People don't understand us

[DNoMac]

Do you guys notice that anybody who doens't know **** about bodybuilding can't understand our lifestyle? Many of my friends (and even family) question that **** about me like my diet, why I lift so religiously, and why I hardly drink anymore. My friend came over yesterday and saw my Puming Iron dvd and asked what it was and kinda laughed when he saw it, I was like dude that is the bible. They see it as an obsession. I read somebodys quote on here and it was something like "Obsession is what lazy people call it". I like to use that one.

Nobody else can relate to me except you guys or people at the gym because you all KNOW what it's about. I try to explain it, but you really can't explain the feeling you get in the gym when you pump out that last 1 or 2 reps and you have this crazy sick pump going.

I've introduced a few of my friends to the game because they have seen the reslults I have gotten, but they haven't grasped the concept yet. They aimlessly use Cell Tech or other designer supplements and expect to get huge. I try to explain to them that bodybuilding is a science (diet and such)but they just don't understand.

Anyways, I have a Spanish exam to take, yet this was on my mind for some reason. Anybody else experience this???

[tryingtogetbig]

yep....some of my friends drive me crazy...they want twice the reasonable results with half the effort...that's why I don't share any of my other secrets with these people...they would think AS use is the only reason I am where I am....that would piss me off....

peace,

ttgb

[Philliagorillia]

I have the same problems with my family and alot of my close friends also, they are always questioning me about why i eat so often and why i plan my workouts around hanging out with them. I have even got laughted at earlier this week and was told i'll never be big, HA! well i'll just show thier asses...

[Mart651]

I just got rid of all my old friends that are not in shape. I have a image to keep up. I can not be seen with any slobs. I was once a bar snob, now I am a gym snob.

[ttuPrincess]

They don't understand us at all.... my friends have seen the results and changes taking place, and I offer to help them. They work out for a week, max, and then stop coming. I have had 3 workout partners in 2 months.

But the worst part is that they dont call me anymore, an i only talk to them in class or practice, because I don't drink but maybe once every 2 months (if that). I can't handle being hung over cause it just makes my body look like crap, feel like crap and my workout suffers all of the next day. I understand the thrill of that life style, and yes it can be tons of fun, but whats the point in going out trying to impress someone of the opposite sex if you look like crap cause your to hung over everyday to make it to the gym??

People like that I will never understand!! So I guess it's an even playing field, because they don't understand us, and we dont understand them!

Princess

[palme]

"You dont need to be that big"

"Proteinpowder is a waste of money and not healthy"

Girlfriend "You need to stop growing you dont fit in the sofa anymore!"

Saying someone with alot of muscle/good definition is ugly and that they would never want to look like that...yeah right f*uck you too asshole.

Bunch of haters if you ask me

[jon rock]

Bodybuilding's a tough racket. You can't leave it alone, everywhere you go it follows cause your the end result. I gave up all my friends who do dope and drink to pursue my goal of 300lbs and i dont need them. People at work watch me reading Flex and think im a fruitcake. Screw them. Most people at the gym are to embarrased to really give it all they have, they just stand there like robots doing alternating dumbbell curls three days a week waiting for the CEll-TECH to kick in. Screw them too. I say dont be afraid of those dusty 150
pound dumbells on the floor behind the rack, pick those bastards up and do some shruggs.

[TPAK]

I have the same problem. Ran into a old friend the other day. I was on my way home to workout. All he said was " why the hell are you still doing that?". My wife doesn't understand as well. She uses the old...." you love working out more than me!" Anyone ever hear that from there wife or girlfriend. People at work always bust on me eating chicken all the time. Every now and then I get really pissed off at them. Screw um all!!!

[Butch]

Yeah, f*ck em they'll never understand....I just blow them off. I think most of them are jealous becasue we look so good and we take care of oursleves....they feel guilty.

