Who's Into Bodybuilding?

[Groovin_DC-10 50]

This is one of the most addictive things I've ever done.  This past year and a half, I've been doing things very well and have made pretty crazy gains that I never thought possible.  I'm a monster now compared to how I was when I started taking this more seriously a year and half ago.

 

I worked out off and on from 2003-2010.  At this time I didn't know anything about bodybuilding diet, proper rest periods, bulking, cutting, etc.  I got more toned and gained a small bit of mass during this time.  Not impressive and I stopped until 2012.

 

In 2012, I was on youtube and watched a Ronnie Coleman video that showed his day to day life.  It inspired me to start again.  I spent a lot of time reading up on nutrition and everything else.

 

Finally started working out and eating right, though I have to admit, the first few months of cramming sooooooo much food was very, very hard, but I kept at it.  After 2-3 months, it became easier after each passing day, and now, I can probably make people nauseous just by seeing the amount of food, supplements and vitamins I consume lol.  It's become a routine and it's very easy now.

 

This past year and a half, I learned so much about my body.  I learned how it reacts to different amounts of carbs, fats, protein, calories etc, and most important, how to listen to it.  I find myself more "in tune" with my body now.  I haven't gotten a cold or flu since then (keeping my fingers crossed).

 

So who else is into bodybuilding?  Share your story.

 

Finally, list your favorite bodybuilders.  I'm curious who you think is the best from the "Classic" era, and who you think is the best one today.

 

My favorite bodybuilder today is Kai Greene.  Though, I'd have to give Phil Heath the edge on overall physique and proportions, Kai is very mellow and humble with a great personality.  That combined with his amazing posing routines make me like him more...

 

 

I think Phil Heath looked his best at the 2011 Olympia.  I need to see more clips from 2013...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtMLOWhu7hA

 

My favorite Classic bodybuilder is, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger...

 

[Jim Young 2,356]

Can't understand why you don't have 50-60 replies already.  :lol:   I'm thinking about it as a New Year's Resolution.  But seriously, that's great you are into body-building. I have a lot of admiration for those who come up with a plan and can stick with it.

 

Best regards,

[MarkW 1,490]

I am not into body building but was into weight lifting while in university.  I have since moved to lower weight / body weight exercises and cardio.  Unfortunately I think I must have over done it while weight lifting because I have some ligament damage in my shoulders.  All I can say is may sure you workout safely so you can function properly in the future.

[g_precentralis 191]

I'm building my body... with fat.

[tttocs 301]

Well, here's a topic I never expected to see on Avsim!

 

Was pretty seriously into it for quite a while.  Got to the point of cutting down for my first local competition and had a hard time with seeing a lot of my hard-won mass drop off in order to get cut, so decided to stick with it in a non-competitive way.

 

Favorites?  Haven't followed it for quite a few years, but my favorite back in the day was Frank Zane.  He was a bit lighter than most of the other big names, but focused on symmetry - nothing too massive, but all the pieces in perfect harmony.  A bit more like my own body type - well, other than maybe the perfect harmony part.  :lol:

 

Age does take a toll, and back issues forced me to give up the heavy stuff about 10 years ago, but I enjoyed reading your description.  Yep, like you I liked the degree to which I was in tune with my diet and enjoyed the science of eating to match my lifting cycles and the balance involved with training hard without over-training.  And yes, in those days I went years without colds, flu or any of that stuff.  It can be addictive, though.  6 days a week, I was in the gym (many of those days twice, once for lifting and a second time for cardio), but on the 7th, I'd feel guilty like I was slacking.

 

As with all obsessions, it can be tough to keep things in balance.

 

Scott

[signmanbob 592]

I was into, not really serious bodybuilding, but doing about two hours of weight lifting, four days a week.

At my age, (about 51 at that time) I didn't need to be doing extremely heavy weights, but made some very good gains in muscle strength and conditioning and my weight was on target.

I was also completely addicted to it, to the point where my wife would get a little angry at me spending so much time in the gym. On the days that I didn't lift, I would run about three miles, or jump rope.

I hurt my shoulder (rotator cuff) doing a "Cuban Press" using too much weight, and had to have shoulder surgery, which caused me to have to take it easy.

During that time, I got completely amazed by computer games and it all went down hill from there.

First I became addicted to "Joint Operations", the first person shooter. I joined an online clan, then a big online military combat website that would have big battles twice a week which lasted all day.

Then I went on to "Battlefield II" following the same pattern.

Then, somehow, I got interested in FS9 (can't remember how) and got addicted to it.

Then came FSX, and wow, it's all that I wanted to do. Buy addons and fly for hours (which I still do)

During all this time, I got fat.

