R
RKS89
Guest
So this isn’t something that I would often be able to bring up in the more highly-trafficked subs here, but I thought I’d share a little bit about myself and see who else was out there.
I started lifting weights at 9-10. I saved up some allowance money and bought a 10 pound plastic dumbell from Meijer that came in a box with probably 25 exercises on it. I basically had no clue what I was doing but I started, and pretty soon I needed a 15 pound bell. Then a 20. Then I wondered about barbells and all that. At the time I was concerned with one thing- making my arms bigger (shocking). So I curled, and I curled, and when I was tired of curling I curled more. I occasionally might throw in some shoulder work but basically I just did variations of curls for about 2 years probably.
But I was enjoying it so much that I wanted to go deeper, so I asked for a weight bench for Christmas (still one of the most exciting gifts I’ve ever gotten). I became obsessed with training, specifically bodybuilding. I was maybe 5 ft 6 in at the time, and all of 115 pounds soaking wet. I had narrow shoulders, thin wrists and ankles- I was not built to pack on weight. But over the course of 3 or 4 years I edged closer to my ultimate goal of 175 (I wanted to weigh 175 by the time I graduated high school). I got pretty strong for such a little guy and began seriously training to compete in amateur shows. Unfortunately, I had a pretty bad knee injury that took me out of the game for a good amount of time, and I had to recover from that and slowly work my way back to previous condition. But I couldn’t train legs like I used to- no more 10 sets of 25 reps, supersetting until I puked/saw stars. My knee just wasn’t ready. And so my (already unrealistic) goal of competition was sidelined. So I trained pretty seriously until I was almost 18, at which point I adopted a much more strenuous lifestyle- lots of partying and generally poor decisions. My weight dwindled, although I continued to be pretty active (mountain biking, beach volleyball in the summers) but I pretty much hung up the gloves.
Fast forward 10 years and I’ve had a pretty sedentary 3rd shift job for 2 years and I finally just had enough of being overweight, tired and out of shape. So in January I started a diet to lose weight (which is working), now I’m working on rehabbing my body, trying to correct all the misalignments and general out-of-whackness I’m in physically. So I’m focusing on mobility and flexibility right now, with some pretty light bodyweight work. I’m hoping to be ready to move some iron by June, maybe a little earlier depending on how the work I’m doing now is going.
Honestly I miss talking shop about this stuff. My wife still says I should have been some kind of coach or trainer. Anyone else out there making a comeback after some time away? Just starting out? Pulling 700 off the floor? What’s working for you, what isn’t (routines, supps, diet etc)?
I started lifting weights at 9-10. I saved up some allowance money and bought a 10 pound plastic dumbell from Meijer that came in a box with probably 25 exercises on it. I basically had no clue what I was doing but I started, and pretty soon I needed a 15 pound bell. Then a 20. Then I wondered about barbells and all that. At the time I was concerned with one thing- making my arms bigger (shocking). So I curled, and I curled, and when I was tired of curling I curled more. I occasionally might throw in some shoulder work but basically I just did variations of curls for about 2 years probably.
But I was enjoying it so much that I wanted to go deeper, so I asked for a weight bench for Christmas (still one of the most exciting gifts I’ve ever gotten). I became obsessed with training, specifically bodybuilding. I was maybe 5 ft 6 in at the time, and all of 115 pounds soaking wet. I had narrow shoulders, thin wrists and ankles- I was not built to pack on weight. But over the course of 3 or 4 years I edged closer to my ultimate goal of 175 (I wanted to weigh 175 by the time I graduated high school). I got pretty strong for such a little guy and began seriously training to compete in amateur shows. Unfortunately, I had a pretty bad knee injury that took me out of the game for a good amount of time, and I had to recover from that and slowly work my way back to previous condition. But I couldn’t train legs like I used to- no more 10 sets of 25 reps, supersetting until I puked/saw stars. My knee just wasn’t ready. And so my (already unrealistic) goal of competition was sidelined. So I trained pretty seriously until I was almost 18, at which point I adopted a much more strenuous lifestyle- lots of partying and generally poor decisions. My weight dwindled, although I continued to be pretty active (mountain biking, beach volleyball in the summers) but I pretty much hung up the gloves.
Fast forward 10 years and I’ve had a pretty sedentary 3rd shift job for 2 years and I finally just had enough of being overweight, tired and out of shape. So in January I started a diet to lose weight (which is working), now I’m working on rehabbing my body, trying to correct all the misalignments and general out-of-whackness I’m in physically. So I’m focusing on mobility and flexibility right now, with some pretty light bodyweight work. I’m hoping to be ready to move some iron by June, maybe a little earlier depending on how the work I’m doing now is going.
Honestly I miss talking shop about this stuff. My wife still says I should have been some kind of coach or trainer. Anyone else out there making a comeback after some time away? Just starting out? Pulling 700 off the floor? What’s working for you, what isn’t (routines, supps, diet etc)?
A few extra calories for energy but it’s got protein too. I think they’re better than CliffBars :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
So I need a cookie 