Why Do We Lift?

Training Bodybuilding
21

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Sliver wrote:

He may not be a body builder, but he still had a better physique than most people his age (36 at the time).

Dude, anyone who isn’t completely out of shape over the age of 30 “still has a better physique than most people that age”. Most people let themselves go apparently, right after high school or college.

Today, if you are over 30 and don’t have a huge pot belly with a body fat percentage over 25-30%, you are doing better than “most people”. This is a bodybuilding forum. I would hope Brad Pitt in Fight Club isn’t the standard to judge “elite” by.

I’m not even knocking Brad Pitt as a person, I just get tired of that name coming up every single time a newbie expresses a goal…that and looking like an extra on “300”.[/quote]

I agree. I’m tired of it too. Everyone is tired of it. And the people who aspire for a body like his have no place here. This is a bodybuilding forum. I get it. However, The fact that he’s not muscular by bodybuilding standards does not make him a walking skeleton and implying so is fucking retarded.

22

About using Brad Pitt as an example… He may not be an ideal in bodybuilding terms, but as far as the opposite sex goes he seems to be a good reference point for what women consider to be an ideal.

And if we’re really honest with otherselves i think the reason anyone goes to lengths to improve themselves is for that reason. Getting into the whole sex & reproduction thing…

I know his name is mud around here, but he really did produce an image that made me want to start lifting which is the point of this thread. Im not embarassed by it - he looks good!

23

I first started lifting because I was skinny.
Now after 14 years it has become a way of life for me. I love the feeling I get while training and the extra attention I get, it’s nice to stand out in a crowd. I am by no means the biggest guy but I look decent for my frame type. I would say the only negative is the amount of money I spend on food and supplements.

24

I agree. Once you start you cant stop. The best thoughts and clarity of thinking for me alwayscomes during that window after a good workout - no matter how tired my body is.

25

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Sliver wrote:

He may not be a body builder, but he still had a better physique than most people his age (36 at the time).

Dude, anyone who isn’t completely out of shape over the age of 30 “still has a better physique than most people that age”. Most people let themselves go apparently, right after high school or college.

Today, if you are over 30 and don’t have a huge pot belly with a body fat percentage over 25-30%, you are doing better than “most people”. This is a bodybuilding forum. I would hope Brad Pitt in Fight Club isn’t the standard to judge “elite” by.

I’m not even knocking Brad Pitt as a person, I just get tired of that name coming up every single time a newbie expresses a goal…that and looking like an extra on “300”.[/quote]

People say “Brad Pitt” because it is a common frame of reference. Everyone knows what he looked like in that movie.

Also, like you said, for most men over 30, and 95 percent of men who haven;t been working out since they were 14, the BP in FC body would be a great improvement.

Arnold is another common reference, since everyone knows what he looks like, but without great genetics or steroids, a body like his is not reallisticly attainable, especially for those who start working out afteer age 30. So don’t knock people for having the more attainable BP goal.

Yes, this form has lots of guys who already have a Danial Craig body who want to look like Arnold, Ronnie or Jay Cutler, but the advice is also valid for average schmoes who’s like to look like Brad Pitt or Daniel Craig.

26

Without sounding sappy, I starting lifting because my Dad was into lifting when I was a kid.

Now, it’s a lifestyle - I can’t escape it. Plus, he’s 53 and still lifts, and is still in better shape than 95% of people out there. Still eats real well and is (and has always been) 100% natural.

He’s the only person I know that talks about the spiritual side of bodybuilding. That’s probably the biggest thing we have in common, so it’s great to talk to him about it. He’s trying the Summer Program now! Whenever one of us visits the other we still train together…

27

[quote]Nugget wrote:
Without sounding sappy, I starting lifting because my Dad was into lifting when I was a kid.

Now, it’s a lifestyle - I can’t escape it. Plus, he’s 53 and still lifts, and is still in better shape than 95% of people out there. Still eats real well and is (and has always been) 100% natural.

He’s the only person I know that talks about the spiritual side of bodybuilding. That’s probably the biggest thing we have in common, so it’s great to talk to him about it. He’s trying the Summer Program now! Whenever one of us visits the other we still train together… [/quote]

You are a lucky man…Savor it…

28

[quote]Nugget wrote:
Without sounding sappy, I starting lifting because my Dad was into lifting when I was a kid.

Now, it’s a lifestyle - I can’t escape it. Plus, he’s 53 and still lifts, and is still in better shape than 95% of people out there. Still eats real well and is (and has always been) 100% natural.

He’s the only person I know that talks about the spiritual side of bodybuilding. That’s probably the biggest thing we have in common, so it’s great to talk to him about it. He’s trying the Summer Program now! Whenever one of us visits the other we still train together… [/quote]

Very cool. My Dad is also the one who got the ball rolling for me in the gym. We worked out together until I went to college and started my adult life. I was on my own for about seven years, but now we’re working out together again. It is really cool, especially because now I move more weight than him and have surpassed his develpment. I can sense his pride when we lift, because he pushes me harder than me by myself, or when I had other gym partners. I owe a lot to that man.