Getting fat wasn't even the worst of it. I started getting out of breath quickly. Every pain in my chest would scare the heck out of me. My feet would hurt and go numb, even if I was just sitting on the computer, flying.

Then my wife's father had open heart surgery, putting in 5 bypasses. He did not have a heart attack. I guess the doctors persuaded him to have "elective" surgery after having several stents. A pretty extreme choice to make without actually having a heart attack. He said that he wouldn't have done it if he knew what he was going to have to go through.

This was an eye-opener for me. I felt that this is exactly where I was headed. It was just a matter of time. I knew that, in the shape I was in, my age, and as badly as my diet had become, with pizza, hamburgers and chicken wings, my arteries had to be seriously clogged.

About three months ago, I happened to be looking on Amazon.com for a book and Amazon "suggested" that I purchase "Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease" by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyne.

I bought it and read the book as soon as it came, and was absolutely amazed by it.

 

Dr. Esselstyne was the head surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic for a long time. His medical credentials are very impressive, to say the least, yet the fact that surgery only treated the symptoms, or patched damage, and never healed the patient of the disease, he became interested in doing research on healing through nutrition.

He reversed the heart disease of 18 serious cardiac patients, some with multiple instances of bypass surgery, simply by using nutrition. Some continued to use a small dosage of statens, but most got completely off of their meds. One of the heart patients that reversed their heart disease, was the 48 year old doctor that took over as head of surgery, after Dr. Esselstyne had left.

Even though I was never diagnosed with any heart problems, I began to follow the diet changes recommended by Dr. Esselstyne, and I continue now.

Although I have not started working out again, I have lost almost thirty pounds in the last three months.

It is amazing for me, because I am wearing jeans that I had put away a long time ago, and never thought that I would wear again. Now they're getting so loose, that I'm going to have to go buy some smaller ones.

I wake up every morning , full of energy that lasts all day. I even had to quit drinking coffee, because it became too much of a buzz. I had drank coffee since I was a teenager.

I can now run a long way, without getting out of breath. I just feel great all the time.

It's time for me to start working out again because, although I'm still loosing, my weight loss has slowed down. Building muscle will raise my resting metabolism and burn fat.

Although I'll probably start slow, since it has been so long, I look forward to that "pumped" feel that you get after a good workout. I think that is what is more addicting than anything else, next to seeing results.

I think the moral of all this is; once you get started on a good habit, like bodybuilding or lifting, don't let anything allow you to become distracted, because if you do, it could take years to get back on the right road, if you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to, before you are brought down by chronic disease.

[AirborneZed 168]

I just keep it lean. Run three times a week. Stay off the white rice etc. it's nice to wake up with energy. It's good to start early in life.

[Groovin_DC-10 50]

Jim,

lol.  I was only expecting to get two or three replies.  Nice to see there are more people in here into, or was into bodybuilding than I thought.

Good luck on your New Year's Resolution.  It's a lot of fun and you'll have a much stronger appetite due to increased metabolism from weight lifting.  Don't forget to up your protein :smile: .

 

Mark,

Thanks for the tip.  I don't try to push myself too hard due to fear of injuries.  Some injuries from weight lifting can be permanent which is scary.  Another reason why I won't do deadlifts.  I know people who constantly brag about how much they can bench, curl, etc, but they don't have anything to show for it.  My guess is that they're losing proper form by trying to lift too heavy which is not giving them the muscle mass.  I use lighter weights than they do and I'm growing at the speed of light compared to others I know who focus on lifting as heavy as possible lol.

 

Scott,

Frank Zane.  There's somebody who's right up there with the best classics.  They had much smaller waist lines back in the day.

I'm actually thinking about entering one of the local competition, but after doing some reading and research, I don't like how the judges seems to be more focused on conditioning than symmetry, proportions, size.

I notice some of the conditioning I've seen for natural shows are very extreme and looks unhealthy, IMO. 

Cutting is probably the hardest thing for me to do, and like you said, seeing some of those hard earned muscles go down the drain while trying to cut as much fat as possible is a real downer. 

I tried cutting twice.  First time was eliminating all carbs and focused on protein and fats.  It worked but I felt horrible not getting my carbs.  My body definitely felt different, and not in a way I liked.  Second time around was much better.  It was very gradual and worked very well.  All I did was slowly reduce my carb intake with each meal until I was only eating about 1/2 to 1/3rd of the carbs I normally consume.  I didn't notice any muscle mass loss during that time.

Now it's winter and I'm having a blast bulking and eating everything in sight :smile: .

 

Robert,

Congrats!  You're doing an excellent job.  Losing 30lbs in 3 months is incredible.

