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View Full Version : So when and why did you start lifting?



txpower
02-19-07, 11:49 pm
When, why, and for how long have yall been lifting?

moose3563
02-19-07, 11:54 pm
I started lifting at 14 for high school football, and I'm 23 now, so that would make 9 years, but only about 2 or 3 seriously training for bodybuilding.

txpower
02-19-07, 11:55 pm
figured i should answer my own question. I started in 6th grade but i didn't get serious untill highschool football. I didn't get even more serious till head injuries forced me out of the game.

Big Jawn
02-19-07, 11:59 pm
4 years now, coming on a year of focused powerlifting.

Crusher
02-20-07, 12:04 am
Been working out seriously for about the past 6 yrs.

Phil800101
02-20-07, 12:56 am
I half-ass lifted on and off for about three-four years. Finally, about 18 months ago I was tired of being fat and out of shape so I started to do it seriously, and I haven't looked back since.

Liftbig21
02-20-07, 1:12 am
i was 15 fuckin around ....17 got serious about it for a little while...then when i turned 20 i got serious about it...21 now and never been more serious in my entire life.

txpower
02-20-07, 1:13 am
I half-ass lifted on and off for about three-four years. Finally, about 18 months ago I was tired of being fat and out of shape so I started to do it seriously, and I haven't looked back since.

kinda like the reason i joined football. i just happend to love bodybuilding so much more

k1usa
02-20-07, 3:32 am
when I was 26.....I got into the gym...was hard core for 4 years...then got married...kids....job....layed off of lifting for over 23 years..now at 53...back in the gym for 8 months...feeling the pain...and loving every minute.....its my life now baby...and love the pump

Arbalest
02-20-07, 3:35 am
I was 18... just suffered a horrible breakup...

I was the fat kid w/ the good-looking girlfriend... Yes, that guy.. theres always 1 or 2 of those in highschool...


Anyways, got cheated on... came back to me, and i took it... later left me for some guy...

I thought it was due to me being fat... not realizing there were other underlying problems...

I hit the gym and was determined to "show her" lol... whatever.. that never happened.. because i found myself... no need to show anybody but myself...

unfortunately, i didn't know about nutrition and dieting til a little over a year ago... so now i'm gonna show the world...

Toni69
02-20-07, 4:10 am
I was never into physical fitness growing up...not the tomboy type at all..very girly girl. I went to Catholic school my whole life, liked boys and nice clothes. If any of my friends from back in the day saw me now..they would never believe it was me. I used to write fake notes forging my parents signatures just to get out of PE! I do hate Volleyball though..I am terrible.

So...I soon joined the military (Navy)...loved bootcamp, loved the physical training...and slowly became engrossed in fitness. Few years later, I had my beautiful son...gained a bunch of weight..not telling how much either. I was on maternity leave and met a competing amateur bodybuilder and he got my fat butt into the gym and gave me a foundation to start with.

This was in the beginning of the yr 2000. I have been weight training ever since and seriously became involved in BB (competing), the last 2 years.

txpower
02-20-07, 12:28 pm
I was 18... just suffered a horrible breakup...

I was the fat kid w/ the good-looking girlfriend... Yes, that guy.. theres always 1 or 2 of those in highschool...


Anyways, got cheated on... came back to me, and i took it... later left me for some guy...

I thought it was due to me being fat... not realizing there were other underlying problems...

I hit the gym and was determined to "show her" lol... whatever.. that never happened.. because i found myself... no need to show anybody but myself...

unfortunately, i didn't know about nutrition and dieting til a little over a year ago... so now i'm gonna show the world...

i used to be that kid too

JBone
02-20-07, 12:32 pm
last december. i was a bitch 120 lbs. put on 50 lbs since. mostly cuz of animal.
keep the weight up bros.

Black-Jack
02-20-07, 12:40 pm
I started lifting on the 6th of July 2003, at the age of 16. The year or so, I wasn't serious. I got serious when a friend gave me The Animal Owners Manual(he didn't understad any english).

txpower
02-20-07, 12:43 pm
I started lifting on the 6th of July 2003, at the age of 16. The year or so, I wasn't serious. I got serious when a friend gave me The Animal Owners Manual(he didn't understad any english).

call me stupid or in the closet but what's the animal owners manual

txpower
02-20-07, 1:07 pm
nvm i found it and ordered it

Argos
02-20-07, 1:13 pm
Started lifting in high school for football and carried it over to college but truely never really took it serious until the day I got married (wife is a true inspiration)...May 2005...and have never looked back.

And txpower...the animal owners manual...is a book (manual) that you can get from animalpak website. It has workouts and articles in it, they have taken from the website. It is a nice in hand workout motivator to have around...just go to the site and look it up, register and get it if they still have it.

for the pain...

peterpyper
02-20-07, 1:13 pm
i started lighting at age 13 but didnt know what i was doin,stop when i had a gf which totally fuked me up gained 40 pounds stopped all sports was a total loser,had to do something bout it,got seriouse bout 2 yrs and a half ago ,still got a long way to go

brutal
02-20-07, 1:15 pm
good idea to order that. I started my freshmen year of high school, but didn't really care too much about it-wanted to be strong for football. The summer before my junior year alot of the older guys took me under their wing and I started to figure out how much I loved to lift. Me and a real good friend started gettin after it every day after practice, before school, whenever. He's in LA now and im in TX but I still lift every day harder than I ever have. It's great to see how far I've come in 5 years, but it makes me hungry for more.

dragondad
02-20-07, 1:24 pm
Started lifting in High School. Always wanted to be huge. Was the typical, "big kid" football palyer in school. Stayed in pretty good shape competing in MMA and boxed for a year in Job Corps. Got married, had some personnel issues..quit lifting or doing anything that took exercise for about 12yrs. Had a bad physical about 3 yrs ago, looked in the mirror and asked....what happened to you? Got serious about 2yrs ago and owe all of it to AP and my wife and kids.

brandonA
02-20-07, 1:53 pm
I started in high school for football and track (shot and disk), went to college, got lost and fat....was off and on for a while...but now i have the sickness, last night i didnot make it to the gym for chest day, had to take the g'f to the e.r. she is prego with our 1st baby....and this morning i felt like shit, missing that day fucked up my whole week.....on the bright side i got my 1st can of pump lst night so legs today are going to be sick.....

sorry for the rant.
-B

coolbrez4u
02-20-07, 2:09 pm
I was the typical skinny kid always getting picked on. 15 yrs old 5'5" 110 lbs every rib showing HS freshman. Stepped into the high school weight room Jan. 1986 wrestling/football coach took pity on me showed me the basics. I've never looked back. I've never quit training only had short layoffs due to car accident, work related back injury and 2 surgeries over the last 2 years. At times my work ethic in the gym has been lax and not at all animal. But, after complications from my hernia surgery sidelined me for 6 months last year and reminded me how much I love the iron. I rededicated myself and life to the Iron goddess we all love. I stumbled upon the animal website a couple of months ago and it has pushed me even harder and further. Still working on losing the extra padding around the middle but everything else is shaping up.

21 years later 36 yrs old 5'7" 220lbs not many people looking to pick on the former skinny kid anymore.

stumblin54
02-20-07, 2:16 pm
Got into at 14, and serious at 17. Went from 140 pounds of shit when I was 14, to a solid 205 (offseason) and ripped 182 (on), and am now 19. Hopin' to be on the pro circuit (natural BB) by 24 or 25.

Stumblin

Big Rich
02-20-07, 2:18 pm
Good thread!

I was the fat kid in school. A lazy sob that would rather eat shit and watch tv all day.
Then I saw the movie Rocky and - no shit - it moved me somehow.
I changed my lifestyle, diet, and hit the gym like no one else I knew.
Today I lift almost daily, use a sledge hammer and an old tire for cardio, and push/pull my pickup up and down the street for conditioning.

I am in my 40's now, 5' 11" 250 lbs of rip-shit & tear-ass... Just ask my wife!
I am a card carrying member of NASS and I do strongman competitions in IL & WI in the Master or MW class.

txpower
02-20-07, 2:35 pm
Good thread!

I was the fat kid in school. A lazy sob that would rather eat shit and watch tv all day.
Then I saw the movie Rocky and - no shit - it moved me somehow.
I changed my lifestyle, diet, and hit the gym like no one else I knew.
Today I lift almost daily, use a sledge hammer and an old tire for cardio, and push/pull my pickup up and down the street for conditioning.

