Hardest part of bodybuilding

[3clipseGT]

Being financially set/stable and not having to try to fit your food and supplements in your budget would make bodybuilding easier to do and possibly successful at. So I would have to say money for me because eating, dieting, training motivation and all other factors aren't really that hard for me to manage. Especially if you have a family to care for. My wife and baby girl come first.

Completely understandable!

 

[osiris]

My situation is different, the only limiting factor for me is really the dedication and eating the same thing day in and day out.

Things are easier now at 35 than the they were in my early 20's . Being not only financially stable but having a stable home life makes a the difference.
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[Gaintrain]

Money is the biggest issue for me! if I HAD MORE MONEY ID BE ALOT BIGGER!

I got plenty motivation, intensity, and inspiration! but money is a big factor when I need to eat a certain way to gain and still have enough left for gear and bills!

 

[Bandid0]

if I HAD MORE MONEY ID BE ALOT BIGGER

THIS!!!!

 

[jack of all]

Honestly the hardest part for me is always getting highly motivated to lift maximal weights. When last week you put in a killer effort and moved 425lb box squats for 10 and know that you have to top that. Most days I find the motivation I need once I step in the gym but that doesnt always happen.

 

[alfresco]

Acceptance.

Having the introspection to know that you do not have “what it takes”
to look like what you would like to look like. Or to be as strong as you
would like to be, or envision yourself being.

That to me was the hardest part. Accepting. And I dare say, it still is.
I some strange way I still, occasionally, believe, mistakenly, that that
by sheer will, force, consistency, along with the right exercise, sets
and reps, that I will somehow, thirty odd years later, meaningfully alter
how I look, morph myself into this idealized vision I have long held.
Intellectually I know better, emotionally it’s a crap shoot sometimes.

But the sad, or not so sad realization is that no matter how long I live,
or how long I train, I am what I am and nothing I do will alter my God
given genetics; my metabolism, how and where I store fat, the shape
of my muscles, my height, etc., etc. . . . Knowing that is very valuable,
but better yet, believing it is priceless.

Does that mean I should stop training? Hell no. I train because it is,
after all these years, a part of me and who I am. I love lifting weights
and I suppose I always will. I enjoy having a modicum of control over
my vanity, and a larger control over my health and well-being. But I
must approach it rationally, and that can be difficult in bodybuilding,
because bodybuilding it is rarely driven by rational thoughts, mostly
driven by ego, vanity, and self-doubt. All of which I sometimes feel I
hold the corner of the market on . . .

My dead Dad told me when I started “bodybuilding” that I was reaching
in the wrong direction. He said “. . . look at me, look at your Mom, look
at others in our family, right or wrong, that is your destiny . . .” “Make
the most of what you have and be happy with it.” Those words were not
intended to be discouraging, they were intended be inject a bit of reality
into my present state of being. He saw the guzzling the p rotein drinks,
the handfuls of vitamins, the force feedings, the endless reading of body-
building books and magazines, the too heavy weights that were literally
breaking me instead building me, the aches and pains; all of which I
thought to be the road to success, and in some small way they were as
they brought me back to where I am today, and I am more than happy
with that, thank you very much.

I have said here many times that I have the ideal lifestyle for bodybuilding:
the dieting, the cardio, the lifting, the motivation, the outside interests,
the money . . . all of which I have never lacked for but what I did not have
for the too many years in my youth (which untold hours of wish full thinking
were squandered in retrospect) was the introspection and the acceptance
that I would never look how I wanted to look. I thought I came close when
I was younger, and I have been chasing that glimpse ever sense in one
way or another. (The avatar is of me a few years ago, in my mid-fifties.)
Like somebody once said “. . . the older I get the better I was.”

So . . . no sour grapes here. Just the sound realization that weight training,
bodybuilding, call it what you like, has given me more than it has taken from
me and for that I am grateful.

It’s too bad that s teroids did not make the “What's the most difficult part
of bodybuilding?” list because in my simple mind, that would easily be the
most difficult part of the current bodybuilding scene such as it is. For reasons
of morality, availability, cost, health issues, legality, and authenticity which
contributes to more then it’s fair share of problems as has got to be the most
difficult part given the availability and their wide spread use and acceptance.

They (s teroids) have the ability to do more in regards to transforming your
physique than everything else on the list put together. Yes, they work that
well . . . up to a point. Then all those other things come into play and play
an ever increasing role of importance, with all being equally important, no
one being more or less important than the other but all of which ignore what
I think most often overlook or ignored, and that is once again acceptance.

