Anabolics, Life and the Transition Between

[ickyrica]

But up close, involved and personal its just fucking ghey. Male beauty pageant. Makeup and spray tan. Artificial down to its core. Narcissism and femininity.

you have a guy in the bleachers standing and clapping loudly right now. Feel the same way about it, for the most part. But much like religion, if it helps someone on an individual level who am I to judge? To each their own I say. One thing I have to take my hat off to is the dedication they have, holy shit. That's a serious commitment.

Now about 3 years later I'm making roughly 2.5- 3 times as much but I've definitely fallen out of shape from where I was, I'd say it's worth it and i think within time i will adapt and get the fire back to start lifting regular like again

money over vanity 10/10 times for guys like us. We're not making income based on our physical abilities in the gym. It would be foolish to not, at the very least, attempt to make it work with the larger income. A six pack ain't going to pay your bills after you retire.

 

[Perrin Aybara]

This is something I've had to think about lately. I've almost doubled my income twice in the last few years. Seems almost unreal. It was actually @gr8whitetrukker that convinced me to quit a minimum wage job and get my CDL almost three years ago. Walked out, signed up for CDL school, put my tuition and living expenses on a credit card and never looked back. Worked a lower paying driving job for two years to get the experience to land the much better one I just started.

I haven't given up training, but doing meets is off the table for awhile as my new work schedule would make it nearly impossible. Buying a home gym recently has made training a lot more convenient with my longer work hours and long drive to and from work.

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

This is something I've had to think about lately. I've almost doubled my income twice in the last few years. Seems almost unreal. It was actually @gr8whitetrukker that convinced me to quit a minimum wage job and get my CDL almost three years ago. Walked out, signed up for CDL school, put my tuition and living expenses on a credit card and never looked back. Worked a lower paying driving job for two years to get the experience to land the much better one I just started.

I haven't given up training, but doing meets is off the table for awhile as my new work schedule would make it nearly impossible. Buying a home gym recently has made training a lot more convenient with my longer work hours and long drive to and from work.

You done good man. I just placed that seed to wake you up. Your a man with alot of potential that was stuck in the mire of a real shitty situation. And you used your own 2 hands to beat it. Part of growing up or maturing er whatever. Its a natural progression. Some unfortunately never even realize their supposed to progress. And no amount of nudging or prodding will make them brave that fearsome river.

 

[ickyrica]

Your a man with alot of potential that was stuck in the mire of a real shitty situation. And you used your own 2 hands to beat it

nothing better than seeing bullshit in the rear view mirror. You're right, PA has done well. Been chatting it up with him for a minute and it's been a pleasure seeing him evolve. Solid people deserve a sould foundation and he has one. Well on his way

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

This is something I've had to think about lately. I've almost doubled my income twice in the last few years. Seems almost unreal. It was actually @gr8whitetrukker that convinced me to quit a minimum wage job and get my CDL almost three years ago. Walked out, signed up for CDL school, put my tuition and living expenses on a credit card and never looked back. Worked a lower paying driving job for two years to get the experience to land the much better one I just started.

I haven't given up training, but doing meets is off the table for awhile as my new work schedule would make it nearly impossible. Buying a home gym recently has made training a lot more convenient with my longer work hours and long drive to and from work.

My first pro job back in 05 i made .26/mile. Had to put a hard 3000 miles a wk to gross 800. 4 wks out at a time. Sucked ass. Its part of paying your dues. Now ive accumulated 15 yrs, no accidents good CSA score and closing in on 1.6 million. Learned lots of tricks like any vet would. Such experience demands a premium. And i work for nothing but the best now. There is a massive shortage of qualified individuals in this industry and its a drivers market and will continue to be till the end of time. Its consistently #1 most dangerous job in america. And the pay finally reflects that

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

A lot of guys won't admit this, but I will. I never felt like I was a somebody until I started lifting weights. Does that mentally fuck someone up to some degree? Yea, it can, and I'm living proof. When you were constantly that square peg in a round hole, didn't take well to team sports and didn't feel as accepted in your adolescent years, the result can be this person who is now grown but still has this feeling of, "Am I good enough now?"