I am in my 40's now, 5' 11" 250 lbs of rip-shit & tear-ass... Just ask my wife!
I am a card carrying member of NASS and I do strongman competitions in IL & WI in the Master or MW class.

the rocky movies are amazing lol. I got into boxing after those, i was like if he can do it so can i haha

Testpolska
02-20-07, 2:36 pm
I started when I was 13, I'm 16 now. So a lil over 3 years now. Half of which was training as a powerlifter. And my current passion, bodybuilding put in a little over one and half years now.

Why? Thats a real good question. When I first started It was just something to do. Then I got a girlfriend. We went over for around a year. During that time I went to hell and back again emotionally.

But the iron was always there to listen to my pain. It became my reason to live. It kept me alive, kept me goin.

So in a way I AM grateful my girlfriend was sucha bitch.

Mr.Totality
02-20-07, 3:51 pm
started lifting at the end of junior high. I will be 31 at the end of march, still working hard as always

JoshLandry
02-20-07, 3:56 pm
well i prolly started at about 8th grade prolly around 14 15ish. i just started getting really into it within the past 4 years. but i do remember that i hit 200lb bench in 9th grade and and all time high of 265 in high school with no supps and not protien just lifting for fun.

txpower
02-20-07, 5:02 pm
I started when I was 13, I'm 16 now. So a lil over 3 years now. Half of which was training as a powerlifter. And my current passion, bodybuilding put in a little over one and half years now.

Why? Thats a real good question. When I first started It was just something to do. Then I got a girlfriend. We went over for around a year. During that time I went to hell and back again emotionally.

But the iron was always there to listen to my pain. It became my reason to live. It kept me alive, kept me goin.

So in a way I AM grateful my girlfriend was sucha bitch.

hell yea i feel you there the iron's always there. i feel like i'm cheatin on it if i don't lift.

Medford
02-20-07, 8:58 pm
made my own weight set out of gallon jugs filled with sand and a metal pipe

some twenty plus years ago

now I find myself at Gold's at three in the morning

Madcat
02-20-07, 9:22 pm
Yeah I was that guy too, I had always been the tall kid, reaching 5 10 in 8th grd. But only weighed like 150 so I was getting pushed around in hoops. Then in 9th I was 6 ft and about 165. Started hitting the weights my sophmore yr of HS because we had to for basketball conditioning. I was always concerned though because my workouts were centered around hoops but I was an all conference golfer and didnt wanna mess my swing up. Sounds weak I know, but anyways, in 10th grade I got fat. I mean fat. I was like 185 of just fat with no muscle and weight like 185 at 6 ft. I only grew 1 more inch my whole life, but my sophmore yr is when I got serious. I lost 30 lbs down to 155 of shredded muscle, except I was way undersized at the 4 and 5 in hoops so I started lifting hardcore over the summer.
Came in my JR yr at 6 1 and 185 of pure muscle. Everyone said I looked sick but I loved it. Started all season in hoops and was all conference in gold again.
Then came college and well the rest is history. Weight room 5 days a week atleast.

Secur1ty
02-20-07, 9:25 pm
I've been lifting ever since Christmas of 05' when i was 15. I really kicked the intensity up a notch over the Summer of 06' and have been steadily increasing my strength ever since.

AU_Lifter
02-20-07, 9:32 pm
I unfortunately did not start lifting till the last two months of my senior year in high school. I did compete in 3 powerlifting meets that season though and got 6th at state with only two months of what I guess could be called training? Ive been training steady since then and now powerlifting at a collegiate level

txpower
02-20-07, 10:02 pm
I unfortunately did not start lifting till the last two months of my senior year in high school. I did compete in 3 powerlifting meets that season though and got 6th at state with only two months of what I guess could be called training? Ive been training steady since then and now powerlifting at a collegiate level

that's something i've looked into doing i just don't have the bench for it.

Mean Machine
02-20-07, 10:15 pm
My parents bought me a shitty set of weights when i was 15, used that for a year and then a new gym opened up just down the street. I lifted on and off there until I went to university. My roomate at uni was an o-lineman on the football team so I staterd going to the gym with him and some other guys on the team and that was when i got really serious about this. I didn't lift for about 8 months while I was travelling and then got back into it when i got home and haven't looked back since then.

musclealchemist
02-20-07, 10:18 pm
Well when i was in 6th grade i was pretty huge, and i got teased for it all the time. It got to a point to were i had enough, so i did something about it. I started eating right, and then in the summer before my 9th grade year i started working out. Havent looked back since. I have been faithful to the iron, as she has been faithful to me.

OldeIron
02-20-07, 10:20 pm
I started the summer before high school when I was 14. I had no clue what I was doing and was listening to a bunch of idiots. Im 17 now and about to turn 18 in two months and I've been lifting seriously for about 1 yr with the help of my boys at my current gym, and of course everyone here at animalpak.

txpower
02-20-07, 10:55 pm
i just got the news from my dad that when he was still lifting when i was like 5 i would lift with him so i guess i got my roots from there

Lawman
02-21-07, 12:54 am
Started fooling around on my neighbours weider gym when I was about 14. 26 now, and working on it as always.

wño
02-21-07, 1:16 pm
1 year.

AU_Lifter
03-23-07, 9:55 pm
that's something i've looked into doing i just don't have the bench for it.

Everyone has to start somewhere. I couldn't bench 225 my senior year when I started and im only up to 405 in a shirt now. Raw maybe 315ish. All I'm saying is that I love every second of powerlifting and would never change it. It is a great lifestyle if you have any Animal in you. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

Big Flanch
03-23-07, 10:47 pm
I've gone to catholic schools my whole life and in 8th grade we did a stations of the cross thing where you "act" out all the stations..(if you dont know, its a skit kinda thing about jesus as he was on his journey) and at that time i was 6' tall and weighed about 160, and it was pretty flabby..

so anyway i started running to lose some weight when a guy that worked for my dad told me that he could help me get into better shape...ever since then ive been hittin it pretty hard..im a freshman in college and now weigh 250...probably a little more than jesus ever weighed..lol

Freakshow
03-24-07, 12:35 am
I was never into physical fitness growing up...not the tomboy type at all..very girly girl. I went to Catholic school my whole life, liked boys and nice clothes. If any of my friends from back in the day saw me now..they would never believe it was me. I used to write fake notes forging my parents signatures just to get out of PE! I do hate Volleyball though..I am terrible.

So...I soon joined the military (Navy)...loved bootcamp, loved the physical training...and slowly became engrossed in fitness. Few years later, I had my beautiful son...gained a bunch of weight..not telling how much either. I was on maternity leave and met a competing amateur bodybuilder and he got my fat butt into the gym and gave me a foundation to start with.

This was in the beginning of the yr 2000. I have been weight training ever since and seriously became involved in BB (competing), the last 2 years.


Toni, I am honored to share time on this forum with you. You are a very powerful woman and you are an excellent role model. I wish you the best of luck in everything that you do in bodybuilding and in life.

I started lifting when I was 15 (not TO terribly long ago), and I did it mostly for football. I needed to bulk up if I was going to run with the big guys, and I put my mind to it, and sure enough, I was a 3 year starter on the offensive line. Since football ended I have made an effort to become more of a bodybuilder rather that a "powerlifter" for football, and I continue towards my goals for myself and how I want to see myself when I look in the mirror everyday.

Ricky P
03-24-07, 12:49 am
I started lifting my sophmore year in High School, and I hated it. I thought it was a waste of time. I had no patience and needed instant gratification. I didn't see much change within the two weeks I was there, just a lot of soreness. I knew absolutley nothing about lifting. I went through a lot of trials and mostly errors in college. I had to lift because of baseball but didn't take it too seriously. If I could be a starter at a Div. I school as a freshman and didn't even lift, who needs it right? So fast forward my junior year. I transferred to a Div. III school to play. Yeah I played at first, but got tired as the season wore on and eventually sat. I got back into it though and had a huge end of the season, but it got me thinking, damn I needed the gym. Senior year was when it started. I took it pretty serious the summer of '05 and started really applying myself and learning as much as I could. I always had pretty big legs so in fall of '05 I found myself squatting 315 for reps. I couldn't even do that right now. I loved the progress I was making and couldn't let up. I've been with it since then, but more for baseball. Since the start of the New Year of 2007 I've been doing it for me. I'm bulking, trying to put on some serious mass and put up some serious numbers. I know a lot more about my body, nutrition and supplementing and it's so much more fun to watch my body progressively change into what I want it to be. The Forvm has been an unbelievable step in helping me acheive my goals, the people here are awesome. I'm looking forward to a great year.

Kiwi129
03-24-07, 1:45 am
I started lifting a few months after I was forced to do it for a few weeks in gym class. I was super scrawny (and still am fairly scrawny comparably...) at about 6'1" and 130ish lbs. I've been lifting for a year and a half now as of about February (that just passed) and have since gained almost 40 lbs. of lean mass. I've worked really hard and am so glad I was forced into lifting by Mr. Brian Coleman... our high school trainer/lifetime fitness teacher. It's changed my life forever.

