HOT TOPIC: What made you start bb'ing?

[Evie]

Got fat while travelling and drinking too much, so when I came home I joined the gym, found that I loved training too much to miss out a mornings training because of a hangover so I quit drinking, lost weight, got strong, fell in love with lifting ... etc etc etc B'Building was just the next step. :nod:

[ohjoshua]

Just over a year ago I had never trained in a gym....

Got baked with my neighbour (who was on roids) and he asked if I wanted to come for a train....

He was real strong and had me standing on top of the weight stack to provide enough resistance!

He got me doing dropsets, forced reps etc all for my triceps. I was quite interested in the failure aspect of training and wondered if there was a gun to my head could I get another rep.

Woke up the next morning with DOMS and I was hooked.

[deeepsouth_nz]

Was doing very well at PE in highschool and thought hey thats kinda hypocritical if I know all of this stuff but arent putting it into action.....so got a gym membership for my 18th birthday (9years ago) and have been consistent ever since. Always had people telling me I should do a comp, went and saw a local bodybuilder (6 years ago) who told me what I had to improve so I did and that took me about 2 years of work....went and saw him again looking for some more guidance of what to do next but he didnt really inspire me as much as I needed and I kinda burnout on it all. Kept training just down to three days a week because I found going to the gym still put me in a good mood and was a great escape from study....In the meantime completed a Degree in Health Sciences, then became a tutor in Health Sciences (Tertiary level) and am now doing a Post Grad Diploma in Sports Medicine (looking to get in to Rehabilitation Medicine?!)......Anyway to cut along story short....one of my ex students competed at Easter and won his class and that was it. Have been back at it solid for the last 4 months, have put on about 4kg of muscle and will do my first comp at the end of September..... :nod:

[Ann]

I read my first bodybuilding magazine when I was 15 and saw Tonya Knight, Anja Langer, Laura Creavelle and Lenda Murray - I loved the way they looked. It was because of these women - that led me into the gym.

I started lifting weights when I was 21 and I'm now 36. I may not compete again but I will always continue to train. :wink:

[bheeman]

I was a skinny kid growing up. I used to go to the community centre here where they had a gym and saw all those powerful guys lifting weights. I wanted to be like them but didn't have the money to join the gym. I went back home and started lifting all kinds of stuff (furniture, flower pots,pails wih water, etc). I did this for about a year. My dad then knew I was serious and got me a weight set as a present for doing well in my exams. The rest is history.

In almost any sport, once you wear clothes, you are just like any other 'ordinary' person. But bodybuilders I noticed looked great no matter what clothes they wore. People know you are a bodybuilder no matter what you wear.

[samoan_muscle]

but i grew to be one of the 'bigger' guys at the gym

at the west wave?

Haha - nah in the west caves....LOL

[samoan_muscle]

In almost any sport, once you wear clothes, you are just like any other 'ordinary' person. But bodybuilders I noticed looked great no matter what clothes they wore. People know you are a bodybuilder no matter what you wear.

Yeah? most people never think I'm a bodybuilder...always think im a league player or a K1 fighter sumthing like that.... :twisted: :twisted:

[Melbot]

Most of us wanted to put on some size or lose fat. I wanted to gain some size and look a bit more muscular. I have to agree that it didnt start out with the same intensity or goals which I have now. Its one of those things, you either hate going to the gym or you hate not being able to go.

Once you see the transformation in your body its all over and I think for me its the fact that its complex. Its about nutrition, training with correct form and high intensity and continously changing and striving to be better.

[courts]

i was one of those skinny kids at school who got picked on i made mates with these guys at school (one now has his pro card) who did weights and happened to be the top guys in there bbing class at the time went with them one time nearly got killed and liked so much i kept going till i finished highschool and gave it up for awhile now im back at it and trying to get better than ever, learnt everthing from them and other people in the know

[poos_n_wees]

Once you see the transformation in your body its all over and I think for me its the fact that its complex. Its about nutrition, training with correct form and high intensity and continously changing and striving to be better.

:ditto: Totally agree with that.

Its like a science experiment. So rewarding to try/tweak something whether it be diet or training, and see the results from doing so.

I started lifting cos I was sick of being skinny. Was forever getting targeted by the big ladies on the rugby field

[rowha]

have really only just decided to start bb, but i did karate and my coach had great plans for me internationally and started me on weights as soon as i was 16. i was pathetic to start with but progressed really quickly, i.e. couldnt even squat the bar for 10 reps..but within a few months i could 3/4 squat my own body weight for 5 odd reps (that was mucking round one day, i was actually on a cutting routine of 3 sets of 20 reps at the time)

shorter version of a very long story goes: gave away karate in 2004 when i was 17 just before oceania champs. switched codes straight into rep rugby. got injured last season. found ronny schweyers posing on youtube, fell in love with it. have had 14" calves for a long time now (not normal for a girl :shock: ) and am about to finish nutrition degree this semester, so figure this would be the ultimate test of my genetic potential and nutritional knowledge. am gna go one step further and try do it without any supplements at all (but will see if i change my mind later), it seems a challenge like no other. will update yas when i get training etc sorted out.

