Post: #26

You have to be obsessive about it for a period of time. I can't not go to the gym and lift...I've been doing it so long it's like breathing. My motivation dips at times, but I always go back.

I enjoy the challenge. Being able to lift more and become stronger.

You enjoy it more when you start making real progress and see the societal benefits.

I never get fucked with. People just tend to move out of way. Every job I've had I'm given automatic respect. Girls are more attracted to you, etc. etc. I'm not even that big.

Post: #27

I enjoy it when I make progress. I hate it when I don't.

Post: #28

I neither enjoy or lack enjoyment. It's like taking a piss, it just has to be done. Have I lifted weights today? No: going to gym now. Yes: feel good that its been done.

(12-29-2014 11:21 PM)thyalmightyrhino Wrote:  People who claim it's impossible to ever look like Phil Heath or Lazar Angelov because of steroids are destined to be eternal losers.

If Angelov isn't on steroids, with that level of musculature and bodyfat, no-one is. If I was accused of being on steroids to the extent that he is, and I wasn't on steroids, I'd damn sure be posting doctor-certified bloodwork showing my LH and FSH levels were in range. My workout product sales would multiply 10x overnight.

Post: #29

(01-01-2015 06:40 AM)roberto Wrote:  That some top league raw talent if you were a newbie and squatted 1.3x BW for 20 reps.

Fuck me, I have a LONG way to go. What benefits would you say you get from a 20-rep set rather than 4 sets of 5? Was it a regular part of your training or just every now and then?

Last time I did a 20 rep set I used half my 5x5 work weight and still couldn't quite finish.

Thanks, but that's not really being talented, just average. I ended up squatting 120kgx20 at just over 80kg about 6 months later, so almost 1.5xBW. I haven't done any again since then (over 4 years ago). Widow-maker sets are more about mental strength rather than physical strength. My actual 1RM was only 160kg with 120kgx20. My 3x5 was 135~140kg.

As for a widow-maker set vs 4x5, the differences are: stimulating gains (you will gain leg size like crazy), training mental strength and endurance. Your overall strength will increase but not very efficiently. I only did it because I was a newbie and some old coach told me I should do it to get tougher mentally. Once you've gone through that, most other kinds of training seem like a breeze in comparison, but IMO it's unnecessary. One of the top athletics coaches Dan John joked that he did a 1x20 with 330-ish pounds 20 years ago and is still recovering from that set.

Post: #30

The mental clarity from lifting keeps me sane. If I didn't lift, i'd be angry, feisty, and would probably find myself in scuffles.

Post: #31

One of the greatest feelings is when you just finished an amazing workout. You made some some gains, set some PRs, you are spent. you feel accomplished. its a great feeling.

Post: #32

Ditto to what Cr33pin and Neo said!

I don't enjoy working out, if you workout the way I do then you wouldn't either.

What I do enjoy is the looks, compliments and respect I get from people. I got a great compliment from a girl this week, she looked at my naked body in bed and said "you got legs as well".

Post: #33

(12-30-2014 05:51 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  Endorphins.

They are like your body's natural supply of crack.

Yup. Very hard, if not impossible, to be depressed if you're hitting the gym on the regular.

Post: #34

I am like the OP.

I have been in and out of gyms for years, and I just have not been able to stick with it. Unlike, say, music, a hobby that for me is self-motivating, I need some external motivation to go to the gym. It used to be going with friends. Lately the motivation is reading sites like Danger and Play.

Post: #35

Maybe you're just not wired to enjoy lifting alone. It sounds like you enjoy working on teams. If lifting is something you still want to try then you'll be better off finding a good training partner.

Post: #36

You may be working either too hard, or not hard enough.
I feel good when I'm exerting myself, but not where I feel like my head is about to explode from pressure.
Compound movements are a lot more fun to do than isolation. It gets your whole body going. Isolation does feel like work to me.

Post: #37

I've always been a skinny dude, but over the past year, I've started to see some good gains. Still nowhere near where I want to be, however, I'll get there.

These days, when I leave the gym, I feel a little sad. I'd spend all day in there if I physically could. When I'm in there, I just think about all the people that have doubted me in the past and all the girls that didn't give me the time of day because I was too skinny.

Fuck that. My body is starting to show that I won't be stopped, and damn does it feel good.

Post: #38

When it gets me the results that I want. By living in the Worst city in North America for Men, having a great body and being in shape in a non Black friendly city keeps you fed when you need it.

The quality in certainly not the best, but lifting keeps me from not eating at all! Plus you feel great afterwards. As you mentioned you're already doing crossfit and moving around, so you're already in shape, so no need on HAVING to lift if that's not your thing! As a big guy, I must always keep in mind of including cardio to feel light on my feet.

Post: #39

Waking up the next morning and feeling sore all over.

Post: #40

I don't so much enjoy lifting as the benefits it has on my life (increased testosterone, reduced mental problems such as anxiety and depression.) I feel like shit when I don't lift.

Post: #41

I used to do circuit training and hated it all the way for the full year that I did it. I didn't see any results either. Once I started starting strength olympic lifts, I began to enjoy going to the gym. This made me a big proponent of the program. That is why I rave so much about it on here.

Post: #42

The weirdest thing happens when I'm at the gym going full ape. I get a high that has yet to be topped by anything else, the euphoria is amazing. I get tingly, I feel extremely powerful and I just absolutely love it. I have never been hurt before because I stop doing things that are threatening to my health. But lifting became enjoyable for me when it became my drug.