Juggling bodybuilding with your social life

[G-Force]

i love bodybuilding, and like to do what i can to build the physique of my dreams

i eat right, train intensley, rest, eat sh!t loads
i eat sleep, and breathe bodybuilding

but i also love my mates, and i love going out and having a laugh
but i find myself turning down offers of going out cos it will mess with my programme

even just going to the cinema i have to eat right before leaving, take a protein shake with me and eat as soon as i get back

I wanted to go to an all day festival this weekend, but thought about it and realised it would be a whole days nutrition down the drain and i would inevitabley have a drink and so that would ruin part of my next days nutriton

what really becomes difficult is when you start dating a new girl

and that means, heaven for bid...GOING OUT FOR DINNER

man i cant eat half that sh!t thats on the menu

i may have to become celebate

(fcuk that idea )

[WildCh1ld]

Ya allot of my buddy's always wonder why I don't go out and party & drink as much anymore, its hard but you have to pick your priorities.

[lucabratzi]

i know what u mean, the good thing now is that im not in shcool, and my lazy ass isnt working, (goin to bartending school next week though), so i have a lot of free time. the scenario with the girl, is that its hard to manage ur time. but i always set out days of the week before hand that i know i will chill with her and what days to chill with friends, so then i can go to the gym accordingly. but since my ass got dumped last week i have even more time to eat, and train. sleeping is ****ed because there's a million people workin on my house.

[decadbal]

i gave up the social life about 2 years ago ...lol

[Tazwell]

just save it for the weekend.. one or two days of drinking and hanging out isn't too bad, just consider it your cheat days..
i know it's tough not being able to drink and eat like your friends, but it's worth it.

[G-Force]

i only go out drinking once a week, but have started seeing this girl and have been going out in the week now aswell, which i feel guilty for

last night i got home about midnight after a ffew drinks with her (she hasnt put out yet) and was about to eat my usual pro/fat meal before bed, but thought whats the point, the alcohol is gonna stop me absorbing all that protein anyway

so i ate a couple of bowls of cereal instead
man i felt guilty the next day

[palumbo]

the way i look at unless u are competing then live a littel dont let it dictate ur life one day here and there is not gonna make u not reach ur goal whatever that maybe u have to live life to the fulllest

[Tazwell]

yea, with a girl it's hard untill you reach that point where you can just kick it at your place, instead of going out all the time.

[Tazwell]

the way i look at unless u are competing then live a littel dont let it dictate ur life one day here and there is not gonna make u not reach ur goal whatever that maybe u have to live life to the fulllest

but one day here one day there, will turn into a few more days and so on.. if you got your body used to eating right and working out, you can easily get it used to drinking, and eating wrong..
it'll be like, well i've already eaten badly once today, might as well just take today off.

[palumbo]

i see where ur coming from but my point was self control just as u said u have ur body trained to eat properly therefore making it easier once that one bad day is over to get back ontrack

[mekler]

it's funny because the people who used to make fun of me for being a "hermit" are now asking me for advice on dieting/lifting, and then they have the nerve to ask me how i did it.....

[stayinstacked]

yea, with a girl it's hard untill you reach that point where you can just kick it at your place, instead of going out all the time.

I can remember going on dates and bringing my tuna fish and protien bars with me, if they didnt like it or thought I was strange then **** em

[punchrf]

I can remember going on dates and bringing my tuna fish and protien bars with me, if they didnt like it or thought I was strange then **** em

that's funny i would do the same thing with protein bars. make sure you don't forget about them and wash your clothes. i did that with a half eaten one and it was all over the inside of my pocket. or when i get out with my friends on the lake and i'll bring a ice chest for my food almost the same size as the one they bring for beer.

[ginkobulloba]

Dude, I'm in Prague right now, where beer is 50 cents in a bar, cheaper than water. Nobody really understands why I don't go out all the time, but I couldn't care less what anyone else thinks, really. I was seeing this girl and she knows she isn't in nearly as good shape as me, so she asks me if I'll be her personal trainer...I'm like yeah, sure. Cuz, I know where this is going, she'll never follow through, it was just this idea that popped in her head one minute, like "Ooh, wouldn't it be nice if I looked more like a Barbie doll?" So, I says, yeah, sure...I got ya, knowing what'll happen. So the next day she texts me "wanna grab a beer?" Nope, headed to the gym. So, she's getting uglier and I'm out scouting for the future ex Mrs. NotMyRealName.

I'm gonna sound shallow here, but I can look at a girl, a hot one, in a bar or on the subway...doesn't matter. She just got done eating a hot dog, now she's chain smoking Marlboros and some fashion geek is feeding her some chick drink. I can tell, man, she's got maybe 5 good years left, tops. Me, with the way I live, I should be baggin hotties well into retirement, years after her tits became elephant ears. So, it's all a payoff, man. A little sacrifice here, and a lot of rewards down the line.