[ross3814]

great thread... what sucks the most is when you bust your ass and eat and your still small. cause then its just embarrassing to tell people that you even work out at all.. i used to hide that i worked out and was serious into fitness untill recently when i decided that i don't really care if people think im small cause i AM growing and i will be deisel sometime.. i put on some good mass recently though and i want more.. i would say bodybuilding is a healthy addiction..

[DNoMac]

Ross- "healthy addiction" MOS DEF

They don't understand us at all.... my friends have seen the results and changes taking place, and I offer to help them. They work out for a week, max, and then stop coming. I have had 3 workout partners in 2 months.

Yea, I've tried getting my friends to workout with me (need a spotter ), but none of them will go for more than a few days if that. I've been getting on my roommates ass to start going with me. It would be much more motivating, and less tempting cuz he eats all the stuff i wish i could.

I def agree Palme, they are a bunch of haters. They think i'm a pussE for not wanting to party out every night anymore or having a strict diet. They're my boys, but I def need to find some people that are more geared towards fitness and my lifestyle, maybe a chick....(never thought i would say that).

It's good to hear your guys input, nobody else I know can relate.

[Kärnfysikern]

Everyone I have meet since I moved is the typical party freak and god **** do I hate it. All the questions when I zip on protein drinks instead of downing vodka shots ect. God I have become a total lone wolf now cause I cant stand beeing around "normal" people. I only like to hang out with 2 kinds of people realy. Martial artists and serious weightlifters(pl, strongman, bb, weighlifting doesnt matter as long as its heavy weights involved).

[allsaucedup]

ok imagine this you play college basketball when your done you are 6'8" about 260 in good shape but not alot of muscle. i stopped playing ball everyday and started eating right and lifting. it has been 4 years and i have been as heavy as 340. my mom wants to know why i am doing this to my body, "you veins sticking out" friends are always asking why i never take a day off from the gym they say my priorities are not straight. i cant even count the number of workout partners i have had in the last year. all my friends punk out after about a week. AHHH life is good

[mfenske]

Not that anyone here needs any motivation from me or anything but I did feel much the same way as everyone who has already posted. It's been my observation that thus far in the iron game what seperates those who are successful from those that aren't is time and consistency. Of course there are those genetic anomalies who look at a dumbbell and get in better shape, but for the vast majority of us if we keep at it we WILL hit our goals. Then, being the way we are we'll quickly raise the bar for ourself. I am getting to the point now (4 years lifting, 2 seriously, and eating right for 2 also) where people, myself included, are starting to see a real change in my physique. I will also say one of the best perks of this lifestyle is from the looks and comments we receive from the opposite sex. Well I gotta go now, but I wanted to end by saying to everyone keep at it. When everyone around you is overweight and lethargic while you are muscular and energetic you'll know who was right. Mark

[juicehoe]

yea people always ask for help... yea i did that for like the first 20 times. now i just look them in the face and say dont waste my time if your not 100% into this (real mean). My friends are always busting my ass because i either had to cut there time to go to the gym or always have to eat when im with them. Now i just kinda tune everyone out when they say stuff about working out.

[spywizard]

Remember... when people don't understand a thing, or the fear it.. they will attack and try to tear it down...

I taught my girls a long time ago the Frog Story


There was this hole, and it had a bunch of frogs in it..
and they jumped and they jumped but it was too high..
so one by one they stopped trying and just layed down and died.

But there was the 1 frog that kept trying..
day after day he jumped just a little bit higher..

till finally he was out of the hole...
and what was left behind him were the dead...

don't let others hold you back.. get out of that hole..

[the_rebirth]

i like the frog story spy!

[rambo]

People don't understand me because I'm always wearing a cape. But they also don't understand the dedication. It's hard to find that in people, because so many people are apathetic about so many things now. That's why this board is here; we are here to understand and foster each other's dedication.

[groverman1]

It sucks but screw em.

