[quote]oboffill wrote:
Step back and look at the world in which we live. This heavy lifting shit is unnecessary for survival. We have all the convieniences of science and technology to NOT have to worry about extreme amounts of strength and fitness.
[/quote]
You take it for granted that everyone shares your lifestyle.
[quote]Leeuwer wrote:
Interesting topic.
It’s somewhat counterintuitive, but bodybuilders are among the most insecure folk there are.
How sensitive they are concerning anything about their body, or anything else for that matter.
It isn’t necessary narcism, but most begin training because of some large gap in their persona, and they try to fill it in with getting a better body, and putting their drive into it.
As such, they can answer to the image of the person they want themselves to be, usually a strong, secure, muscled man.
This, of course, works well, until a few things occur :
Thus, the bodybuilder falls become into(perhaps even greater)insecurity.
This, while his direct environment(the people we encounter every day)expect actually the OPPOSITE of it.(assuming the guy actually looks like a bodybuilder)
This is the reason why I am mildly against obsessing with bodybuilding alone … for it is a very unstable source of selfesteem.
For a gig : if you know any powerlifters in your environment(real powerlifters), compare them to the bodybuilders. Note how much more laid-back the former are, and how much more insecure the latter are in comparison.
If you can use the selfesteem you get from bodybuilding, and developing a better body, and go towards other goals, you will keep progressing to be a better human being, hence, you will be more succesful in life, hence, you will have true confidence.
Does anyone have any comment on this ?[/quote]
Very, very well said.
I will concur that the bodybuilders I have known that had nothing else going for them BUT the gym were pathetic creatures with the personalities of parking meters. When, for whatever reason, (injury, roid connection got busted, etc.) they could not continue, they were left with nothing but stories of how they used to look, how much they used to lift, and maybe a few snapshots from the good ol’ days.
I also agree that, in the vast majority of cases, (myself included) if you look into a bodybuilder’s past, you will find some kind of emotional deficit or a perceived inadequacy that they are looking to compensate for. It seems only natural that they (we) chose a sport that features over-compensation as its main objective.
That being said, I think most of us do go through stages as far as where we place bodybuilding in our lives. In the begining, it is everything: The quick newbie gains, the resultant attention from the opposite sex, and the boosted confidence all make for one hell of an aphrodisiac, and we tend to throw ourselves head-first into the lifestyle, forsaking (or at least down-grading) previously important activities/aspects of our lives.
Hopefully, after a few years max (and several sobering plateaus), one reflects on their own motives, and the aesthetics begin to become balanced with things like health, well-being, and (maybe this is just me) an appreciation for the process of working out for its own sake; a ritualistic quality, if you will.
The old motives never entirely go away (nor should they), but those of us that are in it for the long haul usually tend to strike a healthy balance between lifting, career, family, hobbies, etc.
I wish I could confirm Leeuwer’s assessment of powerlifters, but in my (albeit, very limited) experience, the power lifters I met, including a few who competed regionally, were fat jerks with egos bigger than their guts. Of course, we’re talking about maybe a dozen individuals over the years who were true, powerlifting-only guys compared to the hundreds of bodybuilders I’ve met; your mileage may vary.
I find satisfaction in the fact that when WW3 comes and we go back to a survival state, all the pretty boys out there will be the first to go.
Try popping your collar when i’m hitting you on the head with a rock pretty boy…hooooohaaaaaa
[quote]dollarbill44 wrote:
If I love the man in the mirror, does that make me gay? (nttawwt)
DB[/quote]
That, and your avatar.
[quote]baretta wrote:
I find satisfaction in the fact that when WW3 comes and we go back to a survival state, all the pretty boys out there will be the first to go.
Try popping your collar when i’m hitting you on the head with a rock pretty boy…hooooohaaaaaa[/quote]
1st target the ones with the frosted hair tips. Never understood why they pay for that when they could just stand under a statue in a park and the pigeons would give them the same look for free.
Oh, and the zombies! Don’t forget about the zombies!
[quote]oboffill wrote:
How else can you explain lifting weights but narcissism? We obviously love our bodies to the point where we eat every few hours, lift unnecessarily heavy weights, look at our bodies in the mirror.
[/quote]
Dude, I have seen your other posts. You do not lift unneccessarily heavy weights or eat every few hours, so what the hell are you talking about?
