How Many Years Have U Been Lifting...

[AaronJP1]

& how or why did u get started?

 

[Rodja]

10 years. After years of running XC, I wanted a change. Plus, a decade ago, really skinny dudes didn't get chicks. How times have changed...

 

[AaronJP1]

10 years. After years of running XC, I wanted a change. Plus, a decade ago, really skinny dudes didn't get chicks. How times have changed...

Right lol

 

[3clipseGT]

Coming up on 9 years this month. I was tired of being made fun of in highschool for bein chunky and for bein every girls best guy friend, so i nutted the fck up and got myself into the gym, havnt stopped or let up since.

 

[ManBeast]

Jeebus... 10 years ago in April.... I started to drop serious poundage off of an obeese frame.

ManBeast

 

[fadi]

In 2002 I ran out of gas and had to walk half a mile to get gas. My legs were sore for days and my friends laughed at me. I told them I'm going to join a gym and they thought it was a joke knowing how lazy. I was so I joined not to prove the, right. I hated every minute of it for the first couple of months, but refused to quit because I knew my friends were waiting for me to quit. After that I was hooked.

I trained for 3 years solid, I even trained when I had to travel (fly out Monday 5:00am fly back thursday 11:00pm) and working 16 hours a day for 8 months. During my travel I was hitting the gym at midnight. Then came couple of business trips to India so could not workout for few weeks. When I came back, I just lost the drive to go back and I quit.

I left the gym for 5 years I believe, then decided to join again year and a half ago since a local gym had a $6/month membership. I figured what the hell, it is only $70/year. I also had a training partner at the time so I started lifting again but not as serious as I was. Some injuries sidelined me for 6 months but I'm back gain at it.

I don't know how long I will continue it, probably till I find another hobby.

 

[AaronJP1]

This hobby is almost expensive as my motorcycle hobby.

 

[fadi]

This hobby is almost expensive as my motorcycle hobby.

try owning cats. I spend $400 a month on food for them, plus all the medical bills. One of my cats gets in a fight with every other cat in the neighborhood and always gets his ass kicked. Costs me couple of hundreds every couple of months for treatment. And last year picked up a stray kitten with broken leg that ended up costing me another $1300 in treatment in total.

I need to bring my supplements cost down though, I over spend because I like to try different things. Can't cut my cats budget, has to be the supplements budget.

 

[MidwestBeast]

11 years and just started on my 12th, actually.

The first time I ever lifted outside of screwing around was when I was 13, playing 8th grade football. I'd always been bigger and I was in the top 5 on our football team in benching right out of the gate. The funny thing is, it was the old school bench press machine with the stack (haven't seen one since back then lol) and we had to take the weight of the lightest player (which was actually only around 100 lbs because we had one TINY kid) and rep it out. One kid who ended up going onto play D1 (had acceptances to Iowa and Michigan until some legal troubles) repped it like 25 or 30 times. I can't remember how many I had, but I was thrilled I did so well.

Anyway, when I was 14, my freshman year of high school, I started training year-round for baseball and the longest I've gone without lifting ever since is ~3 months when I used to stop lifting during the season because it would throw my swing/timing off.

I kept lifting through college on my own since I didn't have baseball, anymore, and transitioned into bodybuilding, specifically, near the end of grad school.

 

[Iron Warrior]

Got hooked while training for football in high school.

 

[compudog]

My dad bought me an EZ curl bar for Christmas when I was 14. (31 years ago holy ****) It had plastic/cement weights that totalled 40 lb. I worked out with it a lot, basically until I got bored with it, and that summer started running, which became my main fitness vehicle for the next 3 decades. When I was in my late 20's I worked with a guy who was an ex con, he had really long hair, lots of tattoos, and enormous muscles. He helped me out a lot with weight lifting. I didn't start to get serious about it though for another 20 years, basically when circumstances forced me to back off from my serious alpine climbing habit. I'm not complaining mind you, I love lifting and I'm not in any hurry to die in the mountains anyway.

 

[AaronJP1]

Nice story guys.
You guys all started lifting well before me.
In high school I never touched weights... Up in my mid 20s I dabbled. Now being
27 I pretty much have stuck with it.
I'd say I started when I was 25/26 and was just footing around. With in the last 6 months I've gotten more serious with eating and using proper form & to stay busy with it and learn as much as I can.

Only downside to my story is I wish I had started a lot earlier in my life I would be ao much future along than I am now. I have to admit in my time frame I've made some great gains and a good 25lbs.

try owning cats. I spend $400 a month on food for them, plus all the medical bills. One of my cats gets in a fight with every other cat in the neighborhood and always gets his ass kicked. Costs me couple of hundreds every couple of months for treatment. And last year picked up a stray kitten with broken leg that ended up costing me another $1300 in treatment in total.

