1:Getting a free lifetime membership at the gym where my dad used to train. Well actually took over his membership when he left the UK. This happened due to the owner being one of his closest friends. Double win was that he was an ex Mr Britain and had known me since I was about 1 or some shit and was happy to help me train. Tripple win was that one of his other friends that trained at the gym was also a pro b/builder and was also happy to share his knowledge with me for years!
2: Not training at a gym where a lot of girls went to act as distraction.
3: Realising I was strong but fat at the same time and deciding to do something about it.
[quote]Fandango wrote:
Losing the ego and dropping the weight for form
[/quote]
Although I completely understand the sentiments and I agree, it does kind of make me shudder when I hear someone saying “lose the ego” because it’s almost like a contradiction…and / or an insult to those who want to be strong.
It’s like a bodybuilder saying that powerlifters are egotistical because they want to be strong, and vice versa; it’s like powerlifters saying that bodybuilders are egotistical because they’re always posing and want to look good.
Sorry I probably should have phrased that differently. Having the desire to be strong (or whatever your goal is) is key, just don’t end up doing the partner bench press.
“Not sacrificing form for weight” may be a little more clear.
#1 Quality not Quantity: Proper form with moderate weight will always trump grinding out reps with a weight that I’m just not ready for.
#2 (I’ll catch flack for this I know) Swtiching to a Vegetarian diet (still taking in eggs and dairy): the benefits far outweigh the cons and if anything it just makes me focus on my diet even more, putting more of an emphasis on where my protein comes from. I’ve also incorporated mainly raw/organic foods into my diet in the past 5 months, my bf% has decreased but my weight has stayed the same and my strength has sky rocketed. Say what you want, but that’s win-win for me
I train almost two years and definately have 2 things to share.
First win: doing maaaany chinups almost every time I hit the gym (the first year). As a result my lats got fucking huge.
Second win: last 2-3 months benching 2xweek + NO shoulder pressing. I discovered that for some reason it is extremely hard for me to increase shoulder pressing strength. Now I am bencing twice a week, my strength has gone up, chest and shoulders got bigger. The last thing is weird because I feel I’m a chest dominant presser.
I measured myself up against the top natural pros when I was first considering and then actually prepping for a show. Many first time competitors just worry about beating the other amateurs. This may sound unrealistic to some, but it paid off when I stepped on stage.
[quote]JaseHxC wrote: #2 (I’ll catch flack for this I know) Swtiching to a Vegetarian diet (still taking in eggs and dairy): the benefits far outweigh the cons and if anything it just makes me focus on my diet even more, putting more of an emphasis on where my protein comes from. I’ve also incorporated mainly raw/organic foods into my diet in the past 5 months, my bf% has decreased but my weight has stayed the same and my strength has sky rocketed. Say what you want, but that’s win-win for me[/quote]
Although not classed as a vegetarian (morally), I have practically followed a vegetarian diet for the past two years (just incidentally) with no decline in performance/results…but there’s very little room to go wrong with that diet compared with being a vegan.
Nobody says that beef is superior to eggs.
Generally, the added benefit of being vegetarian may come from being more conscious about food choices (not because of avoiding flesh per ce) - making sure you’re not just eating “crap”…thus providing the body with more nutrients to support training capacity/energy. That’s not to say that vegetarians are superior to those who eat meat, because meat eaters could quite easily be just as concerned about eating nutrient dense foods as well.
I think that if the vegetarian diet is working for you then that is what matters. I’m sure it wouldn’t work for some people, or they just wouldn’t have the discipline to not eat meat etc (myself included).
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I measured myself up against the top natural pros when I was first considering and then actually prepping for a show. Many first time competitors just worry about beating the other amateurs. This may sound unrealistic to some, but it paid off when I stepped on stage.
S[/quote]
I feel like this is the mind set that needs to be had if you are going to step on stage. Several people are pushing me to do a show in the next few months and all I tell them is “I’m not ready yet.” They just can’t understand it. I try to explain to them that I compare myself to national/pro level physiques to assess if I am ready to compete, I don’t think about how much more advanced I am then average joe next to me in the gym who will actually be competing at said show.
