There’s a great quote I always think of that was spoken by Bob Dylan, a man that’s put up with a lot of knocks throughout the years for so many things, but has always stuck to his principles;
“Do it, don’t talk it.
The talkers will always be around, you won’t.”
This always motivates me to ignore people and get down to business.
J-Bird, I’ve got nothing but love for you, bro;-) Some very insightful comments have been made here already.
G-Berg, my man, you’ve got J-Bird all wrong, bro. J is a very, very modest, kind, and thoughtful friend of mine–and many others. He is far from the egotistical bro that you may be led to believe. Rather, J is an extremely dedicated and focused young man. In addition to his unprecendented work ethic in the gym and in the kitchen, he spends his time working with children in group homes, helping them to get the most out of their lives.
(Note: J-Bird, sorry for sharing personal details, but I only do so out of complete respect)
Journey of Excellence: Commitment…Dedication…Discipline
Anybody who’s serious about training and nutrition gets this reaction. I just got it FROM MY HUSBAND! He just called, on his way home from being out of town:
Hubby: Whacha doin’?
Me: Eating.
Hubby: Salmon???
Me: Yeah
Hubby: Every time I call you’re eating!
Me: Well, I eat a lot, so that ups the chances that you’ll catch me eating!
Just HAD to share that, lol!
And I also know the feeling of making other people uncomfortable. You don’t mean to, but your presence just makes them feel guilty about their own behaviors. I’m a Personal Trainer, so it’s even worse. I go to, let’s say, a school event with my kid, and I’ll get lots of people, moms and teachers, whoever, come up to me and say “I’m gonna call you! I’ve just got to get rid of this (while pointing to the unloved body part)!” WHY do they feel they have to say this stuff to me! I know they are not going to call me, not going to change their diets or start working out. I didn’t ask them. I tried to talk about our children or whatever, but they just feel compelled to say something about their desire to look better. It’s frustrating.
But then, I wouldn’t change anything I am doing to make it stop. Would you? It’s a compliment in a way. So I just try to think of it like that.
And what’s the most important thing we learned on this thread? People have poor language skills. It’s vain not vein!!! Your welcome. Ciao. 
Yeah, I get this bullshit all the fucking time.
On dorm, if I have a protein shake, guys’ll be like “got your steroids?” And I’m like “its protein, buddy.”
Just last night I was having a flax oil and cottage cheese meal and a friend of mine said to me “do you know of the side effects of that kinda stuff?” (while he was eating a piece of pizza) I replied, “what stuff? Cottage cheese?” He said, “no, like the powders and the pills and stuff?” I said, “you mean protein powder and multivitamins?” He said “yeah, like aren’t there any side effects to that stuff?” Then the conversation went on to me explaining the importance of protein. Yeah, its bullshit. People are gonna try to tear you down because they see you changing and they see you becoming a better person, that makes them feel bad about their own habits and they feel the need to tear you down to make themselves feel better.
I remember an old phys-ed teacher of mine was pretty big, like 5’10", 210 lbs. Not freakishly huge but bigger than your average joe. All the kids in the class would try to show him up whenever we’d do sports and shit. Like in dodgeball, they’d always be gunning for him. When we’d play football kids would constantly be like “I’m gonna tackle Hoover! I’m gonna do it, just watch me guys!”
Its just a matter of peoples’ inferiority complexes acting up and taking over.
Also, the guys are worried that you’re gonna get the girls, so if they see you looking better and more appealing to girls than themselves, then they’re gonna do everything in their will to change that.
Also, this kindsa shit fuels me. I actually love it when people do this. One day I was limping around campus because I had just finished a ball-busting leg workout the day before. Then a friend of mine (supposedly) comes up to me and says, “gee Chris, whats wrong?” My reply, “I did leg workouts yesterday.” Then she says, “hahahahhaha, oh Chris, you’re so silly, you know doing that stuff will never make you bigger so why do you do it?” I just shook my head and limped away. I actually like it when people say shit like this to me. Simply because over time I’ve learned that I lift better when I’m pissed. This kindsa shit motivates me, I felt like saying, “y’know what, bitch? Just because of that bullshit you just fucking pulled I am gonna be bigger, I’m gonna be 10 lbs bigger next year this time now than if you hadn’t said that. Thanks!”
The key is to transfer the anger from this stuff into the weight room where it needs to be.
T-Rock, brotha thanks for the wonderful compliments and no worries about the personal info:) It is funny that you mention the guys at the group home, as they seem to be some of the only people I personally know who repsect my lifestlye. They think it is cool, and that is very rewarding to experience, on a side note it is beggining to rub off on them, as they are becoming more and more aware of there personal appearances and health. Thanks also for coming to my defense, to tell you the truth, whatever negative comments were made were simply ingnored. I do not want to call anyone out, but it seems like this individual seems to comment on most of my posts in a negative manner, but that is neither here nor there. Some other great points were brought up by others, and I really appreciate it.
A couple of comments:
First, to Goldberg: Don’t know if you’re right or wrong about Janderstein, but that’s a great line about the t-shirt. LMAO!
Second, yes, it is “vain”, not “vein”. At least in this vein it is. Heh heh.
Third, I actually like to mess with people when they ask me what I’m eating. They’ll say (about a deep purple protein shake or something similar), “What is that?” And I’ll tell them that it’s my steroid drink. “I’ve got 400 grams of pure D-bol in here, bro!” (Mind you, I do NOT look like I’m on steroids, but they buy it anyway.) Say it with a rougher-than-average voice, a huge grin and with your eyes opened slightly wider than normal (a slight head twitch is optional), and oddly enough, they won’t ask anymore after that.
