I think I read to many comic books growing up… I think thats why Ive always wanted to be HYOOGE!
I think alot of lifters read comic books as a kid.
To BE or Not To Be?
What is the purpose of life?
Answer those questions and you will answer yours.
[quote]GT625 wrote:
Most of the average population wouldn’t aspire for a bodybuilder’s physique…there’s nothing new about that.
It seems contradictory to me that so many people lift weights recreationally but only want to have “some muscle” or to “be in shape” (whatever that is). To me if you’re gonna do something you should aspire to be the best. It’d be like a college basketball player saying he just wants to be a mediocre basketball player, or an investor who only wants to make some money.
But, hey that’s just my humble opinion.[/quote]
GT625, This is one of the most intelligent posts I have read in a long time! Good words my friend.
[quote]Ipsum wrote:
I don’t think your mates are being honest. Any normal adult male wouldn’t mind having a physique like Stan’s. However, most wouldn’t admit it because they don’t think they can ever come close to a physique like that. I think it’s just a case of sour grapes.
[/quote]
I agree completely. I think very few men would not want to have bigger muscles and be in better shape.
Every one knows why they lift.
If they dont know why they lift how did they ever start lifting?
One day they just woke up sleep lifting and have stuck with it ever since?
I admire strength and a good physique.
Why not aspire to have what I admire?
We have a saying here in College Station and I believe it applies to your question.
“From the outside looking in you’ll never understand it, and from the inside looking out you’ll never be able to explain it.”
It’s how we think about our way of life, and I believe it applies to weightlifting as well.
Those that are serious can’t explain to someone who won’t make the necessary sacrifices.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
nikolo wrote:
GT625 wrote:
Most of the average population wouldn’t aspire for a bodybuilder’s physique…there’s nothing new about that.
It seems contradictory to me that so many people lift weights recreationally but only want to have “some muscle” or to “be in shape” (whatever that is). To me if you’re gonna do something you should aspire to be the best. It’d be like a college basketball player saying he just wants to be a mediocre basketball player, or an investor who only wants to make some money.
But, hey that’s just my humble opinion.
To be the best at bodybuilding, genetics aside, are you willing to do what Ronnie does?
Lifting weights in not a means to only one end.
When someone says, “bodybuilder”, why do so many on this site only jump to “Ronnie Coleman”? There are NPC contests all around the country with bodybuilders winning them like Phil Heath and Stan Mcquay who have the look of a bodybuilder.
Most SERIOUS bodybuilders don’t even want to look like Ronnie Coleman so why always go to him as an example of whatever your point was intended to be?[/quote]
I am aware that there are other bodybuilders. The OP said if you’re going to do something you might as well aspire to be the best. Considering the Olympia is the pinnacle of bodybuilding and Ronnie Coleman has worn the title 7 times I believe, and came in second at the last Olympia, I would venture to say he is the best.
Would you consider either Stan McQuay or Phil Heath the best?
because I fuckin feel like it
this isn’t a hard question to answer. And if anyone asks you why you do,respond with the above and leave it at that.
[quote]nikolo wrote:
Professor X wrote:
nikolo wrote:
GT625 wrote:
Most of the average population wouldn’t aspire for a bodybuilder’s physique…there’s nothing new about that.
It seems contradictory to me that so many people lift weights recreationally but only want to have “some muscle” or to “be in shape” (whatever that is). To me if you’re gonna do something you should aspire to be the best. It’d be like a college basketball player saying he just wants to be a mediocre basketball player, or an investor who only wants to make some money.
But, hey that’s just my humble opinion.
To be the best at bodybuilding, genetics aside, are you willing to do what Ronnie does?
Lifting weights in not a means to only one end.
When someone says, “bodybuilder”, why do so many on this site only jump to “Ronnie Coleman”? There are NPC contests all around the country with bodybuilders winning them like Phil Heath and Stan Mcquay who have the look of a bodybuilder.
Most SERIOUS bodybuilders don’t even want to look like Ronnie Coleman so why always go to him as an example of whatever your point was intended to be?
I am aware that there are other bodybuilders. The OP said if you’re going to do something you might as well aspire to be the best. Considering the Olympia is the pinnacle of bodybuilding and Ronnie Coleman has worn the title 7 times I believe, and came in second at the last Olympia, I would venture to say he is the best.