I'm admitting this because I'm over that bullshit now. Now I simply train because I love it. When I wanna fail and keep going it's my love for training, whatever it does for the look is sort of the biproduct. But yea man, I was a fucking headcase with it for a long time. Thank God that's over with

Thats an awful lot of a secure man to admit that. I think its great. Just some issues and topics im trying to stir up in this thread. Your very articulate to point that out. Yeah a huge part of my obsession with strength and muscle manifested itself in my teen yrs. I was quiet with alot of hidden rage from my parents failures and the failures of the CPS system. I wanted to be larger than life to prove it to who knows...me? My dad? Idk. To prove i was stronger than him? Protection? Idk. But being a victim was never gonna happen if i got stronger, right? It gave me a way to feel empowered. Anselmo's Mouth of War and Becoming really expresses this quite well. Raw as it is. Its all truth.

Ive always used it as a purge to vent frustration in different stages of my life. It was a hardening tool and a tool of empowerment. Some thing i used with devastating effectiveness as motivation to get to the next lvl and then the next. Cuz it was all hard as fuck. Never had a place to live when i graduated. No parents to pay for school or a car or a little word to get me a good start some where. Just a pee on destined to fail in small town america. They didnt even include me in the senior yearbook cuz i rebelled so bad. I wasnt playing by their rules cuz i couldnt stand them. In them i mean ALL of them. I was nothing to nobody. And i wasnt gonna give em the satisfaction of watching me fail. I just needed a firm guiding hand to place that aggression. Thats where the weights came in. Then later the Marines. 911 kinda forced that. Or at least i felt obligated too. But it was a good fit. It was the only place i was ever applauded and encouraged to act like a complete caged animal. I was able to harvest my rage for some thing useful instead of destruction like i did in HS. As i get older i am in complete control over it and its directed and concentrated to push me and my loved ones further and further. I hope i never become civilized or normal. I would feel empty or useless. And thats why i have such an endearing love for the iron and i miss it terribly.

 

[Rosconow]

I have my cake, and eat it too. I vastly increased my income and still manage to train. And the diet for me is just about eating clean and staying within daily macros.

It all depends on your life style, goals, aspersions, drive, determination, discipline.... family support if that's a consideration.

 

[Demondosage]

I've realized what hard training has also done for me in the positive too. Especially in a time like this where all these ppl are bitching and whining and living in fear and paranoia. That driving force to consistently kill shit physically is what helps me manage mentally, it's what keeps me going and tells me it's all going to be ok. It's what reminds me I'm feeling something, even if it's pain during those sets Im reminded that if I feel that pain then I'm still here and breathing, I'm living. And when that fucking pain sets in my mind goes free. I detached my tricep tendon last year, I was in the gym still doing the pec deck and side lateral with the cast on, I was doing 500 pushups in a day within a month of the cast getting removed. Why? Because I knew that going though that shit was what always got me through hard times. It's what I knew and my roots to getting through shit physically and mentally, more mental I think now.

New levels of confidence, AND POWWWEERRR! Shedding skin, changing within!!

 

[hurricane]

I miss it fierce.
I took up BJJ to divert my attention to a more healthy physical obsession. Im progressing. And its a more natural empowerment of masculinity than BB could ever offer.

BJJ has completely humbled me. Took it up about a year ago. Still amazed at how someone 70lbs lighter then myself continually puts me on my back.
Great post and I'm glad things are going well for you.

 

[Demondosage]

BJJ has completely humbled me. Took it up about a year ago. Still amazed at how someone 70lbs lighter then myself continually puts me on my back.
Great post and I'm glad things are going well for you.