I need to bring my supplements cost down though, I over spend because I like to try different things. Can't cut my cats budget, has to be the supplements budget.

How does your cat get out the house and make it back?

My dad bought me an EZ curl bar for Christmas when I was 14. (31 years ago holy ****) It had plastic/cement weights that totalled 40 lb. I worked out with it a lot, basically until I got bored with it, and that summer started running, which became my main fitness vehicle for the next 3 decades. When I was in my late 20's I worked with a guy who was an ex con, he had really long hair, lots of tattoos, and enormous muscles. He helped me out a lot with weight lifting. I didn't start to get serious about it though for another 20 years, basically when circumstances forced me to back off from my serious alpine climbing habit. I'm not complaining mind you, I love lifting and I'm not in any hurry to die in the mountains anyway.

Ex con was teaching u some things huh?
I seen 1 curling a mattress 1 time lol.

11 years and just started on my 12th, actually.

The first time I ever lifted outside of screwing around was when I was 13, playing 8th grade football. I'd always been bigger and I was in the top 5 on our football team in benching right out of the gate. The funny thing is, it was the old school bench press machine with the stack (haven't seen one since back then lol) and we had to take the weight of the lightest player (which was actually only around 100 lbs because we had one TINY kid) and rep it out. One kid who ended up going onto play D1 (had acceptances to Iowa and Michigan until some legal troubles) repped it like 25 or 30 times. I can't remember how many I had, but I was thrilled I did so well.

Anyway, when I was 14, my freshman year of high school, I started training year-round for baseball and the longest I've gone without lifting ever since is ~3 months when I used to stop lifting during the season because it would throw my swing/timing off.

I kept lifting through college on my own since I didn't have baseball, anymore, and transitioned into bodybuilding, specifically, near the end of grad school.

U was reaping out at 14... Guys were lucky the smallest kid wasnt 150lbs back then.
Either way I was watching a Universal/Animal athlete they had a contest where they rep out their own bodyweight and that cat is 200+ he did it 30 something times.

 

[MidwestBeast]

Ex con was teaching u some things huh?
I seen 1 curling a mattress 1 time lol.



U was reaping out at 14... Guys were lucky the smallest kid wasnt 150lbs back then.
Either way I was watching a Universal/Animal athlete they had a contest where they rep out their own bodyweight and that cat is 200+ he did it 30 something times.

lol'd @ the ex-con comment.



Yeah, the kid's nickname (which he actually almost exclusively went by) was Boogie. Haha. Kid was crazy fast, but probably right at 5'. It was somewhere between 90 and 110 lbs (I can't remember the total). In college, I actually had myself at a point where I was focused more on reps and never trained heavy and I weighed about 210 and was repping out 225 for sets of 25 (doing my best combine impression, haha).

 

[AaronJP1]

lol'd @ the ex-con comment.

Yeah, the kid's nickname (which he actually almost exclusively went by) was Boogie. Haha. Kid was crazy fast, but probably right at 5'. It was somewhere between 90 and 110 lbs (I can't remember the total). In college, I actually had myself at a point where I was focused more on reps and never trained heavy and I weighed about 210 and was repping out 225 for sets of 25 (doing my best combine impression, haha).

Brings up a good point. What do u think are the most valid points when it comes to high reps light weight vs. Heavy low reps?

 

[MidwestBeast]

Brings up a good point. What do u think are the most valid points when it comes to high reps light weight vs. Heavy low reps?

My knowledge isn't as great on this as some others', I'm sure. In my young mindset before I ever understood the concepts of nutrition (aside from eat less and eat healthy), I thought high reps = getting cut and heavy weight/low reps = getting big/bulky. So, in my sophomore year of college, I transitioned from a 4x12 style of training to a 25/20/15/25 pyramid style of training lol. The number of reps was ridiculous because I didn't taper the sets/exercises down at all. In fact, back then, I usually lifted 3 days a week, instead, so I'd have multiple muscle groups each time. It worked, though. Granted, you can credit that largely just to the increased heart rate, etc.

What I enjoy now, though, is a Max-OT (low reps, heavy weight - 4-6 rep range) style of training one week and then a high intensity style (60 second rest periods and 4x12) the next week. That has allowed me to keep gaining on heavy lifts while keeping my stamina and HR in good shape.