Would you consider either Stan McQuay or Phil Heath the best? [/quote]
I consider Phil Heath one of the “best at his level”. I consider Flex Wheeler around 1993 to be “the best” as far as bodybuilding is concerned. I do not consider Jay Cutler “the best” at anything other than being really large and tanning often. I wouldn’t want to look like him so I put less stock into how I rank The Olympia contest.
I always dreamed of not being fat.
Lifting weights is a means to an end.
Now that I started doing it I actually kind of like it, and the more I do it, the more I like it.
Every time I do an intense workout and eat veggies throughout the day I feel superior to everybody around me.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
<<< I consider Flex Wheeler around 1993 to be >>>[/quote]
Funny you should say that. I was searching for pictures of him a couple hours ago. It’s tough to imagine a more proportionately or symmetrically “beautiful” physique than that. Everything was the right size relative to everything else including the sweep in his legs. On top of that he had a very healthy look. Perfect skin and a masculine, but non cro magnon like baby face.
OK, I’ll stop now before somebody gets the wrong idea.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
nikolo wrote:
Professor X wrote:
nikolo wrote:
GT625 wrote:
Most of the average population wouldn’t aspire for a bodybuilder’s physique…there’s nothing new about that.
It seems contradictory to me that so many people lift weights recreationally but only want to have “some muscle” or to “be in shape” (whatever that is). To me if you’re gonna do something you should aspire to be the best. It’d be like a college basketball player saying he just wants to be a mediocre basketball player, or an investor who only wants to make some money.
But, hey that’s just my humble opinion.
To be the best at bodybuilding, genetics aside, are you willing to do what Ronnie does?
Lifting weights in not a means to only one end.
When someone says, “bodybuilder”, why do so many on this site only jump to “Ronnie Coleman”? There are NPC contests all around the country with bodybuilders winning them like Phil Heath and Stan Mcquay who have the look of a bodybuilder.
Most SERIOUS bodybuilders don’t even want to look like Ronnie Coleman so why always go to him as an example of whatever your point was intended to be?
I am aware that there are other bodybuilders. The OP said if you’re going to do something you might as well aspire to be the best. Considering the Olympia is the pinnacle of bodybuilding and Ronnie Coleman has worn the title 7 times I believe, and came in second at the last Olympia, I would venture to say he is the best.
Would you consider either Stan McQuay or Phil Heath the best?
I consider Phil Heath one of the “best at his level”. I consider Flex Wheeler around 1993 to be “the best” as far as bodybuilding is concerned. I do not consider Jay Cutler “the best” at anything other than being really large and tanning often. I wouldn’t want to look like him so I put less stock into how I rank The Olympia contest.[/quote]
I agree with you about Flex, but if there was one person’s genetics I wish had it would be Sergio Olivia’s.
Saying you wouldn’t want to look like Cutler and that makes you put less stock in the Olympia is subjective on your part. I was trying to question the OP by being more objective, or as objective as the nature of bobybuilding will allow.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
How big are you guys?
[/quote]
Which guys? Me and CLaw or whom?
[quote]LAMF wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
How big are you guys?
Which guys? Me and CLaw or whom?[/quote]
Everyone. I know Prof X is pretty big so he knows some of the disadvantages but I think most of the posters here are under 200 pounds.
I don’t think I would want to have a serious body builders physique but it would be interesting if I could take one for a test drive.
There are so many sacrifices that go into serious bodybuilding beyond the usual diet and exercise related issues.
Adding 20 or 30 pounds can probably help most people in athletics but adding 50 or 60 will likely be a hindrance.
It can also take away from other enjoyable activities, hiking, hunting, kayaking etc.
I am just trying to figure out which posters here have made those sacrifices.
BTW I am 190 pounds. I was about a 150 pounds in college and at my most muscular I was 215 pounds but I felt it cost me speed and endurance when I was playing rugby.
This is not a knock on bodybuilders. It is their choice and it can be impressive as hell.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
LAMF wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
How big are you guys?
Which guys? Me and CLaw or whom?
Everyone. I know Prof X is pretty big so he knows some of the disadvantages but I think most of the posters here are under 200 pounds.
I don’t think I would want to have a serious body builders physique but it would be interesting if I could take one for a test drive.
There are so many sacrifices that go into serious bodybuilding beyond the usual diet and exercise related issues.
Adding 20 or 30 pounds can probably help most people in athletics but adding 50 or 60 will likely be a hindrance.
