For guys only

[musculator]

I am conducting a research paper on weight training in modern society and would greatly appreciate some input from the male readers of this forum.

What I need to find out is what kind of people are involved in weight training today. In other words, who is the typical weight lifter?

Things I'd like to know are:

Your age
Your goals (do you want to gain muscle, lose weight, compete, get better for sports etc.?)
How long have you been weight training?
What is the biggest problem(s) you've had achieving your goals?

I'll go ahead and put forth my own stats -

Age: 20
Goals: Add 60lbs of muscle in next couple of years with low body fat, Vin Diesel look. Started at 135lbs 2 months ago, gained about 15lbs so far.
How long I've been training: 2 months
Biggest problem I've had: Getting my diet together, cooking enough food to last more than 1 day

 

[thesuaveone]

Age: 37
Stats: 6', 235 lbs about 15% bf. All natty with regular sups.
Goals: Train for the next 3 years to the point where I can place in a masters bb comp.
I have trained on and off since high school, but over the last year, I have been able to focus on regular training and diet.
I have a lot of aches and pains I attribute to my age. I can gain muscle size and strength, however the minute I start doing heavy weight training, my joints and connective tissue pain holds me back.

 

[oso0690]

Age: 16
Stats: 210 pounds probably 17ish% bodyfat
Goals: I want to get as strong as possible and hopefully compete in strongman and/or powerlifting
Length: A little over a year?
Biggest problem: Getting to know my body. I'm still learning as to when to back off the weights for a while, when i'm overreaching/overtraining and the stuff like that.

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Age: 23
Weight/Height: 215-220 lbs depending on the weather... 6' with socks on.
Goals: To stay saine through kicking my own ass in the gym and get better at the big lifts.
Training History: Started when I was 15, worked my ass off (to 18) but didn't eat like I needed to so I was stuck at 170lbs for years... took 2 years off in college (190lbs). 2 years back into the lifestyle of being more healthy... got back into "shape" ... working towards a specfic goal of progressivly lifting more weight... only a few months, it's changed my physique for the better...big time.
Biggest problem: Blancing: School, Full time job, training and food prep.... not including a social life, lol

 

[BiggT]

Age: 27

Height : 5'11-6'.....6' 1" in oly. lifting shoes, lol

Weight: 255-260ish

Goals: I love training and weightlifting and being in the gym. I just want to improve my lifts and sport as much muscle as possible for the next decade and a half or so. I'll evaluate around 40 years old, you don't see too many 'old men' walking around at 260lbs, and I'd like to live a long life, so some goals may change as I enter middle age.

Training history: Began in 8th grade at age 13 and have been a weightroom junkie ever since. Always a blend of olympic lifting and powerlifting, high frequency and volume patterned after what the Soviets brought to the rest of the world (I do not consider myself either a PL or OL, but my training style is inspired by both). Played sports, but my true passion was always the weightroom.

Biggest Challenge: The fact that whatever you do outside of the gym will effect you inside the gym. Stay out late, get drunk, miss meals, etc etc....it'll all hurt you......it's not something like fishing/hunting/golf etc etc, it really can run your life and it is important to remember what really matters in life and prioritize.

 

[pitbullrocco]

age - 27
height - 5'7" barefoot
weight - 164

goals - of course, get bigger/stronger. but i like concrete goals, one step at a time. next step = 300 bench, 325 squat, 500 deadlift. gain 20 lbs. then i'll reevaluate again. repeat.

history - lifted consistently 9th-11th grades. started back up freshman year to junior year college. took a year off from school and lifting. got back into it for another year. took another year off. now been at it steady for a year and half and just got into OL's and PL's.

challenge - work requires travel often, which makes it a chore to get in my food/training.....also diet has been quite a challenge.....for a long time, i ate like shit which hindered my progress....finally getting that under control, but it is the hardest thing to stick to.....i hate prepping meals....been spoiled by many good women doing that for me in the past.

 

[silver_shadow]

age: 26

height: 5'10" (barefoot!)

weight: 230lbs

goals: i'm a sports lover and always needed some kind of game - in school it was soccer, rugby, sprinting. in college it was soccer and distance running. then, while i was still in college, i decided that all the cardio had made me too skinny. so istopped distance running, continued soccer and entered the weightroom. at first i just wanted to get back to a normal weight around 170-180 and perhaps try out as a model and earn some extra $. when i was around 185, i went to a model agency and they told me i was too big! so i just continued getting bigger plus i started enjoying weightlifting as a sport. i want to get as big as possible, as strong as possible while still looking ok (keep the bf in check which hasn't been happening for some time lately lol)

years of weight training: roughly 5 yrs since i started, though i wasn't regular for about 1 yr in between due to work and personal issues.

challenges: staying disciplined despite being a normal working guy with things to do other than weightlifting. it's sometimes difficult to eat the way i want to, sleep as much as i want to and sometimes, it really sucks, but it's difficult to get to the gym - lack of sleep, social life etc.

 

[TomoUK]

Age: 24

height: 5'10"

weight: 187lbs

goals: To compete in Olympic Lifting at some level

years of weight training: Started training the major compound lifts about a year ago and started olympic lifting a couple of months ago.

challenges: Eating properly on a consistent basis, dealing with the niggling injuries that come with the sport!

 

[blut wump]

Age: 49

Height: I've not been measured in decades but always used to be 6'1.75"

Weight: Around 125Kg - 275lbs

Training Goals: In reality, not to return to being fat, unfit and over forty. Otherwise, just to feel good about my lifts and to keep striving to improve them.

Biggest challenge over the years for lifting: It took me a long time to learn to recognize over-reaching / over-training. This would lead to layoff after layoff over the years (I started hitting the gym seriously in my mid-20s). I eventually took scheduled breaks instead of layoffs until I learned about deloading. Balancing rest and work has been hard at times, too, usually to the detriment of the lifting.

 

[Lifting N Tx]

Height 6'0"
Weight 210 lbs
Age 49

Goals - Continue to add both muscle and strength

Training history - lifted as a kid, kept up somewhat regularly over the years more at a "keeping in shape" level than serious strength pursuit until the last couple of years.

Challenges - Pretty much what blut wump said...basically developing better understanding of correct training and programming to avoid having progress stall. Also, learning about proper diet, especially caloric surplus for growth. Age doesn't seem to be an issue yet, except maybe needing a little more warm up time now.