Why Do You Bodybuild?

[kakarot417]

i work out for several reasons.
1. Bruce Lee's body has always impressed me. Since I was way young I loved to watch kung fu movies and it impressed me that a guy weighing 135 could lift, jump, and kick ass like he did.
2. I've always been skinny and picked on. This lead to me getting into alot of fights.
3.Girls like muscles.
4. I don't want to be weak and crippled when I get old.

I realize that since Im in college i should at least try to improve my body as much as my mind...unlike the binge drinkers who get the freshman 15.

 

[needsleep]

I’m only a lurker here and only been so for a few weeks, but this topic is really quite insightful and is fun to read what motivates others. Well here’s me.

I used to be really active when I was 17-20, I did Kickboxing, circuit training and some limited weight training, I also played Squash and Swam. I enjoyed it immensely, a year later I had moved across the country and stopped doing all those things as I wasn’t around my friends anymore and the “habit” had been broken. For a couple of years I turned into a slouch and started playing computer games and watching tv more. I was still slim and didn’t put on weight but I lost lean body mass and put on fat.

I always spoke about how I “used” to be fit and looked good and that got me annoyed at myself as I was always saying how I “USED” to be. Not knowing anyone who lifted or went to the gym I had no motivation from others but I knew a couple guys online (through a computer game) who lifted and chatting with them helped motivate me.

One day I started training, I didn’t care what anyone thought of the pale skinny guy trying to lift weights I just kept going and lifting. When people I knew started commenting on how I was getting a lot bigger I smiled inward knowing that I was succeeding. It was good to get some nice comments and used them as a little motivation knowing that I was making a difference to myself.

I now lift purely for myself, It’s kind of my hobby, it’s something I look forward to and something I can do where nothing else in the world matters to me. When I am lifting I don’t give a second thought about how my car was crashed into the other day or how I am unhappy in my current job I don’t think about all the shitty things that happen to me, all that matters is beating what I did last time on the weight I am lifting, it’s pure escapism.

I built myself up to a mediocre 200lbs from a slim yet out of shape 165lbs, I feel good about myself for it and only want to improve. It’s my project, my way of achieving something that no one else knows about, something that I can win at and feel good about.

Sorry for the essay, you really wouldn’t want to see a long version.

 

[gmanlax7]

for the pump

 

[frenzyFYTA]

well i am relatively new to lifting, but i am ready to start getting serious about it now that my basketball season is coming to an end. I am doing it for one reason, to be a better athlete. Jumping higher, shooting from farther, hitting harder, all great things to train for. With a little inseason training it has become interesting to see a big guy (190 pounds 6'2) jump higher then the lighter guys (6ish 150ish). Just to beat others and get to the point that i can throw down a dunk in basketball seems like a goal worth pursuing.

Lifting is healthy
Lifting makes you a better athlete
Lifting make you jump higher and that lets you put down the big dunks, which in turn make you look cool

 

[collegiateLifter]

pretty much any reason to lift is a good one imo. The only thing i think louden may be reffering to is that guys who lift soley for women, often get settled down, marry and then turn into sedentary fat slobs.

 

[needsleep]

I think most people have a lot of fun whilst lifting, I enjoy psyching myself up for my sets and envisioning me lifting the weights with ease and then the painfull (yet strangely satisfying) reality of lifting them and pushing yourself to your limit.

I took it that "enjoyment or fun" wasn't in the poll as it's pretty obvious that the vast majority do enjoy it.

 

[Madcow2]

Everyone comes to lifting for a different reason.

Obviously for some it's women, and wanting to be desired by the opposite sex is about as close to a primary instinct as I can think of - I don't know anyone that it means absolutely nothing to. Others come to make themselves better at another activity. Some wish to imrpove their general health. Sadly a few come because they feel inadequate, have been picked on, or have a compelling desire to alter themselves and be different. For many it's a blend of all of them.

It's not so much why you started lifting but what keeps you lifting. Find a long term lifter that's been at it for a good portion of his/her life, 10 years is long enough to have worked through whatever phase they were in that first got them in the gym. Many will be married with kids, others will be out of the picked on high school phase and will have put on enough muscle to not be a target - plus few 30 year olds spend their time hassling people. Others will have finished their competitive careers.

Ask them why they are still there. You can see it in their eyes that they love it. Whether it's moving heavy weight, the feeling of satisfaction after a good set, or just the general glow and positiveness that it brings to their lives outside the gym - they all love it, it's a part of them, and it brings happiness into their lives.

I recently had to take what was around a year and a half off due to multiple injuries, family, and career issues. I missed it the whole time. Sometimes I'd look in the window and see some kid struggling with 135 with his 4 friends around and I wished that I could do that just once without pain. To feel the weight move, to enjoy a meal afterward with your head charged with endorphins, to go to sleep at night knowing you improved yourself, to know that no matter how bad a day you are having the barbell will be waiting for you. You don't appreciate what you have until you find yourself unable.

I'm getting back into it now as a few things have settled and I've rehabed myself well enough to handle it (and I've been injured more than enough before this too). A few things I've learned. Spend your time well in the gym. Look around between sets and enjoy it. Enjoy how the bar feels on your back even if you used to consider it uncomfortable. Don't think so much about how good things will be after you've achieved whatever goal that got you in there. Think about how good things are right now on the way. There is no dress rehersal in life. The day will come for all of us when we slowly find ourselves unable to do the things we love. Get every ounce out of it now. We focus too much on the future destinations of life's paths rather than the far far greater number of days we spend walking and enjoying the paths we take. Today will never come again.

 

[RADAR]

I have been lifting for over 32 years, i finally got tired of busting my butt in the gym and looking only decent i knew i had a ton of muscle lying in wait after all those years of training. I started taking gear in my forties, i'm 53 now and in better shape than alot of 20 yr olds.

My phylosophy is why be normal when you can be "Superman"

RADAR

 

[psilo]

I think I started to lift for the girls...but now I'm pretty much at my ideal body (6' 190 at about 8%). Now I lift more for the personal challenge and satisfaction of getting stronger.

 

[Steve The Bluesman]

Mine is a combination of a few of the reasons - but I started lifting in my early teens simply becuase I enjoyed doing it. I became a fighter later on and the iron kept me strong - broads liked it, sure, but that was never a primary reason.

I am now in my 30's and a amatuer basball player - now the iron keeps me injury-free and at the top of my game regardless of my age. I also like being fit, and strong, and have opposing teams worried about my game before I even step between the lines.

Stuff like this at a game last summer:

My wife worked with a couple of players on an opposing team and went over to say hello - she said she was here to watch me play. One guy ask which player I was, and said, "oh shit." The other said, "Which one is he?" and the 1st guy said, "The one that looks like he should be playing in the majors."

I don't lift to impress strangers, but it is a benefit. I love that shit.

Later,


Bluesman