It can also take away from other enjoyable activities, hiking, hunting, kayaking etc.
I am just trying to figure out which posters here have made those sacrifices.
BTW I am 190 pounds. I was about a 150 pounds in college and at my most muscular I was 215 pounds but I felt it cost me speed and endurance when I was playing rugby.
This is not a knock on bodybuilders. It is their choice and it can be impressive as hell.[/quote]
Stan Mcquay weights off-season around 200-210 and competes from 176 to 180. Many of the male competitors from this site off-season and comp time are under 200. It sounds to me like you are saying nobody who has posted is a “bodybuilder”.
To me the OP’s question was regarding his friends deriding any one who devoted time to lifting and eating right and he used Stan Mcquay as an example of a good looking physique.
If you are lifting and eating right getting more muscular and stronger you are a bodybuilder/lifter even if you don’t weight 290 and compete in the Olympia.
D
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
How big are you guys?[/quote]
I’m 5’6" ~230 lbs. I’m not lean, though, but it’s not a concern right now. I’m probably around 19-20% body fat.
I entered boot camp in 1997 at 175 lbs and left and 155. I hated it. I was the definition of skinny fat after boot camp. I had small arms and chest and a scrawny looking neck with a little bit of a gut. But according to the USMC, that was ok since I was under 171(my weight limit for my height).
Two years into my term I decided to say screw the Marine Corps’ heght/weight ratio and gain size. I started lifting with a few competitive service powerlifters and got stronger, but with all the running the size was hard to come by.
In my third year, I served 6 months in the brig and finally gained some size. I got up to 185 by the time I was released back into the fleet. The running helped me lean out a little and for my final official weigh-in for the service I was just under 190 and taped for bodyfat at 10%(which probably meant I was more like 15%).
Fast forward a few years and I started competing in strongman and got my weight up to ~230. I try to stay around there so I can compete in the 231’s, although I’m seeing more contests use a middleweight class up to 265, so I may try to eventually get up to 250-255 or so.
I don’t know if 230 is very big(I don’t feel very big), but I haven’t noticed much change in activities I can and can’t do because of my size. I am less flexible, but I admittedly don’t stretch much either. I also get winded easier, but a little conditioning work has gone a long way.
I don’t think I could run for miles like I used in the Marine Corps, but I wouldn’t want to either. (I have recently had the urge to go time myslef in the mile for the hell of it.)
Notice also, that I said I wasn’t lean. I also have never tried cutting or dieting. I’m not interested in it at this time. I have, however, slowly tried to clean up my diet a little over the last year or so, but I still eat what I like for the most part. My abs are not visible, but my gut is fairly flat. Then again, some people on this website would call me morbidly obese.
Also realize that while my focus has been on strength and stongman, I have tried to, and have, gained size over the years, too. I will likely try to lean out when my strongman days are over. For now, I want as much size as I can handle in this sport.
That’s how big(or small) I am, if anybody cares.
[quote]Dedicated wrote:
…
Stan Mcquay weights off-season around 200-210 and competes from 176 to 180. Many of the male competitors from this site off-season and comp time are under 200. It sounds to me like you are saying nobody who has posted is a “bodybuilder”.
To me the OP’s question was regarding his friends deriding any one who devoted time to lifting and eating right and he used Stan Mcquay as an example of a good looking physique.
If you are lifting and eating righting getter more muscular and stronger you are a bodybuilder/lifter even if you don’t weight 290 and compete in the Olympia.
D [/quote]
Good points.
[quote]LAMF wrote:
I’ve found that most people whom ask “why do you do it”, don’t really give a shit about what the answer might be. 90% of the time it’s an insincere question.
I have been able to reason it all out with a few people, but like I said someone whom is open minded towards whatever ( surfing/body building/etc ) practiced hardcore is rare.[/quote]
How did I miss this post? People will ask me this, all the while unable to keep a straight face. Luigi, anyone? I’ll get this kind of attitude from people who are basically strangers, some of whom ask multiple times. Each time, thinking that they’re somehow ‘challenging’ me, the simple meathead. LOL.
[quote]malonetd wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
How big are you guys?
I’m 5’6" ~230 lbs. I’m not lean, though, but it’s not a concern right now. I’m probably around 19-20% body fat.
…[/quote]
Thanks. That is exactly what I was wondering, where people are in their development and where they want to be.