Acceptance of the cards that you have been dealt and not trying to be some-
thing you will never be regardless of what you get, how much you lift or what
you “take”. It does not take thirty odd years to find this out. We all intuitively
know this, and know it quickly, but most of us (myself included) refuse to
believe it, chose to ignore the obvious, think we are somehow different, allow
ourselves to be swayed by ego, jealousy, hatred, pride, and the commercial
interests that prey on these human qualities and the one-in-a-million success
stories that you could be part of. Sure.

And one thing I am glad I did not try when I was younger is s teroids as I surely
would have abused them, would now be one of the many hundreds of people
here that are dealing in one way or another with the adverse side effects.
And if you think otherwise, a brief perusal of the boards main topics, most
have to with s teroid problems . . . not solutions. At the time when they would
have done me any “good” I was too afraid, too cheap, and did not know
the right people. I had zero moral issues with then then, just as I have no
moral issues with them now. Too each their own; just don’t make your
problems my problems.

I have said more than I wanted to say, but once I turn on the faucet it’s
hard to turn off so my apologies for taking the long way in saying . . .
acceptance was the hard part for me . . . making the most with what you
have and be happy with it . . . while doing no harm in the meantime.

 

[Medic08]

Dieting and just life in general. When ever I'm really stressed out I seem to lose motivation easily. Also, I've never been a big eater so when ever I get stressed it directly affects my appetite. I've been going through separation/divorce over the past two years so I've really fallen off track and can't seem to get that 100% motivation back just yet. I've let my self get pretty out of shape. I know that if I can just devote my self then results will come very quickly bc of muscle memory and plus I'm still fairly young(27), but I just need that kick in the butt to stick to it.

 

[maldorf]

It’s too bad that s teroids did not make the “What's the most difficult part
of bodybuilding?” list because in my simple mind, that would easily be the
most difficult part of the current bodybuilding scene such as it is.

Yeah, thats the point I made on this thread too. I think for a lot of guys that ends up being the biggest challenge once youve been at it for a long while.

 

[Myostatin]

dieting for sure, though strangely this has gotten easier over time.

 

[PumpkinMan]

Two way tie between eating and maintaining relationships with friends. I've only done one show and I think in 12 weeks I hung out with friends 4 times...

 

[matty815]

dieting def

 

[Dancho]

consistency! consistency with the options in the poll. you need to do them decently for years. a few months here and there wont cut it.

btw where is the most important part? what kind of poll is this? where are the supplements, and i dont mean glutamine

 

[alterntego]

i train pretty consistantlay . work long days spend time with my 3 kids and woman . just doesnt seem like i have much energy for anything else . plus the day is over after all the above .

 

[thebigguy84]

Dieting sucks but forcing yourself to eat high clean calories is even worse. Cardio aint all that bad. It is hard to afford bodybuilding damn food cost more than supplements well most of the time.

 

[johnjuanb1]

Dealing with injuries...getting old.

 

[NobleRok]

Money is definitely one of the biggest issues. As others have said in the past, the size of your wallet can definitely be a limiting factor in this sport/lifestyle. Aside from that, I think the hardest thing is trying to balance all aspects of my life. Bodybuilding can be very time consuming, and can definitely border on obsessive at times. It is very important to keep room in your life for family and other relationships. Without them, you have nothing.

^^^^^ This right here^^^^^ I usually have so much going on with kids and fam.

 

[Myck]

Age & injuries. At times it's discouraging and humbling when you still have the desire and ability, but the body can't keep up.

 

[FlexMurphy]

My biggest ones are money of course. But I hate that no one around me gets the sport, im constantly hassled saying i eat to much and its not that diet is to hard for me, its getting hassled for eating all the time that i just don't when im at my parents house and around people. it sucks, i don't know how to make anyone understand bodybuilding is my life, and i want to be successful at the sport.

 

[itsalwayssunny]

its not that any of them are so difficult or out of reach ever its just hard to get all of the options u have listed to be in working order at the same time...

 

[gearheadz]

You left out drugs. One of the hardest things IMO is learning how to use steroids and other hormones responsibly and to have the self discipline to cycle off of them and let your body recover. Its awefully hard to come off a really good productive cycle and clean up. Its gets harder and harder too the longer you play the game.

I se this alot. Its mostly with the guy thats wants it all right now,who dont want to wait to turn pro. One gentleman in particular was doing the dumbest shit to be as big as he can figuring he has to be the biggest to get where he wants to be and thats the pro circuit.
I had to tell the guy that he will not look like Jay by doing what he is doing overnight. He goes well in a year maybe. I go bro you do realize that he has been at it for 18yrs straight. Lol u want that in a year, oh boy I want to be 23 again:banghead:
Same guy told him to go off for 6-8wks. Well that last 2.5 wks until he figures he wasnt getting nothing out of his workouts unless he was on.