Achilles
03-24-07, 11:59 am
i used to be that kid too

Insert Skinny where fat is, in all this. Only my trial w. the hot girlfriend happend a year after HS was over. (I was 5'10" & 120ibs by the way)

invictus1
03-24-07, 12:24 pm
i got into boxing at age 8 (this was before all they know about brain development and the effects your surroundings will have on you forever) i think i still have sheet of old body weight workouts and routines they had me doing. there was a quickly established correlation between my hard work training and success in the ring, so what i did when i was outside the ring became imporant to me very early on.

TNEVZ
03-24-07, 5:17 pm
Started lifting on a bench in my garage when I was 12 years old (now 30) after I was at a grocery and picked a Muscle & Fitness that had Rich Gaspari in it. I thought damn, now that's what I waana look like some day.

Aengus
03-24-07, 8:58 pm
I was always the small kid. I weighed about 90lbs in 8th grade, maybe 120
in high school. At 5'6", I am a pretty small guy to begin with. I also have the misfortune of being a know-it-all who was far too smart for his own good. I am the kid who always answered every question in class, and ruined the curve on the test. Hell, I was so fucking annoying I was medicated for it (ADHD). I am surprised no one kicked my ass.

I needed to burn off that extra energy, so I started running on a regular basis in about 2000. I would do rudimentary stuff like pullups and pushups and such. I looked like those male models...all lean and cut, but I would blow away in a stiff breeze. I was at about 130lbs then. I would train maybe twice a week, full body stuff.

There was one point in 2004, christmas, when I had nowhere to live because of dorms closing. I had little money, so I spent the 3 weeks with a buddy of mine. There is nothing more depressing than not having a place to live, a home base. I dealt with this by working out more often. It helped with my depression, and lit a fire that has only grown with time.

I am now, just 2 years later, 175lbs with only slightly more fat than I had two years ago.

MadeOfScars
03-24-07, 9:02 pm
I started lifting when I was 12 for jr./high school football. Due to concussions I quit football at 16 so I stopped lifting. About 2.5 years ago a guy I worked with took a cycle of roids and got huge fast(of course). So i thought to myself that I wanted to get big like that but not take that route he did. So i started lifting and it got more serious as time went on. Now 2.5 years later i going strong and nothing can stop me

By the way I surpassed the kid on roids and after he got off them he went back to square one.

deeder
03-24-07, 9:19 pm
First went to the gym the summer after I finished grade 7. I think I was 13 at the time. I started getting serious my first year of University and I've been going hard since!

TARGET
03-24-07, 9:52 pm
I started lifting when I was fourteen. The "old Man" wanted helped me out for football season after season, after season.....I was hooked. Also I was sick of being pushed around. Today I stand 6ft 2 240 with 15% bf (bulking) And for those bully bastards if I ever see you....watch out cause its just not me the ANIMALS are following.

Wolverine
03-25-07, 4:45 pm
first time i ever felt that familiar cold was when me and a buddy found my old man's concrete set hidden away. we were 10 years old, took both arms to curl that 25lb dumbbell but thats all it took i was hooked. read every bood and mag i could get, sad part is i didn't get serious till about 8 years later.

spartan300
03-25-07, 5:35 pm
I had to have been about 12 or 13. My father had originally purchased a 110 lb. YORK set for my older brother who was very heavy into high school athletics. He, fortunately for me never used them. So I started hammerin' away in a small corner (behind the old man's easy chair)of our little two bedroom apartment. My father(God rest his soul) got a big kick out of it, I guess I provided him with some pretty good laughs back then. I decided to stick with it and never regretted a single day. Here I am some 37 years later still lovin' it. YOU GOTTA LOVE THE IRON!!!

KC Irish
03-25-07, 6:07 pm
When I was 14 I went into High School at 5'6" 95 lbs. (soaking wet). I desperately wanted to be a good football player. But aside from the football, I was tired of people pushing me around. None of the guys my age would take me seriously, and I was pretty much non-existent to girls. My dad empathized with my situation and took me to the gym nights to teach me everything I needed to know. So I became very good friends with the Iron at a young age and our relationship continues to flourish. Since then I have advanced in strength and size. I'm at 5'11" 190 and growing. Shooting for 200lbs by the end of May.

Malloy1344
03-25-07, 7:25 pm
I was 18... just suffered a horrible breakup...

I was the fat kid w/ the good-looking girlfriend... Yes, that guy.. theres always 1 or 2 of those in highschool...


Anyways, got cheated on... came back to me, and i took it... later left me for some guy...

I thought it was due to me being fat... not realizing there were other underlying problems...

I hit the gym and was determined to "show her" lol... whatever.. that never happened.. because i found myself... no need to show anybody but myself...

unfortunately, i didn't know about nutrition and dieting til a little over a year ago... so now i'm gonna show the world...

I feel ya bro, thats the same thing that happened to me just about. I used to get picked on and called fat for years, and I got sick of it. I lost my girl to some asshole. Anways like you, i said " ill show her".......but along the way, i realized fuck the world, this is my life, this is my body, and this is all for me....I dont give a shit about what anybody thinks about me. I get the craziest looks in the gym when my shins are bleeding from the deadlifts, and I continue on like nothing is even wrong.

bigrhino
03-25-07, 9:46 pm
I was 16. training on my own for a sport. May 05-Jan06. After several ankle injuries and realizing I like BB'ing better. I learned a lot about nutrtition for Animal Pak.com and other sites (circa June 06). And I have been blowing up since then.

dzemuel
04-07-07, 2:48 am
My journey started when I was 16, I had a motorcycle accident and broke my tibia, disconnected my quad (left leg).

After surgery, the doctor suggested weight lifting as Physio... I kept lifting for a couple of years and then strayed.

Tried other sports throughout the years, but always kept an eye on lifting.

I am back, regained my focus at the age of 31 ... and haven't lost the taste for the iron now I am 35 ... and feel as thought I have regained something I was missing.

so, what made you pick up the weights?

/a

gsb239
04-07-07, 4:08 am
I used to watch my older cousins lift weights when I was a kid. I also watched a lotta wrestling and was in Martial Arts for the better part of my teens. I think as a kid I always looked forward to being old enough to lift weights myself.

jadizt
04-07-07, 5:18 am
Started lifting for someone special. She likes her guy to lift.

She's been gone for a year plus. Still lifting, just incase one day she comes back and she knows that all these while I still have faith in her.

The_Beast
04-07-07, 9:56 am
Girl Treated me Wrong in the Past, and said I would never build myself up to anything. The Very first time I picked up a Dumbell, I knew someday she Would Regret those words, and If I ever see her again, I have no Doubt that she will.

I was once, 16yrs old. Long Distance Runner Went from 205lbs to a Small 160lbs Bodyweight and Lost most of my muscle mass this way, I Couldnt Even Bench 160lbs during that low point in my life. Now im a Powerlifter, 188Lbs at 17yrs old and Bench 315lbs.-

The_Beast

ALPHAOMEGA
04-07-07, 10:04 am
To Puuurrrffeeecccttt My------- Master------peace.

AU_Lifter
04-13-07, 5:34 pm
that's something i've looked into doing i just don't have the bench for it.

Well then get benching bro! Just messing, powerlifting is a blessing and a curse for me I guess. I love it and its just as much my life than anything else, but it seems I can't get enough of it!!!!

widdlewade44
04-13-07, 8:46 pm
This summer will be 25 years for me. Started at 12 in the Jr. High school stinky gym. Have trained in many gyms and have learned much over the years, and I'm still learning today. Why? Because I wanted to get stronger, look better and perform better at sports. Then the iron bug hit me. I wouldn't have it any other way. Peace.

Kevin
widdlewade44

benmatthews90
04-14-07, 6:19 pm
i started serious bodybuilding about a year ago, but iv been lifting since i was about 14 when i was you typical curl jockey, you changed that
i started because i hated being the little fat kid, i needed to feel some power over people, fat kids with spots don't get respect, i sound like a control freak but there you go, i probably am

dbrewer
04-14-07, 6:49 pm
I've been lifting for about seven years. Same old story...I was disgusted with how I looked and how I felt about myself, so I started pumpin'. I've always "cared" about lifting, but it's been about 2 years since something clicked. I can't go a day without engaging the IRON and still feel good about myself. Even on my rest days, It just doesn't feel right to not hit the gym. Addicted? Obsessed? Definitely. But let me tell you right now, whether you're the biggest or smallest guy in the gym, there is nothing greater than giving it your all and feeling like the baddest motherfucker on the planet.

