Inspiration?

Perhaps not the correct forum but I thought I throw it out there never the less.   Was just watching an update on Lance Armstrong and it never ceases to amaze me the level effort this guy gives.   True, there are more rumors circuling this guy re roids but then again he is the most drug tested athelete ever.
 
Why drives me to the point............what inspires you?    What drives you to the gym each day, makes you go through the grueling toture that we all endure.   Why do we continue to go after it when 95% (?) of the population thinks we are nuts or can't relate.
 
For me as I get older, it's watching older athletes compete at the highest levels...during the last summer Olympics is was Dara Torres and her sacrifice and abilty to stay on top.
 
 
So people......WHAT INSPIRES YOU??????

Height 5' 8" Weight  200 lbs Body Fat 16%
Bench 315-Squat 365-Dead 405
Chest-46"/Bicep-16.5"/Waist-37"...UGGH
Thigh-24.5"/Calves 16"

    

What inspires me?  The fact that "95% (?) of the population thinks we are nuts or can't relate"

Actually, I don't need any inspiration anymore.  I just love hitting the gym.  I love the smell of vitamins.  I love stuffing my face with clean foods, and waking up refreshed and tight, knowing I'm just a tiny bit bigger and more jacked than when I went to bed.

I can't imagine not doing this

My home away from DBB

Being able to jack up people 10-15 years younger and bigger than me on the mat.

And like Veggeep I love to eat clean and work out, its been a part of my daily routine for so many years that its almost natural. Now if I could just figure out a way to give up those saturday beers

wrrle
 

Now if I could just figure out a way to give up those saturday beers

True dat!   Plus the Friday beers.....ha ha

Height 5' 8" Weight  200 lbs Body Fat 16%
Bench 315-Squat 365-Dead 405
Chest-46"/Bicep-16.5"/Waist-37"...UGGH
Thigh-24.5"/Calves 16"

    

Mile High Boy

wrrle
 

Now if I could just figure out a way to give up those saturday beers

True dat!   Plus the Friday beers.....ha ha

haha I finally gave up the Friday beers, but man its like a ritual if I felt I had a really good week working out I go down to the specialty beer store saturday morning and pick 2-4 beers I have never had and savor them later in the evening while cooking out on the grill.

wrrle
 

... but man its like a ritual if I felt I had a really good week working out I go down to the specialty beer store saturday morning and pick 2-4 beers I have never had and savor them later in the evening while cooking out on the grill.

I dream of such a life!

I got tired of people saying I wouldn't, couldn't, shouldn't do it at my age. I'm showing them all.

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

[ 
strong women inspire me too.


Jane-your recent pics with the ATG squat was awe inspiring!

Height 5' 8" Weight  200 lbs Body Fat 16%
Bench 315-Squat 365-Dead 405
Chest-46"/Bicep-16.5"/Waist-37"...UGGH
Thigh-24.5"/Calves 16"

    

What drives me to the gym:   FUN!  I love working out.  I've always had this super fast metabolism, even when I was in the womb my mom says!  My body always has to be doing something or I go crazy.

Who inspires me?  Sounds conceited, but....ME!  How far I've come, not just with bodybuilding, inspires me.  Along the way I've tried to pick and choose examples that inspire me.  MHB, it's interesting you mention Lance Armstrong:  I was watching the Sunday stage of the TdF where his teammate Alberto Contador took off and basically left him in the dust.  Lance seemed to come to the conclusiion that he doesn't have a shot at the yellow jersey this year (his legs just won't power him up the Alps fast enough, unless he's bluffing!).  But he said he already has 7 jerseys at home and he's happy with that.  He actually seems to relish the idea of helping Contador wear the yellow in Paris.  WHAT A GUY!  Other superstars would have taken their football home.  Tom Watson's performance at the British Open this weekend was inspiring as well.  I probably won't remember years from now that Cink (I don't even know how to spell his name) won but that Old Man Watson came SO close.  Very inspiring to this 45 year old!  There's a teenager in a wheelchair that sometimes works out next to me in the gym.  He inspires me so much I sometimes have to head to the locker room so the guys don't see me cry.

This is what life is all about:  The battle of good vs. evil.  When I go to the gym I'm doing something good for me, for my family (I'm staying healthy and happy), and for my fellow man (I try to be a motivating force in the gym, particularly for those with low self esteem).

I think we all gravitate to things we're good at, and, while doing that, search for ways to make improvements that will impact other parts of our lives as well.  Bodybuilding fills that bill for me.

JMBS
 

MHB, it's interesting you mention Lance Armstrong:  I was watching the Sunday stage of the TdF where his teammate Alberto Contador took off and basically left him in the dust.  Lance seemed to come to the conclusiion that he doesn't have a shot at the yellow jersey this year (his legs just won't power him up the Alps fast enough, unless he's bluffing!). 
 
 
 
Tom Watson's performance at the British Open this weekend was inspiring as well.  I probably won't remember years from now that Cink (I don't even know how to spell his name) won but that Old Man Watson came SO close.  Very inspiring to this 45 year old!  There's a teenager in a wheelchair that sometimes works out next to me in the gym.  He inspires me so much I sometimes have to head to the locker room so the guys don't see me cry. 

Re Lance-every one is ripping on Lance but at 39 he is still in 2nd.....not to shabby and yes will take a miracle for him to win but he still inspires me......no not a man crush just in awe of his abilty to stay on top.
 
