Alcohol
I stopped all alcohol 3 weeks ago. Drank every weekend for the last 15 years. About a bottle of wine every fri sat and sun night. Haven’t noticed any body comp or performance changes yet so far and want a drink LOL. I will give it more time since 3 weeks is a short time period.
- My long term success will be based on how badass I can be in the kitchen with an apron on.
I cant stand traditional bodybuilder prepped foods (boiled chicken, broccoli and rice) So I’ve attempted this whole “gourmet” bodybulding thing which has actually allowed me to eat clean 98% of the time for the last 3 months. But gourmet “clean” nutrition takes toooooooo much time! When the cards fall and I wont have 10 hours extra a week for the kitchen, I fear I’ll be back to burgers and fries, 5 guys style.
- Learn to pinch my nose and down boiled chicken, broccoli and rice. ggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Anxiety… definitely. I have dreams to travel the world when I get out of college with my girlfriend yet I’m just to nervous to leave my comfort zone, that is Los Angeles.
I’ve been here for all 20 years of my life and have never left the country once, my family has, but I haven’t… simply due to anxiety. While it’s not holding me back from being the best BBer… its definitely holding me back from being the person that I want to be…
[quote]Rocky101 wrote:
Alcohol
I stopped all alcohol 3 weeks ago. Drank every weekend for the last 15 years. About a bottle of wine every fri sat and sun night. Haven’t noticed any body comp or performance changes yet so far and want a drink LOL. I will give it more time since 3 weeks is a short time period.[/quote]
I have the same problem, if you want to call it that. I didnt have a drop while i dieted for my show, but im back to drinking atleast a few nights a week. I just feel good when i do and i plan to for the rest of my life. I didnt have a problem stoppin for my show as far as cravings, but I had to stay away from hanging out with some good friends that i would drink with which wasnt easy. For a few months i acan do that but not long term. Im with you though, its tough. If my livelihood depended on my bbing i would stop, but it doesnt.
edited
I like drinking a few beers each week. Just like how it feels, and relaxes me and stuff. Never have noticed any real body comp or strength differences from light drinking.
[quote]deadliftgoal500 wrote:
-
My problem is i want to look like a BBer, but i hate training like one
-
I wish i knew[/quote]
I’m not a bodybuilder but I do want to achieve a muscular and lean physique.
I think what’s holding me back is the same reason deadliftgoal500 said: I’m really not keen on the training style. I just prefer compound lifts for 5-8 reps. Also, I programme hop way too much.
Not sure what the solution is!
[quote]furo wrote:
[quote]deadliftgoal500 wrote:
-
My problem is i want to look like a BBer, but i hate training like one
-
I wish i knew[/quote]
I’m not a bodybuilder but I do want to achieve a muscular and lean physique.
I think what’s holding me back is the same reason deadliftgoal500 said: I’m really not keen on the training style. I just prefer compound lifts for 5-8 reps. Also, I programme hop way too much.
Not sure what the solution is![/quote]
Powerbuild. Do your main strength movement first. Then if you like, some low volume lowish intesity speed work or reverse that order. Than after that, do more muscle building assistance rather than movement based assistance.
You won’t get as good at either, but you’ll get a good blend of both.
Luckily, things like biceps, calves, and lateral delt work don’t take a ton out of one’s recovery.
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
I like drinking a few beers each week. Just like how it feels, and relaxes me and stuff. Never have noticed any real body comp or strength differences from light drinking. [/quote]
Alcohol in moderation seems to be associated with better health (probably due to the social aspect of drinking). I think it’s only a problem when you drink many nights a week - judging by the “progress” I see in my university gym, anyway.
-
Binge eating for some unknown emotional reason. Also drinking two nights a week with friends. Shame because I want to compete but cant even get lean enough to start a contest diet.
-
No idea, tried many things.
Great responses so far except for Zraw (that is just mean man - we get it, you are a BB god - haha).
Some thoughts.
@The-German: Could be but I know better. It is not like I actually convince myself that it is needed. As far as your demon, I think the simple answer is pre-cooking/preparing your meals in advance. If you can get past the prep hassle, you will probably not fuck up the plan as much.
@Ghost_Panther: No, no plans to compete as of now. However, I did work together with Shelby for some longer time in the past. Bulks and cutting phases. So in a sense I really learned first hand how important clean eating and how effort it takes to get rid of extra fat as a natty. In fact I did 3 extensive cuts with Shelby and every time I was convinced by the end of it that I will do a perfectly clean bulk after that but it only worked for the first one. But I agree that actually being competitive would probably help out more.
@Matthaeus: Sorry to hear that. I don’t have it as bad as you but I can relate to the “addictive personality” aspect. The all-or-nothing approach is actually a very good tactic but I agree that makes things more difficult. Balance and being hardcore all the time is tough and tiresome.
@Gmoore17: Yeah, that sounds familiar. If fat loss is the goal, nothing (no bullshit rationalization attempt) can convince me that cheating is not destructive. For bulking though that asshole mind of mine believes cheat meals are good, because I worked sooo hard in the gym and the scale should go up, right? ha.