LegDay_UKIGS
04-15-07, 2:41 am
Here goes... I joined the Navy 6 years ago... Weighed 165 lbs at 6'3". I was the tall skinny kid and all my weight that I did have, was in my legs. I played sports in HS but all I did was party after a game. only workout was practice and that's it. I dabbled in the gym last cruise... I had gotten up to like 195 for a while... got home with the wife and kids, lost touch with the gym life and lost weight first, down to 175, and then gained bad weight back, up to like 200. I lost it again and started from scratch. I went to a supp store and bought some weight gainer Animal Pak, and a NO booster, and started hitting the gym hard about 6 months ago, 2 Days before I left for deployment was the day to be exact, Oct 1st,2006. I havent slowed down since. I left at 185 and now I'm at 216(last checked). I'd like to get to 240 but I have to watch it cause I am in the military and they dont take muscle into account... if you're over weight then you're over weight, and they tape your waste and neck... that's it. But any way, I'm doing this to be a healthy role model for my kids and to surprise the shit out of my wife!

Asian
04-15-07, 11:22 am
Started owrking out in high school on a bowflex. At first, I wanted that beach body to attract that ladies. That never panned out, but I started training and eating seriously in college. Gradually, the need to impress ladies went to the back of my mind, and now, I just want to get bigger and stronger. It's also a massive stress reliever from school. Wow, can't believe it's been 8 years already

Travis
04-30-07, 12:16 am
I was about 5, used to watch my dad lift in the garage. I grabbed a 2x4 and started bench pressing it and squatting it the rest is history.

Northman
04-30-07, 12:36 am
I started 4 years ago, and thought I was serious, I now know that I was not. I still come to the realization every three months or so that I am much more knowledgable than I was in the last quarter. I started because of injury and I wanted to stay active with a broken leg. It has changed my life in more ways that I can describe. Suffice it to say that the iron has defined who I am and continues to refine me. It is what I think about from when I wake up to when I go to bed. Hell, I even dream about it at times.

Hines22
04-30-07, 3:18 am
When I first saw my high schools weight room, I laughed my ass off. a couple dumbells, a bench and mirror, it was shit. I think people went in there just to look at themselves iin the mirror. But i was sick of getting my ass kicked on the football field. I started lifting in that weight room my sophomore year high school but lifting at my school is like trying help a blind man see, it just doesnt happen. But thats what made me different from everybody and I loved every minute of it. The drive to be different...the drive make myself better

born0withno0soul
05-01-07, 4:11 am
i started lifting because i realized i was a fat peice of shit and so was my whole family so i decided to change. been lifting seriously for a year now. i lost the weight too quickly by starving myself and taking weight loss supps so i was skinny with no muscle at all. have come a long way.

k1usa
05-01-07, 4:51 am
started BB back in the late 70's for 6 years....got married....kids...job relocation....more kids....then...realized at the ripe young age of 53 that it was time to get back into the game.after a 23 year lay off..and I did just that last July 06. Back stronger...and wiser than when I was young...and love this new life...the new feeling of expanding my range of power....my level of understanding my limits....and knowing so much more about this game now than I did over twenty years ago....Now I see gains...see a reshaping of my life..not just my shell....

loiacanoa
05-01-07, 7:54 am
Started lifting in May 0f 2006. Been working out seriously for one year now Want to get bigger, stronger, healthier.

Guardian
05-01-07, 10:26 am
I've been skinny for most of my life. At high school i saw people look down a bit on me because i looked like a weak man.
After college i put in some kg's but i still look like a thin person, because i have small frame/bones.

My friend asked me to workout with him, it was October 2005.
Soon i realize that bodybuilding isn't easy and it takes a lot of time and dedication to build a decent stature. It's simple but never easy; so not anybody can do it. That makes me decided to do it and never look back. I got bit by the iron bug, as people says.

I educated myself through the internet. Some months later i found animalpak.com. My life haven't been the same since.

MilMurph
05-01-07, 3:38 pm
I was always the skinny kid in highschool. Only had muscle mass in my legs from playing soccer for 12+ years. Only lifted during gym class, and I loved it but didn't do it outside of class. Joined the Army 2 years ago, and since I got out of basic i've been hitting the gym. Then it was just casual, but in the past 3 months i've been hitting the gym hard. Put on 20lbs of solid muslce in the past 4 months, and I love it.

leiner350
10-04-07, 12:58 am
This is my first post on this forum. i have just joind the forum. i am not new to this site. for the past two years this site has guided my in my journey. im not going to sit here and spit out my stats. whats the point. im not trying to impress you. i could give two shits about what you think of me. im posting this out of respect. i just dont go into somones house with out asking first.

most people think that lifting and bodybuilding is a sport. they are wrong. a sport is running down a field with a ball. lifting is something entirely different. its not a sport....its a way of life. how many other people know what they are capable of. how many people have been to their limit and then push them self beyond it. how many people live in a constant state of hunger and never give in. what i have learned that this "way of life" boils down to one thing in the end. Its just you and the iron. nothing else matters.
In lifting everyone does the same thing... lifts weights. But everyone has a different journey to tell. this is the road less travled. poeple will never understand why we do it. all that matter is you know you have to.

I have been lifting for 5 years. and let me tell you its been a rough 5 years. but the pain, suffering and hunger has made me into the man i am today. I wouldn't change a thing.I ask you to post a part of your journey. to help teach. to help guide others on their journey. tell why you lift. why you go threw the pain. behind every journey there is a clue to why we do what we do. whats your story

HKR-Chief
10-16-07, 9:58 am
Let's see, years ago in high school I did some lifting while I was a wrestler(1987-1990), but it didn't really do much for me, as I was an ectomorph and sucking weight to the next lower weight class. It probably hurt me more than it helped.

Then after I joined the Navy, I went on my first cruise just after meeting who is now my wife. While on cruise I lifted for 6 months (1994) but didn't know anything about nutrition. I went from 155 to 172 in those 6 months. Little muscle, and a little fat.

Since then I've gotten older and my weight went back down to even out around 160. Of course, depending on the season and my activity level, it fluctuates anywhere from 155 - 165.

Now I'm in Iraq playing soldier, instead of sailor, so I thought I'd play the part to it's fullest and finally get the look I've always wanted. Wide shoulders, a thick wide back, massive arms... I guess I don't need to describe it here as you all know. So, that's how I got started. That was just over 2 months ago that I started and I'm so glad I did. I'm already feeling more confident. Plus, I'm looking forward to next week. I get to go home for a visit and my wife is going to see me at 180 pounds. I haven't told her that I've been gaining weight. I just tell her that I'm working out to stay in shape and that I need to order supplements because every other time she's ever seen me get heavy into PT (Physical Training), my weight drops and that wouldn't be healthy here in this environment. I'm sure she'll be surprised.

My big concern is after next July when I return home for good, trying to fit working out into my normal daily routine is going to really take some work. I'm hoping that when my wife sees my progress at gaining weight, she'll be just as enthusiastic about getting to the gym, as she could stand to loose a few. She always wants to, I just don't think she has the willpower yet to really make it happen. So my reasons for lifting are 1: for me and 2: for my wife.

Roach
10-16-07, 10:34 am
1st of all i don't wanna wake up 30 or 40 with a huge belly and bad health and realise i haven't been into sports since highschool or summtin...Sports should always be part of our lives no matter the age.
2nd i wanna be a real man,not some skinny prick.I always envision the man i wanna be as a big,rough beast with a mild soul.
3rd of all i need the discipline and the fact it makes me a better,stronger man.
4th of all i don't wanna be the standard powerless sheep,i wanna be different,and even tho 4 every style there's an opposition i'm glad i'm among the few.

Jimmy
10-18-07, 2:03 pm
when i was a little kid, like 7-8 i saw my dads old DB's in the basement, and i said to myself, i have to lift those.. i would come home from school and do bicep curls while watching the simpsons, then id go run and do pushups stuff. i had no idea what i was doing. also, i saw the cover of mucsle mags and stuff, and i could help think those guys looked awesome, and i wanted to emulate them. but around 8th grade i picked up
"THE ENCYLOPEDIA" and a whole bunch of other books, started workin out in my basement. i remember gettin stuck under 115 on the bench a couple times.lol but then when i was about to go to highshcool, i got my first gym membership. ive been lifting, reading, eating, studying, and improving at bodybuilding since then, but i still got a lot to learn. and a lot of mass to put on!!!!

trubluegt
10-22-07, 2:54 pm
Started lifting...regularily...3 years ago. It was the summer after my sophmore year of college. I had ballooned all the way up to 295, pure fat and just got sick of it. I got up every day at 4:30 and was at the gym by 5:00 a.m. before going to work at 6:30. By the end of the summer I was hooked on lifting, and was down to about 250. I'm right at about 230 now and just over 6'2. I can't even imagine going back to not lifting and love to see continued gains in strength. Nothing gives me a feeling of accomplishment like hitting a new personal best.

