What do you consider yourself...

[blut wump]

If I had to choose a gym category I'd have to settle for recreational lifter. I can't say I don't care about how I look but it's not a great priority since I've been in a ballpark I find acceptable for quite a while. It's cool to look in the mirror and see progress in delts, traps, legs etc. but strength gain and health benefits are what motivate me.

I can't think of any time over the past couple of decades when I've been more concerned with working my muscles rather than adding weight to the lift. If I can't see a potential for rehab, prehab or strength gain in an exercise then I'm not likely to bother with it. While I will acknowledge the presence of others in the gym, I'm certainly not a social lifter.

 

[Tweakle]

Powerbuilder. All that counts is more weight or more reps than last time. Otherwise you know deep down inside you failed and settled for less than being your best. And adding nearly 100lbs to my small frame in 3 years while the little boys who pump and shape spin their wheels forever, well that right there lets me know what I'm doing works just fine thanks

I could care less about the size, bodyfat% or strength of anyone I train with just as long as they have heart. Those are my people. The others I could care less about so long as they pay money to keep the gym open and dont make me wait to use the rack.

 

[Tatyana]

IMO, I think most people just train with weight. In order to be a BB, you have to grunt or make funny noises on your last couple of reps, have a little mantra like "UP", and have your training partner yelling in your ear "NO Pain T, no pain" LoL

As I am chopping and swapping between physique in natural federations (I am a heavyweight! BEEFCAKE) and figure in the other categories, I keep lean. Pure physique girls can put on a lot more weight in the off season to gain more weight, figure and fitness girls need to stay lean for photo shoots etc. And only putting on about 4 kg and 4-5 % body fat means that I can probably take it all off in about 8 weeks! As this is only my second season competing (and I have loads of comps) I am planning on following Dorian's plan of action, hit the diet hard, get ripped, no cheats (well I do 10 g of cocoa in water in evening as 'treat', and about 10 g in AM if I have choc oats!), and then allow myself cheat meals/days so I can keep my sanity and eat stuff I have been craving, and to confuse my body's metabolism a bit, mix it up so it doesn't slow down

 

[Scotsman]

I'm a powerlifter/strongman. I lift for strength and don't really care about the aesthetics portion, although if that's you thing then go for it. I do mainly compound movements but also things like curls, tricep pushdowns to help with overall arm strength.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[*MissFit*]

I don't know if i fit into any of those..

 

[Womanizer]

Man...I think that you hit the nail on the head...and thanks so much for the great compliment to the Strongmen. Most of us have come from other backgrounds.

I would also like to add that you are not a...
Bodybuilder till you have stepped on stage.
Powerlifter till you have stepped onto the platform.
Oly Lifter till you have dropped under the bar in front of the judges.
Strongman till you have finished the contest.

You must COMPETE to be the sportsman...

B True

Word bro!!

 

[Dposey]

I picked weight lifter because I just want to increase my strength and lift more without becoming fat again. Way later down the line (When I'm an adult and I'm settled with a job and all) I definitely want to consider going into powerlifting/strongman. That would be awesome! (I'd say olympic weight lifting also but I'm probably already too old to get started in that it seems. 14 year olds clean and jerking double bodyweight and all, Jesus!)

 

[FFQuads]

A fucking machine.....bodybuilder

 

[Agent Dana Scully]

I get into arguments from all sides, cuz i use to lift weights for aesthetics, but now i rock climb. I know others who still hit the gym, for some it's a body art like sculpturing where they watch everything they eat, and even on a bulk they eat clean, just more calories of said clean food. I have others who do it for braggin rights on how much weight they can pull, push, carry, lift, etc....

In bodybuilding, Aesthetics is first, then power/strength abilities. In rock climbing, it's how good you climb, and how your body looks secondary. Theres dudes who have no definition whatsoever, and can climb, and pull their weight better than a guy who is ectomorphic like bruce lee or brad pitt. It all depends on how you eat and stuff. At times, i see these rock climbers as TOO skinny, but there are some who are pretty jacked up in my eyes now, not jacked the way you guys think.

Other times, the bodybuilders will tell me "you need to gain size" and i tell them "for what? For the sport that i do, how is getting bigger going to benefit me?" and they say "you'll look better" and I tell them "thats where the difference, first of all, 'looking good' is all subjective, second, my ability to climb comes first before the way body looks" They don't seem to understand that. Neither do rock climbers, they love talking shit about diesel guys that go to the gym who come rock climb fore the first time by saying "haha look at the big for nothing dumb weight lifter! he won't be able to climb a 5.7! (something equivalent to a ladder)" And I tell them that bodybuilding is their sport, and looking good is first before their ability to push or pull weight, even if its rock climbing.

Theres ignorance from all sides especially when you're comparing apples and oranges. It's like a basketball player telling a soccer that his legs are too big and he needs to reduce their size.