[quote]gerby wrote:
Ok, I’ve read two of the five pages, but whatever. Even Dr. John Berardi spoke of periods of his life where he only intended to maintain. Life is about balance, for me anyway. I think that this is the most important thing. The OP’s point is that his life isn’t defined by how much he can bench, and it can be argued that the lives that are defined by such things are shallow to a certain extent.
I have a wife and kid, a fledgling business, and family members that need to be cared for. And you know what? Right now I’d be more than happy to just be where I’m at in 6 months. Yeah, I’m playing not to lose, for now, and that’s ok. Am I a pussy? Well, call me what you want, I don’t care. I guess I could neglect my family’s needs, or tell my wife and son to take a back seat to my training and nutrition when I only see my kid a few months out of the year, but right now I’m structuring my life to maximize my time with my son, not maximize my bench or bring up my delts.
I still go to the gym, and when I’m there I bust my ass, but if I miss a workout or a meal or two, I don’t really care, because right now there are more important things. Don’t get me wrong, I cheer for those pushing themselves to bench 500lbs or get to over 200lbs at 5% body fat. I also cheer for those who have other ambitions in life. The OP is in the gym, staying in shape, and not being a fat useless piece of shit like most Americans.
My hat is off to him, and everybody else who used this forum for something constructive instead of just going off about how their life is somehow being lived better than somebody else’s. I want you (everybody) to live a life that is successful for yourself and those around you, whether that be curing cancer or helping people reach their strength goals.
Don’t worry, my intention is that things will settle down and in the near future I’ll be able to put training and nutrition at the top of my list again (I’ll be doing the V-Diet, life permitting). [/quote]
Gerby, you are one of the few people that I got my point across too. I didn’t make this thread to try to convice the hardcore bb’ers like X of my point. And I certainly didn’t make it for the mindless t-douches that post things like “fail” and “pussy”. I KNOW that there is a large majority of individuals just like me on this site that really have the same line of thinking as me.
I NEVER said strive for mediocrity, or dont set goals. I said to make your goals individual, and do them for YOU. I’ll always have goals to lift more weight, or do one more rep, or whatever. But at the same time im realistic in these goals and at what cost they come. I’d like to do 225lbs on bench for A LOT of reps. Maybe 15-20 reps. Sure, if I could do this, I probably could bench 405 as well. But for me doing the 225 for many reps would be more satisfying. And you could say, why not should for 315 for a lot of reps. And I could say, why dont you bench 900?
Im constantly make new goals, and TRAINING for those goals. Without goals, workouts would be pointless and you’d have no idea what you are doing. Its not about being mediocre, its about doing what is going to make YOU happy. There have been plenty of times in my life where I have set goals, and then been dissapointed when I achieved them, because they really didn’t matter all that much too me. I could train to bench 405, and then some people might say “wow look at that guy, he’s strong” but for me thats not what im looking for. If you are just doing it to impress others your goals are very shallow. But I dont want to judge. If you get your kicks that way, thats fine.
I find it interesting that not a single person posted truly what they are willing to give up, or why they are not willing to give up what it would take to go further. This could be anything.
For me, a big one is that I am not willing to count calories. I also like to have an occasional hamburger or burrito, or have a drink. Because of these things that im not willing to do, my goal is in the 10-12% BF region. When I get to that point, i may rethink what im willing to give up to progress further.
As for why im not willing to bench 405. I have many reasons. I was a pitcher in HS and I really cant afford shoulder surgery at the moment. Also, I want to be bigger AND leaner. Sure getting to 405 might mean I would be bigger, but it is not necessary and maybe even counterproductive. I do aim to get stronger, but my training emphasizes building muscle and losing fat. When im 10-12% BF and around 215 lbs, then i’ll decide what is next. Do I try to get leaner, or build more muscle, or maybe just maintain and continue to increase strength further.
Also, im in school, have a job, and a girlfriend. But still, training is top priority for me. The main reason is I love lifting weights. Nothing is more satistfying; well maybe a few things are but I NEVER miss a workout by choice. When I go on a plan that requires only working out 3 times a week, I struggle. But I force myself to do what is best for achieving my goals. At the moment, thats why im not willing to go further than my goals.
I like training so much that I decided to go to school for it, and make it my life. If you look at my bookshelves, they are full of related books. So to say it is just a hobby for me is just plain wrong. I’ll admit that bb’ing and Pl’ing type stuff are just mechanisms for me to achieve my goals. And if there were a more suitable forum, I probably wouldn’t post here. But there isn’t, so im here. Also, I think it would be interesting to see how many members on this site truly are bb’ers. Im guessing that it would be a very small percentage (maybe 1-5%). And then there are those that want to look like a bb’er (maybe 10-20%) and the rest are people like me, that want to be big, strong, lean, and fit; or “mediocre” as you call it (probably about 50-80%)
So feel free to list what you are or are not willing to give up to take it to the next level. What risks/costs are you willing to take?