@Hawk: Don’t stress the whole meat thing, except when doing a serious cutting phase. Also staying consistent (picking the same type of meat cuts) will solve that problem. Either switch to light drinking or if that doesn’t work, perhaps making up for the bad influence by training more/harder and eating great during the week.
@naxis: Yes, I think hiring a good coach would be a great idea, if you have the money. Focusing too much on strength is a problem for me too.
@Typhoon: Sounds dumb perhaps, but can’t you perhaps do a different, less injury-prone sport to get your “fix”. Also is your assumption really reasonable that injuries are part of those sports.
@ElevenMag: Kinda, but that doesn’t help anyone really. It’s a bit like telling people to “Just Do It”.
@E901: Depression is just terrible. But you need some kind of action plan, no?
@zraw: Work as a stripper by night?
@howie424: Sorry to hear that. Do you get the anxiety from other people while training? If so, you could perhaps try to train when less people are around? Early AM, late PM, garage gym…
@deadliftgoal500: Sounds retarded, but everybody loves the pump. Getting a good pump does help convince me in the past to do more BB work. You could also convince yourself that hypertrophy via BBing method supports your strength in the big lifts - especially the bench.
@H4M: I know but getting a squat pr feels so damn good, doesn’t it? I think the biggest problem is to get carried away with the strength work. Having a solid plan for the BBing work is paramount, otherwise my passion for the big 3 takes over too much.
@ronald1919: Perhaps find out why you get all those injuries in the first place. You get them from BBing training?
@LoRez: Keep going, if you lose the will to do something you are really fucked.
@Rocky101: High on life now, eh? ha
@giograves: Taste can change over time. Every time I did a serious cutting phase with not so tasty food over a longer time, my taste did change. I couldn’t stand previously “tasty” food (cheat food) by the end anymore. That reversed after some time, though. But give a shot.
@MiJuggernaut: What did you try? Several of the posters suffer from similar issues. Maybe we should form a support group. ha
[quote]ElevenMag wrote:
I think everyone’s demon is that elusive quality of disciple that is disappearing in today’s world. Disciple is something the average person doesn’t possess anymore. It’s what separates the winners from losers, champions from non champions, and the successful from the unsuccessful.[/quote]
People never did possess more discipline in the past. They just had far less choice!
Being totally incapable of playing the long game for me. So when I get up its like what do i feel like/not feel like today. Instead of being able to go in the kitchen and the gym day in and day out following a plan that would make me look great in 4-5 months.
Secondly and probably more significantly, I like food far too much. For some people, food is just shit waiting to happen. But I actually enjoy eating…
Very jealous of the people who can look at their spreadsheet each day and that is that.
I only realized the extent of it when I saw a log of someone I knew online, I was stronger than them when they started their log, and then by the time they were on 5/3/1 cycle 8 they were vastly stronger than me.
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
@howie424: Sorry to hear that. Do you get the anxiety from other people while training? If so, you could perhaps try to train when less people are around? Early AM, late PM, garage gym…
[/quote]
I actually do have a home gym, which is awesome. I get so wrapped up in all the fine details and trying to make everything so perfect and precise. If I didn’t have the perfect meal, or perfect session, or perfect rep, it hangs onto me and brings about anxiety.
“Oh no, how will I ever look as good as I want to if everything isn’t perfect.”
Nothing can ever be perfect, and I’m bound to make mistakes, I just need to learn to accept that. My training is way better than I give myself credit for, so there is some positive to it. Sometimes I sit down and look at it and think to myself, “I’ve gotten this far doing what I’m doing, I must be doing something right.”
Basically I try to make my entire life about training (not necessarily BBing, just training in general) and while it does serve a great purpose, I become obsessive and everything else in life goes on the back burner.
It definitely comes down to mental issues, but I don’t think I’m the only one.
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
@E901: Depression is just terrible. But you need some kind of action plan, no?
[/quote]
Ive been trying a lot of things… therapy, meds, etc. Doesnt seem to help so far.
Xanax withdrawals. Possibly the biggest obstacle I think I will ever have to face period. And I didn’t even have it that bad. There’s also not much I can do about that either lol. Anyone try lifting while going through Benzo withdrawals??
[quote]E901 wrote:
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
@E901: Depression is just terrible. But you need some kind of action plan, no?
[/quote]
Ive been trying a lot of things… therapy, meds, etc. Doesnt seem to help so far.[/quote]
Went down that route for the last 18+ months with no luck either. I only had one med (viibryd) do anything, and it just made everything worse. Cost me a lot of money for all of that too.
So now I’m considering maybe it’s a vitamin/mineral deficiency and that I just absorb stuff badly.
But I really don’t know. The only thing I’m convinced is that I don’t want to live the rest of my life like this.
Best of luck to you.
[quote]E901 wrote:
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
@E901: Depression is just terrible. But you need some kind of action plan, no?
[/quote]
Ive been trying a lot of things… therapy, meds, etc. Doesnt seem to help so far.[/quote]
I haven’t had much success with therapy or meds either.