ShaqFu
10-22-07, 3:14 pm
Started lifting...regularily...3 years ago. It was the summer after my sophmore year of college. I had ballooned all the way up to 295, pure fat and just got sick of it. I got up every day at 4:30 and was at the gym by 5:00 a.m. before going to work at 6:30. By the end of the summer I was hooked on lifting, and was down to about 250. I'm right at about 230 now and just over 6'2. I can't even imagine going back to not lifting and love to see continued gains in strength. Nothing gives me a feeling of accomplishment like hitting a new personal best.

That's what it's all about brotha; self improvement. The world and its herd can dish you alotta shit, but what it boils down to is what is significant and lasting in your life and what is not. Self improvement, and thus the entire animal lifestyle, is a tribute to what is lasting. Why did I start lifting? I started lifting because not only are the physical gains amazing and satisfying, but deep down you know that your progress and change is dependent for the most part on yourself. You have only yourself to be proud of. Bodybuilding has become the most life-affirming activity I can do with myself and I will do it as long as I can. Peace.
ShaqFu

Vendetta
02-26-08, 3:24 am
So there I am sittin....eating my chicken and rice, and thinking about how much I hate chicken, and yet I seem to get it down. So then I start thinking about my next show, and how I fuck'n hate dieting, but love being on stage, shining under the lights, proudly displaying the thing I have worked so hard for. And I think to myself......why do I do this? Why do I eat eight times a day? Why do I punish my body day in and day out? Why do I always get the funny looks from people? Why do I have to eat this damn chicken? Why do I always answer the stupid questions like...is bodybuilding a sport? Why are you eating chicken again? Why dont you ever go out and party? Why do you look like your tranced when you lift those weights? So I did some searching in my head, in my soul....trying to mentally prepare myself for the upcoming 18 week diet....and how its such a rollercoaster ride mentally. Well I tell you what fella's... I found my reason.......I found why I live this life, and chose to be different from everyone else, to look different, to act different. I found what drives me. So my question is this...........why do YOU do it? what drives you? People find insperation in others!

sanga
02-26-08, 3:34 am
The same as you mate, although I don`t compete.

To be diferent, for myself, my time, my look, my feelings, my way.

The smell of the gym, the feelings I get when training, when I walk in the gym, the people, the look, the everything really,lol.

Good thread, one of which will have a lot of replies I`m sure.

Carpe Diem P.T
02-26-08, 5:14 am
read wraths journey? i think he speaks on behalf of most of us as to why we do it :)

Mr.Totality
02-26-08, 6:33 am
I think for most of us, the reasons are similar. However I think a few small details also play a role. In addition to all the other reasons we do it, I also do it to honor my father. He and I worked on this together, and after he passed 11 years ago, I decided to keep working on it as a way to honor him and his hard work as well.

theharjmann
02-26-08, 6:48 am
We don't need to do it at all. But since i started when i was 15 to now and for evermore, i will never stop. It is the best feeling ever. Everything. You do it to have a purpose. I hate sleeping till 1pm. I hate sitting around not doing anything. With this game, everything i do it for the game; eating, sitting, sleeping, training....everything

It's what i live for. It's what i will die for. It's what i will die doing.


Peace

Mr. Aestheticz
07-28-08, 11:23 am
I have been on the FORVM now going on a month, I have already been to my first ABC Meeting, and I have meet in person and on here some very knowledgeable ANIMAL's.

Now I title this 'Real Talk" because where I am from and grew up that's all we know, keep it REAL, keep it 100, and no bull$#!t. If you can't keep it true and real you wont survive. So for your honor/sake KEEP IT REAL!

Anyways I am going to ask a REAL and TRUE question; "Why do you bodybuild, why do you power lift, why are you a iron warrior"?

And before you come with answers or pm's saying "Because I wanna be a ANIMAL", "I want to be the biggest motherf@#$er on mother earth", or just some typical @$$ answer. Be TRUE and be REAL.

Were you picked on as a kid and had low self esteem and needed a confidence booster?

Was your father a powerlifter and you were just forced to?

Were you bored one day and needed something to do?

Are you trying to feed your family and this is the only thing you are good at need to make money in these sports because you can't do a 9-5?

Have to make it out of poverty and your only and last shot that you have is to make money off of this life?

GET AT US!

.........EASY!

krazyassmexican
07-28-08, 11:25 am
i think there are plenty of threads about this...

Iron4Life
07-28-08, 11:28 am
second that...i don't think theres a need for another one of these...just expand on the thread that already exists

Mr. Aestheticz
07-28-08, 11:32 am
second that...i don't think theres a need for another one of these...just expand on the thread that already exists

Hence the fact that I have been on here for a month and I personally haven't seen or read any of these FORVM's you say there are pelanty of, and personally just want to check out and read some stories and insight on some of the members so post if you would like if not you can ignore.

Fury317
07-28-08, 11:36 am
Fellas, going along with the thread title, Im going to keep it real. Neither of you are Watchmen or Henchmen, so just answer the question or move along, no need to tell Mr. A that this thread has no point. There are people that will move it if it needs to be moved. No disrespect, just saying what I feel needs to be said.

Back on topic, I got into the iron game after playing football for 8 years. All through high school I trained my balls off to be bigger faster stronger, hoping for a football scholarship. Well I got about 8 D2 school offers, adn even spoke with some coahces on the phone. But after speaking with my parents and my high school coach, it hit me like a ton of bricks- my passion had almost "transferred" from the grid iron to the REAL IRON. Now, at 22, adn a senior at Ohio State, Im glad I did not accept any offer to play football. I love training balls to the wall, and, yes, Ill say it, I love dieting like a bodybuilder. I guess I still got a little football in me though because this past week three girls asked me for my autograph becuase they were convinced I played for the Buckeyes haha. I proudly said, no I dont play football, IM A BODYBUILDER!

stro6531
07-28-08, 11:43 am
well i always lifted throu high school for football and baseball...loved it...but strictly did it for an edge in the current sport i was playing.Graduated high school and joined the marine corp.. and i was missing something in my life...the competitive side of me that was lost when i stopped playing sports...and i mean theres intramural sports in the marine corp like softball and flag football and shit like that...and lets be honest its a joke... so i turned to bodybuilding/competing to give me something to do... and bodybuilding filled that competitive side of me that was lost....and honestly i love to eat wayyyy to much and my metabolism isnt the best so if i wanna stay in shape any other shape than round... i had to pick up some weights and put those calories to use

Iron4Life
07-28-08, 11:50 am
if you read my thread correctly you will see that I never said his thread had no point or meaning, i simply said there are many threads like this and why start a new one..i made a suggestion to him by saying "why dont you just expand on an old thread"....i could give two shits if im a hencemen or watchman, i check up on this everyday, just like everyone else and it gets old seeing the same damn post pop up after similar threads have been started months ago.

Mr. Aestheticz
07-28-08, 11:56 am
Some people are born to be accountants, scientists, NFL superstars, rappers, boxers, presidents, and other things.

ME: I was born to be involved with fitness, I honestly feel my maker put me on this earth to be a fitness professional.

Same as a lot of others, I was an athlete who played football for 15 years. Made football history in high-school, achieved all conference honors in college, made it to the final round of try outs for the Chicago Rush (professional arena football team) before being cut, and finished it off with semi-pro ball for 2 years.

I wasn't progressing with football and was done so i parted ways, got sick with tonsillitis for a month, and needed something to start from scratch, so when I was healthy again in January 2008 I made my life decision and commitment to the sport of bodybuilding. I read, researched, and experimented day in and day out until i truly understood the sport and what i was getting into.

Now I am 7 weeks away from my first show and looking to start the new chapter in my life and to make this my life! I recently got certified for professional registered/certified personal training and plan on taking these new gifts and goals with me to my new adventure and move to NC and leave this s#!t whole of a city I live in behind me!

Iron4Life
07-28-08, 11:59 am
if this threads here, than why not put in my two cents,

started training, squats, deads, shrugs, power cleans when i was 13, under the direction of my father, former competitive powerlifter...kept on lifting, which helped with little league football, and then on to highschool where lifting young defiantly put me at an advantage in football and track

Lifted all through out college and now for the two years ive been out....been training religiously for about 12 years total....its amazing what you still pick up from other older more experienced lifters...always learning and always expanding my training and nutritional knowledge

Mr. Aestheticz
07-28-08, 12:02 pm
if you read my thread correctly you will see that I never said his thread had no point or meaning, i simply said there are many threads like this and why start a new one..i made a suggestion to him by saying "why dont you just expand on an old thread"....i could give two shits if im a hencemen or watchman, i check up on this everyday, just like everyone else and it gets old seeing the same damn post pop up after similar threads have been started months ago.

