What and when was your initial trigger?

[x1xjcramair1x1]

What and when was your initial trigger to lifting weights/training - meaning when you first started lifting weights and why?

Football was my trigger and it was when I entered middle school at 12/13 yrs old. After lifting weights most of the summer of 1989/1990 with my uncle my parents knew I would go further in the sport with better conditioning and strength.

The fall of 1990 they purchased me a used adjustable bench, squat rack, 2 barbells, 3 sets of dumbbells and an EZ curl bar.

Fast forward: Played semi-pro football for 16 years from 21-36. Competed 8 times in BB shows during that same time.

Making a comeback for the big 40 later this year perhaps a show or two. Would love to give it another go at football, but time will tell.

 

[little slice]

wanted to impress a girl..











it didn't work

 

[romo]

I also wanted to impress a girl,,got in my blood,starting doing bodybuilding contest.Im 51 now,not trying to impress no one, but me.

 

[Feeshoils]

I did gymnastics for many years when I was younger, after 6-7 years of it lost interest in the competition side of things.

Wanted to keep fit and liked to exercise so I went down to the local gym at 13. Signed up with a PT who taught me the fundamentals of weight lifting and exercise. I watched him compete and he sparked my interest in wanting to compete.

3 years later at 16 i competed in my first show and the rest is history.

As a young kid I think it was the best decision I could have made.
Kept me out of trouble and gave me something positive to focus on and put my energy towards.

 

[bigNsmall]

Sports, chicks, male intimidation....

Now it's an addictive lifestyle that keeps me sane.

 

[Bio]

I was a skin and bones ectomorph! I was 13, looking through the magazine rack at a Walgreens. I saw a copy of Muscle and Fitness...couldn't believe people could look like that...I was hooked!

 

[alfresco]

my trigger

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.

 

[Kag94]

Played football.... became bulimic/ana along the way... realized in order grow I needed to eat to fuel the training.... fell in love with heavy weights

 

[heavyhitter]

I was a scrawny kid all growing up. I always wanted to be bigger and tried lifting weights a bunch of time and could never get into it. I raced motorcycles professionally and at 19 had a bad wreck and herniated a few disks. Had to go through physical therapy and liftin weights to get the strength back and I started seeing results and never looked back

 

[Love_to_Bodybuild]

I wanted a better feeling of security, more respect, better self esteem in apprearance

 

[TeknoViking]

I saw Bloodsport with Van Damme and started pumping iron in the 7th grade.

 

[fit2grow]

This is a really good thread. Alot of good responses so far and looking forward to reading more. Basically always wanted to improve myself not just mentally but physically. The attention from the girls didnt hurt either lol

 

[OutToLunch]

For judo. To be stronger. Arnold, Stallone and van dam secondary

 

[maldorf]

I was a skin and bones ectomorph! I was 13, looking through the magazine rack at a Walgreens. I saw a copy of Muscle and Fitness...couldn't believe people could look like that...I was hooked!

Same here. I started at 15 yrs old. I was my adult height of 6 foot but only weighed about 140 lbs!

 

[WhyIncision]

Being an overweight kid my entire childhood. No one ever really teased me to my face, but i'd hear comments, even my "friends" would talk shit. Never really got attention from girls like my taller skinnier friends did. In highschool I joined the wrestling team, developed a eating disorder, and would kill myself on runs wrapped in plastic. After I quit the team, because I found mandatory Saturday practice offensive, I just started lifting weights. On and off lifted in the military and noticed I put on size pretty easily. Way faster than the guys around me. After the military I took lifting more seriously with my diet and training, and decided to do my first show. That was about 10 years ago, still keeping it consistent while i'm in grad school.

 

[tenny]

I realized at a young age.....maybe 12...13...that I was incredibly
strong.....

my dad back then did carpentry work, and would take me on the
weekends with him....

the guys on the site would see how many 2x4s they could carry on
one shoulder.....decided I would try and picked up 16 of them and carried
them over to the site....more than anyone else had done....

til my dad walked over and grabbed 30 and carried them over....

after that, I got a weider "master blaster" bench with sand filled weights
for Christmas.....

been doing it ever since...cant stop....

 

[xheavyx]

My older brothers were wrestlers and one of them took me to his high school weight room when I was 8 or 9 and left an impression on me. I got chubby not too long after but played football until my senior year of high school. I was always big and strong for my team, but still chubby. A few years after high school I decided if I was going to be big I may as well be strong. The lifting came pretty naturally and I started reading everything I could find and eventually did a powerlifting meet with my brother. I got bit by the iron bug and pursued it and got a lot bigger and stronger. One of these days I'll lean out, but I've got some goals I need to hit before I drop to the 275 class.

Sponsored by Ukgear (www.ukanabol.cc)"

 

[lafbear2]

My trigger: my mom

When I was 18 yo, my mom started lifting weights because she saw many of her older relatives developed severe osteoporosis...she said she was not going to age in that manner. I was fat and out of shape...I said if she could go to the gym 5 days a week, I could, too. Mom is 88 yo and still works out although she is down to 3-4 days a week...she's there waiting when the gym opens at 5 AM. Thanks , Mom!

 

[boxer cam]

When I was about 13 years old to piss off my older brother. He got a gym set for Christmas, but the night before he crashed his road push bike into me on my mountain bike. He ended up in hospital for the night and bed for a week, so I started to use his Christmas present to piss him off for scratching my bike.

 

[Pump Daddy]

I was 14 and my best friend gave me Arnold's book "Education of a Bodybuilder" and i was on my way. That book was so damn inspiring! I was tired of being skinny.