 

[AaronJP1]

My knowledge isn't as great on this as some others', I'm sure. In my young mindset before I ever understood the concepts of nutrition (aside from eat less and eat healthy), I thought high reps = getting cut and heavy weight/low reps = getting big/bulky. So, in my sophomore year of college, I transitioned from a 4x12 style of training to a 25/20/15/25 pyramid style of training lol. The number of reps was ridiculous because I didn't taper the sets/exercises down at all. In fact, back then, I usually lifted 3 days a week, instead, so I'd have multiple muscle groups each time. It worked, though. Granted, you can credit that largely just to the increased heart rate, etc.

What I enjoy now, though, is a Max-OT (low reps, heavy weight - 4-6 rep range) style of training one week and then a high intensity style (60 second rest periods and 4x12) the next week. That has allowed me to keep gaining on heavy lifts while keeping my stamina and HR in good shape.

I switch up... Usually weekly as well.
Think I will stick to something like 4 sets of 10 reps, or 3 sets 15 reps. That should give me a nice pump to open up for some growth. Doing low and heavy should increase size because u are getting stronger and the muscle is compensating for that (growing).

 

[mattrag]

I been lifting for almost 10 years finally got serious about three years ago.

Currently running a 5x5 strength program. Gonna switch to something else soon.

 

[kaikara]

4 years. Started right after my baby was born. Wanted to stay healthy for her.

 

[FBB_Suzanne]

I began at the end of 1995 as a way to lose weight. I was fat! I have been competing sicne 2002. REally seriously competely sicne 2009.

 

[Torobestia]

I was severely sick with cystic fibrosis-like symptoms from puberty until I graduated high school. I tried my best to stay active those years but one can only do so much when you're bed ridden like 9 months out of the year. After being well for a while I decided I really wanted to be active, and having read that Socrates quote "No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training…what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable," picked up powerlifting. I spent 2 years not lifting consistently, never dieting correctly (I probably ate 140g protein/day MAX), but in the processed learned things here and there that I never took seriously until summer '10. I stopped lifting '09, but in the summer of 2010 decided to become serious with my training and nutrition. Been supremely consistent ever since then, on diet 99% of the time (even if it has been a bad diet LOL [donut diet of Winter 2010]), and am very pleased with where I am.

I do miss powerlifting though, even if I wasn't doing it seriously, and I plan on going back to it in the near future.

 

[compudog]

Nice story guys.
You guys all started lifting well before me.
In high school I never touched weights... Up in my mid 20s I dabbled. Now being
27 I pretty much have stuck with it.
I'd say I started when I was 25/26 and was just footing around. With in the last 6 months I've gotten more serious with eating and using proper form & to stay busy with it and learn as much as I can.

Only downside to my story is I wish I had started a lot earlier in my life I would be ao much future along than I am now. I have to admit in my time frame I've made some great gains and a good 25lbs.




How does your cat get out the house and make it back?



Ex con was teaching u some things huh?
I seen 1 curling a mattress 1 time lol.



U was reaping out at 14... Guys were lucky the smallest kid wasnt 150lbs back then.
Either way I was watching a Universal/Animal athlete they had a contest where they rep out their own bodyweight and that cat is 200+ he did it 30 something times.

He's a good guy. Did an armed robbery when he was 18, ended up in the slammer for 10 years. Whilst in there he deadlifted a tractor, with another guy. His name's Pete Muzai.

 

[AaronJP1]

He's a good guy. Did an armed robbery when he was 18, ended up in the slammer for 10 years. Whilst in there he deadlifted a tractor, with another guy. His name's Pete Muzai.

Dead lifted a tractor?

 

[compudog]

It took two of them, and it wasn't a huge tractor, but yeah, he's a big guy.

 

[DreamBig]

I was a fat out of shape, alcoholic, drugged up, 19yr old smoker. I got sober, 2months later found out I'm going to have a baby.. So seeing I could hardly breath and I didn't want my child having a cigarette smoking dad, I quit that too and started running. Back then I didn't even make it around the block. My bro had a weight set in his basement, so I started going down there, not really having a clue and started hitting it. That was in 04 I weighed 230lbs then. I dropped down to 190, and now I built myself up to 222. I think it would be safe to say that I really didn't start working out till a year in half ago, i never really had a mentor in this or someone to show me the way. I pushed weight Around but didn't have goals, and my nutrition was all jacked up. I figured if I want this then I have to "push it to the limit" lol. But seriously push it.

 

[AaronJP1]

Nice.
Lots of inspiring stories.
Hope it helps some1 and they realize they can achieve their goals.

 

[drivehard]

Started freshmen year in high school after I had my first ACL surgery. Besides a month off here or there for moving, or injury, I've been at it pretty steady for 19 years next month...