[solid-d]

A friend of mine who doesnt work out... Said, he doesnt want to start lifting cause he doesnt want to get obsess with it... And its like when ever Im with him, he thinks Im 'showing off' when i take my shirt off, or talk about how much someone can lift, or even lift(weights in my cellar)... Its kinda funny, but he'd rather just watch movies or something... And Im offering him to come with me everyday, and I will teach him everything.. Thats practicely working out with a personal trainer for free.. I know all about supps, and diet, and how to train and when... Well my diet starts April 1, and we shall see if hes 'in'

[jon rock]

I remember when this friend invited me to go to the gym the first time. We walked there , my friend smoked a cigarrette before we went in. I had on jeans
and a sweater and could barely bench a empty bar. I eventually just started going alone early in the morning so nobody would see me stuck under the bar.
I had to roll it off my chest many times but eventually got it. Also today i went
to pick up a pair of 100lbs dumbells and farted while lifting them, this has happened only twice in three years and i hope it does not happen for another 3

[palequail]

People don't understand me because I'm always wearing a cape. But they also don't understand the dedication. It's hard to find that in people, because so many people are apathetic about so many things now. That's why this board is here; we are here to understand and foster each other's dedication.

What is the cape for????

Basically everyone wants a better body and to look better, but most people don't have the dedication or dicipline to do it. So they just start to hate. I just say to them, "Fine stay fat"..I don't care

[TPAK]

I have totaly given up on lifting partners. Everyone of them has quit on me within a few weeks. So I built a gym in my basement and thats were I workout. One thing I really can't stand is when I see someone that I haven't seen in a log time and they ask if I am still working out. Like I have any plans of quiting!! B astards.....all of them...lol

[ross3814]

I remember when this friend invited me to go to the gym the first time. We walked there , my friend smoked a cigarrette before we went in. I had on jeans
and a sweater and could barely bench a empty bar. I eventually just started going alone early in the morning so nobody would see me stuck under the bar.
I had to roll it off my chest many times but eventually got it. Also today i went
to pick up a pair of 100lbs dumbells and farted while lifting them, this has happened only twice in three years and i hope it does not happen for another 3

aaahhahhahahahhhahhahah that's great bro... made me lol.

[DNoMac]

Palequail- your avatar is what keeps me going to the gym and eating the same **** everyday. If people can't understand that.....then **** THEM!

[juicehoe]

People don't understand me because I'm always wearing a cape.

If your name is Brandon then i know u

[DNoMac]

Stumbled across this, it's a bit long, but a good read. ENJOY!

What Seperates us from them

" So, what are you doing for a living these days?" Bob asked me. We' re sitting on the couch at one of those tedious holiday get-togethers, you know, the ones where you' re supposed to be nice to family members you never see except during major holidays and funerals. I think Bob is my wife' s brother-in-law' s second cousin or something.

" I' m the assistant editor and a writer for Testosterone magazine," I say. Bob looks at me with a blank expression on his face, as if I' d just told him I sell handmade testicle warmers beside the freeway and was looking to open franchises across the nation.

" It' s a bodybuilding magazine," I say.

Blank expression. Deer caught in the headlights. Ronnie Coleman doing trigonometry.

" Oh," Bob finally says, " I heard you were, like, one of those bodybuilder guys or something. So, what' s that like, you know, working out every day and stuff? I just don' t have time to lift weights all day, but I have been meaning to get rid of this beer belly." He takes another sip of beer. " What do you suggest?" Sip.

At first I was a little offended. I wanted to grab him up and say, " You can' t tell I' m a bodybuilder?! Look at my ass! Now, if that' s not a nice round squat-built piece of sirloin, I don' t know what is! You think that comes naturally? I can crack walnuts with this puppy! Wanna see? Huh, punk? Do ya? Do ya?"

Then I realize this just might cause a scene and could cost me several Christmas presents. I was planning on returning any presents I got and using the money to buy a power rack, so I didn' t want to jeopardize this gift getting opportunity. I also realized that old Bob probably had a certain preconceived image of a bodybuilder and I just didn' t fit that image. I' m not gorilla huge; I weigh about 205 at 5' 11" right now. (When I first started lifting I was a pudgy 159, so that' s not too shabby.) Also, I wasn' t wearing clown pants, a fluorescent string tank top, a hanky on my head and one of those little fanny packs. And isn' t that what real bodybuilders are supposed to wear?

