your story

[ben 21]

id like to know a bit more about you guys, we all have a reason for why we go to the gym or lift big weights but why? what made you get into it? what made you one of the special few that doesnt just do it to temporaraly to take away the guilt, but more makes it a lifestyle. i,ll be posting my pictures up soon and that will be all i need to say on the subject but whats your story? and what inspired you?

[comanight2]

I wanted to be able to beat up the people who were shoving me around a bit when I was younger.

I wanted to get hot chicks

Mostly, I was worried that in a bad situation that I wouldn't have been able to perform and others would have suffered.

[dowdy16]

same reason as most, up my self-esteem a bit. . . i know there all the health benefits but in reality everyone does it to make them selves feel better about themselves. Hitting a new PR always puts a smile on your face and leaves you with a spring in your step (unless it was squats).
as coma night said, i wanted to not get shoved around by the 'bigger' blokes.

it'll be interesting to see what other people put here

[rash797]

Depression and anxiety runs through my family. The gym is my 'me' time.

[James]

I seriously do not remember why, prob all the catch all reasons. My motives have evolved though, I now do it for optimally longevity and health, strength, visuals and because I want to be incredibly elitist with people that couldn't care about themselves... haha.

[tony4100]

I used to be very slim and fit in my younger days, served 5 years in the infantry and then had a physically active job. Got to my mid 30's and changed to a sedate job, the money got better and the beer started flowing again. Before I knew it i was pushing 16+stone. It really did just creep up on me.

Got to about 38 and could see my 40's looming up so decided to get back into better shape (this was after an all-inclusive holiday where i abused the buffet 24/7).

Now looking to get lean with some muscle. My goal is aesthetic, however I do enjoy the benefits associated with a good diet and training such as health and being in better shape than, I think, most dads in the playground. I would like to have a body that says I go to the gym and eat well.

Since I have been seriously eating and training, there seems to be no end to it, so I do see it as a lifestyle now

One thing that really bothers me is now I have a better understanding of diet and training, more than than I ever did (even in the army) I know its a marathon and not a sprint, but I sometimes feel that my gains are disproportional to the amount of effort I put in!

[George641]

I joint the gym as my mum and girlfriend just had which prompted me to take a look at myself... "n it wernt pretty" and from there it went, I slimmed down rapidly with excessive cardio and quite likely a extreme lack of food. Not sure if I'd change how I done that part because if I took it slower would I be sat here typing this or be in mcdonalds due to falling off the wagon because the slow progress - then lack of motivation.... (Im sure everyone wants it all to happen over night deep down haha)
Then got into weights, mainly machines to get some form of strength back (lost it all in cardio)
Onto free-weights - stronglifts5x5 , eating properly, doing little to no cardio and looking better than ever.
No looking back!

[funb]

Keeps me off the streets Spent well over a decade abusing my body in a variety of ways, but the health drive was kickstarted seeing a photo of myself at a party, and when I started getting heart palpitations going up stairs etc. I had a PT who really inspired me to look after myself, find my own motivation, do my own research etc. And of course getting good results both early on and all the way through has been awesome. Every day I go to gym I can feel proud of myself even if no-one else knows about it. It makes me happy

[DavidRugby]

I looked at myself one day in the mirror and didn't like what i saw! I put on loads of weight at University as i lived off beer and takeaways. I was 116kg at my heaviest. After Uni i spent a summer working in Greece and due to the humidity and heat i lost my appetite, hardly ate anything and worked very hard, resulting in me getting down to 90kg at the end of summer (about 5 months later), so i lost loads of weight basically starving myself. I worked in a kitchen during the day and in a bar during the evenings, so i hardly had any time to eat ha. It wasn't the right way to lose weight and it quickly returned when i got back to England. I was very skinny and looked unhealthy when i got back from Greece but i was happy because i'd been quite fat before.

Now i've put on some weight and slacked off from training and i'm at 95kg. I play rugby so obviously weights will help my performance, but the main reason is to make me feel good about myself. I ruptured my ACL and MCL a few months ago too so i want to train hard to prevent future injuries. I still have alot of work to do and i need to focus on my diet but i'm getting stronger and feeling good thanks to my sessions in the gym

[Hardcorener]

Quote

we all have a reason for why we go to the gym

I haven't got money/space to set up my own gym. That's the only reason.

Between you and me: I hate the place. Especially people there.

With a passion.