FURY I appreciate the good look out, props, and sharing your story!

Iron I get and respect what you are saying and going, that is why I said you can post or ignore!

So let's chill with the kiddy $#!t and the back and forth comments, this is my post and would appreciate RESPECT and keep it REAL (in a positive manner), so let's chill if you wanna argue do it on another post.

Thanks!

Mr. Aestheticz
07-28-08, 12:03 pm
if this threads here, than why not put in my two cents,

started training, squats, deads, shrugs, power cleans when i was 13, under the direction of my father, former competitive powerlifter...kept on lifting, which helped with little league football, and then on to highschool where lifting young defiantly put me at an advantage in football and track

Lifted all through out college and now for the two years ive been out....been training religiously for about 12 years total....its amazing what you still pick up from other older more experienced lifters...always learning and always expanding my training and nutritional knowledge

Good looks for sharing!

I appreciate it!

Iron4Life
07-28-08, 12:04 pm
i hear ya man, thats why i choose to share a limited view of my iron story...good luck with the show and future endevors

bdb1513
07-28-08, 12:05 pm
I was always one of the smallest kids in my grade growing up, and even though i played hockey, i never got into the lifting...after hs i joined the volunteer fire dept and started working out a lil just to get stronger. the more i got into it, the more i started getting interested in bodybuilding...it's pretty much all i do now as i am training to get a career firefigher job. i love the iron and what it's done for me since i got into this.

Mr. Aestheticz
07-28-08, 12:07 pm
i hear ya man, thats why i choose to share a limited view of my iron story...good luck with the show and future endevors

I appreciate it bro, if you ever get curious you can always check out my journey, but continue to do you and push.

Good luck with all you do!

Mr. Aestheticz
07-28-08, 12:09 pm
I was always one of the smallest kids in my grade growing up, and even though i played hockey, i never got into the lifting...after hs i joined the volunteer fire dept and started working out a lil just to get stronger. the more i got into it, the more i started getting interested in bodybuilding...it's pretty much all i do now as i am training to get a career firefigher job. i love the iron and what it's done for me since i got into this.

You have a lot of balls dude, I could never be a fire fighter, just the risk and danger (which I know you know). My brother is a cop and to be either one of those profession requires a special person.

Good luck with it and be safe, you are shooting for something a lot of use wouldn't even dare to do!

IronWilson
07-28-08, 12:14 pm
Because it's fun

DEADn
07-28-08, 12:22 pm
I chose to get into weightlifting because I was skinny. In school I was 6'1" 148lbs. I was on and off with it. I would plateau and stop.

Well, one day I looked at my bicep and noticed I could not see it when I flexed and I found my strength was the same... A JOKE. So I decided to start back to weightlifting. I started learning more about it and about protein. During the last 9 years or so I have gradually gotten my consistency up and up.

I saw a video of myself when I was senior in high school and I look anorexic!!

I weigh around 210 right now with a 16" bicep. Left side. My right side is 1/4" less or so. When I started weightlifting it was around 12 1/2".

Cellerator65
07-28-08, 2:47 pm
at first, i wanted to get big and get *better with the ladies*...

now, i do it as my vice... keeps my aggression in check, keeps me happy, and always reminds me im alive

GettinBigInFl
07-28-08, 3:24 pm
Started liftin when I was 16 for football. Then I continued lifting to keep from partying and being unhealthy. Then I became obssed as some people say. I call it dedicated.

KirkLazarus
07-28-08, 10:29 pm
Started at 14, for Freshman football in high school, I'm 28 now. Lifting on and off since graduation, but have finally decided to finally get serious about my health, my body. I'll be damned if I'm like this when I turn 30.

natty texan
07-28-08, 10:37 pm
basically started as soon as i could wakl and imitate my dad. he was a body builder mostly to look for intimidating as a cop and i tried to do what he was doing so he bought some of those wooden round closet rack things and cut them down so i could curl them and squat them and bench press them just like him. haven't stopped since and only just took an 8 month break cuz i couldn't walk any where

jambarino
07-28-08, 10:41 pm
started in may of 2006.weighed around 240 and 30 % body fat.didnt know a damn thing about working out.just wanted to be in better shape.wasnt dedicated.met up with a former personal trainer and seargent in the military summer of 07.we became friends and he took me under his wing.started again in oct of 07 and i am now obssesed.go atleast 4 times a week and am now 228 and around 18 % body fat.bench press went from 205 to 295 currently.still learning as i go but absolutley love every minute of it.had one minor seback and missed a month but other than that i am determined to stay commited.

MC-Hitman
07-29-08, 12:02 pm
I used to carry alot of extra weight, from early youth on
Around 15, I reached 250 lbs @ 6' and essentially fat, it clicked to me
I could not bear such a lifestyle of wrong foods and being lazy
I went from a heavy 250 to a very thin 160lb after low-calorie dieting and low rest weight lfiting in a span of a year
I resolved my diet/supplements and weight lifting plans/techniques over the years to pursue a stronger body

Now, I'm near 22 and around 200lbs and around 13% BFI (According to Caliper reading/chart)
I am now training for competitive swimming, so I'm trying to maintain strength but boost endurance and reduce some fat
Now I cannot bear a day without weight lifting/cardio/something active
I feel sick to my stomach if I miss out on anything - even a small bike trek
Pain from lifting will heal quickly, but when you miss that pain from not lifting - the regret lingers

- It curbs any anger (steel will clang for me)
- Promotes distraction from the world to ease the mind
- Gets my body moving and feel calmed after a shower
- It doesn't hurt either that girls be lookin' at me more so than before
Especially those with some lanky a-hole guy (I think she's regretting, heheh...)

Also some engineering jobs are field-work based
(request you are in good health and can lift 35lb weight)
I think I would qualify for that no problem, heheh

bleed_alone
07-29-08, 12:49 pm
how about this one.. when i was sixteen, my stepmom beat me armwrestling. and being the extremist that i am, why not pick up bodybuilding. at the time i didn't know it was an addiction.

shizz702
07-29-08, 6:27 pm
I was always a tall, lanky, skinny ectomorph, and one day decided to do something about it. Was off and on for a few years, saw minimal results doing nothing but benches and curls, got serious about a year ago. So I would say I've been productively training for about a year now and definitley don't plan on stopping.

thedrivenone
07-29-08, 6:33 pm
Not to brag, but I've always had a very good looking face, and a personality that could really go well but I lacked confidence because of my body.

I got very fat, but looked just like the simple skinny fat, and I was at my highest 202lbs at 38% Body fat. 0 muscle, all fat. Had no clue what to do. Last summer, i started eating very little and got down to 166 at about 20% body fat, then dieted properly to about 150lbs at about 13% body fat. Realized if I go any more, i'll be skin and bones.

Last year this time is when i started to starve myself, and my body has taken a complete 180. I lack the most anabolic ingredient in this game-- testosterone- which I have a serious deficiency in. But I'm hoping supplementing right, training hard, eating right and it'll only be a few years until I'm at my dream body. I'm just 17 years old, too.

Right now, I'm about 180lbs at about 17% body fat. Bulking for another 10-12 days, then I'm starting a cut.

BeachBum
07-31-08, 1:27 pm
Started weight training 4 months ago. At age 58, I was headed for disaster. About 20 lbs overweight and body fat around 30%, I looked and felt terrible. Hiding my body was fine in the winter.......but, when the spring arrived I looked like a fat blob.

Never too late.......I have lost 2" off my waist and gained 1-1/2" on my arms....Lost 15 lbs of FAT.......gained 8 lbs of muscle!!

Thanks to my bro animals.........I am headed in the right direction.....oh, and I love the looks and comments I am getting. GOAL?? To be an ANIMAL before my 60th birthday!!

No Turning Back........Standing At the Gates Of Hell!!!!........FEARLESS!!