Bob continued to sit there drinking his Natural Light, smoking a cigarette and waiting for an answer, oblivious to the fact that he' d come this close to seeing some serious walnut- crunching ass power. I tried to figure out how I could explain to the average guy what the typical T-Man does and why he does it. How could I get him to understand what it is we do, how we feel, how we live? So I took a deep breath and told him something like this:

" Well, Bob, I guess you could use the term bodybuilder if you really need a label for what it is we do. Most of us actually don' t stand on stage and compete, though. We lift weights and manipulate our diets so that we' ll look good naked. Sure, it' s healthy too, and we' ll probably live a longer and more productive life than the average guy, but mostly it' s about the naked thing. Truthfully, it goes beyond even that.

" Let' s be honest here. We do it because of people like you, Bob. We look at you sitting there with your gut hanging over your belt and we watch you grunt and groan just getting out of a chair. Guys like you are our inspiration, Bob. You' re better than Anthony Robbins, Bill Phillips, Deepak Chopra, and Zig ****ing Ziglar all wrapped up into one. We love it when guys like you talk about not having time to exercise. Every time we see you munching on a bag of potato chips, you inspire us. You' re my shot in the arm, Bob, my living and breathing wake-up call, my own personal success coach.

" You want to know what it is we do? We overcome. We' re too busy to train, too, but we overcome. We' re too busy to prepare healthy meals and eat them five or six times a day, but we overcome. We can' t always afford supplements, our genetics aren' t perfect, and we don' t always feel like going to the gym. Some of us used to be just like you, Bob, but guess what? We' ve overcome.

" We like to watch ' normal' people like you tell us about how they can' t get in shape. We smile and nod sympathetically like we feel your pain, but actually, we' re thinking that you' re a pathetic piece of **** that needs to grow a spine and join a gym. You smile sheepishly and say that you just can' t stay motivated and just can' t stand that feeling of being sore. (For some reason you think that admitting your weaknesses somehow justifies them.) We listen to you ***** and moan. We watch you look for the easy way out. Because of people like you, Bob, we never miss a workout.

" You ask us for advice about diet and training and usually we politely offer some guidance, but deep inside we know you won' t take our advice. You know that too. We smile and say, ' Hope that helps. Good luck,' but actually we' re thinking, ' Boy, it would suck to be you.' We know that 99% of people won' t listen to us. Once they hear that it takes hard work, sacrifice and discipline, they stop listening and tune us out.

" We know they wanted us to say that building a great body is easy, but it just isn' t. This did not take five minutes a day on a TorsoTrack. We did not get this way in 12 short weeks using a Bowflex and the Suzanne Somers' ' Get Skinny' diet. A good body does not cost five easy payments of $39.95.

" We like it that while you' re eating a candy bar and drinking Mountain Dew, we' re sucking down a protein shake. You see, that makes it taste even better to us. While you' re asleep we' re either getting up early or staying up late, hitting the iron, pushing ourselves, learning, succeeding and failing and rising above the norm with every rep. Can you feel that, Bob? Can you relate? No? Good. This wouldn' t be half as fun if you could.

" We do it because we absolutely and totally get off on it. We do it because people like you, Bob, either can' t or won' t. We do it because what we do in the gym transfers over into the rest of our lives and changes us, physically, mentally, maybe even spiritually. We do it because it beats watching fishing and golf on TV. By the way, do you know what it' s like to turn the head of a beautiful woman because of the way you' re built? It feels good, Bob. ****ed good.

" When we' re in the gym, we' re in this indescribable euphoria zone. It' s a feeling of being on, of being completely alive and aware. If you haven' t been there, then it' s like trying to describe color to a person who' s been blind since birth. Within this haze of pleasure and pain, there' s knowledge and power, self-discipline and self-reliance. If you do it long enough, Bob, there' s even enlightenment. Sometimes, the answers to questions you didn' t even know you had are sitting there on those rubber mats, wrapped up in a neat package of iron plates and bars.