I’ve been at points in my life where I’m doing almost everything right! Eating/sleeping/training, working a great job, fishing and other hobbies, extensive therapy/medication, etc - but the depression is still right there. Having the willpower to do this stuff is easy for me, I’m a stubborn person, but enjoying any of it is the hard part.
[quote]howie424 wrote:
[quote]E901 wrote:
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
@E901: Depression is just terrible. But you need some kind of action plan, no?
[/quote]
Ive been trying a lot of things… therapy, meds, etc. Doesnt seem to help so far.[/quote]
I haven’t had much success with therapy or meds either.
I’ve been at points in my life where I’m doing almost everything right! Eating/sleeping/training, working a great job, fishing and other hobbies, extensive therapy/medication, etc - but the depression is still right there. Having the willpower to do this stuff is easy for me, I’m a stubborn person, but enjoying any of it is the hard part.[/quote]
I made the mistake awhile back of starting to question “what’s the point”, and ended up cutting a lot of important stuff out of my life. That was probably the worst thing I could have ever done. Since then, I’ve found that just doing stuff, even if you don’t really want to and don’t enjoy it, is still better than doing nothing. Here and there is a moment where you do enjoy it, and that’s better than you’ll ever get from neglecting things. (Nevermind the guilt from the fact that you let things fall apart.)
It’s just so bizarre because when everything else looks like it’s going well, and everyone around you thinks your happy, it means nothing. Some of that dissonance is tough to deal with.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
[quote]howie424 wrote:
[quote]E901 wrote:
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
@E901: Depression is just terrible. But you need some kind of action plan, no?
[/quote]
Ive been trying a lot of things… therapy, meds, etc. Doesnt seem to help so far.[/quote]
I haven’t had much success with therapy or meds either.
I’ve been at points in my life where I’m doing almost everything right! Eating/sleeping/training, working a great job, fishing and other hobbies, extensive therapy/medication, etc - but the depression is still right there. Having the willpower to do this stuff is easy for me, I’m a stubborn person, but enjoying any of it is the hard part.[/quote]
I made the mistake awhile back of starting to question “what’s the point”, and ended up cutting a lot of important stuff out of my life. That was probably the worst thing I could have ever done. Since then, I’ve found that just doing stuff, even if you don’t really want to and don’t enjoy it, is still better than doing nothing. Here and there is a moment where you do enjoy it, and that’s better than you’ll ever get from neglecting things. (Nevermind the guilt from the fact that you let things fall apart.)
It’s just so bizarre because when everything else looks like it’s going well, and everyone around you thinks your happy, it means nothing. Some of that dissonance is tough to deal with.[/quote]
Definitely in the same boat. I have been able to force myself to do things and even when everything seems right, I still feel like shit. Nothings ever good enough for me. I think I have actually came a long way, especially anxiety wise. I actually made a thread on here last November saying there were times when I couldn’t even leave my dorm room. Still searching for whatever it is that will make me happy I guess.
[quote]E901 wrote:
[quote]LoRez wrote:
[quote]howie424 wrote:
[quote]E901 wrote:
[quote]infinite_shore wrote:
@E901: Depression is just terrible. But you need some kind of action plan, no?
[/quote]
Ive been trying a lot of things… therapy, meds, etc. Doesnt seem to help so far.[/quote]
I haven’t had much success with therapy or meds either.
I’ve been at points in my life where I’m doing almost everything right! Eating/sleeping/training, working a great job, fishing and other hobbies, extensive therapy/medication, etc - but the depression is still right there. Having the willpower to do this stuff is easy for me, I’m a stubborn person, but enjoying any of it is the hard part.[/quote]
I made the mistake awhile back of starting to question “what’s the point”, and ended up cutting a lot of important stuff out of my life. That was probably the worst thing I could have ever done. Since then, I’ve found that just doing stuff, even if you don’t really want to and don’t enjoy it, is still better than doing nothing. Here and there is a moment where you do enjoy it, and that’s better than you’ll ever get from neglecting things. (Nevermind the guilt from the fact that you let things fall apart.)
It’s just so bizarre because when everything else looks like it’s going well, and everyone around you thinks your happy, it means nothing. Some of that dissonance is tough to deal with.[/quote]
Definitely in the same boat. I have been able to force myself to do things and even when everything seems right, I still feel like shit. Nothings ever good enough for me. I think I have actually came a long way, especially anxiety wise. I actually made a thread on here last November saying there were times when I couldn’t even leave my dorm room. Still searching for whatever it is that will make me happy I guess.[/quote]
I know that story all too well.
I didn’t make it past a year of college because I did not leave my dorm room except to go to the gym or to go buy groceries. I ended up flunking out.
I feel that I’ve come a long way since then, but I still feel that I’m in a huge hole. I’m still pretty anti social, but going out just makes me feel more depressed (too many people, too self conscious around girls, drinking? forget about it).
Everything could be so much easier, considering none of it really matters in the long run. Be a good person and that’s all that matters. Easier said than done though.