BeachBum

Davey63
05-19-09, 4:22 pm
Why did you start training?I started because I was very insecure with my body and I used to fight alot when I was younger (being a fool)and all my friends underestimated me because I was so skinny I could fight but when there was trouble I was never rang so I started training to get bigger stupid reason to start I know but I'm glad I did!

mritter3
05-19-09, 4:30 pm
i started off doing more cardiovascular training then anything else, that is becuase my dad at 47 had a heart attack, i knew heart disease ran in our family my grandpa heart several heartattacks and a few triple and quadruple bypass surgeries, but it never really hit home until my dad, the man whom i thought was invincible had one, oh yeah it hit me, hit me hard. i decided my genetics were not going to stand in my way, so i began working out, doing cardio and then gradually added the weights. I was immediatley addicted.....to the weights that is. 5 years ago i weighed about 135lbs soaking wet, after working my ass off for the past couple years i am up to 206 lbs and wanting more, everytime i meet a goal, i push towards another one. So that right there is how i started into this game, and it forever changed my life.

2003Slobra
05-19-09, 6:12 pm
I've wanted to be a Fire Fighter ever since High School. I have always been in good shape, just never big. I played Football, and I was fast. I was the one who would eat everything in front of them, but never see anything out of it. As my dream started to become a reality signing up for Academy, I knew I needed to put on weight. Being in full gear, with tools and an airpack, I knew I needed every bit of strength and size I could get. I started Academy around 150-153 LBS and currently weigh around 175 LBS. Once I began that journey, something I looked at as work, has turned into a hobby, now something I can't function without.

BigChrisF
05-20-09, 1:16 am
I always wanted to be stronger, and it's never stopped.

FAL*FREAK*
05-20-09, 6:07 am
I Want My Son To Have An Image In His Head About A Man. A Man Whose Shadow PutS The Boogey Man To Shame. I Never Had A Father I Mean I Had A Dad But I Never Really Knew Him. I Want My Son To Look At Me As This Huge Slab Of Indestructible Meat. I Want The Lil Monkey To Be ABLE To Use My Body As A Jungle Gym And Climb Up My Legs And Swing From My Arms. Yea I Want Him To Have What I Never Did. Now I Say Want But Fuck Tht Hes Going To Have All These Things. When Im In The Gym Something Takes A Part Of Me. I Want More And Will Never Be Satisfied!!!

Extreme
05-20-09, 10:50 am
Back in my high school days I saw a lot of my friends getting bigger and stronger as I was getting fatter and more obese. I decided to start lifting, but the only way I was able to do that was to be involved in one of the many high school sports teams b/c if you weren't on a team you weren't permitted to use the weight room found in the high school anex. So, I decided to join the track and field team, despite the football coaches wanting me to join the football team, and started throwing shot and discus. After a few weeks of lifting I fell in love with it and always wanted more. Since then I've come and gone from numerous gyms, and when I'm away from one for any given period of time I always find myself being drawn back. The decision to start lifting was life altering, but in a good and positive way. I'm now getting back into it again, and hope to be able to make it a regular thing for a long time to come.

Aggression
05-20-09, 12:00 pm
I 'started' back when I was about 14. My dad bought me a little weight set for Christmas. It was a school-day, and I remember putting those little dumbbells together to rep out a few curls before school. I didn't ask for them, nor did I have a desire to get huge at that point, but I started doing some curls.

I fucked around for a few months with it and got bored. Obviously I wasn't training right. I had zero knowledge and just did curls and anything else that 'felt' normal. When I was 16, me and my best friend joined a summer program at a gym. It was something along the lines of ''6-week Student program''. We went in 1-2 times per week and worked out with a trainer. After a few weeks, one of our friends said to me, ''Adam, you're looking jacked!''. Of course, I wasn't jacked, but she noticed results. That's pretty much when it hit me. I started benching in my living room on a cheap bench press that my dad had bought me. That same year, I started training in my high school gym after school with some friends.

I noticed I had been 'bitten by the bug' during my senior year playing varsity basketball. I was tired of lifting for a few months and then shrinking back down come basketball season, which went from November to about March. I started training through the season. I was in my HS weight room working out and my bball coach walked past. Seeing me in there, he told me to ''Stop lifting, you're going to screw up your shot''. I ignored him and kept lifting. I was hitting triceps. Later that day, during our pre-game warm up routine, I couldn't shoot the ball more than 5ft. I couldn't hit the rim from the free-throw line. I couldn't even do a lay-up; my triceps were whooped. I didn't care. I didn't take a shot until the second half, but I loved it. That is when I knew weight-lifting would always be a part of me.

WeeMan
05-20-09, 12:17 pm
i started training to be a stronger climber, but the guy i was training with showed me books and photos of old bodybuilders and i decided i wanted to do a different sport.

FuruaN
05-20-09, 12:34 pm
I`m 17 and have been training for 1 year now, but only the last half year i have began to eat alot more and understanding what bodybuilding is all about. I love the lifestyle! :)

Creature
05-20-09, 8:30 pm
year and a half ago to lose fat (and so i could actually get some pussy)
cut off a fuckload of fat
63 p's to be exact
now my life revolves around it which is dope except for the fact that im always thinkin about lfitin which makes school and shit hard but its all goods

t_mh
05-23-09, 1:24 am
I took a weight training class my freshman year of high school and loved it. Then I studied abroad in England my junior year and on weeknights we were only allowed to stay in the dorms or go to the shitty gym they had. I started lifting every night and, despite an awful diet, got much stronger. I remember loving the pump and getting addicted. In the last year I've started on supplements and learned to lift with a decent diet and better training and am addicted. On days that I don't lift I get antsy...

JasonG
05-23-09, 2:04 am
I started in 7th grade so around 13. I slimmed up and people started commenting how big I was getting by the 9th grade and got really serious hoping to compete. Somewhere I lost my way around 17. I got involved with the wrong crowd and partying way too hard became my new obsession. Don't even want to get into that dark black past....Joined the AF at 23 and would lift a little bit on and off never able to stick with it. Finally about 10 months ago I started working out again because I hated what I saw in the mirror, really out of shape. Reflecting back I knew lifting was when I was happiest in my life and I decided not to allow myself to give excuses like not having the time anymore. The fire resparked into an inferno especially when I was in the desert. The angst from the bullshit over there brought it all back. I vowed to keep it going when I got back to the states and not get back into the hanging out and drinking beer laziness crap.

Beach91
05-27-09, 9:19 pm
I started on my 13th birthday, i loved comics and wanted to be a superhero and had been asking for a weight set for years. Every year after 13 for every christmas and birthday, thats what my parents got me, kinda funny I have over 700 lbs of free weights in my parents basement. That basement is my hardcore heaven, my metroflex. dusty, damp, dark, a little stereo and all these free weights. I just love heading home, not only to see the parents, but to hit that little gym. Im turnin 29 now, and have logs of my workouts, diet plans etc, since that first birthday.

I just love the iron, the moment i picked up a weight it felt so natural, as if it were an extension to my body, a missing piece that completes me.

Joseph V
05-01-10, 6:10 pm
for me,...looking at pictures when i was little ,..say around 10 years old of mike mentzer, mike matazaro ,mike katz, lou fehrigno, made me look at awe with there huge muscles,..and i told my dad and mom that one day im gonna get like that lol..hopefully


so for all you guys out there,..what inspired you to train and to be a bodybuilder ,or a powerlifter, strongman..etcc


p.s: my middle initials were michael so when i saw bodybuilders with mike as there first name i instantly studued there physques with huge eyes

MR.TeachFreak
05-01-10, 6:14 pm
First train? Then that would be the typical answer of football in high school. It was to get bigger, faster, and stronger for the sport that I loved to play.

Now when I got into college and got really back into training after a semester of nothing but fat gain (got tired of constant lifting) that would go into the meaning of my screen name. I got back into it to be one of the gym freaks. The ones that get stared at from their training and that people ask for advise and/or how they got so big.

Nix0r
05-01-10, 6:19 pm
I tore my ACL while playing basketball in high school. After the surgery and rehab, I decided to do nothing, and got nice and bloated. Once I got to college, I did three things: drink, eat, and play World of Warcraft. Not really a good combination. The summer going into my Junior year, I decided it was time for a drastic change. I went from 265 to about 215, and have been bitten by the Iron Bug ever since.

No plans on stopping.

msktyshha
05-01-10, 6:32 pm
http://extrastrong.ru/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/lee-priest-wallpapper.jpg

the picture above is what inspired me, and I started going to the gym, until I got a six pack and somewhat muscular frame, so after I got some results I decided to ease down on the working out thing, but the week I stopped, I got very sick and I missed going to the gym, it was that time when I realized I was in love, in love with weights.

Mindaugas
05-01-10, 6:57 pm
my older brother always worked out and i always looked up to him ... and when i was 17 and 150 pounds he took me to the gym... and something bit me

prowrestler
05-01-10, 9:23 pm
i couldnt do a pushup at like 110 pounds. my friend started to do pushups and situps and he got "bigger" aka 12 inch arm with bicep peak and puberty pec growth.

i remember watching "Fear Factor" and seeing a bunch of jacked guys on that show and im like "i need to stop watching tv and start getting in shape''

Joseph V
05-02-10, 12:17 am
really inspiring stories guys =)..keep em coming!

