I’m 16, and I’m a bodybuilder, Part 2!
I’m 16, and I’m a bodybuilder: My Outlook
By: Kevin M. Manz
Read part 1 here.
Part 2
Empirical Lessons Learned Through Experience: Kevin Manz
The sport of bodybuilding has been given a seemingly distorted reputation that I feel needs to be accurately addressed and substantiated. First off, if you were to arbitrarily ask someone on the street what he/she felt the true definition of a bodybuilder was, chances are, you would be unpleasantly surprised. People often tend to keep a superficial speculation on the idea of the sport without really thinking outside the box. They think hulky guys (or girls), overwhelming veins, an obtrusive physical structure — completely unnatural looking oddities — are the sport in a nutshell. What people tend to miss, however, are the small components that give bodybuilding its unique authenticity. Certainly not every bodybuilder casts a shadow the size of Michael Strahan and in most cases, people fall very short from that generalization. The sport is about much more than size, mass, and so on; it’s about having an adequate proportion of mass with aesthetically pleasing definition to complement. An imbalance in either of these elements could have a severe impact on your overall physique as well as your endeavor to emulate what the typical bodybuilder looks like.
? For example, on my competition day of OCB’s Eastern Seaboard States, I weighed in at a meager 125 lbs at 4% body fat. I was surrounded by a crowd of older guys who weighed a good 40-70 lbs heavier than me and carried a physique almost double the size of mine. Although a situation like this seems rather discouraging and casts a negative light of infirmity onto my image, it did precisely the opposite. Because I was clearly the smaller dog in the fight, I channeled my focus and began analyzing everyone from a judge’s standpoint. As I surveyed people backstage, I realized that I could potentially overcome the sheer brawn of the bigger contestants. I realized that most of them, although abounding in mass, simply lacked the definition and keenness that corresponds with their size. They were imbalanced — an aura in bodybuilding that is the linchpin to a person’s overall performance. Those few co-competitors clearly neglected the importance of the pre-contest diet which manifested itself during the award ceremony. The larger guys, putting their massive hull aside, generally placed lower than well-condition guys like…. me!
Unfortunately, some people as they are going through the contest preparation process fail to efface the “all bodybuilders are huge” misconception from their mindset. As a result, they are forced to swallow the depressive reality that quality, in all shapes and forms, trounces on quantity. Although having a large musculature factors heavily into the bodybuilding equation, it is obviously not the only factor. In fact, trimming away excess fat and tightening muscle bellies via sodium manipulation to develop the chiseled “look”, is the detrimental factor to one’s success.
As a bodybuilding website and a bodybuilding forum, factions of different people have different theories and approaches to succeed and get ahead of the game. Scientific claims buttress ones theory while converse evidence discredits another. However, I believe we can all come to a terse equation to polish the key elements of a successful bodybuilder:
Bodybuilding? Get Involved! Persistent Work Triumphs!
In the brevity of this article, I have mentioned some of the desirable characteristics that are confined within each and every individual. Although some opt or simply do not exude an aura of devotion, determination or persistence, or just don’t have a hobby to project those skills on, there is always a stepping stone where one can slowly become more involved. I certainly did not spontaneously grasp a barbell and label myself a bodybuilder. It’s a gradual assimilation process that each individual slowly needs to gravitate towards in order to attain a level of comfort before pursuing. However, when one completes the transition from an aspiring fitness enthusiast to a bodybuilder, a previous lifestyle decays as a new one emerges. Devotion, persistence, analytics, the whole nine, becomes the key components in life rather than a honed skill to stabilize motivation. Every aspect of bodybuilding, from the daunting hour of training to the post workout meal, stimulates the best within everyone to surface. Everyone has the capability to narrow their scope and go head first towards their objective, but bodybuilding casts a different light onto accomplishment. It’s your body that is the beneficiary. Your hard work and your will to succeed is manifested onto your body to be carried and flaunted around with you everywhere you go. People will invariably notice as you walk down the street that your body has flourished and evolved. Converting a limp and unwieldy body into something desirable and extolled by literally everyone is going to take some getting used to, but you will adapt. As you are getting ready for work, while mentally scrutinizing your body image as you try on different shirts and pants, a feeling of accomplishment will seep in. A feeling and sensation that is truly incomparable to anything else you have ever imagined.
This is what makes bodybuilding unparalleled to any other sport, hobby or pastime out there. Its authenticity is truly unbeatable.
“Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!”
- Andrew Carnegie