Totally unrealistic expectation but it certainly keeps you from becoming complacent.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I measured myself up against the top natural pros when I was first considering and then actually prepping for a show. Many first time competitors just worry about beating the other amateurs. This may sound unrealistic to some, but it paid off when I stepped on stage.
S[/quote]
I feel like this is the mind set that needs to be had if you are going to step on stage. Several people are pushing me to do a show in the next few months and all I tell them is “I’m not ready yet.” They just can’t understand it. I try to explain to them that I compare myself to national/pro level physiques to assess if I am ready to compete, I don’t think about how much more advanced I am then average joe next to me in the gym who will actually be competing at said show.
Totally unrealistic expectation but it certainly keeps you from becoming complacent.[/quote]
Ya way you should prob wait like 30 years to compete you’re lookin so small dog
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
Does anyone else think it’s funny that the biggest bodybuilding fail thread has almost 3x more responses than the win thread?[/quote]
There are always more failures in life than successes. The only thing is when we get that first big success, the fails start to disappear and we don’t view further successes as significant because there’s more of them. Just how I like to look at it.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
-Not believing that scientific studies hold the truth to all things bodybuilding related.
Science has largely ignored people who build themselves to being stronger and bigger than 85% of the population…therefore, any newb thinking that a scientific study has been done on all areas concerning what we are involved in will be shit out of luck if they don’t wise up real quick.
This is the very reason that most of the people who do act like that AREN’T BIG OR VERY STRONG.
Mind you, there will be some clueless individuals who will mistake these words for saying that you should avoid learning…which is dumb. This is why I keep saying most here should spend more time worrying about buying a college level Biology or A&P book than the latest novella from a personal training “guru”.
The whole idea is to keep learning…but at the base of it all is the FACT that science does NOT have it all figured out yet…so personal trial and error is still a necessity and no one can predict what you can do before you ever fucking do it.[/quote]
If you think about it, it is a science in its own right. We make mistakes, we observe how it has affected our performance, we make some tweaks in the hope of getting better results and it’s rinse and repeat. We develop a better understanding of how our own body works, we’re performing the experiments ourselves. It’s just that some people can’t be assed and can’t think for themselves, I know I couldn’t when I first started.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
-Not believing that scientific studies hold the truth to all things bodybuilding related.
Science has largely ignored people who build themselves to being stronger and bigger than 85% of the population…therefore, any newb thinking that a scientific study has been done on all areas concerning what we are involved in will be shit out of luck if they don’t wise up real quick.
This is the very reason that most of the people who do act like that AREN’T BIG OR VERY STRONG.
Mind you, there will be some clueless individuals who will mistake these words for saying that you should avoid learning…which is dumb. This is why I keep saying most here should spend more time worrying about buying a college level Biology or A&P book than the latest novella from a personal training “guru”.
The whole idea is to keep learning…but at the base of it all is the FACT that science does NOT have it all figured out yet…so personal trial and error is still a necessity and no one can predict what you can do before you ever fucking do it.[/quote]
If you think about it, it is a science in its own right. We make mistakes, we observe how it has affected our performance, we make some tweaks in the hope of getting better results and it’s rinse and repeat. We develop a better understanding of how our own body works, we’re performing the experiments ourselves. It’s just that some people can’t be assed and can’t think for themselves, I know I couldn’t when I first started.[/quote]
Agreed…but we have some calling this “BRO SCIENCE” as if watching and observing what works in gyms for 30-40 years and applying it is somehow ignorant…even though most scientific studies completely ignore anyone with a goal of having 20" arms.
Listening to people like ProfessorX, especially when they are calling you an idiot. Listening to TheMightyStu when you are tired of being called an idiot.
[quote]humanjhawkins wrote:
Listening to people like ProfessorX, especially when they are calling you an idiot. Listening to TheMightyStu when you are tired of being called an idiot.
[quote]humanjhawkins wrote:
Listening to people like ProfessorX, especially when they are calling you an idiot. Listening to TheMightyStu when you are tired of being called an idiot.
[/quote]
Did someone leave a screen door open or something?
Your goal should be progress, not coddling. Your goal should be to find that info in whatever place it stands whether that comes from Stu or the 250lbs bodybuilder training in your gym.
If you are just here so someone can hold your hand, then exactly how “hardcore” could you possibly be lifting?
What are your stats?
This thread is about wins. What are yours physically?