[BG]

I gave up drinking and weed and got real serious a year ( been training since 16 but 6 month miss time sometimes). My girl and I were having problems, we moved in together to soon, and money started to become an issue,so we moved apart and thats when BB became #1 priority, never felt better, mentaly and physically, will never give up BB again!

[ginkobulloba]

when BB became #1 priority, never felt better, mentaly and physically, will never give up BB again!

WORD!!

[China Dawg]

Yeah you know the bb lifestyle is just a part of me now. It affects what I eat, most of what I do, and requires a lot of my free time. But I feel it's been worth every bit of sweat and pain. I was fat and out of shape before, but now in my mid-30's I'm looking and feeling better than I ever have. I just hope that I continue to keep this lifestyle and stay healthy and strong as I get older.

The only thing is that I think with any obsession you need to remember to keep some semblance of balance. I want to look good and be healthy and a big part of that is the desire to get laid! That ultimately is one of the strongest driving forces for why I work so hard in the gym in the first place! So I have a golden rule that I live by - Pussy always comes first. I don't mean that I'll skip going to the gym for a "date" with some new girl I'm seeing. I schedule my Saturday nights free for that. However, if one of my regular girlfriends calls me on a scheduled night for lifting and says she wants to come over because she "needs" me (in other words I know I'm getting laid for sure), then I don't think, I don't question, I don't ponder, I just follow my rule. I will always skip a workout to get laid because that's most of what it's about in the first place! PLUS I'm still getting in some cardio!

[mekler]

lol right on brotha. my motivation is seeing the people, the ones that made fun of me for being weak and a fat slob, get fatter and weaker cuz of all the drinking and fast food. not once have i ever rubbed it in their faces but i just sit back quietly with a grin on my face. ahhhh.... who's a fat slob now you a$$holes? =D

[MatrixGuy]

i gave up the social life about 2 years ago ...lol

So true. I just live in the gym. I dont need my own place.

[Jerzey]

It is a lifestyle... I've come to realize one thing, if I meet a guy and we hit it off, but he isn't into the lifestyle, he won't understand and it won't work.. never fails.

I can't tell you how many guys I've met and w/in one or two times of seeing them and talking they say, "I'm going to have to put you out of that routine sometimes.." That never lasts.. usually past that conversation, lol...

I am very routine to keep my diet in check and my workouts together and I like getting up and feeling good in the a.m. I'm 26 and I don't want to be 30 and wishing I had kept myself in shape.

It definitely kills my social life but I don't care, this is what makes me happy and that's what I'm going to concentrate on. I bartended for years so I can care less about going out and partying.. although, that can be age setting in also +

[Unoid]

if ou go out to dinner go to a steakhouse, I just got done eating a 40oz ribeye, damn it was good. but obviously wayyy to much protein than my stomech could digest.,

[Squatman51]

sometimes you have to have fun

[Squatman51]

dont be a slave to diet an exercise...i believe arnold even said that...if you are being a slave to it then somethings not right have fun with lifting and your lifestyle

[mekler]

oh man i had a huge prime rib tonight... loaded with lots of steamed veggies and yes... a baked potato. i couldnt help myself. if anyone is in San Diego, try the prime rib at Hunter's steakhouse off Taylor St, it's awesome!

[Trendkill]

its tough. ill be drinking some beer at my buddys watchin the ball game and then get up n go work out cuz i forgot i had to....sucks.

[mekler]

i dont know i never feel like i HAVE to work out.... i love doing it so i always want to. maybe i havent been doing it as long as you, but i never feel like it's a burden. JMO

[supersteve]

You have to strike a balance, it can't all be about bodybuilding.

All throughout high school I went and got trashed and hooked up with girls every weekend, then when I went to university I was in fairly average shape. So I devoted all my time and energy to lifting and within 6 months I looked great and I didn't want to go back to the way things were so I carried on being ridiculously strict - my body was in great shape, but my head wasn't. Sure i'd smile when I look in the mirror, but that's about the extent of it. I lost so many friends and missed out on so many good times and I was very depressed for about 18 months. I'm 20 atm and still at uni but i've decided that there is no point in having the body of an adonis if I can't go out and enjoy the fruits of my labour.

I've been more lax with my diet (i.e. not packing tuna sandwhiches when I go to the movies and worrying if I don't get protein every 3hrs) and have allowed myself to go and drink once on the weekend and i'm so much happier for it.

