My BodyBlog

Another off day today but I thought I’d post this, I wrote it awhile ago.

A few weeks ago when I walked into the gym one of the guys who likes to joke around and tease everyone said "Start loadin’ up the plates boys, here comes Tony!"  He teases me like that ever since he saw me doing heavy deadlifts a couple of months ago.  A little later while I was warming up on the bike another guy came up to me and asked if I was going heavy tonight.  Getting noticed for what I’ve been doing at the gym has been happening often to me lately, and it’s more than just comments like these.

I’ve been a regular at my gym for over five years so of course I exhange greetings with other regulars, with some guys it’s developed into chatting about any number of things.  I know this is just socializing and I don’t let it interfere with the workout I have planned.  It adds to the overall gym experience and I enjoy it.  This is a big deal for me because when I first started going to the gym I was very self-conscious about how I looked and how I came across to others.  I would work in the area with the fewest people, avoid eye contact, and avoid conversation, especially with the guys.  I wasn’t an overly shy person as such, just had a lot of insecurities where my body was concerned.  I figured that any guy lifting weights at the gym had to look better than me, be stronger than me, know more about lifting than me….in some way they had to be better than me.  I know now of course some guys were more advanced than me when it comes to the gym…but that didn’t make them any better or worse than me.  The way I used to think about getting noticed, even something as simple as someone asking if I was using a piece of equipment, that made me very uncomfortable.  I’m so glad I’ve gotten past all that.   

I’ve been noticed simply because of what exercises I do.  I do deadlift, bench press and squat regularly and I’ve had numerous people come up to me and ask me about form on these lifts.  Particularly the deadlift, few people do this at my gym, and I often get asked if I find it hurts my back.  My results on these lifts attract attention, especially during those workouts when I lift heavy or go for a new personal best.  Guys have stopped what they’re doing to watch my attempts, they’ve offered many positive comments, they’ve even come over to help me unload the plates when I’m finished.  Lately when I get to the gym and start to set up for deadlift or bench, guys will ask me how much I’m going to lift tonight.

The way I’ve changed my body has gotten noticed.  I’ve had some guys say that they can see that I’ve put on some good muscle.  I often get comments about how much fat I’ve lost by people who saw me when I had a lot more body fat.  Often people don’t say they’ve noticed your results, but you know they do by the other kinds of questions they ask, such as what I eat, if I take any supplements, how often I train, how I train, if I can recommend an exercise, correct form, etc.

Bodybuilding is transforming my body and increasing my confidence and self-esteem.  These experiences of getting noticed have played a big part in my mental and attitude transformation.  I never though it possible to feel positive about getting noticed, but I do.  I think that’s a healthy thing as long as it’s kept in perspective.  I feel lucky to have found this incredible life-altering activity, I look on every workout as an experience to be relished and appreciated to the fullest, and I see my body as a gift that can allow me to live a higher quality of life for a longer time as long as I respect it by treating it right. 

I remember when I noticed big or strong lifters at my gym…I admired them for their accomplishment, I noted how they worked out, I listened to what they were saying to others to see if it could help me….I even asked a few questions when I felt confident enough.  I guess you could say they were role models that I wanted to emulate.  So now I’m thinking…is that how some guys might see me?  Are any of the guys I’m interacting with see me as a roll model, see my accomplishements as something they want to do?  If that’s the case its nice that I might be able to inspire someone, but it’s also a big responsibility.  When I share information with people because of what I do or say I feel a responsibility to get it right.  My knowledge is limited to my own reading and experiences, and that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to a lot of people.  But in the small community where I live I probably know more most about bodybuilding and nutrition.  The last thing I want to do is tell someone something that’s not right which might lead to them getting injured.  So I’m careful about what I say, and I encourage people to try things but always stress that learning the proper form for an exercise is always more important than lifting heavy weight, that will come in time.

To summarize and finish this long post:  I’m getting noticed, it makes me feel good, I may be becoming a role model for others, I want to help other lifters, I love my bodybuilding lifestyle! 

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 8:36 am and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.