Sports & Fitness Anybody into Bodybuilding, Weight Training and Fitness, Get in Here!

After 15 years of bodybuilding and weight training I competed last year.

I stepped on stage at 94kg and 3.8% body fat.

It was the hardest thing I've ever attempted in my life.
There were moments toward the end where I thought I would die.

To be honest there were moments were i wish I would die.
430am every morning I would do fasted cardio. Which involved 60mins of walking the streets at a pace just under jogging.

I faced my demons on a many occasions early in the morning when my body fat was so ridiculously low and I would be lying if i said I didn't consider jumping off that bridge some mornings.
If only in jest.

The final 4 weeks everything in my life stopped. My business, my friends, my family. I switched my mobile phone off.

The final result was 4th placing.

Wow ! Hardly seemed worth it.
I ate a cheese burger and it made me sick, I smoked a cigar, had a sip of alcohol for the first time in over 5 years and felt like a free man.

Some days I miss it. Mostly out of boredom. I found an additional 28hrs in my week not including the 6 meal preps per day.
It was a full time job away from my double full time job.

I don't miss weighing and measuring food. Although strangely enough I miss the feeling of waking up like I've been hit by a truck everyday with delayed onset muscle soreness.

I haven't done one single second of exercise in about 12 months now.

Not that it concerns me.
The itch will come back.
The itch always comes back....

 

Hanison

Thanks for articulating that extraordinary account.

"I haven't done one single second of exercise in about 12 months now."

To me the above is the most extraordinary aspect. Perhaps this thread will get you going again?

 

That's the thing about bodybuilding, at high levels, it's way too extreme and the investment is not worth the returns.
The 80:20 rule looks very tempting here.
Bodybuilding at high levels is like the 99:1 rule....
Too much time dedication and expense required for very marginal extra results.
Whatever makes you happy and what you can accomplish counts for a bit though.
But in the end, beating the genetic lottery if you're not blessed seems hardly worthwhile when you could achieve so much more meaningful things in this life.

 

The quintessential pyrrhic victory ....

 

I had to google the word pyrrhic, and it is quite true here.
But that could apply to anybody at elite level.
Was watching a show on Ian Thorpe a little while back and he pretty much lost his whole childhood to become a swimming champion, a great sacrifice.
How about the ones who trained at similar levels, but never made it....?
If nothing else comes of it, dicipline and character are built which will stay with you forever.

 

This also quintessentially applies to you and your current sprinting efforts. A sub 13s 100m will not come easily for a 40yo ... hence my ongoing interest in the thread.

 

Don't worry Greg, I won't let you down.
But these shins of mine are still playing up....
Feel like jabbing some cortisone into them for some relief.

 

DON'T!!!

Watch that YouTube shin splint treatment video I posted yesterday and get the tennis ball (or baseball) self-massage going (5.45s and 8.40s in the video). It will hurt viciously, but will be highly efficacious and ease off as the inflammation abates.

 

Ok, I watched it now.
Will foam roll and use a massage ball to ease the tension.

 

How are you going with this?

I am still off exercise, although I have started walking home from the train station (30 mins), three times a week. I have zero motivation and I can't seem to find a way to get motivated.

In the meantime, I saw a documentary last night that was very amazing. Wim Hof, with no running training, runs a 26-mile marathon 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, clad only in shorts and open sandals. Pretty much, he risks serious damage to his body as he is exposed to temperatures of up to -25C for more than five hours. Compelling!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1531224/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

 

Would tie into the PC Meditation thread also

 

I watched Bigger Stronger Faster and Generation Iron recently (Not much else to do when sitting on a plane)

 

Yeah, I saw that too. It's very interesting. I was skeptical of some of the claims though.

 

Signed up to 3x World Record attempts which I'm now into 16 weeks training for.

Now the big decision: new bike!



pinkboy

 

Awesome! Although it makes me feel sore just thinking about it.

w00t! What are you looking at?

 

Giant XTC 29er. I'm not a mountain biker, but the records are Most km travelled on a mountain bike in 12hrs/24hrs/48hrs. So Effectively a solo time trial on a mountain bike.

Fun fun. Anyone wanna sponsor me? Sim is reviewing my application as we speak. 'Property Chat' athlete.

pinkboy

 

That's a sweet bike! It should be fun.

My longest endurance cycling event was 24 hours (road). I didn't find it too difficult. 48 hours should be a great challenge!

 

Nice. I think 24hrs on the bike won't be too bad. 48hrs probably challenging.

It's the part where I'll be riding on threshold for the entire duration that's scary.

pinkboy

 

Been into bodybuiling type training for a while now. What frustrates me is the lack of good gyms. You have all these new gyms opening up that are complete rubbish. They bring in new equipment that is hammer strength knock offs. They would do much better if they bought second hand good equipment than buying new rubbish.

Just changed gyms the other month had a good special on so thought I would try it and see. Million machines to do chest, hardly any for back. I like free weights as opposed to machines but do incorporate machines also. Hammer strength and life fitness bring out some good machines the rest are just copies.

To find a gym that has dumbbells that go over 50kg is a stretch. Only Doherty's and Nitro have them that I know of, all a bit far for me to travel too. This new place said they will go higher than 50kg, but did not. Crappy machines. Brand new dumbbells that have a coat of oil over them that has been present since open. Unless someone wipes them down and cleans them they will be oily for a long time.

My ultimate dream is to open a gym a good gym not these that open up on every corner and are utter rubbish.

Just seems to me that the serious lifter is not really catered for these days.

 

I think it would be because of the sugar content to spike insulin and take advantage of the shuttling process.

Most of the supplements out there are a scam. The only thing I would spend money on would be protein powder, BCAA and possibly creatine. That is it, and I only really buy protein powder as of late.

The rest of the scams like Testosterone boosters, fat burners are all a scam.

Weight gainers are pretty much just sugar. Might as well just by 1kg packs of sugar and save 1000%.