How I Got Started
About 15 years ago, after a lifetime of procrastination, I made a commitment to improve my body. I was skinny everywhere except my waist and embarrassed to take my shirt off in public. Being too self-conscious to join a gym, I bought a rowing machine and started working out in the basement. Not a lot of fun, but I did it.
Within 3 weeks of starting, I went skiing with a group of young people from my church, as a chaperone. I’ve always liked hanging out with younger people and didn’t want to be lift behind so I followed them down the hills, with little knowledge of what I was doing. Before I went, I was told to just call from the hospital when I got back . . . well, that’s exactly what I did. My skies went up, my body went down and I broke my right clavicle.
That stopped everything. Healing took some time and was not what I expected. The bones healed but they did not fuse back together. My clavicle was now in two pieces.
After a couple more years of procrastinating, my nephew showed up on our doorstep on night. He told me he was going to be in a bodybuilding competition the next day and wanted to know if he could spend the night and if I would go with him the next day and take some photos. I was happy to do that, but I had never even seen my nephew with his shirt off. I knew he had wrestled in high school, but I had no idea he had such an awesome physique hiding under his clothes.
I went to the competition and was blown away. I had only seen bodybuilders on TV, never in person, and, I admit, I sort of believed there was a mystique about bodybuilding that I would probably never understand. I later realized this was not true; bodybuilders are as normal as anyone else. Training and sculpting their body is just the talent they have chosen to achieve, much like a concert pianist, actor or sports star.
Being at my first live competition made me feel so puny and intimidated. Everyone there had arms as big as my legs and I wanted to look like them, not the way I looked now. My nephew introduced me to a lot of really great people. I met the promoter of the show who introduced me to the promoters of another show in Kentucky that would be held later in the year. Those people were not only promoters, they also owned a supplement company and helped people with training, diet and supplement advice. I was HOOKED!
Through a developing friendship I learned they had a need for some desktop publishing (page design/layout) expertise. I had that expertise and found I could trade it for their support with my bodybuilding goals. I was 45 at the time and was sort of experiment to prove it’s never too late to start. I had a great mentor who was knowledgably and a national level competitor. I also had the luxury of getting high quality supplements and being able to monitor my progress constantly and make changes as necessary.
With his help, a written workout plan in hand, a long sleeve shirt and long sweat pants, I joined a gym! I didn’t have good support from those close to me, so I was sort of a closet bodybuilder for a while. Progress came quick. I was evaluated regularly for strength gains, weight, and bodyfat. I was naturally lean but the problem area was my waist – too big!
I got a good solid start. I learned proper form for every exercise I did, and I learned it was best to stick with basic compound movements until I had built a good muscular foundation which I could further shape with other exercises later.
After the initial gains in strength and size, progress slowed down, but was steady, except for weight. My body rebelled at my goal of weighing 180.
After several years, I starting putting my bodybuilding goals ahead of the thoughts of others and renewed my commitment to having a better body. Over the years I’ve been through a couple of gym closings and a couple of training partners, but the last 4 years have been the best for me.
That’s a little insight into how and why I got started and why I can see no reason to stop! -Ray
June 15, 2008 at 11:31 pm
You, sir, are built like a carved granite rock. And seeing as you state you came from a background of being a skinny, I may well "use" you as my inspiration to keep me going through the times when I feel nothing’s happening.
Also, I’ll take your advice on form over heavy weights seeing as you’re a living, walking example of the ability for a skinny to become outrageously well built.
:)