[quote]oboffill wrote:
How else can you explain lifting weights but narcissism?
[/quote]
Nothing good to watch on TV.
… maybe we’re hungry …
… not unnecessarily heavy: the 45’s have to weigh 45 pounds each, otherwise the companies that sell them will be in legal trouble for false advertising …
Squinting to look at our bodies in the toaster is bad for our eyes.
… we don’t want our egos to run out of fuel in the middle of the highway …
… which is better than taking fashion advice from “queer eye for the straight guy” …
It’s hard to feel bad about hitting a heavy set of deadlifts.
Ok … now maybe squinting at the toaster doesn’t seem so bad.
Sure would be nice to be in Jack LaLanne’s condition at age 91.
[quote]
We fall in love with that beautiful human looking back at us in the flowing stream in the forest.[/quote]
It’s hard not to get sentimental when there is a stream and a forest.
Yes, Narcissim, ego, the desire to screw hot chicks and it makes me feel powerful.
Do I get full credit for my answer to the question?
[quote]oboffill wrote:
Step back and look at the world in which we live. [/quote]
This is the line that annoys me most. You take a look at the world we live in. It’s full of fat, weak-fleshed and weak-spirited heart attacks waiting to happen. It’s full of people who are too weak to stand behind a cash register without using a back brace. It’s full of people who are too fat to walk. It’s full of motherfuckers like you trying to justify the fact that you are soft and weak by saying you are the next evolution of the human race.
The only dudes who can justify not lifting because of technological advances is Davros or the Terminator (not Arnie, the actual terminator).
And the comedy gold goes to Neal Raymond.
Yes, but the “reality slapps you upside the noggin” gold goes to Massif. Thats some good shit right there.
[quote]Massif wrote:
oboffill wrote:
Step back and look at the world in which we live.
This is the line that annoys me most. You take a look at the world we live in. It’s full of fat, weak-fleshed and weak-spirited heart attacks waiting to happen. It’s full of people who are too weak to stand behind a cash register without using a back brace. It’s full of people who are too fat to walk. It’s full of motherfuckers like you trying to justify the fact that you are soft and weak by saying you are the next evolution of the human race.
The only dudes who can justify not lifting because of technological advances is Davros or the Terminator (not Arnie, the actual terminator).[/quote]
Why are there so many people who don’t lift seriously on this damn forum?! I just don’t get it. I don’t log into “MarthaStewart.com” and start asking why everyone is so damn concerned about what color their bed sheets are! I mean, what the living fuck do they get out of logging in here?
The main ones making posts about taking steps back to look at the world are usually the ones doing the LEAST with their lives on this planet in relation to anyone but themselves. I knew one competitor in NPC who made it a major issue to do community service programs for youth in the area. The guy was HUGE and I don’t think I ever saw him over 8% body fat. He would have meals in Tupperware in his car.
How foolish would it have been to judge him as if all he cared about was bodybuilding simply because he looked the way he did? Why do weak fuckers try to make themselves feel better by acting as if the guys who actually LOOK like they train seriously only care about bodybuilding?
You will find extremes in any aspect of life but you must be truly stupid to walk around stereotyping entire groups of people in a negative light.
[quote]Massif wrote:
oboffill wrote:
How else can you explain lifting weights but narcissism? We obviously love our bodies to the point where we eat every few hours, lift unnecessarily heavy weights, look at our bodies in the mirror.
Dude, I have seen your other posts. You do not lift unneccessarily heavy weights or eat every few hours, so what the hell are you talking about?
[/quote]
He is making excuses for not training hard and he just changed majors from engineering to sociology or psychology or something similar.
He needs to man up instead of trying to tear down others that work harder than he does.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
…
Why are there so many people who don’t lift seriously on this damn forum?! I just don’t get it. I don’t log into “MarthaStewart.com” and start asking why everyone is so damn concerned about what color their bed sheets are! I mean, what the living fuck do they get out of logging in here?
…[/quote]
I don’t get it either. Now that I train at home and am retired from rugby I use this place to help keep me motivated.
I just don’t understand this kind of whiny bullshit.
[quote]oboffill wrote:
How else can you explain lifting weights but narcissism? We obviously love our bodies to the point where we eat every few hours, lift unnecessarily heavy weights, look at our bodies in the mirror.