Re-Watson, that might have been the best story/legendary feat in the past 25 years.    Again nothing to be ashamed of.
 
How is the trainging going JMBS?

Height 5' 8" Weight  200 lbs Body Fat 16%
Bench 315-Squat 365-Dead 405
Chest-46"/Bicep-16.5"/Waist-37"...UGGH
Thigh-24.5"/Calves 16"

    

MHB,
    My training seems to be on maintenance, although bulking is the goal.  Pretty sure the hurdle is the diet, and getting enough quality food down.  I think I'm making gains in legs which is a priority.  I started HST yesterday so we'll see if that does any good.  Also started HIIT which I know may be a no-no for a bulking ecto.  I just want to get the heart going to be CV fit, if you know what I mean.  I really think it's all about the food though.  Thanks for asking!  How's your training going?

JMBS


MHB,
    My training seems to be on maintenance, although bulking is the goal.  Pretty sure the hurdle is the diet, and getting enough quality food down.  I think I'm making gains in legs which is a priority.  I started HST yesterday so we'll see if that does any good.  Also started HIIT which I know may be a no-no for a bulking ecto.  I just want to get the heart going to be CV fit, if you know what I mean.  I really think it's all about the food though.  Thanks for asking!  How's your training going?

I just moved over to a Volume Training from a 5x5 and it's killing me.   Doing 12-15 reps and 15-20 sets per big body pary & 8-10 sets per smaller part.   Like you the diet is pretty dang hard especially during the summer with all the holidays and vacations.   So my focus now is to eat clean as my training is pretty intense.   Hope to post some pics again in about 30 days and it would be nice if I see some gains.....be good brother.

Height 5' 8" Weight  200 lbs Body Fat 16%
Bench 315-Squat 365-Dead 405
Chest-46"/Bicep-16.5"/Waist-37"...UGGH
Thigh-24.5"/Calves 16"

    

I would have to say that I motivate myself as well. When I think about that in the past 5 1/2 years, I have went from a 5'2" 205lb couch potato down to 136lbs and look pretty good in my eyes as far as shape now, I realize that YES, I CAN DO IT!! That motivates me to work towards a dream that I had in high school. Yes, I do wish to step onstage one day and compete in a novice bodybuilding competition. I dont even care if I come close to placing well, just the fact that I could think about doing that is awsome. I still do not know if I truly have what it takes, but I do know that I have broke through some barriers that traveled with me from high school.

The other thing that motivates me is knowing that there was a time during which I was gaining weight and a waistline that I had pretty much dismissed ever going hiking again. I can now carry my pack with ease and hike well and have enjoyed several hikes.

I guess its all in knowing where I once was, where I had taken myself, and where I have gone since I decided I didn't like where I was going. I had enjoyed so many outdoor active sports even into my early 30s (even though I was gaining fat since my mid 20s) and had progressed through life and ended up taking a path of destruction.  I told myself, this is the way it is supposed to be. Im supposed to be as round as I am tall. Im older and more responsible, im not supposed to play the way I used to. Well, lucky for me I changed my ways. Now I can enjoy all the things that I used to enjoy. My kids will have a fit dad. I am glad that at 43 I have finally shaken the beast that has had its claws in me since my late 20s. That beast was sweet carbs. Cookies, chocolate, sugar, junk.

There are other folks on this board who motivate me. I dont know their names off hand, but there are several that help to keep me going when I read what they talk about and do.

Ok. I guess im done now.

Williemon,
    I live and love to hear stories like yours!  So motivating to hear of someone overcoming adversity.  I've soaked up so much knowledge, inspiration, and mindset from this site.  I really identified with something Veggeep said in a thread elsewhere (hope I'm remembering correctly):  "Our past failures/mistakes don't 'define' us, they 'inform' us."  I love that.  I would add that to me it is not my weaknesses that identify my uniqueness, but how I manage to either overcome them or embrace them.  If there is something I have yet to accomplish due to a limitation, I can do one of three things:  give up (quit), reduce the limitation through training, practice, what have you, or circumvent the limitation by going outside the box and discovering a new way to do it.  The people I admire do one of the latter two. 
    Williemon, congrats on climbing the mountain, one (hard) step at a time!  :)

JMBS


I really identified with something Veggeep said in a thread elsewhere (hope I'm remembering correctly):  "Our past failures/mistakes don't 'define' us, they 'inform' us."  I love that.  I would add that to me it is not my weaknesses that identify my uniqueness, but how I manage to either overcome them or embrace them. 

That's a great quote. I think that I would add that it is not our failures, mistakes, or the wrongs done to us, but what we do with them. There are two choices, let them use us and grow weaker-not just in body but mind and spirit, or use them and grow stronger and smarter.

175 lbs
47 48 years old
Feeling pretty good

designer

JMBS


I really identified with something Veggeep said in a thread elsewhere (hope I'm remembering correctly):  "Our past failures/mistakes don't 'define' us, they 'inform' us."  I love that.  I would add that to me it is not my weaknesses that identify my uniqueness, but how I manage to either overcome them or embrace them. 

That's a great quote. I think that I would add that it is not our failures, mistakes, or the wrongs done to us, but what we do with them. There are two choices, let them use us and grow weaker-not just in body but mind and spirit, or use them and grow stronger and smarter.

D,
   Agree 100%.  Very nice attitude!  :)

Thanks JMBS.

175 lbs
47 48 years old
Feeling pretty good