Not going to comment. Too pissed off. I will however say the guy in the picture needs to start getting addicted to training.
“Only allowing yourself to eat after you have excersised”
WOW , more ammo for the soy suckers who elngthern there muscles in the cable tower not letting us use it for ten minutes , and after that they get up , look for thier friend and nail a steroid and asmall penis joke on you in whispering distance…
bastards :]
I’ve been a training addict for quite some time now, and I don’t give a fucking shit what anyone says about it. It beats the hell out of most things other kids are doing (i.e. getting drunk/high 24/7.) I definitely don’t starve myself until after I’ve lifted though…
What a load of horseshit!
I think obesity should be tackled. I agree the guy in the pic is laughable, what exercise is he doing that requires the EZ-curl bar in a clean/curl position?
I believe the addiction is not as rampant as this story seemingly leads one to believe.
Not sure why this is so difficult for you guys to understand? People become addicted to strange things.
Many people get into training because there’s something wrong with their life and they want to improve. Once they realize that it’s a positive step, it’s easy for them to think that this is the source of all their success.
[quote]Turning down dates in order to work out
Avoiding social situations for fear of eating foods that may interfere with training progress
Social isolation
A feeling of general worthlessness if you have not completed your workout for the day
Only allowing yourself to eat after you have exercised
Feelings of depression
Reduced drive to engage in activities formerly enjoyed
Exercising for extended periods on a daily basis or several times a day
Feeling anxious if a workout is missed
Scheduling your day?s events around your workout session
A fear of becoming injured and having to miss a workout
[/quote]
We all want to be dedicated but those “symptoms” definitely seem like things I want to avoid.
[quote]carter12 wrote:
Not sure why this is so difficult for you guys to understand? People become addicted to strange things.
Many people get into training because there’s something wrong with their life and they want to improve. Once they realize that it’s a positive step, it’s easy for them to think that this is the source of all their success.
Turning down dates in order to work out
Avoiding social situations for fear of eating foods that may interfere with training progress
Social isolation
A feeling of general worthlessness if you have not completed your workout for the day
Only allowing yourself to eat after you have exercised
Feelings of depression
Reduced drive to engage in activities formerly enjoyed
Exercising for extended periods on a daily basis or several times a day
Feeling anxious if a workout is missed
Scheduling your day?s events around your workout session
A fear of becoming injured and having to miss a workout
We all want to be dedicated but those “symptoms” definitely seem like things I want to avoid.
[/quote]
Why? There are at least four items that I identify with and it has nothing to do with anything negative.
[quote]-Feeling anxious if a workout is missed
-Scheduling your day’s events around your workout session
-A fear of becoming injured and having to miss a workout
-Exercising for extended periods on a daily basis [/quote]
Why are these viewed as something to avoid?
If “addiction” is what you want to call it, from these, what is wrong with it?
Some of these “symptoms” are necessary if you want to be successful with your training.
For instance, if you frequently miss scheduled workouts, you will probably spin your wheels and not progress like you would if you adhered to your program. If you are working out to get a better body, to get stronger or to become better at your sport and it doesn’t give you some anxiety when you miss a workout, then perhaps your training isn’t that high of a priority to you.
Obviously there are extenuating circumstances that warrant missing a workout, I’m referring to the folks who miss them for no good reason. Personally, when I get into something, I try to be the best I can be. Why settle for mediocrity?
Life is a balance.
If you want to be a champion you need to sacrifice.
If you are a regular guy it is kind of silly to sacrifice important things for goals that may not be worthy.
Of course the only person that can determine what are worthy goals is the individual.
If you’re going to have an addiction, it might as well be training. Sure beats heroin.
I don’t think ya’ll are understanding it. If training negatively affects the way you want to live your life, thats bad. If training controls you, thats bad. Its really hard to understand the levels of anxiety and senselessness they are talking about if you’ve never experienced them.
I had an eating disorder, and the differences between how you handle the same situation with normal behavior and with abnormal behavior are huge.
I’ll go through some of these to point out the difference.
That worthlessness results in depression that keeps building no matter what you do. You could be perfect for 2 months and miss one session but you’d only focus on how bad you are and find some way to punish yourself, but you still don’t let go of the feelings that you’re a failure.
A fear which is debilitating enough to affect your life outside the gym and is likely to turn very superstitious. One day you might have a strong feeling that you’re going to have an accident on your way to work so you call in sick.
Ya’ll are the ones confusing dedication and addiction. People aren’t dedicated to things that harm them, thats the difference. If your training harms you, you have a problem.
[quote]texass wrote:
I don’t think ya’ll are understanding it. If training negatively affects the way you want to live your life, thats bad. If training controls you, thats bad. Its really hard to understand the levels of anxiety and senselessness they are talking about if you’ve never experienced them.
I had an eating disorder, and the differences between how you handle the same situation with normal behavior and with abnormal behavior are huge.
I’ll go through some of these to point out the difference.
A feeling of general worthlessness if you have not completed your workout for the day.
That worthlessness results in depression that keeps building no matter what you do. You could be perfect for 2 months and miss one session but you’d only focus on how bad you are and find some way to punish yourself, but you still don’t let go of the feelings that you’re a failure.
A fear of becoming injured and having to miss a workout
A fear which is debilitating enough to affect your life outside the gym and is likely to turn very superstitious. One day you might have a strong feeling that you’re going to have an accident on your way to work so you call in sick.
Ya’ll are the ones confusing dedication and addiction. People aren’t dedicated to things that harm them, thats the difference. If your training harms you, you have a problem.
[/quote]
Good points, I’m pleased to see you said “had an eating disorder” Hope this continues. I also agree with Prof X, I feel the same about the four points he mentioned. What is also wrong here is that other people’s perception of what you do is an addiction. I tell people I work out 3-5 times a week depending on the routine, I eat clean 90% of the time or more depending again on what I look like.
