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.

 

[ChinkNasty]

Age: 21
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 190 pds.

Goals: Have always played sports in high school (football, wrestled, lacrosse) and weightlifting has just always been there as a part of my life, but only recently in college that I have stopped playing sports as intensely, weightlifting has kind of moved to the forefront as a consistent aspect of my life

Training History: 8 years, never taken really more than month off in that course of time

Challenges: the addiction to lifting, which can be good but can also be detrimental...but the biggest thing is getting complacent, always know that someone is nippin at your heels

 

[MassiveMan10]

Age: 16
height: 5 9- 5 10
Weight: 160lbs

Goals: to get better for sports and get a defined physique body.

Training History: 2 years

Challenges: leanring about proper diet and new techqinues

 

[Ilovetolift]

Age: 19
Height: 5'8''
Weight: 185lbs
Goals: To Make it to the Mr.Olympia
Training History: Grade 10 I walked into a gym once. Grade 11 I started to powerlift. Grade12 I wanted to be "ripped" so I did too much cardio. I've been bulking for 13 months now. I went from 135-185 in this time.
Challenges: Training, Eating, Sleeping.

 

[b_light]

age: 17(almost 18)
Height: 6'
Weight: varies between 180-186 ATM
Goal: 200lbs cut untill i reach it and think im still too small which i can see happening
History: Trained on/off since 15, seriously started training in may 06'
Challenges: eating food, balancing out work and BBing, social life sucks now

 

[al420]

Age: 31

height: 5'11"

weight: 238lbs

goals: be the strongest guy in my gym, then the strongest on EF

years of weight training: 7 years - found EF and proper trainig methods early in 2006

challenges: Eating enough and the right kinds of foods

 

[BennyGunnz]

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?

20
I wanna be a shit house...
on and off for 4 years....been lifting with a bodybuilder for 4 weeks now
My bench is kind of lagging

 

[Fitness Nut]

Age: 25
Goals: Get bigger, stronger, and stay healthy.
Training: Been training for almost 2 years now. Lifted a lot before that, but had no clue what I was doing.
Problems: I'm married, 3 kids, full time work, and my wife works full time and just finished school full time. Finding time to hit the gym and cook is definately a challenge.

 

[suckamc44]

Age: 23
Goals: Get to 210-215lbs range(currently 230, was 260), bench 400, squat 600, dead 600(current PRs 365 bench, ~500 squat, ~500 dead). I'm not really in hurry to get the lifting goals, because I'm focusing on getting down to my goal weight first.
Training: 8 years, football,wrestling and track in high school, so for the first 3 years training was focused on improving performance in those sports. Since then it's been on and off, but mostly training for strength
Problems: School+Work=No Time to cook for myself(which is why I need to lose weight)/a lot of skipped workouts. Formerly, I used to do a LOT of snowboarding and I ended up hurting myself fairly often, which hasn't helped my consistency. I'm just now getting better from a back/hip injury I suffered last march. Between that and losing 30 lbs, my squat and dead have suffered pretty bad.

 

[Scotsman]

Age: 29
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 308lbs
Been training off and on for 16yrs seriously training for 10 and pure strength training for 5.

My goal is to eventually win the IFSA strongman championships.

Biggest obstacle is not being able to keep a regular training schedule due to travelling for work.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[Illuminati]

Your age: 26
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 215
Your goals: goals are dependant on my back injury (bulging L5-S1) when everything is fine, I train to be a powerlifter with the goal of getting a qualifying WPO (world powerlifting organization) in the 220 (that would require a 2051 total). when my back is flared up, well, I just train the best that I can.
How long have you been weight training? 10 years
What is the biggest problem(s) you've had achieving your goals? biggest problem is my back injury. when it is flared up, it cripples me.

 

[fortunatesun]

Age: 48

Goals: Strength and Conditioning. 'Functional strength'. Finding some aspect of my physical profile that can be improved.

Training: 12 years. My idea of sports when younger was the chess team. Started bodybuilding to improve my general health and physical image. Had a brief layoff about 6 yrs. ago and when I returned decided to re-orient my goals.

Biggest problem: My job is time consuming. I need to find another few hrs. in the day for sleep/recovery.

 

[Island Son]

Age: 35
Ht/Wt: 6'2", 197lb
Goals: Size & esthetics. Always been very lean (left HS at 157, Univ at 164). In the last year I made it up to 213 but it was too much fat. Ideally, 210 lean.
Training: Fairly consistent for the last 9 years, but my first gym experience was 17 years ago... holy shit....
Biggest problems: Adequate diet (not enough cals), and sometimes I work long hours. And I lose weight very very quickly.

 

[Inhibitor13]

Your age: 21
Height: 5'7" (Barefoot)
Weight: 175 lbs 9% BF
Your goals: I just got done acheiving my 315 bench press a couple weeks ago... A yr ago I was only weighing in at 135 at heaviest so, weighing in at 175 I find that pretty sweet ! Now, I just wanna hit 200lbs while still maintaining low body fat. My strength is nice but I dont feel like I have the body to "match" it...
How long have you been weight training? On and Off in highschool then took a couple yrs off and finally picked up a weight a yr and a half ago and havent stopped since. Dont think I ever will stop till its impossible for me to lift ...
What is the biggest problem(s) you've had achieving your goals? Not having enough time in the day....either too tired or I have other things I need to do.