Gio71
05-02-10, 5:13 am
I saw the cartoons when i was little, all the heros were full of muscles, veins, shoulders like basketballs, or i saw some fighting movies, i always wanted to start bodybuilding since then, my mama didnt let me do it till i was 16 at least. And I have to say .. I LOVE THIS SPORT AND EVERYTHING THAT GOES WITH IT.

fawaz
05-08-10, 1:19 pm
one day i realized i was week then i decided to get stronger.
i hit the gym really hard and dint know much about bodybuilding.i then started to wach allot of ronnie coleman and branch warren videos and as soon as i saw them i said to myself thats just how i want to train and become like.it just did it for me there.also a great bodybuilder called andreas munzer who died on march 13 1996.when i saw his videos and the way he lived his great life before he died really inspired me.
without pro bodybuilders there wont be much of inspiration for those who want to get super big.
remember dicipline,determination,perseverance,and be smart.
i believe that the love of bodybuilding is in the blood and will stay forever because those who leave it and give up fade of the map forever.
i am now pretty big at 16 and am proud of my accomplishments.

zubda345
05-09-10, 9:45 am
There are somethings in life that can't b explained, Like my patriotism, Spiritualism, some other things, For me Body building is one. I can't explain it.

But I when saw these Huge men standing on stage, I was totally psyched for them, and wanted to be one of them once in my life!!!

Ironfreakshow247
05-09-10, 1:59 pm
I had a girl who broke my heart i thought it was the end of the world. I became extremely depressed drank every night, ate like shit almost never slept. It almost cost me my job, family and friends. I was headed down a very dark path, then something just snapped I looked at the mirror and hated who I had become. The next day i got a gym membership because i wanted "the look" chest, biceps, abs but i ended up wanting more I was bitten by the iron bug like many before me and I must say I wouldn't have it any other way.

derekppal
05-09-10, 8:09 pm
Junior year in high school I started lifting seriously and it started purely to build strength. I did lots of powerlifting and was more concerned with my strength than my build. After getting married and having 3 kids I stopped going to the gym for many years and lost my strength and all the size that went along with it, except for the gut that developed. I am back at it looking more to bring back a build I can be proud of because I turn 40 this year, and my goal is purely to look better than ever at age 40. 2 months to go and I am on a good track. My 13 year old son and I also have a bet on who will have better abs when I turn 40, and I don't want to lose because I will never live it down.

cesmeister
05-10-10, 12:09 am
I guess my post isn't about what inspired me to first start working out but i've been going alot harder at the gym after watching pretty much every Evan Centopani video on youtube. Hes definitely an inspiration to be big and hes ridiculously down to earth in every aspect of training.

theharjmann
05-10-10, 8:24 am
started lifting to get bigger, faster and stronger for rugby.

focussed mainly on olympic lifts.

i was shit. didnt have a clue about training or diet.

then stopped for 6 months when is started uni and began to drink lots.

then joined a gym. got inspired from a lot of guys training there.

did a LOT of reasearch. got better.

still doing a LOT of research, and hopefully getting better!

bodybuilding is now my favourite sport.

Kain81
05-10-10, 2:43 pm
4 years ago my ex-girlfriend left me the day OF my big brothers wedding.

I knew i was going to have a lot of new time on my hands, and knowing my past knew most of it would be spent at the bar drinking heavily. So i got a Golds membership instead. and tried to get there as much as i could. Tried to think about bettering myself over destroying myself.

Granted, i still had some downs and some nights closing down 4th street. But that is all behind me , and i've more than caught the gym bug. It's my life. It's my sanctuary. It's what keeps me sane and the boiler from blowing.

My dad co-owned a gym growing up and continues to w/o today. my older brother is a power lifter... but i never really thought it was in the cards for me... fuck the cards, it was in my blood.

Cellardweller
05-10-10, 5:35 pm
My mother always said reading comic books would rot my brain, and I guess she was right. Thor and the Hulk really made an impression on me. I first learned basic lifting for high school football and took off on my own in college.

Deathride
05-10-10, 6:27 pm
Initially 'lifted' a few weights in order to exercise and not put on fat so I could continue to drink ale! Not interested in particular in mass or how much weight as moving....didn't squat. Gay.

Then about a year and a half ago, got beaten up by two scrotes randomly in the street. Was just walking home from a night out and got jumped. Joyous. Decided it wouldn't happen again.

This coincided with my brother starting to Olympic lift.....so about a year ago, I bought more weight, dusted off my existing weights and read this website for the first time! Here we are now as Waynes World would say....a little bigger, a little wiser, a lot stronger...and Garth finally grew pubes.

jeff00z28
05-10-10, 8:23 pm
cuzz stone cold said so. (a pro wrestler)

NJC_Manhattan
05-10-10, 8:32 pm
I remember being 250 pounds after HS football and going to college. Switched working out and sports with beer and cigarettes. It hit me the day I tried running 2 miles and got sick. Then I started thinking, do I want my future child to see me like this? Will I live past 40? Then even deeper, where the fuck has my self respect gone.

Dropped down to 190.

Have been addicted ever since. Even with a 80-100hr work week (that's no bullshit, come look at investment bankers in New York... Shit gets weird. I worked with a woman that once did a 140hr work week for over 8 months) there is no excuse. Get in your gym time, get in your diet, see your results.

Beyond that is the personal satisfaction of being in control and reaching your goals.

HDV
05-11-10, 4:12 am
I was always bullied,picked on,pushed around because I have always been a small person and because of my family heritage of being short I inherited that trait as well.Got tired of the constant abuse through out my child and teenagehood.Everyone was always bigger than me and stronger so it was difficult to defend myself or stop the constant tyrants.I wanted to better myself and stop people from thinking that they could take advantage of a small boy.

Hence I wanted to better myself,become bigger,stronger and today I love it!!

Bootleg
05-11-10, 11:05 am
i was 17 when i started to take weights seriously,
i was a frail youngster, genectically not gifted all around.
I dont have much to gain from asian genes. But i purchsed my first
muscle and fitness mag, and thought to myself i wanted to and had to have a killer physique. from all the bs i've been though during the school days i needed something
positive to get my mind on. its been 5 years and i made major improvements, from 130lbs to 200lbs now currently at 187lbs. i sit and reflect sometimes to take in the accomplishments ive done so far in the iron game. i have to give animal credit..the support group and the articles makes it more better, and makes me push harder every rep and set.

Kain81
05-11-10, 11:44 am
-- just wanted to jump in again and say this thread was a great idea. it's very motivating to see what brought us all to the same battle. A lot of different stories, but one underlying theme...

.. we decided to better ourselves.

LegendKillerJosh
05-11-10, 11:47 am
I started when I was 14. I don't even know why, I just know after I tried it I was addicted. I mean truely addicted. It's nice that the "side effects" of training are healthy. Cause I have to be honest, even if I found out lifting is bad for you and leads to early death, I still couldn't stop.

Disciple-Jay
06-19-14, 4:38 pm
I'm 37, My PR's in the gym 325 Bench, 455 DL and 405 Squat at a 245 FAT BW. started at 15 years old, so about 1991. A legendary place in Cleveland Ohio called Blacks Health World. John Black I believe is a record holding power lifter and PowerLifting Magazine even made a video there. Anyways, The Animals would have been proud to train in that place. I was a fat, weak, picked on kid my whole life and then I lost a lot of weight and became a thin picked on guy, so I finally learned the formula was JUST BECOME AN ANIMAL! So I just ate, lifted, ate, ate, ate, slept, ate, repeat. Then I became a guy know one picked on and I even got the hood rats ;) So still at it today in a GYM here in Cleveland called Old School Iron. The owner is West Side certified and the name of the gym fits...It is Old School. Check it out if your in town. Even Strongman Competitor Don Pope trains there. So that is my long boring story and my apologies to the one guy who read till the end ;) There is 60 seconds of your life you wont get back.

Wrath
06-24-14, 11:00 am
Because I wanted to be different, and to look like a super hero, a freak. And I still feel the same way to this day some days that's what keeps me going. Knowing nothing can stop me, but me and that shit ain't happening

weightsb4dates
06-26-14, 10:54 am
wanted to look like an animal on the mat when i was a wrestler in high school, quickly transitioned into an obsession with the feeling it gave me when i was pumped, and i would peel my shirt off to weigh in and i could see progress, it was and is the one thing im more passionate about than anything else in my life, consistantly since i was 16.