Fourth, Polar Princess, you go girl. We wanna see some pics pretty soon!
Whoa! I didnt mean Janderstein was that guy. I meant “if you were that guy”. As in you, you all, yall, any of you out there in tv land. Not him specifically. Ive never seen him in person so i dont know. I do have to admit that i used to be that guy and it was when i was not so big. Now every thing is tight so it doesnt matter. hehe.
even my gf tells me that im obsessed, so when i was bulking i put on some fat purposely. as soon as my 6-pak began to fade she got on my ass and told me i look fat. now im 6’4" 215 8% bf and again tells me i have a body image problem. she also steals and flushes any supp she can find in my dorm room (andro, creatine, whey). so im not allowed to get fat but when im cut i have a body image problem?
analintruder, not to be the counselor or anything, but man if this something that is important to you which it seems it is, she is going to be a thorn in your side and may hamper your results. I have found one girl who could handle and respect my passion and unfortunately she lives in ND half way across the country, tried dating other girls, but they found it hard to understand and respect the fact that instead of eating ice cream with them, I would pull out premade tuna salad from my cooler bag. I will find one though good luck bro.
It’s human nature man.
Think about it. Do many women hold it against you that you have a lean physique? I’m sure there are a few, but the lions share appreciate it.
guys hate it because you are competition. We are animals, that competition is built into you through evolution.
Most folks, if they get dirt honest with themselves, as much as they may appreciate it, hate people of the same sex who are pretty or have idealized features.
It’s competition, when you are in a room with someone of a better physical cut than yourself, you can feel how the energy of the the opposite sex is pulled to that person.
Ultimately, this means rejection for you(whether it’s real or imagined), and as a human being, our greatest fear is that we are not enough, and we know(again, real of imagined) we are not enough when someone else is getting the attention that we want.
that’s my armchair phsycology .05 cent thought on the subject, I could write a book…
All I can do is laugh at everyone’s comments about others making comments at them. I can relate with nearly every comment. I’m laughing still as I’m writing this.
Anyways, my true friends and family have all given me good comments after these 2 years of training, and have meet some great people in the process. And all the others can seriously go fly a fucking kite.
The people though that should be made fun of, and should be given dirty looks are the people who drink their shakes and stare at themselves in the mirror more than train. Those people I want to kick right the fuck out of the gym. I don’t see it much cause I tend to avoid all eye contact with people, and just lift my weights, but when I see it, I just shake my head and have a reality check that I DO workout at a college recreation center 
Anyways, Jander, and all … fuck um, and seriously … you all deserve the best if you put your best into yourself.
Landon
p.s. Goldberg … LOL … Imaginary Lat syndrome. That is awesome !
Chard-dawg - the idea of putting up photos is kind of scary to me. The only pictures of women I’ve seen here are the uber-perfect Patricia, the very controversial Trish, and the scary girl with the 500 lb bench. Although I’m on my way from blob to babe I’m still only half-way and shy about sharing my fat
Princess
oh great, now because I’m “in shape” I’m part of a persecuted minority. Do we all need to join a march to fight for our rights & equal treatment now?
Boy do I really feel sorry for myself.
Wow, people call me vain all the time, but to stoop so low as to call someone a vein, that is just not right. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
The imaginary lat syndrome is a very real thing and it affects many people. The only thing you can do is to have an intervention, a sit down if you will, to stress the importance of rowing and pulling movements.
Another common affliction is SMS, aka Small Man Syndrome. You know, the little cocky guy who always has to show everyone how “crazy” or “psycho” he is. Laughing at these people only further fuels the fire. The only way to cure this is to confront the girlfriend of said SMS sufferer, and to have her repeatedly tell the guy that his penile girth is frighteningly enormous.
Disclaimer: Not all vertically-challenged individuals suffer from SMS, only those with insecurity/inferiority issues resulting from childhood beatings or the medical condition known as micropenis. Reference: “Short men are better lovers” thread.
Landon man, you just gave me a laugh. Everytime I go to the gym with my gf’s 16 yr old bro, he carries his 7 lb tub of Cell-Tech under his arm. He gets a lot of stares, I think he likes the attention. I even bought him a shaker bottle but he still brings the tub. He needs to take it IMMEDIATELY following his 50 sets of curls, wtf do I know anyway?
I’ve never really minded any of the attitudes of which people are speaking. When one earns that, it means that they have managed some level of achievement which differentiates them from the normal pack. I’ve always hated the idea of being “normal” because “normal” is the same as “average” and I would much rather be exceptional in as many aspects of life as possible. Maybe it’s latent elitism, but I’ve never wanted or been willing to accept mediocrity in anything which I define as important in life. In my opinion, it is far worse if someone considers you “average” or “normal” than if they look at you with envy or spite. Please kill me if I’m ever at the peak of a bell curve.
I’m done.
Landon -
from my recollection the ISU rec is full of posers. And don’t get me started about those dang carpeted basketball courts in the rec. 
You should check out the Beyer weight room it used to be some pretty hard core guys. I think most of the ones I knew are gone now, but at least they have chalk and you can deadlift, and last I know there were still pictures of the Kaz on the wall.
I think we as weightlifters, fitnessbuffs, muscleheads or whatever are just more obvious than most other obsesive people. It’s hard to tell a golfer or softballnut on the street. You’ve got to talk to them to find out how odd they are.People can tell we are unusual just by site.