If I had a million dollars...

If you finally caught the little green guy on St. Patrick's Day, and he led you to his pot-o-gold, thinking about your bodybuilding passion, how would you spend the money?  Gym membership, fancy workout equipment, personal trainer or contest coach, designer supplements or other "pharmaceuticals," new threads, plastic surgery, or something else.  For me, I'd hire a personal chef.  The biggest struggle for me is planning, shopping, preparing, and finding time to eat all that food.  I think I'd enjoy it better if I could just magically sit down to a delicious, different, healthy meal without having to do all that other stuff!  And hopefully the chef would teach me how to do it efficiently myself!
 
What would make your bodybuilding world easier, more successful, and more enjoyable?

I would give away the first portion.
With the rest, I would build a big garage/workshop/weight room, move all the freeweight equipment in there and make sure I have room for a machine shop, a pit. I would also hire a nutritionist, someone who can tell me just what is going on with my body.

Garage would be sound insulated, with full 7.1 sound and loud bass, so I can blast epic trance while deadlifting heavy and I can grunt and grind all I want without anyone questioning my sanity. THIS IS MY FILTHY STATE OF MIND!!!

Pay off depts and put the rest into savings and investments. I've wanted some blueberry bushes for some time now... maybe some grape fruit trees, investments for a lifetime and then some, the trees will last generations to come.

Three week keto test run
Started July 19
It will work, or I'm done dieting.

T'blood,
   You bring up an interesting idea:  Use the money to make your whole life less stressful, which will only help for your health and bodybuilding.  Give to charity:  Nice!  It's the right thing to do and feels good!  Clear out all the pains in the a$$ in your life and focus on priorities: time with family, travel, working out, etc.  If you can't stand it, hire a yard service, a housecleaner, work at what you like when you like.  Save for your and your loved ones' future.  Again the right thing and gives you peace of mind, reducing stress!
    I'm on my way out the door to buy a lottery ticket!  And Atlantic City is only a couple hours' drive away!

I'd buy a harley or two, a lot of Gibson Les Pauls, houses for my family members, a lot of pot, and a nice house for myself.  My nice house would have a squat rack, a bench, free weights and a pullup bar in the garage.  That's all I would need lifting-wise.   A heavy bag would be nice too.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Journal: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117358

I would buy a house with a large enough walk-out basement that I could equip a monster home gym without having to put it in the garage

I've done a lot of custom home theater installations with a buddy of mine, and one of the houses we did was owned by a bigshot custom home-builder here in Northern VA.  Dude had a 1,500 square foot home gym with a squat rack and sled, benches, dumbbell racks, treadmill, stationary bike, 360 degrees of floor to ceiling mirrors, and hardwood floors (with 2" rubber platforms where appropriate).  And right outside the gym, he had a full sized bathroom with a 6' x 6' open shower (12-point or whatever multi-head Jaccuzzi setup), and a sauna.  Outside, a lap pool and hot tub.

Judging by his couch potato physique, I'm guessing he doesn't even know he has all that equipment

Why does it always seem that money is wasted on the wealthy?

My home away from DBB

Veg,
   I don't know about you, but isn't there something to the whole gym atmosphere?  Don't you like people ogling you?  I know I do!  Checkin' out chicks is cool too!  I think if I had a home gym I'd lose interest after awhile.

My gym has a maximum of 8 people in it at all times.  That's during peak hours too! I love it.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Journal: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117358

When I'm there, 5 in the morning, or lunchtime it's not crowded.  I hate going when it's crowded:  too much waiting for equipment while the young guys just sit around and BS.

I'd give a good portion to my parents, then I would get a lot of olympic weights, bars, benches, racks, and power cages. I would hire a trainer to teach me how to do all the lifts properly. That would be cool.

Red PittBull's Log.

JMBS


Veg,
   I don't know about you, but isn't there something to the whole gym atmosphere?  Don't you like people ogling you?  I know I do!  Checkin' out chicks is cool too!  I think if I had a home gym I'd lose interest after awhile.

If only there were any at my local gyms.  The ones who do show up never stray far from the "spinning" classes they enroll in, and you'll never find them blasting out reps in the free-weight section.  And don't get me wrong -I absolutely love chicks with muscle mass, but the only two I ever saw at my local Gold's gym were so deep into anabolics, they looked like they were gonna bust out a feedbag of oats and start whinnying at any second

Nope.  Unfortunately, the scene at most of the gyms in my area can be summed up in a single word: sausagefest.

My home away from DBB

veggeep


If only there were any at my local gyms.  The ones who do show up never stray far from the "spinning" classes they enroll in, and you'll never find them blasting out reps in the free-weight section.  And don't get me wrong -I absolutely love chicks with muscle mass, but the only two I ever saw at my local Gold's gym were so deep into anabolics, they looked like they were gonna bust out a feedbag of oats and start whinnying at any second

Nope.  Unfortunately, the scene at most of the gyms in my area can be summed up in a single word: sausagefest.

