When did you start training and what motivated you?

[biteme]

I was a skinny kid and kind of shy, some of the other assholes that picked up on this were mean to me to try and make themselves look better. I had little self-esteem, didn't get along with my father. I discovered weights in the 8th grade football offseason program. By the end of the year, I was the 2nd strongest guy in the school, despite being relatively small. Could bench 195. It totally changed the way people treated me and gave me self confidence. By my senior year in highschool, I was the strongest in the school and everyone knew. People who use to fuck with me all the time because I was shy, wouldn't dare say anything that might piss me off. I probably wouldn't have done anything anyway, but they wouldn't take that chance. Lifting weights enabled me to compete as a collegiate athlete, to do very well at one time with women. It changed my life positively in so many ways that there is no way I could ever stop.

 

[Lee]

2 years ago the football coach saw me in the hallway and asked why i wasnt playin ball. im a rather large kid, but i was never very active. so he got me into training after school in the weight room. never did play football but fell in love with pumping iron.

 

[Testosterone boy]

I was 16 and preparing for HS football. Just wanted to bulk up some.

 

[The Shadow]

I was 6'2" and weighed about 150 - you tell me.....

 

[supersizeme]

a little over 3 years ago. i graduated HS at 5'10" 135. i gained about 10lbs of fat during college. some friend of a girl i was dating called me "chicken legs" one day.
40lbs of lean later, all is well.

 

[SofaGeorge]

I was 6'2" and weighed about 150 - you tell me.....

Same. I was 6'2" and about 150lbs. I needed to add size.

I remember when I got to 186lbs I felt like a giant.

 

[biteme]

a little over 3 years ago. i graduated HS at 5'10" 135. i gained about 10lbs of fat during college. some friend of a girl i was dating called me "chicken legs" one day.
40lbs of lean later, all is well.

The chicken legs comment does it everytime. I have a friend with chicken legs and a potbelly, his wife makes fun of him and tries to get me to take him to the gym.

 

[TheProject]

The chicken legs comment does it everytime. I have a friend with chicken legs and a potbelly, his wife makes fun of him and tries to get me to take him to the gym.

Yep...I was always skinny as a rail, then one day I realized I was 176lbs, skinny as hell with a big ol' gut, and high blood pressure.

Decided it was time to do something about it. That was almost 2 years ago.

 

[vinylgroover]

Interesting replies.

I took up training to get stronger for rubgy in high school. My rugby career ended due to a lower back injury, but i always enjoyed training so i kept lifting.

Fortunately for me, i was never worried about 'appearance' or lack of self esteem as motivation for training.......i simply lifted because i enjoyed it.

 

[Lift Chief]

I was 6'2" and weighed about 150 - you tell me.....

That's almost exactly where i was... although maybe 160... now i'm 210 and feel great.

 

[casavant]

I just wanted to be a great big guy, ever since I was little. There were some insecurity issues, but that's nothing out of the ordinary for a teenager. I responded well and it became an integral part of my identity. I love the way it makes me feel, I love the look...it's just a cool thing to do. I don't feel like I'm "the shit" or anything, but it definitely is a source of pride. Building a body with weights takes a helluva lot of really HARD fucking work.

 

[DUSTY]

I was a skinny kid and kind of shy, some of the other assholes that picked up on this were mean to me to try and make themselves look better. I had little self-esteem, didn't get along with my father. I discovered weights in the 8th grade football offseason program. By the end of the year, I was the 2nd strongest guy in the school, despite being relatively small. Could bench 195. It totally changed the way people treated me and gave me self confidence. By my senior year in highschool, I was the strongest in the school and everyone knew. People who use to fuck with me all the time because I was shy, wouldn't dare say anything that might piss me off. I probably wouldn't have done anything anyway, but they wouldn't take that chance. Lifting weights enabled me to compete as a collegiate athlete, to do very well at one time with women. It changed my life positively in so many ways that there is no way I could ever stop.

KEEP UP THE TRAINING BRO. ANYWAY I STARTED LIKE A DECADE AGO AND STILL LOVE IT.

 

[Zander1983]

I was 16, overweight and unfit. Lifting has changed my life like nothing else (girlfriend excepted! ).

 

[c3bodybuilding]

I was close to 6'4, 144.5lbs. I was a human pencil. People were cruel about it too. I remember thinking I wanted to be like the guys I saw in movies. Van Damme, Arnold, Sly, Dolph, etc. I just didn't know how. I almost felt as if they were born that way!

I got a weight set when I was 13, but never used it. Oh how I wish I did. I wonder where I would be now if I had! It was when I was 17 that I decided I would one day be huge. I used a girl as motivation. She liked guys with muscle, so I kept to myself for a year, and trained. After just a few months, I was 190lbs, and finally looked normal! LOL. My motivation quickly changed from a girl, to love. I now had a love for the iron. This love ran deep.

I started on my 18th birthday, I am now 22. I don't see myself stopping ever. The iron is now a part of me. I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Baoh]

I was nearing 16 years of age, and I weighed 119. I got into it for a combination of extreme interests in life extension and extreme interests in superhumanity.

 

[Staind]

I was 13 and finally maturing, got into nutrition and weights. When I got the internet at 14 I started reading musclemag.com. At 17 I still didn't really have a real gf ever so i decided it was time to go huge and get into the real game.

 

[Bullit]

Started about 1.75 yrs ago.

1 main reason: insecurity. I realized I was pretty average looking and fat. Couldn't really change my face, but could change my body.

I remember the day that it clicked like it was yesterday... I was in Dallas on business and had eaten so much that I couldn't even have a beer with my buddy that lives down there cuz I was so full. That night I decided that shit had to change.

 

[Y_lifter]

3 years ago
Fatness

 

[the nature boy]

because I had muscles like veal. and I wanted to play highschool football.

 

[casavant]

because I had muscles like veal.

That's a good one, man. I'll have to remember that next time I want to rib someone a little bit- "Man, I've seen a slab of veal with more muscle tone than you." That would work nicely.

 

[the nature boy]

That's a good one, man. I'll have to remember that next time I want to rib someone a little bit- "Man, I've seen a slab of veal with more muscle tone than you." That would work nicely.

yeah I was at a g/f thanksgiving dinner one time. and my g/f's dad was talking with one of his in-laws. and he started touching her forearm. And he was like, "you know, this is soft. Like veal." After 5 minutes of this she started crying. Boy that family had a wicked sense of humor.

 

[casavant]

yeah I was at a g/f thanksgiving dinner one time. and my g/f's dad was talking with one of his in-laws. and he started touching her forearm. And he was like, "you know, this is soft. Like veal." After 5 minutes of this she started crying. Boy that family had a wicked sense of humor.

Damn.

 

[bmit]

Had a great face but an avg body. Saw guys with good bodies getting more attention at the pool while in college. Had a "friend" say I had a poopy body while with my gf. she broke up with me later before summer. She had a hot body, I had a great personality. By the end of summer girls were staring when I went to the gym. God bless AAS

 

[velvett]

I was a figure skater for nearly 20 years, many of those years competitive. In 82' speed skating and weight lifting were added to our training days.

After my first 45% leg press & seated row I was totally hooked.

With the exception of a car accident and a few years off I've loved it since.

 

[CollegeKid]

i'm short (5'5)... i think i've got the whole napoleon complex goin. if i can't be taller.. i'll just be stronger!

 

[The Shadow]

lol

shoot be being a human square

 

[HighIntensity]

Because who want's to look normal?

I was a skinny fuck until age of 20, so skinny that I was inverted.
I was so ashamed of my frail body that I would never take of my shirt. I lived in fear of never being comfortable with my rail like frame. Funny thing is to this day even at 5'10 212 under 10 percent bf I am still reluctant to take of my shirt.

The way of the world is that certain attributes such as strength and power dominate. I wanted to look better, feel better and be at the head of the pack.

Now, I am the extreme, sure there are both women and men who look at me in awe and envy. But there are just as many who stereotype others and myself in the BB field as freaks. There are many parts of mainstream society who will not take a "jacked" guy as serious or women who equate a larger then life body to = an ego manic brainless meathead who is only worthy of a good fuck here and there.

But the simple fact of being in a gym, moving weight and reaping the benefits of a solid body out weighs any effort that is needed to stay dedicated to the sport of transformation.

 

[MFMan]

word

 

[duff_rose]

I was 6'2" and weighed about 150 - you tell me.....

Yep... 19 years old, 6'0" 145... Didn't exactly want to be like that.

 

[Ceebs]

Getting out of PE my sophomore year in high school was what motivated me. I was always the unathletic fat girl, and when I had the opportunity to go to a gym, lift weights, and have my time card signed by a personal trainer for school credit, I jumped at the chance. Anything was better than being picked last for team sports, or huffing and puffing just to run a mile. Discovered that I loved lifting, dropped about 70 pounds, and got my own personal trainer's certification a few years later.

Now I do it because it feels good - the aesthetic benefits of excercise are secondary.

 

[WODIN]

Started when I was 13. Our Jr. High gym had a bench and 3 sets of dumb bells. I just loved the burn....

 

[BigBazooka]

Started when I was 13. Our Jr. High gym had a bench and 3 sets of dumb bells. I just loved the burn....

Hmmm. I highly doubt that the number 3 was even invented when you were in junior high.

 

[WODIN]

Hmmm. I highly doubt that the number 3 was even invented when you were in junior high.

LOL!!!

We used the I, II, III, IIII, system....

 

[Raina]

I lifted a lot before college but backed off after a big car accident. For as much as I was working out though I was always little and soft-- I wasn't aware of how important eating was then.

I went off to college and quit eating. Dropped from 5'7 135 to 100 pounds. It wasn't a good deal. After getting out of the hospital and moving home I battled with eating disorder issues for a while, gained some weight, and decided that I either had to put those compulsions towards an obsessively healthy lifestyle or just let myself waste away again.

 

[SAGAT]

i started when i was 13. i wasn't skinny or fat or anything, i just wanted to be bigger than the rest. also, my dad has always lifted, my brother lifted as well, so it was only 'logical' that i would eventually do it as well.

 

[CipherLock]

Pops and family is fatter than fat and I don't play well with others.

 

[SofaGeorge]

I used to see pictures of SofaGeorge in the magazines. He'd be working out with Arnold and Frank Zane. I'll never forget Frank Zane's quote: "One day I want to look like Sofa." Arnold said, "Me too." Well, I made the same choice Arnold and Frank made. I wanted to look like SofaGeorge.

I never knew. Thank you. That's the sweetest thing I've heard all day.

 

[WODIN]

I never knew. Thank you. That's the sweetest thing I've heard all day.

:havoc: U da man.

 

[The Red Dragon]

Generic teen insecurity for me
-5'7 170 lbs with no muscle - says it all right there
(now 180 lbs w/ muscle but only a good month of training)
-All my friends are athletic and point out how unfit I am, I always bitched about walking 20 minutes up a hill to get to a friends house at lunch/after school
-This girl I'm quite fond of only goes for athletic type guys, and I just assessed the reasons as to why she wouldn't like me (sad I know), physical prowess is something I can definately change
-Plus I want obsequious respect in university, the strongest/biggest (I only have 4 months =/) I don't want to be stuck with a sub-150 bench by the time I get in.
-Medical reasons, being overweight has nothing but negative effects.

Lastly, it's something fun to do with my spare time.