sjchris408
01-28-07, 11:05 pm
Sometimes I dream about it. I’ll dream about gripping the steel, feeling the crushing weight over me. I’ll feel the blood rush through my veins. I’ll feel that awesome pump. I’ll feel the sweat drip from my forehead as I forcefully exhale, pushing every fiber of muscle in my body to its limits. And when it’s all said and done, I’ll dust myself off, clean off my war wounds, and make my journey to the locker room. Looking back only once to reflect on the weight that I conquered, an overwhelming feeling comes over me. It’s the rarest and sweetest feeling of all: accomplishment.
So why do I train with such passion and intensity? I’m like a lot of you guys, I’m no pro, I don’t have any plaques on my walls. I just love training, I couldn’t even act like I didn’t love it if I wanted to. My eyes light up as soon as the subject is brought up. It’s uncontrollable. Why do I love it so much? When I lift that weight, and all of my strength and spirit is focused on that weight, all of the other bullshit surrounding my life seems unimportant. It’s just me and the weight, if I put it up successfully, the pride and glory is mine, if I fail, the failure is on me. Unlike most humans, the weight will not lie or decieve me, it will not coddle me or tiptoe around my feelings because it’s “socially acceptable”. I get from the friendship exactly what I put in, and if I don’t give the weight 100% of my respect, it will give me a well-deserved reality check. The weight will not hold any punches. I know most of you guys understand the feeling I’m talking about. If you don’t, just stick to this animal lifestyle for a while and you soon will.
The day that I finally understood how much I loved this shit was when I had just finished super setting ass-to-the-grass squats with leg presses on leg day and I felt like someone had just hit my quads with a fucking sledgehammer. When I racked the bar on my last set, I collapsed on the floor, and struggled to get up. But when I did, a huge ear-to-ear smile came across my face. At the same time, I stopped and thought about it, and NOTHING, I mean NOTHING, makes me happier, just gives me the most utter feeling of happiness like my training.
Many people don’t get it, you can tell by the looks on their faces when you speak to them about the value of training. I train by myself, because I’ve never had a training partner who GOT IT. My last training partner just completely did not get it. You guys know exactly what I’m talking about. Every time it was Chest/Triceps day, he was like a little kid going to the fucking circus, but as soon as Leg day came around, or the word Deadlift was so much as mentioned, it was a no-call / no show. When I tried to explain to him that core lifts like Deadlifts and Squats are essential to building a well-rounded physique, I might as well have been talking to a wall. His response, “Well girls don’t care about your legs or your back”. I couldn’t be mad at him because it wasn’t his fault, he just didn’t get it. I had to cut him loose because if you want to be my training partner, you have to be hungry; you can’t have an ulterior motive--you’ve got to want it for yourself. Some people who don't get it will call you names. Without fail, every single one of these poor souls will dislike you for the very same reason. They know that they don't have enough willpower, enough self-discipline; enough spirit to pursue anything in life as difficult as bodybuilding. They have no higher purpose, so they will put down your purpose in order to feel better about their miserable lives. Take pride in these insults, they are a measuring stick for how far you've come in this great pursuit known as bodybuilding.
Lastly, I just want to send out an enormous thank you to the animal website and all of the contributors. Your articles are so god damn inspiring. Don’t stop what you’re all doing.
–Chris
So why do I train with such passion and intensity? I’m like a lot of you guys, I’m no pro, I don’t have any plaques on my walls. I just love training, I couldn’t even act like I didn’t love it if I wanted to. My eyes light up as soon as the subject is brought up. It’s uncontrollable. Why do I love it so much? When I lift that weight, and all of my strength and spirit is focused on that weight, all of the other bullshit surrounding my life seems unimportant. It’s just me and the weight, if I put it up successfully, the pride and glory is mine, if I fail, the failure is on me. Unlike most humans, the weight will not lie or decieve me, it will not coddle me or tiptoe around my feelings because it’s “socially acceptable”. I get from the friendship exactly what I put in, and if I don’t give the weight 100% of my respect, it will give me a well-deserved reality check. The weight will not hold any punches. I know most of you guys understand the feeling I’m talking about. If you don’t, just stick to this animal lifestyle for a while and you soon will.
The day that I finally understood how much I loved this shit was when I had just finished super setting ass-to-the-grass squats with leg presses on leg day and I felt like someone had just hit my quads with a fucking sledgehammer. When I racked the bar on my last set, I collapsed on the floor, and struggled to get up. But when I did, a huge ear-to-ear smile came across my face. At the same time, I stopped and thought about it, and NOTHING, I mean NOTHING, makes me happier, just gives me the most utter feeling of happiness like my training.
Many people don’t get it, you can tell by the looks on their faces when you speak to them about the value of training. I train by myself, because I’ve never had a training partner who GOT IT. My last training partner just completely did not get it. You guys know exactly what I’m talking about. Every time it was Chest/Triceps day, he was like a little kid going to the fucking circus, but as soon as Leg day came around, or the word Deadlift was so much as mentioned, it was a no-call / no show. When I tried to explain to him that core lifts like Deadlifts and Squats are essential to building a well-rounded physique, I might as well have been talking to a wall. His response, “Well girls don’t care about your legs or your back”. I couldn’t be mad at him because it wasn’t his fault, he just didn’t get it. I had to cut him loose because if you want to be my training partner, you have to be hungry; you can’t have an ulterior motive--you’ve got to want it for yourself. Some people who don't get it will call you names. Without fail, every single one of these poor souls will dislike you for the very same reason. They know that they don't have enough willpower, enough self-discipline; enough spirit to pursue anything in life as difficult as bodybuilding. They have no higher purpose, so they will put down your purpose in order to feel better about their miserable lives. Take pride in these insults, they are a measuring stick for how far you've come in this great pursuit known as bodybuilding.
Lastly, I just want to send out an enormous thank you to the animal website and all of the contributors. Your articles are so god damn inspiring. Don’t stop what you’re all doing.
–Chris