" Want to lose that beer belly, Bob? I have a nutty idea. Put down the ****ing beer. I' ll tell you what, Bob. Christmas morning I' m getting up real early and hitting the iron. I want to watch my daughter open her presents and spend the whole day with her, so this is the only time I have to train. The gym will be closed, so I' m going out in my garage to workout. You be at my house at six in the morning, okay? I' ll be glad to help you get started on a weight training program. It' ll be colder than Hillary Clinton' s coochie in there, so dress warm.

" But let me tell you something, Bob. If you don' t show up, don' t bother asking me again. And don' t you ever sit there and let me hear you ***** about your beer belly again. This is your chance, your big opportunity to break out of that rut. If you don' t show up, Bob, you' ve learned a very important lesson about yourself, haven' t you? You won' t like that lesson.

" You won' t like that feeling in the pit of your stomach either or that taste in your mouth. It will taste worse than defeat, Bob. Defeat tastes pretty god****ed nasty, but what you' ll be experiencing will be much worse. It will be the knowledge that you' re weak, mentally and physically. What' s worse is that you' ll have accepted that feeling. The feeling will always be with you. In the happiest moments of your life, it' ll be there, lying under the surface like a malignant tumor. Ignore it at your own peril, Bob.

" Don' t look at me like that either. This just may be the best Christmas present you' ll get this year. Next Christmas, Bob, when I see you again, I' m going to be a little bigger, a little stronger, and a little leaner. What will you be? Will you still be making excuses? This is a gift, Bob, from me to you. I' m giving you the chance to look fate in those pretty eyes of hers and say, ' Step off, *****. This is my party and you' re not invited.' What do you say, Bob? Monday, Christmas morning, 6am, my house. The ball' s in your court."

Okay, so maybe that' s not the exact words I used with Bob, but you get the picture. Will Bob show up Monday? I don' t know, but I kind of doubt it. In fact, Bob will probably take me off his Christmas card list. He probably thinks I' ve got " too much Testosterone," like that' s a bad thing. I think Bob is just stuck in a rut, and as the saying goes, the only difference between a rut and a grave is depth.

The way out of the rut is to make major changes in your life, most of which won' t be too pleasant in the beginning. The opportunity to make those changes seldom comes as bluntly as I put it to Bob. Most of the time, that opportunity knocks very softly. What I did was basically give Bob a verbal slap in the face. You can react two ways to a slap. You can get angry at the person doing the slapping, or you can realize that he was just trying to get you to wake up and focus on what you really want and, more importantly, what it' ll take to get it.

If you' re a regular T-mag reader, I doubt you need to be called out like Bob. But maybe you' ve caught yourself slacking a little here lately. Maybe you' ve missed a few workouts or maybe you started a little too early on the usual holiday feasting, like, say, back in September. Just remember that the time to start working on that summer body is now. The time to get rid of those bad habits that hold you back in the gym is now. You want to look totally different by next Christmas? Start now. This isn' t because of the holidays or any corny New Year' s resolutions either. The best time is always now.

Christmas day I want you to enjoy being with your family and friends. I want you to open presents, sip a little eggnog and have a good meal. But if your regularily scheduled workout happens to fall on December 25th, what will you be doing at six o' clock that morning?

That' s what separates us from guys like Bob.

[RageControl]

The best is when someone calls you "a fat bastard" for eating 6-10 times a day when your sitting at 10-12 % bodyfat. Usually the one making this remark cant understand why hes a pudge ball and eats only 3 times a day.

[jon rock]

The best is when someone calls you "a fat bastard" for eating 6-10 times a day when your sitting at 10-12 % bodyfat. Usually the one making this remark cant understand why hes a pudge ball and eats only 3 times a day.

LOL!!!! ive been called a fatsh1t once.

[Kärnfysikern]

I think the absolutly most anoying thing is when a skinny ****er that dont lift is trying to give workout or diet tips.