29

[quote]Nugget wrote:
Without sounding sappy, I starting lifting because my Dad was into lifting when I was a kid.

Now, it’s a lifestyle - I can’t escape it. Plus, he’s 53 and still lifts, and is still in better shape than 95% of people out there. Still eats real well and is (and has always been) 100% natural.

He’s the only person I know that talks about the spiritual side of bodybuilding. That’s probably the biggest thing we have in common, so it’s great to talk to him about it. He’s trying the Summer Program now! Whenever one of us visits the other we still train together… [/quote]

Hell yeah,my old man still lifts and is 63.Hes been lifting since he was 16.he had all the books arnold and franco wrote plus the original golds gym encyclopedia.Looking through those growing up helped.

30

Why do I lift? Because I’ve been fat all my life. I wanted that Brad Pitt look (like someone mentioned).

But now, I lift because I’m addicted to it. I lift because I don’t want to worry about health problems in the future like diabetes or heart attacks. I lift because I want to look like Stan McQuay and be as athletic as Michael Jordan in his prime.

31

The reason I lift is because I want to be a Force Recon Marine Corps Officer. All of the running, lifting, and eating (the way I do - my diet but not a “diet”) are in the pursuit of that goal. I work very hard at it and I can’t wait to go and do whatever it takes at OCS in just 2 weeks to make it through so that I can commission as a 2nd Lieutenant upon graduation from Penn State University next year.

I’m trying to live my dream.

That’s why I lift.

32

I lift because for me, lifting is the ultimate stress reliever. I don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t golf, don’t go fishing, etc…for me, there is no better way to blow off steam than to lift heavy iron. When I walk into a gym, I leave everything else behind me…work, family, responsiblities, bills, etc…it all disappears.

It’s just me and the iron. So my main reason for lifting is that it keeps me mentally balanced…I rarely lose my cool, and am a very calm, level-headed person. All aggression and frustrations are neutralized…

Of course, I want a better body as well (who doesn’t?). But you won’t find me obsessing over the chunk of fat covering my lower abs, or that I’m looking a little puffy from some carbs the night before, etc.

33

[quote]dhuge67 wrote:
The reason I lift is because I want to be a Force Recon Marine Corps Officer. All of the running, lifting, and eating (the way I do - my diet but not a “diet”) are in the pursuit of that goal. I work very hard at it and I can’t wait to go and do whatever it takes at OCS in just 2 weeks to make it through so that I can commission as a 2nd Lieutenant upon graduation from Penn State University next year.

I’m trying to live my dream.

[/quote]
God bless you and your dream, as well as your love and dedication to this great country of ours. Thank you!

34

I remember that I started lifting because I was tired of being the skinniest kid in high school: 5-10" 110#. Spandex shorts were loose on my thighs. After a few months of consistent effort I was at 115#.

By this time I was working out regularly at my apartment’s fitness center (I know, I know) and I was doing a front squat on a universal gym’s “military press” attachment. The whole thing might have weighed 130#. Partway through the set I started to blackout. I wasn’t sure what I was going on. Was I dying? It never happened to me before. Long story short I thought to myself, “fuck it, I’d rather drop dead right here than be skinny” and finished my sets with darkness crowding my vision. Never looked back since.

35

I just saw Fight Club again, and it struck me that training does for me what fighting did for the guys who joined the “Fight Club” in the movie. Like Ed Norton’s character, I’m an office rat in our estrogenized, sterile world devoid of physical challenges.

While modern society does its best to convince us we’re sexless brains with hands attached, our bodies are still those of Stone Age men, designed for hard, grueling physical work. They need some… resistance. It’s a basic human need.

36

A girl got me started, details aren’t available.

Through the most intense workouts and diets and supps, that I have ever seen anyone ever go through, I put on 20lbs of lean muscle in 3 months.

Why do I still do it? Because our bodies are designed to do it. We look great, feel great and it satisfies some innate desire of conquering, achieving, or overcoming. It also makes me feel like how a man should feel.

The girls are nice, but I don’t do it for them. I don’t care about men’s respect or fear. It’s nice not to have your body limit you from doing something.

Why do women want to be beautiful?
Why do men want to be strong and healthy?

37

Replace his face with someones elses and the body aint shit.

Walk around in a shirt with his fight club body and no one notices

[quote]Benreturns wrote:
About using Brad Pitt as an example… He may not be an ideal in bodybuilding terms, but as far as the opposite sex goes he seems to be a good reference point for what women consider to be an ideal.

And if we’re really honest with otherselves i think the reason anyone goes to lengths to improve themselves is for that reason. Getting into the whole sex & reproduction thing…

I know his name is mud around here, but he really did produce an image that made me want to start lifting which is the point of this thread. Im not embarassed by it - he looks good!

[/quote]

38

The childish joy of lifting heavy objects.

If you don’t feel that, nobody can explain it to you.

39

I lift as one way to help me reach my goal-gain respect.

40

Exactly. Good post.

[quote]Wreckless wrote:
The childish joy of lifting heavy objects.

If you don’t feel that, nobody can explain it to you.[/quote]