The response I get from my overweight manboob friends is “You’re obsessed, I want to live life to the fullest” I usually tell 'em, “me too and I want to physically be able to do that as well… for longer.” They still don’t get it.
It’s nice to see a site dedicated to our addiction 
[quote]Yo Momma wrote:
If you’re going to have an addiction, it might as well be training. Sure beats heroin.[/quote]
I OBJECT!!! heroin is alot better for you. you wont over eat and look like a bodybuilder. you will be able to spend ALOT more time with your friends and family because after you shoot up you wont be able to move to far.
unlike if you were dedicated to the gym, you might show up late for a family gathering. plus, heroin will DEFINATELY give you a more abercrombie model developed body, which all the girls seem to like these days.
sorry the sarcasm meter is reading high today.
I am a training addict.
You know a lot of the points in the article are very good- actually, and pretty truthful for most. But every time they make a good point, they take it to the extreme and make it laughable.
Here’s an example:
Notice the part in bold. Too extreme. I guess we should all stop training now.
Now I’m not saying that this isn’t real, and that there aren’t people out there who have this problem. But that list of vague symptoms probably covers at least 99% of T-Nation readers.
[quote]eengrms76 wrote:
Here’s an example:
The second cause of training addiction is vanity. It’s no secret that working out improves your physique, so some men believe that the harder they work out, the better they will look. They feel that by looking better than the average guy, they will become superior.
Notice the part in bold. Too extreme. I guess we should all stop training now.
Now I’m not saying that this isn’t real, and that there aren’t people out there who have this problem. But that list of vague symptoms probably covers at least 99% of T-Nation readers.[/quote]
Nevermind becoming stronger than the average guy…or faster…or mentally and physically tougher…wait, that sounds like superiority to me.
I can almost hear the PC people flying to their own rescue.
[quote]eengrms76 wrote:
You know a lot of the points in the article are very good- actually, and pretty truthful for most. But every time they make a good point, they take it to the extreme and make it laughable.
Here’s an example:
The second cause of training addiction is vanity. It’s no secret that working out improves your physique, so some men believe that the harder they work out, the better they will look. They feel that by looking better than the average guy, they will become superior.
Notice the part in bold. Too extreme. I guess we should all stop training now.
Now I’m not saying that this isn’t real, and that there aren’t people out there who have this problem. But that list of vague symptoms probably covers at least 99% of T-Nation readers.[/quote]
The entire slant of the article makes it useless and pointless. They are essentially making anyone who tries to make any large physical changes out to be mentally unstable. If the guy in the picture with the article is an example, what the hell do they think of those of us who are walking around with arms bigger than some people’s legs?
I know I may be a little tiny bit mentally unstable, but they can kiss my ass for labeling anyone serious the way they did. Lifting doesn’t make me miserable. Reaching a goal doesn’t make me miserable.
If you happen to be one of the few who is making your own life miserable and blaming it all on bodybuilding, you may have much larger issues than a simple “addiction” to training.
That article just pissed me off me.
“Be Aware of these Symptoms”
What the fuck? Everything is a disease recently. That article is just an excuse for weak-willed/hearted people who don’t want to put in the time and effort to get the results.
He basically listed almost everything required to achieve a healthy, strong and aesthetic body and labeled it as BAD. Oh ok, I should give in to my junk food cravings all of the time? I should go pig out on fried wings, alcohol and weed every weekend?
The word is not obsession to training… It’s discipline. Discipline transfers to every thing in life. Stop finding excuses for being weak. If you want to be slim and weak, that’s up to you. Don’t ramble on about men who put in HARD WORD and DEDICATION into their OWN bodies and say they have a disease to make yourself feel better.
I do agree with bigorexia though. He mentioned that in the beginning of the article. Basically the opposite of anorexia. Seeing yourself smaller than what you are. But that’s another article right there.
The writer and the people who accept this article should realize they are in no position to write/talk negatively about men who work hard to achieve a healthy, strong and/or aesthetic body. Trying to bring us down, like we have a disease. They’re the disease! They’re the ones trying to steer us off track. Keep Lifting T-Men! Then Overhead Press those muddafuckas out the window!
That’s What It Is!
It just pissed me off that the writer is trying to imply that working HARD to achieve a healthy body is abnormal behavior. He’s abnormal for being unhealthy! Self-proclaimed Fitness Specialist. He specializes in being a bitch ass.
-Serious
[quote]Professor X wrote:
The entire slant of the article makes it useless and pointless. They are essentially making anyone who tries to make any large physical changes out to be mentally unstable. If the guy in the picture with the article is an example, what the hell do they think of those of us who are walking around with arms bigger than some people’s legs?
I know I may be a little tiny bit mentally unstable, but they can kiss my ass for labeling anyone serious the way they did. Lifting doesn’t make me miserable. Reaching a goal doesn’t make me miserable.
If you happen to be one of the few who is making your own life miserable and blaming it all on bodybuilding, you may have much larger issues than a simple “addiction” to training.[/quote]
Agreed. And it I know it took a lot of courage for you to finally admit to the mental instability. Now you can get help and stop scaring small children.
I think he’s finishing a Cheat Curl and decided to let the bar drop on his throat.
No no. I think he’s doing a Front Squat. I’ve actually seen the Front Squat done like this in my gym. Whatever works for you. I personally use the Olympic-Style Grip for Front Squats. It still doesn’t make sense though. Who does Front Squats with 20 lbs. on each side with an EZ-Curl Bar?
If you are that weak you have no business Front Squatting and should build a foundation around Back Squats or even Single-Leg Squats.
I really have no idea what that bitch ass dude is doing in the pic.
-Serious