For me it was to get my black belt in Karate. Weight lifting was a prerequisite.
My Sensei, Don Buck was a former olympic lifter and bodybuilder, so I had a
great ‘coach’ to start with. Our weight training sessions (full body, 3X per week)
were brutal by any standards, but produced very good results. Then there was
also judo so we learned you how to get your opponent to the ground, followed
by handball for hand - eye coordination. I weighed 132lbs in 1972 when I
started training, and the rest, as they say, is history; could easily write a book
on where that led . . .
My Sensei, Don Buck is below.