corny, but yeah to help out people that get picked on. Sounds cheesy, whatever. Hate seeing when people get made fun of so hardcore they cry. Especially relatives.[/quote]
I was 14 years old when I first started playing around with weight training. I was 15 when I got involved in my first structured weightlifting program. Both were because I was playing football. The first was voluntary, the second was mandatory if I wanted to play ball.
In 1981, at 15 y.o., I was 6’3" and 165lbs at around 16% to 17% BF. By the time I graduated high school, I was 6’4", but 220lbs at 12% BF. By the time I finished playing football in college, I was same height, but 240lbs at roughly 12% BF. Currently, I’m 39 years old, still 6’4", usually between 265lbs and 275lbs and still at about 12% to 13% BF. Since 1998 I have been focusing primarily on powerlifting training, but I watch what I take in nutritionally very closely.
I encourage you strongly to concentrate on using compound movements (Bench Press, Deadlift, Squat, Overhead Press, Barbell Rows, Dips and Pullups)and to eat as much good food (milk, eggs, chichen, fish, lean beef, sweet potatoes, etc) as you possibly can, while avoiding fried foods, soft drinks and fast foods.
Stay focused and be disciplined and you can accomplish amazing things with your body. Good Luck!!
Jerry
I was 19, 5’7" and 165lbs (very little of which was muscle). I dislocated my shoulder playing racketball so I decided that I should get to the gym so that didn’t happen again. I was squatting around 95lbs, benching 95lbs, and I didn’t know what a deadlift was. Now, im 22 still 5’7" and 150lbs. My squat is 315lbs, deadlift 395lbs, and bench (with a pause) 235lbs.
I did a lot of pushups and freehand squats and stuff at 14 because it was pretty fun…in the summer of that i got weights from Canadian tire from a York Barbell set…and went mad crazy on it. I was only like i donno 125 pounds i think. Then i guess i stopped because i had family crap so that really killed me for a while. So i couldnt train, stuck with bodyweight stuff.
Then started reading, i read like never before…articles, books, the works, this site, elitefts, deepsquatter…seriosuly like every site that has anything to do with getting strong and having good endurance. Continued with reading for a super long time and made myself a program and all now im 15, 148lbs, sq 255, deadlift 285, and bench 205…always training to improve. I do it beacuse i love lifting, and MMA. It helps a lot in bjj, submission wrestlin (althoguh like same thing)…stuff like that…but yeah thats me
dl- Piracy Patrick, i got your back.
I started the week after I graduated from high school at 18. I was 115-120, around 24%BF at 5’3.
I wanted to prevent the “freshman 15,” but REALLY got into it when I started learning about everything. Now my goal is to lean down and maintain my muscle.
Now I’m still 5’3, 130ish at 20%BF and looking a whole lot better 
I became a member of T-mag about a year or so ago, although I had been reading the articles prior since my boyfriend was/is a fellow T-mag freak.
Long story, but here’s a summary:
I was always the small skinny short kid that got picked on. I got tired of it. So when I was 13 in 7th grade, I started to eat a lot to gain weight. Only, I ate a lot of BAD stuff. I gained weight, but I got fat. Not humongous, but at 5 foot tall and 123lbs, I was fat.
The wake-up call came right after I turned 14 in 8th grade when they had a health fair. I got my cholesterol checked and it was 240! I knew I had to do something about it. So I began to read stuff on nutrition and health. I learned how to eat right and do exercises (bodyweight stuff, running). Toward the end of the year, I had lost the fat and started my freshmen year in high school being small and skinny again (Also, this was when I had moved to Florida).
I stayed small and skinny through high school. I didn’t play any sports (now, I wish I did) until my senior year. I joined the weightlifting team and competed in the 123lb class usually weighing in at 119-120lbs at 5’4"!!! But it wasn’t until after I graduated and went to college that I started to really get into weightlifting and did a lot of reading, learning and plenty of trial and error.
Ever since I graduated high school (1993), my bodyweight fluctuated from 130lbs to my now present 160lbs at various bodyfat percentages (as low as 5-6% and as high as 18%). At one point (97-98), I competed in Olympic weightlifting in the 59kg, and later the 62kg class (129-134lbs). That was cool, but I was never strong enough to really compete with the guys in my class.
So I went back to “bodybuilding” training for a while, then strength training, Renegade Training for a couple years and now back to simple, basic strength training.
My goal is to be 155-165lbs at 10-12% bodyfat. For my height (5’4") and small bone structure, that will be good for me.
When I get in better shape, I will post updated pics of myself, as well as various pics through the years to show my progress.