[poos_n_wees]

have had 14" calves for a long time now (not normal for a girl :shock: ) and am about to finish nutrition degree this semester, so figure this would be the ultimate test of my genetic potential and nutritional knowledge.

Wish I had 14" calves... And Yay for your last semester!

[ohjoshua]

am gna go one step further and try do it without any supplements at all

I reckon supplements are overated...

[rowha]

ha really you do? still gettin used to the idea that bb is actually an interest of other chickies! ok so i guess-timated before, just measured em and they're 17" hahaha..oh no, but will stick with 14" when i'm lean. all i could ever notice in my formal photos at high school was my traps, thats when i asked my coach to cut out the shrugs

sorry im goin off the main topic now, but there's other people that don't use any supplements at all? i mean, no creatine, no shakes, nothing. cos thats what i wanna start out doin.

[nzidol]

To compete in the national competition in 2008. Mainly for myself, as a personal achievement and because I want to be involved in the health industrie, espeacialy for maori. I thought it would look good on my c.v.

Another reason I like individual sports rather than team sports.

Godbless

[I_lift]

Well.......

I was diagnosed with Spinal Bifida late (20 years old), which effectivley put an end to my Basketball...career. I was unhappy and lost my appetite for a few years (weight 76kgs, not heavy when 194cm tall). Fell in love with a lady and a new job...suddenly 105kgs (of bad weight). Decided to start lifting and became hooked. Diet, cardio not so good. I like to fell strong, and big

[Dragonlor]

i got started through martial arts, by following Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan training and saw getting fitter as being beneficial to my martial arts. So yea after a while i was hooked

[severe]

I was skinny, while everyone around me was big. made me determined not to stay that way. took years to sort it out but through split training have discovered what works for my body. (I know, splits aren't a new idea, but it takes time to get out of the full body comfort zone... :roll: )

I am not the hulk yet, but time is on my side I figure...

[james123]

I decided to do it after i got my arse kicked in a fight at school. I decided i wanted to be bigger tougher than anyone i know.

[Dragonlor]

I decided to do it after i got my arse kicked in a fight at school. I decided i wanted to be bigger tougher than anyone i know.

haha, you know the bigger guy dosen't always win the fight although it does have that intimidation factor about it. Just knowing a few pressure points can bring a guy twice your size to his knees easily. But yea no matter the reason, glad your hitting the weights like the rest of us

[big MAC]

I will never start bodybuilding! :grin: Nothing will make me either.

[haydz0r]

well im starting powerlifting, and my reasons are - even tho i am the strongest out of all my mates, its still not enough, its never enough. i feel that most people settle for mediocrity when it comes to the physical aspects of life, so i try to take it one step further

[mike-311]

I got into it when I was 13, somewhere down the road I lost interest and got more into sex, drugs and rock n roll.

In 2004 I got in to a fight, which was the first one I had as an adult, I sorta won the fight but kept thinking how easly it could have been the other way. So I started working out at home and really got in to boxing. I soon discovered I couldnt carry on smoking and drinking if I wanted to make any real gains, so I packed it in and began eating more. After a while I got over wanting to box and just loved the weights. I moved out of the small town I was living in and move to Puke where I joined a gym and started studying and working in security.

I went from 76kg in 2004 to 93kg now, I dont smoke, drink or do drugs and my little family is so much happier now.

Im not a nut job Christian, but I know I have the Lord to thank for giving me weight lifting.

You could say it saved my life.

This was in an article written about Steriod use, but I think can apply to why people would want to Bodybuild also. Often you will find underlying psychological reasons why people abuse steroids in muscle building. Some studies suggest up to 25% have been physically or sexually abused as children or attacked as adults and are highly motivated to make themselves powerful and resistant to future attack. Others have a body image problem similar to anorexia nervosa, so that they see a weak and feeble body in the mirror - muscle dysmorphia.

[rnold]

Appropriate Thread for my first post...

Hi All

basically one name:

"Arnold Schwarzenegger" have loved him since my dad showed me predator when i was 8 years old!!

From about 14-20 i always planned to work out, never got round to it, Then i watched "pumping iron and signed up to the uni gym the next day, and now i'm hooked!! Wish I had started at 14 or 15!!

One other reason was that I had (still do to some degree) one arm much bigger than the other due to my sport.

Though i'm more into powerlifting/strength training now than getting big, i find number goals much more motivational.

[Manu]

This thread has been going for a while!! Here's my 2c worth.

I originally started training to combat the guilts of an unhealthy Uni lifestyle. Met this guy checking out my boobs while I was there and now I'm married to him lol. He has been in the bodybuilding scene for a while and we trained for about 3 years. Got married and tried to start a family with a couple of major upsets on the way. Had to give up the gym to carry a baby basically. Popped out three kids and went to the pack lol. Ended up in hospital for 9 days in April 06, very sick!! Had some major upsets in Aug 06 combined with my specialist telling me that I had five years before I'd need some major liver treatment. So that's when I started to get back into the gym and I haven't looked back since!! Doing what I'm doing now has more than halved my bad liver-function tests so I'm gonna keep doing whatever it takes to get there.

Helping out with a couple of bb shows back-stage is what pushed me to compete