Why Do We Lift?..

[J A Y]

im writing this because i want to know everybody elses insights into why they lift?...

it will probably sound strange to you guys but i dont really know why i lift, like i cannot put words to why i love lifting weights so much, its almost like a ritualisitc thing..

like i dont like change, i lift because ive got into this habit of going to the gym every day in the week, or training on days when im supposed, its almost as if it gives you a purpose.

when i wake up, i think what am i going to eat today to fuel my workout, what should i eat, when should i eat it, what am i going to prepare to get me through the day and im always reading the science into lifting and why muscles change and like to learn about the body and how it adapts.

Ive had to do alot of growing up over the past few months aswel, and think about carreers etc.. and ive decided i want to be a personal trainer just because of the fact i love the gym so much and learning about the body, i want to help people with their goals and learn as much as i can while i can!.. its a place where everything goes away, you can do what you want to do, hit your own targets, get away from daily stresses etc.. i hope to own my own gym one day.. i know im young and may get critisized for it but it seems the only logical way for me to live now!

people could say what if you get injured in the next few years and cant lift? i dont think people should be scared of that, lifes out there to enjoy and go and get what you want and if you want to lift heavy ass weight and god forbid if anything ever did go wrong that shouldnt of, at least you have tried... see im from a part in great britain aswel where bodybuilding/powerlifting hasnt got much exposure, my friends say ur obsessed, or why do you want to look like that etc.. and i think its a real shame and this is the about the only place where i can find salvation and a place where people share the same goals or will help you attain your goals... hence another reason for personal training idea

i know ive gone a bit off topic but it made me think about all the things why i lift and would like to know all you fellas insights into your lives and why you have chosen to lift!

all the best
jay

[Firefist]

in real short terms,

theres no other feeling like it. Im free and i love every second of it. I couldnt do without it.

[xMATT182x]

Nothing else matters when your in that moment, you savor the struggle and enjoy the pain. We're striving for more and loving every second of it.

[Serpiente-6509]

To me it is a lifestyle which embraces all of life. You have the anxiety and fear of breaking that record lift, you have the sorrow when the weight beats you, but then you have the joy and sense of accomplishment when you throw that iron up. It is a rewarding struggle.

[freak-a-boo!!]

I lift coz it imbibes a sense of discipline in me. I feel a strong purpose in life and in general feel more positive and confident. This discipline stuff actually carries over in other areas of my life. I feel like giving more respect to people coz I have starting respecting my self.
These are some of the reasons why I lift.
And honestly there will always be people who will want to pull you down from ur bodybilding lifestyle and a time will come when negativity will be at its zenith. I am going through such a phase now. Battling a very bad shoulder injury right now along with insurmountable job and relationship pressures with no one to support me (yeah not even parents. They are there physically but can't relate to what I am feeling right now).
Stay strong bro and most important never take life for granted. The moment you take life for granted, you start digging your own grave.
That's all I have to say for now.

[spartacus21]

I lift because it is an outlet for all the frustrations in my life that I bottle up inside. I am not an aggressive person but when I get under that iron something in me changes and when I am through everything that I was frustrated with earlier doesn't matter anymore.

I take pride in being disciplined enough to have something I am devoted to day in and day out. I look around and see people who can never finish anything they start and i know that I do have that thing. Every workout is an accomplishment when done right and if I half ass it, I can't get it out of my head until the next workout when I work twice as hard to make up for the last.

My friends say im obsessed....I say Im devoted

[futurefreak101]

after four years of lifting it would be wrong to not lift..
i also love it..considering im an angry person and aggresive i just let it out on the weights...i also want to compete later on..so i have goals...

im also doing personal training
im almost done with my ISSA book...u should look into it. you can do it ALL online.

[Gaoshang Xiongshou]

I lift because I would be dead without it.

Do not get me wrong. It is not saving my life. I would not check out and take a dirt nap if I did not lift.

But for me... I feel alive when I bond with the weight. 60-75 minutes is a lifetime that I cherish much more the the sum of the thirty-three years of my existence. So I live daily, and each day is better than the one before.

I have the balance... my martial art, and bodybuilding... Yin and Yang. Remove either, and I am unbalanced, and with each passing day, a piece of me dies. It is said that if you want peace, you must prepare for war. With martial art and bodybuilding, I prepare for war... I have peace. Without one, I cease to be one, and instead, and ripped apart into two, three, or even four different pieces of a whole that I cannot stand.

I lift because it is very much a part of who I am, and without it, I may as well just be a faceless, empty shadow always following someone instead of being someone and something.

[Soldier]

To continuously improve myself and my life. Being part of this is an amazing feeling, and there isn't another one like it.

[DanTheMan]

"Each rep provides another rip—Another scar.
Each rep provides greater size—Greater strength.
Each rep provides further proof—A better self.
Trying to impress those who stare at the weight I’m pushing?
Nah.
…“Impress”—hah.
The only person I have to impress is my mother—
It’s not about them.
They’re seeing me at my most vulnerable state.
Funny I’d put myself in this situation.
I’m not lifting to show off,
I’m not putting myself at the brink of failure for someone else’s entertainment.
I do it to escape the reality of mediocrity.
I understand that I’m not superior;
I’m not above anyone,
I’m not below anyone.
I’m below this weight on my back,
And I’ve got to prove it to myself."

[ironbound]

The gym is a place for me to forget about life, work, society and all of its stigmas and expectations. It's a place for me to strip down all the bullshit and be a man in the most primal sense of the word.

Out in the real world, life is always trying to hold you down. Friends end up stabbing you in the back, bosses fuck you over, and you're faced with situations you have no control over. But in the gym you have control. I might not be able to make more money this week than last week, but I'll be damned if I don't lift 5 pounds more.

The gym is for me, and no one else. The sweat, the pain, the nausea - all that is for me. I recieve all the fruits of my labour. I'm not breaking my back to send some other dickhead's kids to college. What I put into it is what I get out of it, and no one can take away from that.

[Soldier]

The gym is a place for me to forget about life, work, society and all of its stigmas and expectations. It's a place for me to strip down all the bullshit and be a man in the most primal sense of the word.

Out in the real world, life is always trying to hold you down. Friends end up stabbing you in the back, bosses fuck you over, and you're faced with situations you have no control over. But in the gym you have control. I might not be able to make more money this week than last week, but I'll be damned if I don't lift 5 pounds more.

The gym is for me, and no one else. The sweat, the pain, the nausea - all that is for me. I recieve all the fruits of my labour. I'm not breaking my back to send some other dickhead's kids to college. What I put into it is what I get out of it, and no one can take away from that.

Excellent post.