Glad to hear Dr. Esselstyne's book is working out for you.  It's always better to do things naturally than using prescription meds which are usually just band aid solutions that come with a dozen or so side effects.

 

Don't know if you're into vitamins and minerals, but Vitamin C and B12 has been knocking the fat right off me.  I'm talking about C and B12 only supplements, not in the form of multivitamins which has much lower dosages.  You can do a google search on them regarding fat loss.  I believe there are a few more including B6, but B12 seems to be the most popular for fat loss.

Zinc is also great because it increases testosterone.  More testosterone means more muscle mass and less fat.  But you have to be more careful with zinc because it's not water soluble and any excess will remain in your body.  I usually just take half the recommended dosage.

 

Funny you brought up the coffee thing.  I also find myself very sensitive to it as well after I started working out.  Before, I would drink a cup of instant coffee after my breakfast and I would feel great.  Now, I can't even drink half a cup.  Most of the time, it's only 1/3rd.  It's way too strong for me now and the buzz is not very comfortable.

 

I think you'll do great when you start your workouts again.  You do have muscle memory, so you can get your muscle mass back probably within a month if you're taking in sufficient amounts of protein, fats and carbs.

 

I love the pumped feel you mentioned.  It's amazing how much bigger we look right after a workout when the muscles are pumped up.  Not only that, we actually get a natural high from the pump.  I believe dopamine is one of the main things responsible for this, along with increased testosterone and there are other forms of natural pain killers produced by the body.  I always feel more happy and lively after my workouts and the following two days after.

 

David,

White rice is excellent depending on when you take them and how well your body can metabolize it.

It's actually one of the best way to replenish glycogen and spike your insulin after a workout or jog.  Of course, you should also be consuming protein and veggies along with it and the insulin spike will carry those nutrients straight to your muscles.

As long as you don't exceed your daily caloric intake, you can eat white rice everyday.

 

I have white rice with every meal :smile: .

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and stories, everyone.  I enjoyed reading them, and good luck on your progress!

[cheezyflier 1]

remmi has the right idea

 

[TOGA-saurus 330]

I wouldn't say bodybuilding, but I go to the gym 3 times a week. One day legs, the second arms and chest and the last core and back etc. I'm pretty proud that I've kept it up so far and by summer I'll be ready to show the guns

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

That's an interesting topic Maurice.

 

I have never been into bodybuilding in the sense of being super human looking like those guys but I have always been into fitness since I was a little kid. I think like most little kids of my era growing up, we wanted to be ripped like the Incredible Hulk, but when you're under 10 years old you can get anything like that, lol.

 

I've been weight training on and off since I was in my mid-teens. I've always been a slender type of build with a metabolism that is through the roof. My main goal used to be just to train to pick up some bulk and strength, but when you need to consume like 8,000 calories a day it was pretty hard.

 

When I got into my 20's and the supplement industry started coming out with more products beside just calorie shakes and protein supplements, I got into the creatine craze. That was the one supplement that really helped me to make some serious weight and strength gains, along with a high calorie diet. I'm 5'10 and when not working out, but still eating a normal healthy diet my weight would always stay around 145 pounds. 

 

In my late 20's I made a pretty serious run at getting bigger and stronger. My wife at the time worked at a gym so I had a free membership and access to a trainer. We nailed out a diet and workout and after sticking to it, after about 6 months I went from 145 to 170 pounds. I can honestly say though that while I enjoyed the workouts, the dieting was crazy!! I was fortunate to have a job at the time where I worked on my own, not in an office, and was able to force myself to eat a small meal about every 1.5 hours. After about 8 months of doing this, I just couldn't keep up the pace of eating all the time a pooping like a pack mule a few times a day  :lol:  It ended up being more like a job while I was trying to do my real job.

 

Slowly I started losing the gains and shrinking down. First to 165, then 160, then 155 and so on. People started asking me if i was sick or something, to which I had to reply no, I just quit eating 10 times a day, lol.

 

After that I got out of it and really didn't do much, except the bug would bite me when I would sink down to 145 pounds or so and I would start thinking I looked skinny and wanted to pack on some weight and would start the process again. It would usually be short lived, maybe for three months or so, I would get back to 160 pounds and start admiring my body, but it seemed like something would always get me off track and I would lose all the gains I worked so hard for.

 

A few year ago when I was in my late 30's I had gotten to the point that I just accepted the fact that my body type just isn't that type that can bulk up without serious work and I was ok with it. Like women are about weight issues, I was kind of the same about always being the skinny guy. I dont think that it really hurt me or lower my self esteem, but I never wanted to accept it. When you get older you get to the point, not that you dont care, but things like that dont bother you as much and you learn to love yourself the way you are.