Were you afraid they could kick your a$$ ?  ;)
Aren't the hot chicks in the cardio area when you warm up?  At my Y the machines are with the cardio, so when I work in some machine exercises, that's when a lot of the back and forth "checking out" goes down.  Get all pumped, vascular, and sweaty with the free weights, then go "strut yo stuff, mama"!  ;)

I would invest in a "really good" health coach.... I think good health coaching is very under rated.

What do you guys think of these "life coaches" that are all the rage today?

JMBS


What do you guys think of these "life coaches" that are all the rage today?

J.... now those I really don't know about.... I have had people tell me (First had experiences) that their business grew 3 times once they hired a "Life coach"......

But then I ran into a lady who claims to be a life coach.... and trust me... i wasn't impressed...
there is this program called "Beyond freedom" that seems to be taking off these days...

Id buy a dodge viper and 350z that i could work on.

AHHHHH.  Pretty much my goal in life.

working on explosive phase
vertical: 35
weight: 206

Big 3: 300/440/515

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

RollingStone


Id buy a dodge viper and 350z that i could work on.

AHHHHH.  Pretty much my goal in life.

Care to buy an SRT-10? Gimme a PM.
   I would pay off the house. Make sure my kids were secure and start a business so I don't have to listen to anyone but me.

Team Keine Ausreden = No Excuses
mein scheinehund ist daheim
48 yrs young
6'5" 270 Lbs

I'd start a gym probably and eliminate all smith machines. Then, I'd hang a chart up explaining how they bring more negative benefit than good.

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant 

Wetdawg

RollingStone


Id buy a dodge viper and 350z that i could work on.

AHHHHH.  Pretty much my goal in life.

Care to buy an SRT-10? Gimme a PM.
   I would pay off the house. Make sure my kids were secure and start a business so I don't have to listen to anyone but me.

Youre kidding right?  Do you really have one, can I see a picture of it.

working on explosive phase
vertical: 35
weight: 206

Big 3: 300/440/515

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

MVP


I'd start a gym probably and eliminate all smith machines. Then, I'd hang a chart up explaining how they bring more negative benefit than good.

My home away from DBB

We can put the Smiths on the heap with the Soloflexes and Bowflexes.

You can have my Smith when you pry it from my cold, dead, carrot stick fingers!

My home away from DBB

RollingStone

Wetdawg

RollingStone


Id buy a dodge viper and 350z that i could work on.

AHHHHH.  Pretty much my goal in life.

Care to buy an SRT-10? Gimme a PM.
 I would pay off the house. Make sure my kids were secure and start a business so I don't have to listen to anyone but me.

Youre kidding right?  Do you really have one, can I see a picture of it.

No fooling. Its a 2004 with less than 7000 miles on it. Its been balanced and a hotter Cam put in it. Also has headers and A free flow exhaust system on it. In 6th gear it gets 18mpg, Drop it into 4th to pass 8mpg. I broke traction once on the freeway taking it down to third. LOTS of Power, 700+HP. Silver two door version. You know its a truck, right? $28,000 takes her. I'm at work now and headed out on vacation when I get home. Pics I can do in about 10 days if you want em.

Team Keine Ausreden = No Excuses
mein scheinehund ist daheim
48 yrs young
6'5" 270 Lbs

veggeep


You can have my Smith when you pry it from my cold, dead, carrot stick fingers!

What's your crush with the Smith?  What can you do on it that you can't do better on a power rack?

JMBS

What's your crush with the Smith?  What can you do on it that you can't do better on a power rack?

I know, I know... But it's such a pain in the a$$ to take it apart, and I don't have the money for another piece of equipment right now, and then I'd have to learn how to keep my own balance while I squat, and my eyebrows hurt, and... and...

Fine.  you got me there.  I'll tell you what, when I hit 180, the Smith is toast.  That will be my reward for this six-month phase.  I've been putting it off long enough

My home away from DBB

JMBS

What's your crush with the Smith?  What can you do on it that you can't do better on a power rack?

Be limited to one dimension, instead of three and gain weak stabilizers.

I'm kidding, I would probably include a smith machine just because it would draw more people. I would include far more power racks though.

The gyms I've always went to (there was 1 at our University that didn't include a smith machine) but the others only had 1 smith machine and like 3 power racks.

People talk bad about machines (I'm one of them, hypocrite, I know), but since safety is the most important thing to a trainer you often see them using machines.

If I get a 61 year old woman with high blood pressure and atherosclerosis, I'm definitely not going to have her doing 5RM squats, but most likely leg extensions, hamstring curls, and other movements that are easy on her joints. Low intensity cardio, instead of HIIT. Basically things I'd tell a high school athlete to avoid.

For someone coming in trying to bulk up for football, his ass will be doing Bill Starr 5X5 and eating like there's no tomorrow!