----I dont really look at myself in the mirror. I mean, I see myself, but im not flexing and shit.
How are the weights unnecessarily heavy? Somepeople are athletes and strength tends to help athletes.
We fuel our egos, fashion ourselves cavemen or warriors, feel good about hitting a heavy set of deadlifts.
—Who the fuck fashions them self a caveman? All that T-man/vixen bravado is bs, we lift weights. Thats it. Its no different than Commrades or HIT Jedi’s or Dinosaurs…we all lift fuckin weights a few hours a week. Other than that, shut the fuck up about it.
We feel good about the deadlifts cause its the accomplisment of a goal. If you dont feel good after reaching a goal, then give up now, hippie.
Step back and look at the world in which we live. This heavy lifting shit is unnecessary for survival. We have all the convieniences of science and technology to NOT have to worry about extreme amounts of strength and fitness.
—The gayness of that statement makes my ass hurt. I didnt see any technology help me fend off this crazy homeless dude who attacked my group of friends up in philly a few months ago. A crazy fuck on meth = you better be strong enough to restrain this fucker or you are done. Maybe i should’ve used the internet to stop him?
We fall in love with that beautiful human looking back at us in the flowing stream in the forest. [/quote]
—That’s just creepy. What the fuck is wrong with you. Stop being a flaming faggot. I fall in love with the girl i look at. I think you have so much self-loathing that you have gone fag-shit crazy. Does reading a book make one smarter? Yes. Is reading books necessary for most adults? No. So would reading as an adult, in the search of knowledge,mean that we are only reading in order to feel smarter than others?
Here’s my idea. Go lift. or don’t. Better yet put on some emo music, a gas station shirt with the name “Tony” on it, some nice black rimmed glasses, some scented candles and cut a hole in your jeans so your boyfriend can buttblast you whil you listen to Fall Out Boy.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Massif wrote:
oboffill wrote:
Step back and look at the world in which we live.
This is the line that annoys me most. You take a look at the world we live in. It’s full of fat, weak-fleshed and weak-spirited heart attacks waiting to happen. It’s full of people who are too weak to stand behind a cash register without using a back brace. It’s full of people who are too fat to walk. It’s full of motherfuckers like you trying to justify the fact that you are soft and weak by saying you are the next evolution of the human race.
The only dudes who can justify not lifting because of technological advances is Davros or the Terminator (not Arnie, the actual terminator).
Why are there so many people who don’t lift seriously on this damn forum?! I just don’t get it. I don’t log into “MarthaStewart.com” and start asking why everyone is so damn concerned about what color their bed sheets are! I mean, what the living fuck do they get out of logging in here?
The main ones making posts about taking steps back to look at the world are usually the ones doing the LEAST with their lives on this planet in relation to anyone but themselves. I knew one competitor in NPC who made it a major issue to do community service programs for youth in the area. The guy was HUGE and I don’t think I ever saw him over 8% body fat. He would have meals in Tupperware in his car.
How foolish would it have been to judge him as if all he cared about was bodybuilding simply because he looked the way he did? Why do weak fuckers try to make themselves feel better by acting as if the guys who actually LOOK like they train seriously only care about bodybuilding?
[/quote]
because they are weak. well said
You guys are awesome. I love you guys, thanks for the comments. I will definitely continue posting everything I think about just to get the satisfaction from reading about YOUR insecurities.
Hell, my ego is hungry and I’m feeling damn pretty right now.
[quote]oboffill wrote:
We fuel our egos, fashion ourselves cavemen…
[/quote]
I fashion myself after this caveman.
[quote]malonetd wrote:
oboffill wrote:
We fuel our egos, fashion ourselves cavemen…
I fashion myself after this caveman.[/quote]
CAPTAIN CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVEMAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!
Excuse me. Childhood flashbacks are a bitch.
Yup. It’s definitely narcissism and ego, in part. Having 20 inch arms and/or 6% bodyfat is very removed from being fit, strong, and healthy and having a body that performs and allows you to succeed in sports and activities of your choosing. Is it a bad thing? I would say no. I think more of it, though, is pushing yourself to your limits and seeing how far you can take it, in any case. No different that anything else.