I was like you guys, so caught up in my routine striving for perfection, worried that if I let myself slide it would all go to waste. Well it doesn't. I have noticed no difference in results. You don't want to look back when your 80 and realise you wasted your time sitting at home eating tuna when you could of been out enjoying the company of others. I'm thankful I realised this while I was still young, before it was too late. Lift hard and eat right, but live! - atleast a little, because time is precious and there is so much more to life than your physique

[ultimo]

this has been a very inspirational thread

i just wanted you all to know that. im moving to germany in about 5 weeks and i am going to be competing in my first contest next april. and i have to make sure to keep my diet in check there. im starting my contest diet 16 weeks out at the start of december...so needless to say its going to be along time without my beloved cheat day.

but its all worth it. and after reading this its going to be easy to turn down "do you wanna go to the bar" "wanna get a beer". ive always nicely just said no i really dont drink anymore...i go out to supper with friends on cheat days and get a burger and fries...they know my routine now, and always ask "when is your cheat day so we can go out?" its nice to get some support...

as far as the girls go...i think if they want you to have a decent body and want you to be in shape and actually love you, then they will realize that your passions also have to take precedence in your life...like BB'ing.

just my 2 cents...but thank you for the inspiration, and i know im not alone!

[BG]

this has been a very inspirational thread

i just wanted you all to know that. im moving to germany in about 5 weeks and i am going to be competing in my first contest next april. and i have to make sure to keep my diet in check there. im starting my contest diet 16 weeks out at the start of december...so needless to say its going to be along time without my beloved cheat day.

but its all worth it. and after reading this its going to be easy to turn down "do you wanna go to the bar" "wanna get a beer". ive always nicely just said no i really dont drink anymore...i go out to supper with friends on cheat days and get a burger and fries...they know my routine now, and always ask "when is your cheat day so we can go out?" its nice to get some support...

as far as the girls go...i think if they want you to have a decent body and want you to be in shape and actually love you, then they will realize that your passions also have to take precedence in your life...like BB'ing.

just my 2 cents...but thank you for the inspiration, and i know im not alone!

Good luck bro, keep us up dated wnen you get to germany. ANd about the drinking and parting BS, thats all it is, regrets the next morning, waste of money and missed growing time!!!

[IronFreakX]

IRON Rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[G-Force]

we may aswell face it, we are "addicted to iron"

[ultimo]

we may aswell face it, we are "addicted to iron"

this statement could not be truer...and to those who dont understand it we seem soooo stupid...

well they have have their 25% bf level and their heart conditions...ill take my big arms and busting hams anyday!

[C_Bino]

I love the lifestyle. I find that after i told my friends WHY I do it and how it makes me feel than they are behind me all the way and support me 100%. Its the people who dont know me very well or new friends gf's who dont understand it. And if they dont understand it than they cant understand me, and it will never work. When I think of it that way it is always easier to saying NO to a drink or to going to a bar and staying out late etc...

-Bino

[Kärnfysikern]

I have no social life


but I have realised that beeing to obsesed about this lifestyle isnt for me. I want to have a life besides bodybuilding. When cutting I am strickt. But when bulking I relax alot. If going to the movies when its not a cheat day Il grab a bag of penuts or something instead of brining a shake. I dont party much but I try not to let bodybuilding stand in the way of socialising when it comes to that. Sometimes I just bring a few shakes and party sober.

for 2 years I was TOTALY obsessed about lifting. I hardly did anything that was negative to the lifestyle and I got nuts. Beeing 100% dedicated might be the right choosie for some people, but not me. I cant live like that year round. Would make me nuts. Some periods I just have to relax and say **** it all, skip a few workouts, skip a few meals. Just chill and enjoy the other parts of life except bodybuilding.

I have come to the point that I know missing a meal once or twice a week wont hurt my progress but will do alot to keep me mentaly sane.

[Kärnfysikern]

I also belive 50% of this sport is in the mind and beeing to strickt might make the whole thing less fun and if the fun is lost the mind isnt into it and that will effect gains more negativly then cutting yourself some slack every now and then.

[mekler]

I also belive 50% of this sport is in the mind and beeing to strickt might make the whole thing less fun and if the fun is lost the mind isnt into it and that will effect gains more negativly then cutting yourself some slack every now and then.

good call johan

[LegendKiller85]

I workout at 6:00 am mon-fri so it doesnt bother my social life much when I do hang out with friends I bring protein or fruits or just talk them into going out to eat.

[G-Force]

i am not 100% strict all the time, but i know that when i am i will be producing better results, and it is the results that make me happy

i'm usually up for a wee drink on the weekends though

[oldandgrim]

I got my priorities right. I took up body building so I could continue pulling the chicks now that I am into my 40s.



I have always had great success with the women, that is until I became a fat pig. The motivation to get fit came from a lovely 20 year hold chick in a night club when she took one look at me and said fcuk off you fat old man.



Motivated was I ever. I weighed 216 pound of fat then and now 2 years on I weigh 208 pound of lean muscle with a bf of 14%



I train so that I can live

[G-Force]

i live to train

i pull birds in my spare time