 

Even though I am slim and still train a bit, I have good muscle tone and am pretty strong for my size, but when I am fully clothed you really cant tell. When I was single and girls would say something to me about being skinny I would always tell them that I looked better with no clothes on rather than being fully covered. Most of the time they would be almost shocked when I would remove my clothes and see that I actually was muscular underneath all the clothes, lol.

 

A couple of years ago I decided to go get a physical since I hadn't had one in like 15 years. I wasn't worried but I have always been a bit of a hypochondriac since I lost my mom to breast cancer when I was 14 and lost my dad to a heart attack at 50. When they got my blood work back they said my cholesterol was a little high and that there was some other reading (can't remember what its called) that indicated something could be damaged with my heart. Something about a hormone or marker in your blood work that could be the heart muscle has been damaged or that there could be a potential blockage somewhere. Needless to say I was shocked. Since I have always been slim I pretty much eat whatever I want, some which is high in cholesterol. There's times when I would eat 6 egg omelettes, a pound of steak, etc., but never worried about it since I though I would work it off running, weight training or whatever.

 

Ever since then I have pretty much cut high cholesterol foods from my diet and pay closer attention to what I eat. My exercise now consists of most cardio. I really got into running back in July and started doing 5 mile runs three nights a week and some light weight training. The only bad part is that I started getting some foot, ankle and knee pains from all the running and had to cut back and switch to spinning. I talked to some running experts who told me that even with my custom fitted shoes, I probably just started running way to much at once instead of working up to those distances. Basically I just went from the first week of running two miles 3 times a week to 5 miles three times a week. Even though I felt fine for the first month or so, I guess my body just wasn't ready for the load.

 

All in all, at my age now, I just pretty much work out to stay healthy, prevent disease, and feel good. Granted I wouldn't mind being back to 170 or so, but I dont have the time to eat like that on a daily basis, nor the desire. 

 

There are in my opinion two drawbacks to trying to get big and ripped. Besides the attention to diet and time it requires, it can get really expensive. Between the gross amount of food you need to buy and the expense of supplements, you can really increase your spending by hundreds of dollars a month, Then if you dont keep up with it, get injured, its like seeing all that money going down the tube.

 

The other drawback is the supplements. These days there is so much stuff in those powders, gels, pills and what have you, that I really wonder what types of health effects they may have down the road? Here in the US, the supplement industry is pretty much unregulated to an extent. Frankly I would almost be worried that some of this stuff could cause cancer, diabetes, or any other host of problems years down the road. One day I was reading some of the ingredients listed on a protein shake box. 95% of the stuff I couldn't pronounce or even knew what it was. When I got home I looked up the product and started googling the ingredients and it looked like some of the stuff was indeed not really all that good for you at all. I dont know if there have ever been any controlled case studies done over time to see if there are any negative effects from taking a lot of these supplements, but I decided I would rather know what I am putting in my body and not leave it to chance.

 

Between my cardio and weight training, I have gone more to an organic diet. Although it not completely organic, I really look at the back of labels to see what additives are in stuff. I have increased my intake of some certain types of fish, started juicing with lot of kale, cabbage, parsley, apples and stuff like that. I can't say that I notice a huge difference in the way I feel, but if it help ward off cancer or heart disease and give me a little more piece of mind, I am all for it. I do take some protein shake, but only by the ones with natural ingredients and no additives.

 

I'm happy with where I am now and content to know that while I will never be the huge and ripped, at least I am in shape, can run 5 miles without much effort, hit the ball a mile on the golf course, ski 3 days in a row without being sore, and still look good in a swim suit at 150 pounds. When you look at the majority of the population in the US, I am far ahead of most in those regards :-)

[Snuffleupagus 327]

I just started 3 months ago and while I'm not a "body builder" I do take weight lifting seriously. The first month alone I put on 15lbs which blew me away. I haven't got the eating down yet (I don't have access to good much during the day). I go 6 days a week and haven't missed a day yet in the last 3 months, proud of that (Sunday is rest day). I take a picture each month to see the gains and I'm amazed how much I've changed so quick. Got another 5 months until summer :biggrin:  ha

[JRBarrett 3,034]

I've been bodybuilding for several months.

 

Now, just as soon as Igor gets back from the Brain Depository with the final part, all I need to do is wait for a good strong thunderstorm, and I'll be ready to bring it to life!

 

 

 

[cheezyflier 1]

I've been bodybuilding for several months.

 

Now, just as soon as Igor gets back from the Brain Depository with the final part, all I need to do is wait for a good strong thunderstorm, and I'll be ready to bring it to life!

 

 

if your avatar was gene wilder it would  have been pretty good,

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

I'm building my body... with fat.

 

:LMAO: :LMAO: :LMAO: