I wonder when the threshold goes from starting and stopping to it being so integral to your being, that you won't stop? It crossed that threshold for me around age 15 (though I didn't get truly serious until around 18), when I somehow "knew" I would never stop.
I can speculate on this in your case, Bill, although obviously I'm not Mark. You said you were a fat kid, which would obviously result in teasing and rejection, which lowers your self esteem. Then you were a skinny kid, which might have much the same consequences. Plus, YOU WERE A GEEK, I assume, which was the cherry on top of the awkward teen sundae!
But, by bulking up and looking strong, you gained respect from other guys, and probably admiration from the ladies. That, in turn, fed your self esteem! You realized that pushing yourself in all aspects (not just physical) resulted in great self-esteem rewards. That's addictive!
That's very astute, Rob, and I'd say it's pretty spot on. Perhaps there really was no "aha!" moment, perhaps it was just that as I started to see results and those results helped me improve as a person (after all, working out regularly and with purpose requires dedication and focus, physical and mental) it became more and more a part of what made me, me. Maybe that's why I have this thing inside of me that makes me want to never stop, because if I stop, I would literally stop being me, and all egotism aside, I like being me. I'm a culmination of all the bad and good that has happened in my life and I wouldn't change a thing that brought me to this point.
I always had a healthy respect for Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he attributes a lot of his success to his drive and his life of bodybuilding. Though I'll obviously never be anything in the world of bodybuilding, I can still very much relate to Arnold's basic thinking and have lived a sort of proof of concept of that. A lot of good fortune can be traced to being blessed with vigorous good health, so why not increase that good fortune by doing everything you can to make that health better?
Rowdy Rob wrote:
I admit that I pursued fitness most of my life (if not bulk) for those reasons, but because I wasn't building bulk, it didn't show much until I took my shirt off. I attributed this to my genetics, and resigned myself to thinking I was cursed in this department. But when I finally got into a program that emphasized correctly working out and eating, my bulk dramatically increased! And that happened within a two-month span!
I still "surprise" people at times myself. Until they see me in a tight shirt or with my arms or legs exposed (in the summer), I'm not necessarily thought of as someone who trains. I think that's typical of all but the most dedicated trainees or those on something. Those people have unusual size and there's generally no missing their attributes regardless of what they're wearing. I used to want that, but it turned out, like you, I didn't have the genetics for it or the desire to do whatever it took to achieve it. There's also a whole different impression you make when you go to any extreme anyway, be it extremely skinny, extremely fat, or extremely muscular. Anything too far from the "norm" is tough for a majority of other people to deal with.
Rowdy Rob wrote:
I recently joined a "fitness club," but I haven't really felt comfortable there. I like the rough-and-tough atmosphere of old-school gyms, but this fitness club feels more like a social club with weights. All the fitness essentials are there, but it's kind of a yuppified atmosphere where people want to talk to you all the time ("Hey, let's talk about this at the juice bar!") I just want to get in, work out, and get out, with no one interrupting my routine to try to get me to join the tai chi class! Working out at home is just not going to happen, but the "real" gyms are too far for me to drive to, so I hope I can figure out how to survive the fitness club "meat market."
I love old-school gyms, but they're few and far between these days. Some gyms have even done away with things like power racks or forbid squatting for "safety" reasons. Crazy stuff.
I was in pursuit of bulk for much of my training days, from say age 15 to around age 30. In that time, I was able to go from the 140's to the low 200's. There were various sticking points I hit, like the 160's in my late teens, to the 180's in my early 20's. I stopped being able to eat anything that was nailed down not too long after my mid 20's, since it seemed like my body started to respond with the wrong kind of size--fat (you have to obviously adjust your training to your age/body changes--for instance, as I got older I was able to make better gains by training less and resting more). I think especially when you're natural (no steroids) and can't devote yourself to training 24/7, eventually after quite a few years of training, you hit a type of max weight/size (perhaps genetically predetermined), which is probably different for everyone. For me, my ideal max size seems to be roughly between 185 - 200lbs, at 5'9". I think regardless of what I do at this point - unless I don't care about bodyfat any more - I probably won't be able to exceed that range. That's OK, because since my early 30's I've been about pursuing greater detail and muscularity rather than size. I'm fine with the size I am on my frame, it's now about improving what I have. Frankly, with my lackluster genetics, I think without the 20+ years of training behind me, I wouldn't have been able to reach my current size "limit".
Anyway, in regards to the Wii fitness software, none of them will give you bulk, that's for sure. The only way to achieve that is through progressive weight training, and none of them give you weights (the resistance bands included with EA Sports Active Personal Trainer don't count). Otherwise, form and function, they're all spot on, with many providing a nice mix of strength training, Yoga, pilates, plyometrics, calisthenics, and aerobics. If nothing else, these programs are great supplements to other forms of working out, and you do end up learning a lot (I knew little of Yoga before this software, for instance).
*************************** Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
*************************** Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
I wonder when the threshold goes from starting and stopping to it being so integral to your being, that you won't stop? It crossed that threshold for me around age 15 (though I didn't get truly serious until around 18), when I somehow "knew" I would never stop.
I can speculate on this in your case, Bill, although obviously I'm not Mark. You said you were a fat kid, which would obviously result in teasing and rejection, which lowers your self esteem. Then you were a skinny kid, which might have much the same consequences. Plus, YOU WERE A GEEK, I assume, which was the cherry on top of the awkward teen sundae!
But, by bulking up and looking strong, you gained respect from other guys, and probably admiration from the ladies. That, in turn, fed your self esteem! You realized that pushing yourself in all aspects (not just physical) resulted in great self-esteem rewards. That's addictive!
That's very astute, Rob, and I'd say it's pretty spot on. Perhaps there really was no "aha!" moment, perhaps it was just that as I started to see results and those results helped me improve as a person (after all, working out regularly and with purpose requires dedication and focus, physical and mental) it became more and more a part of what made me, me. Maybe that's why I have this thing inside of me that makes me want to never stop, because if I stop, I would literally stop being me, and all egotism aside, I like being me. I'm a culmination of all the bad and good that has happened in my life and I wouldn't change a thing that brought me to this point.
I always had a healthy respect for Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he attributes a lot of his success to his drive and his life of bodybuilding. Though I'll obviously never be anything in the world of bodybuilding, I can still very much relate to Arnold's basic thinking and have lived a sort of proof of concept of that. A lot of good fortune can be traced to being blessed with vigorous good health, so why not increase that good fortune by doing everything you can to make that health better?
I admit that I pursued fitness most of my life (if not bulk) for those reasons, but because I wasn't building bulk, it didn't show much until I took my shirt off. I attributed this to my genetics, and resigned myself to thinking I was cursed in this department. But when I finally got into a program that emphasized correctly working out and eating, my bulk dramatically increased! And that happened within a two-month span!
I still "surprise" people at times myself. Until they see me in a tight shirt or with my arms or legs exposed (in the summer), I'm not necessarily thought of as someone who trains. I think that's typical of all but the most dedicated trainees or those on something. Those people have unusual size and there's generally no missing their attributes regardless of what they're wearing. I used to want that, but it turned out, like you, I didn't have the genetics for it or the desire to do whatever it took to achieve it. There's also a whole different impression you make when you go to any extreme anyway, be it extremely skinny, extremely fat, or extremely muscular. Anything too far from the "norm" is tough for a majority of other people to deal with.
I recently joined a "fitness club," but I haven't really felt comfortable there. I like the rough-and-tough atmosphere of old-school gyms, but this fitness club feels more like a social club with weights. All the fitness essentials are there, but it's kind of a yuppified atmosphere where people want to talk to you all the time ("Hey, let's talk about this at the juice bar!") I just want to get in, work out, and get out, with no one interrupting my routine to try to get me to join the tai chi class! Working out at home is just not going to happen, but the "real" gyms are too far for me to drive to, so I hope I can figure out how to survive the fitness club "meat market."
I love old-school gyms, but they're few and far between these days. Some gyms have even done away with things like power racks or forbid squatting for "safety" reasons. Crazy stuff.
I was in pursuit of bulk for much of my training days, from say age 15 to around age 30. In that time, I was able to go from the 140's to the low 200's. There were various sticking points I hit, like the 160's in my late teens, to the 180's in my early 20's. I stopped being able to eat anything that was nailed down not too long after my mid 20's, since it seemed like my body started to respond with the wrong kind of size--fat (you have to obviously adjust your training to your age/body changes--for instance, as I got older I was able to make better gains by training less and resting more). I think especially when you're natural (no steroids) and can't devote yourself to training 24/7, eventually after quite a few years of training, you hit a type of max weight/size (perhaps genetically predetermined), which is probably different for everyone. For me, my ideal max size seems to be roughly between 185 - 200lbs, at 5'9". I think regardless of what I do at this point - unless I don't care about bodyfat any more - I probably won't be able to exceed that range. That's OK, because since my early 30's I've been about pursuing greater detail and muscularity rather than size. I'm fine with the size I am on my frame, it's now about improving what I have. Frankly, with my lackluster genetics, I think without the 20+ years of training behind me, I wouldn't have been able to reach my current size "limit".
Anyway, in regards to the Wii fitness software, none of them will give you bulk, that's for sure. The only way to achieve that is through progressive weight training, and none of them give you weights (the resistance bands included with EA Sports Active Personal Trainer don't count). Otherwise, form and function, they're all spot on, with many providing a nice mix of strength training, Yoga, pilates, plyometrics, calisthenics, and aerobics. If nothing else, these programs are great supplements to other forms of working out, and you do end up learning a lot (I knew little of Yoga before this software, for instance).
***************************
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
***************************
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.