No hormonal problems, no creaky joints, no domestic drama-
The question is : what drives you to lift?
I lift because it is satisfying to see the physical changes that results from lifting.
Also, I want to look damn good naked.
Most of all though, I think it is having control over something absolutely. In this f’d up world it is one thing that will always be under my power.
Anybody else?
I especially love the anxiety before doing a heavy lift:
If I get this lift (or rep record), it will be a new personal record and I’ll be as happy as a guy who can lick his own balls.
If I don’t get this lift or if something goes wrong, I’ll be seriously pissed off or sleeping on the floor for a week due to some awful injury.
I’ve never been into team sports, so lifting is me v me - that’s what drives me.
My drive is to beat me because me sucks 
Cause most other people don’t. It sets me apart in a small way. I like the discipline of it.
I’m 45 now and look damm good. I want to be the big old guy at 65, or 75.
I also have a 15yr old son, and 12 yr old daughter whe really motivate me. They just love having a BIG dad, and my daughter is beautiful so I can put the fear of Dad in the boys.
Coming into my mid to late thirties the realization of my own mortality and aging has really come into focus for me. When I was younger I was of the mentality that even though you technically know you are going to leave this earth one day it is so far off as to not be real.
Coming into this stage of my life seeing my parents and other relatives and relations age and some even die has emphasized to me this doesn’t last forever and we have a certain amount of time in which to enjoy this existence.
My passion is the outdoors and a vital if not complete necessity of that passion is having the physical ability to be a part of it. I don’t want to enjoy the mountains from a window view, I want to be on that mountain moving with it and being a part of it.
I know there will come a point in my later life when my abilities will slow and eventually stop and I won’t be able to climb that mountain any longer. I see this in some degree now with my father, who is still a strong son of a buck at sixty four. However, I also know it’s within my power to keep that time as far off as possible by staying active and working out as my father has.
This all boils down to your physical shape and ability. Being/staying in shape hitting the weights or whatever else ones choice of exercise is, is of paramount importance to being able to make the most of this life. As others have said hitting the weights permeates down to every other aspect of your life in a most positive way.
Well kind of long and rambling, but that is what really motivates or drives me to hit the weights. That and I just love throwing up heavy weight it makes me feel good!
D
I lift because it feels good.
All that other stuff too, but mostly it’s the feel good thing.
[quote]happydog48 wrote:
I lift because it feels good.
All that other stuff too, but mostly it’s the feel good thing.[/quote]
Yeah, me too.
I started lifting 4 years ago when I turned 50, in order to avoid osteoporosis. And it feels great getting stronger.
But sometimes I just like the looks from the young people when I show them what a squat rack is really for.
See:
Ponce de Leon
Dylan Thomas
Don Quixote
With out challenges to push us we stagnate. The thought of being a couch potato terrifies me. I’m sure on some level it’s ego and not wanting to be just like everyone else my age. Or maybe I just want one of the girls pictured on the right to rip my cloths off, throw me to the ground, use me for a …
Sorry, the mind wanders at my age
[quote]pushharder wrote:
Good posts. I agree with all of the above.
'Course, I would never disagree with YM anyway. She might call me a bad boy…and spank me…wait a minute…wait, wait, wait a minute…
…I decided I want to go on the record as disagreeing with Yo Momma. All the posts but hers were good ones…[/quote]
OK, push.
What will it be this time?
The whip or the paddle?
I lift the way I do in the hopes that my grandchildren, if & when i have any, won’t be wheeling me around in a wheelchair…I wanna be chasing them around a Jungle Gym, or playing raquetball with 'em or whatever. It is my hope that aging will be along the gracefully lines. I want to do my part to try and see if that happens…only time will tell!
Push, both leave welts, OUCH!
I want to be physically strong so that, when needed, I can call upon it. Imagine if you had to carry your teenage son (260 lbs btw) out from a car crash or burning house. Now imagine he dies because you couldn’t do it.
car crash, burning house? wow. heavy stuff (metaphorically)
I just want to get into some sort of decent shape. I started with BFL and now I’m doing Waterbury. It feels great to be in decent shape.
I grew up liking it. Conan,Tarzan,watching old Hercules movies with Steve Reeves, they all relied on their physical strength. I lifted off and on since I was a boy, but got into it seriously in my late thirties.
My mom died in her early sixties from obesity, she was always over weight but when her back gave out and she had spinal fusions and became bed ridden, well you can’t lose weight when you can’t even walk. She spent the last ten years pretty much confined to a bed. I think towards the end she wanted to die, she was miserable.
My dad hurt his back in his early twenties, had three back operations. These were done back when they butchered you. He has lived on pain pills his whole adult life. He is seventy nine now and his only complaint is he hurts all the time.
I’m fifty now and fear drives me, fear of not being able to do it anymore, fear that if I stop lifting, only bad things can happen. Don’t get me wrong, I love it too, probably more now than ever. Never would have thought I would still be doing the stuff I can still do. I tell my sons that I’m still the herd bull, and they’re going to have to wait their turn.
[quote]greystoke wrote:
I grew up liking it. Conan,Tarzan,watching old Hercules movies with Steve Reeves, they all relied on their physical strength. I lifted off and on since I was a boy, but got into it seriously in my late thirties.
My mom died in her early sixties from obesity, she was always over weight but when her back gave out and she had spinal fusions and became bed ridden, well you can’t lose weight when you can’t even walk. She spent the last ten years pretty much confined to a bed. I think towards the end she wanted to die, she was miserable.
My dad hurt his back in his early twenties, had three back operations. These were done back when they butchered you. He has lived on pain pills his whole adult life. He is seventy nine now and his only complaint is he hurts all the time.
I’m fifty now and fear drives me, fear of not being able to do it anymore, fear that if I stop lifting, only bad things can happen. Don’t get me wrong, I love it too, probably more now than ever. Never would have thought I would still be doing the stuff I can still do. I tell my sons that I’m still the herd bull, and they’re going to have to wait their turn. [/quote]
I agree with what you’re saying. I see so many parents (hs teacher) and fellow teachers who are in such pathetic shape — no wonder a lot of our kids are out of condition. I want to tell them to get off their asses, put down the coffee and doughnut, and go at least take a walk. But everyone has to figure it out for themselves.
Because I when I turn 70-ish, I still want to be lifting more than those 1/2 of my age.
I think that would be fun. 
AD