You ever been grappling/sparring and had your opponent smother your face? It's the worst shit ever! Breathing just gets shallower and shallower till you tap! Fucking sux ass! Haha

 

[NovaFlex]

I believe solely in balance. Leaning too far in any direction is unhealthy (either mentally / emotionally or physically). You don’t seem to have lost your passion for the iron, which tells me that within the next 1-3 years you’re going to be struggling with your decisions and wondering if giving up on what you love for the money was worth it. It very well may be! But that’s only something you can decide.

Getting back to balance—I believe you could still make time for the gym, if only to maintain. Anecdotally, I work 60-70hrs a week, have a wife and kid + 2 rental properties that I take care of myself, and I still manage to get in the gym 3-5x a week. But it’s only for an hr.

Don’t get me wrong, having the freedom of money is great—but I gave up the gym once in pursuit of it (and due to an injury), and I regretted it within a year and was back.

I believe if you can be a little more lax in training / nutrition, you can find a good balance between work + life + gym.

As many athletes, bodybuilders, powerlifters and strongmen know training and all aspects related to it are an extremely time consuming task. One many would call a second job added to their primary role of making a living and supporting their family. The training is only one aspect. The diet is another animal completely. So when one decides to put it on the back burner they have all this time that was easily consumed by training/eating/sleeping to divert to family or financial endeavors. Which i would easily argue are far more important.

Last quarter of 2018 i saw the writing on the wall and my steady, comfortable job was on the last months of its contract and would soon end. Nothing great. An average yearly earnings of 60-70k which is OK in this day and age. I saved hard and got completely out of debt and was able to make a huge leap in my professional life. I landed a big job doubling my salary and now i have made the full transition toward my goals for life. Money has never been better. We lack for nothing. I can afford anything we want or need. Moved in to my first TX home in northern Texas country where its quiet. Peace at last, right?

The conflict is i had to trade my muscles for a 6 figure income. This i would call it is a normal and healthy progression of life. Bodybuilding/strength training is great but mostly for someone who has a surplus of free time on their hands. Even in my 5 yr long prime i guess you could call it where i considered it open season to really gallop down that open anabolic road paved with bodybuilding drugs of all varieties. It was my time if there ever was one. It was less than ideal. Was working way too many hours a family and alot of other interests. I never was a career AAS user. Never started young. I was naturally trained in a variety of athletic pursuits with strength training being the back bone since the early 80s reading my dads Weider books and growing up watching Arnold, Ferrigno and Stallone strut their stuff. Always wondered about AAS or StErOiDs as most the general public refers to them as. Needed trt at 28 and thats when i put two and two together and figured since im prescribed them now might as well give er a real go. Came to MESO and made a profile and entered down that road. Some 6 yr later i still post daily.

The void training left has been picked up by an equal level of work, coffee and cigarettes and yes ALOT more money. Always had a taste for shit that isnt good for you like whiskeys and smoke. And without that regimented lifestyle its easy to become "normal". Which leads to feelings of guilt or thoughts of laziness. I always fit it in whether it meant 0300 self made appointments in the gym to the solitary sounds of 45s clanging together. Now thats all but impossible. Which i find hard to accept. I never was a somebody. Never graced no stage. No national recognition. But everything that went in to that 5 yr period was undeniable. Dedication that feared nothing. Hunger and desire that was fueled by rage and true passion. Food portions and frequency that would make any sane man tap. At my biggest and leanest i was 6'1 292. Took many phases and many mistakes to get there. Success is only a mountain of failures. Remember that.