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant 

The gym I'm with has one of each. Funny that only a few of us are in there using the Power Rack. I see alot of people using the Smith. Incline Benches, Overhead press, Squats. I'm thinking because its an assisted Bar they think they are lifting way more than they actually can do. A feel good for them.

Team Keine Ausreden = No Excuses
mein scheinehund ist daheim
48 yrs young
6'5" 270 Lbs

MVP,
    As you say the Smith is probably safer (at least for the weak and inexperienced) WHILE IN THE GYM.  But the power rack leaves you safer EVERYWHERE ELSE because of the stabilizer work.  There's a smaller branch to the gym I go to that's actually closer to my house.  It has a smaller free weight area.  It has a Smith and no power rack.  The only way to do a squat is w/Smith.  I go there only if I'm desperate.  The Smith, I've read, is good for hack squats if you don't have a hack sled.  Is that true?  You make like doing a regular squat but move your feet forward 12 or 18 inches?

JMBS


MVP,
    As you say the Smith is probably safer (at least for the weak and inexperienced) WHILE IN THE GYM.  But the power rack leaves you safer EVERYWHERE ELSE because of the stabilizer work.  There's a smaller branch to the gym I go to that's actually closer to my house.  It has a smaller free weight area.  It has a Smith and no power rack.  The only way to do a squat is w/Smith.  I go there only if I'm desperate.  The Smith, I've read, is good for hack squats if you don't have a hack sled.  Is that true?  You make like doing a regular squat but move your feet forward 12 or 18 inches?

I agree with you 100%, I don't like smith machines and personally I don't feel they should be used. By machines I meant machine fly's, leg extensions, hamstring curls, preacher curls, things of that nature and mainly for the older people that is just trying to improve their health.

You're right, for someone like us we would definitely need a power rack because weak stabilizers and a fixed movement pattern that can program unnatural movement to the human body (which was designed to work in three dimensions) is never a good thing. But as far as 60 year old guys with high blood pressure and stuff, little machines like leg extensions and stuff can serve a bit safer than a power rack squat. Or at least strengthen their joints to the point where they can do a squat or so.

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant 

Wetdawg

RollingStone

Wetdawg

RollingStone


Id buy a dodge viper and 350z that i could work on.

AHHHHH.  Pretty much my goal in life.

Care to buy an SRT-10? Gimme a PM.
 I would pay off the house. Make sure my kids were secure and start a business so I don't have to listen to anyone but me.

Youre kidding right?  Do you really have one, can I see a picture of it.

No fooling. Its a 2004 with less than 7000 miles on it. Its been balanced and a hotter Cam put in it. Also has headers and A free flow exhaust system on it. In 6th gear it gets 18mpg, Drop it into 4th to pass 8mpg. I broke traction once on the freeway taking it down to third. LOTS of Power, 700+HP. Silver two door version. You know its a truck, right? $28,000 takes her. I'm at work now and headed out on vacation when I get home. Pics I can do in about 10 days if you want em.

Oo, I thought you were talking about the viper srt-10, but those are the coolest trucks on earth in my opinion.  I wouldnt sell that thing if I were you Id be showin it off

There's no way I could buy it haha I dont have that kind of money Im driving a 93 accord after I wrecked my 2000 accord coupe taking it off a 200 foot cliff.  I should be dead.

Id like to see pics but it wouldnt be for anything other than to admire haha.

working on explosive phase
vertical: 35
weight: 206

Big 3: 300/440/515

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

RollingStone

Wetdawg

RollingStone

Wetdawg

RollingStone


Id buy a dodge viper and 350z that i could work on.

AHHHHH.  Pretty much my goal in life.

Care to buy an SRT-10? Gimme a PM.
I would pay off the house. Make sure my kids were secure and start a business so I don't have to listen to anyone but me.

Youre kidding right?  Do you really have one, can I see a picture of it.

No fooling. Its a 2004 with less than 7000 miles on it. Its been balanced and a hotter Cam put in it. Also has headers and A free flow exhaust system on it. In 6th gear it gets 18mpg, Drop it into 4th to pass 8mpg. I broke traction once on the freeway taking it down to third. LOTS of Power, 700+HP. Silver two door version. You know its a truck, right? $28,000 takes her. I'm at work now and headed out on vacation when I get home. Pics I can do in about 10 days if you want em.

Oo, I thought you were talking about the viper srt-10, but those are the coolest trucks on earth in my opinion.  I wouldnt sell that thing if I were you Id be showin it off

There's no way I could buy it haha I dont have that kind of money Im driving a 93 accord after I wrecked my 2000 accord coupe taking it off a 200 foot cliff.  I should be dead.

Id like to see pics but it wouldnt be for anything other than to admire haha.

How in the heck did you do that? Wow, thats scary! Were you sleeping?
 
I don't drive the truck to much. last time I went to work for a week I couldn't keep my foot out of it. $196 for gas in 4 days....ahhh the power

Team Keine Ausreden = No Excuses
mein scheinehund ist daheim
48 yrs young
6'5" 270 Lbs