I grew up idolizing Arnold, Ferrigno and Stallone and the first two and many others have all but given up on the lifestyle. Many professional athletes give up on it after retirement. Thats because they have a keen understanding of what it took to build it. Much like i now know and fully understand what it took to build that side walk cracker of a human being. And like i said i was a nobody. When thats gone how does one transition to being normal again? My meticulous nature has trouble dealing with it. I now prefer to tinker on my show worthy mustang and go riding atvs with my two boys over the selfish lifestyle bodybuilding/powerlifting has to offer. Turns out i actually hate bodybuilding. The look is great! But by in large completely useless. The narcissistic mentality in bodybuilding isnt a natural fit for me. I dont enjoy the "show" aspect of it. Infact many of the habits bodybuilding cultivates are feminine by design. I never really fully understood it till i was involved so heavily in it. Now i cant stand it. I do enjoy the training aspect though which is its only saving grace. Strength training is closely associated but differs in a few key ways. And i have found many of the adaptations my body has made are permanent in relation to strength. The bodybuilding related training adaptations disappear relatively quickly once food, drugs and stimulus cease. I still get compliments which are unexpected but it makes me feel good. Even tho i havent trained in over a year. It IS hard to let go of that person you once were.

So would you trade your muscles for a shot at doubling your income? How much is it worth to you?

 

[NovaFlex]

I miss it fierce.
I took up BJJ to divert my attention to a more healthy physical obsession. Im progressing. And its a more natural empowerment of masculinity than BB could ever offer.

I didn’t see this post...BJJ is probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my life, from a discipline perspective. Awesome that you’re leaning that way. How long have you been going? And what type of academy?

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

I didn’t see this post...BJJ is probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my life, from a discipline perspective. Awesome that you’re leaning that way. How long have you been going? And what type of academy?

I tried one or two different mma academies before i found one that had hours that suited me and mat times that were convenient. About a year now. We have several shops that train current ufc fighters and 2 of them are owned by former ufc fighters. Its a pretty good scene for it down here

 

[juicy122]

Good post here. I'm still young and don't have kids and stuff and single. 2 years ago I worked in a auto plant shitty work and shifts. Got hired by company and pay was decent with lots of overtime and stuff. But it got to a point it was Destroying my joints and giving me tennis elbow and all that bs. I couldn't even work out cuz of it. At that point I realised if I don't enjoy this job and cant lift because of it it's not for me. I love the gym it's my peace. It's the one thing I just love to do it makes my day my mind everything way better. When I lost it cuz of this job I realised I just am addicted to it and I don't care I love it. So one day i cracked and was like fk this job and left..(everyone at work said don't just quit try and toughen up) also 90% of coworkers are all depressed and divorced. I just saw the bigger picture before I got trapped like majority of them. luckily I don't have kids or anything and I had money to keep me unemployed for a while. Best decision I ever made. A year later after being unemployed and working here and there random jobs I got a call for a job i applied for long time ago and got it. Now this job i love it and make way more money and can work out! Crazy how life works if you believe and have hope.
Crazy at first I thought this injury was the worst thing that can happen to me because I couldn't lift and work was just tough cause of it. Even did physio and stuff. But it turns out it was God's plan. If it wasn't for it I'd prob still be there didnt view that way back then.
Butttt atm coronavirus has takin both from me lol smh but we are all in this together hopefully life will be normal in 2 months or so

 

[NovaFlex]

I tried one or two different mma academies before i found one that had hours that suited me and mat times that were convenient. About a year now. We have several shops that train current ufc fighters and 2 of them are owned by former ufc fighters. Its a pretty good scene for it down here

That’s awesome man. Is it a Gracie school?

I don’t know what part you’re located, but Kama Jui Jitsu is in Dallas, and that’s an amazing school. But it depends on what you’re looking for—if you’re just rolling / exercising, it doesn’t really matter where you go.

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

That’s awesome man. Is it a Gracie school?

I don’t know what part you’re located, but Kama Jui Jitsu is in Dallas, and that’s an amazing school. But it depends on what you’re looking for—if you’re just rolling / exercising, it doesn’t really matter where you go.

Yeah i dont intend on winning any tournaments. Just want to learn to apply it practically and use my natural or unnatural abilities more effectively. Its a great distraction as well. Alot of former juice heads turn to bjj

 

[NovaFlex]

Yeah i dont intend on winning any tournaments. Just want to learn to apply it practically and use my natural or unnatural abilities more effectively. Its a great distraction as well. Alot of former juice heads turn to bjj

Yeah that’s why I asked. Most people don’t know this, but there’s 2 different types of BJJ. Self defense / MMA style BJJ and then tournament BJJ. Obviously the former is more applicable for people like us, which is where most Gracie schools are found as well.

 

[TANGO.ECHO.KILO]

BJJ has completely humbled me. Took it up about a year ago. Still amazed at how someone 70lbs lighter then myself continually puts me on my back.
Great post and I'm glad things are going well for you.

I didn’t see this post...BJJ is probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my life, from a discipline perspective. Awesome that you’re leaning that way. How long have you been going? And what type of academy?

I tried one or two different mma academies before i found one that had hours that suited me and mat times that were convenient. About a year now. We have several shops that train current ufc fighters and 2 of them are owned by former ufc fighters. Its a pretty good scene for it down here

I was 12-13 when I walked into a school and told them "I wanna learn how to fight". It was a tough school with a reputation for being physical, almost entirely prior service and law enforcement. They told me to keep coming back. I was extremely humbled and it set me down a road of training sil lum kung fu, escrima, kali/arnis, bjj, judo, tai chi, iron palm and completely changed the course of my life and the man I would become. The places I was able to go, friends and colleagues I've met through training...I highly recommend anyone at any life stage to pursue education in martial arts. Even better if you study internal and external systems as it is a lifestyle and an entire philosophy of how to interact with the world. I am confident without martial arts and the instructors that really established my core principals early on I would have been dead or imprisoned for life, completely changed my life.

side note yall seen those old Eddie Bravo rubber guard vids? That guy made a lot of noise when he first started speaking up

 

[NovaFlex]

I was 12-13 when I walked into a school and told them "I wanna learn how to fight". It was a tough school with a reputation for being physical, almost entirely prior service and law enforcement. They told me to keep coming back. I was extremely humbled and it set me down a road of training sil lum kung fu, escrima, kali/arnis, bjj, judo, tai chi, iron palm and completely changed the course of my life and the man I would become. The places I was able to go, friends and colleagues I've met through training...I highly recommend anyone at any life stage to pursue education in martial arts. Even better if you study internal and external systems as it is a lifestyle and an entire philosophy of how to interact with the world. I am confident without martial arts and the instructors that really established my core principals early on I would have been dead or imprisoned for life, completely changed my life.

side note yall seen those old Eddie Bravo rubber guard vids? That guy made a lot of noise when he first started speaking up

Lol people thought he was crazy when he dropped the gi and started 10th planet. I saw a video of him teaching rubber guard to Rickson Gracie, that was pretty cool.

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

I was 12-13 when I walked into a school and told them "I wanna learn how to fight". It was a tough school with a reputation for being physical, almost entirely prior service and law enforcement. They told me to keep coming back. I was extremely humbled and it set me down a road of training sil lum kung fu, escrima, kali/arnis, bjj, judo, tai chi, iron palm and completely changed the course of my life and the man I would become. The places I was able to go, friends and colleagues I've met through training...I highly recommend anyone at any life stage to pursue education in martial arts. Even better if you study internal and external systems as it is a lifestyle and an entire philosophy of how to interact with the world. I am confident without martial arts and the instructors that really established my core principals early on I would have been dead or imprisoned for life, completely changed my life.

side note yall seen those old Eddie Bravo rubber guard vids? That guy made a lot of noise when he first started speaking up

I was raised on kung fu and kwai chaing. I guess that means im an expert. Perhaps tho, i can avoid getting my rocks off by having my genitals bound by drapery chords and choked until i cum as just another typical night in bangkok. I dont think mr carradine would know a thing about that tho. I hear hes quite vanilla