Life Beyond The Iron

[maki riddington]

TweetI think that this thread fits in well in this forum as the majority of you eat, sleep and breathe iron and anabolics. This is a piece I wrote for my newsletter I put out each month. Maybe it will put things in perspective for some of you and for others it will renforce what you already know about yourself.

Life Beyond The Iron

Peering in at us, most outsiders would label us diseased. Afflicted with an incurable condition we submit ourselves, oftentimes with enthusiasm and rarely with reluctance, to long periods of training. Neither do we mind having to submit to repetitive mundane exercises and tiresome training sessions. At times, often imperious and insistent we strategically manipulate our dietary intake to meet the desires of our eyes and the approval of others.

With our fixation on creating protruding mounds of muscle we slave days, months and years on end in the hope that one day we will reach the final destination. Ensnared in it¹s grasp, whether at an early age or in mid-life, this disease is for life.

Our actions in life define and shape who we are as humans. And as humans we strive to choose the events in our life that will be life-affirming. For many of us the gym and the lifestyle it represents becomes a life-denying occupation. The boundaries between a dedication to improve the quality of life and the obession towards excellence, become blurred.

Sad as it is, sometimes it takes a real life-altering event to open our eyes to what's going on around us. And it's no different for those of us who live and breathe bodybuilding as a way of life.

Thoughts and Reflections- "There's more to life"

Well, it looks like I've taken a turn for the worse. I'll most likely be back in the hospital tomorrow (this time NPO+TPN - meaning IV feeding and nothing to eat or drink). Nah, this isn't another "Oh, gosh, what did I do to deserve this - feel sorry for me" thread. I just want to tell you all some things.

In the last few weeks, I've grown up more than I think I did the first 20 or so years of my life. When you're 19 years old, and you're told that you have something that is so nasty, so vile, and so horrid that your life will never be the same again... It's heartbreaking. Everything you did, everything you followed, everything you are comes into question. I sit here and post on WBB with my friends, with people that I respect and enjoy the company (albeit virtually) of.

I watch people post things about cheating on their diet and feeling like slimy, horrible people. I watch posts deteriorate into people badmouthing each other for accomplishments that they should be proud of.

When your life is teetering on a slope that falls off into an infinite abyss, you begin to question things. I think back to the days when I turned down my girlfriend's company so that I could eat perfectly. Times when I didn't hang out with people because I needed to sleep perfectly. Times when I wouldn't go out and play games with people because I wanted to make sure I was rested for a workout. And I regret things.

I think maybe.. Maybe we just take it too far, sometimes. I love bodybuilding. I don't know if I'll be going back into it. Like I said, when you're 19 and you have to reflect on your life and wonder what you've done right, wrong, and what you hope you can do in the future... Maybe bench pressing 300lbs isn't as important as I thought. Maybe weighing a ripped 225 isn't really as important as I once thought. I spent so much time trying to get to my destination that I forgot to look out and enjoy the journey.

Gosh yes, I love going into the gym and pounding myself. I love lifting huge weights, I love being huge. But still. When you have to spend a lot of time trying to find which t-shirt you have that accents your triceps lateral head in incandescent light.. Maybe we're missing something, sometimes. Granted, I was a lot more hardcore than most people on this site, with the exception of a few.. But I still wonder. Is looking like a bodybuilder as important as I made it out to be? Is being the strongest guy in the world as important as I made it out to be? I just don't know.

I know being healthy is important. So in the future I will do that. I'll do aerobics, lift weights, maybe swim, something like that... But is bodybuilding as healthy as I thought it was? I don't know.

While suffering with these mental/physical pains.. I realized something strange. The idea that "As soon as I get better, I'm going to get huge and ripped again and be the best bodybuilder I can be.." didn't motivate me as much as.. "Well, I'll go the gym and workout.. But I want to be able to have a pizza with the family, have a wife that I devote time to, spend time with kids, have a productive job..." I haven't been looking back on the time I first benched 225, or first squatted 315 with the same kind of joy that I get when I look back on taking my brother to a bookstore to meet a celebrity, having a romantic dinner with my girlfriend, running out the door at 3 AM to go to a grocery store with a friend... Sure, I'm proud as hell of my accomplishments as a bodybuilder. But I do question whether it was smart to put such an emphasis on it.

I was watching Rambo.. And the theme song is a good one. It's by Dan Hill.

"It's a long road... When you're on your own..." and it goes on and on. And I realized that bodybuilding puts you on your own. Which is good, in some contexts. It tests you. Makes you solid, strong. But when you devote 24 hours a day to something that puts you on your own.. Well...

Probably very few people on the site are as in depth into bodybuilding as I was. Obviously a few are moreover, and they show it well. And there's nothing wrong with it. Just make sure that you can say "Damn, I feel like having a burger for the first time in six months. And that's OK." Because when you can't say that, you're missing life.

This isn't some kind of crack on the bodybuilders of the world. I still have the utmost respect, and I'm not trying to change your minds. I just wanted to show you all how things can change for you in a heartbeat. Enjoy now. Enjoy it, enjoy the now.

Who knows, it could be that if I recover well, I'll be right back in the gym beating my body and racking my mind over food/sleep/social stuff, etc. But somehow, I don't think it'll be like that again for me.

Sincerely,
Glen Langston ~ Gyno Rhino

[BossDJ02]

Tweetawsome post.

[rado]

TweetI agree, good post

[jipped genes]

Tweetgreat brother, puts stuff in perspective and makes some of it look trivial. what the hell do i care what a stranger thinks of my body i will never see them again. but i cant (havent) stopped caring?

[rude]

TweetGreat post

[PL456]

TweetGreat post..Perspective is a nice thing to have..too bad most times perspective is gained after going through really tough times. We all need to stop and consider whats really going on and why we do the things we do, especially if the things we do put our well being--spiritually, emotionally, physically, or socially--at risk.

[THE JUICE]

Tweetawesome bro, nice post

[Shear_Madness]

TweetThis post really hits home for me, this topic has been on my mind a lot lately, whether I need to take a step back and take things down a notch, enjoy life. Sometimes I can drive myself crazy thinking about this.

[goliath.jr]

Tweetgood post, bro. i'm trying to find a happy medium right now. i don't want to devote 100% of my time and effort to BB'ing - it makes for a dull life.

[nmk85roll]

TweetBUMP, I thnk about this topic EVERY night while I go to bed.

[Shear_Madness]

Tweet

Originally posted by nmk85roll
BUMP, I thnk about this topic EVERY night while I go to bed.

Im the same way, sometimes it keeps me up at night, mainly while cutting up and dieting very strictly.

[AnotherUser]

Tweetbump. I too often ponder over this and am currently searching for a "happy medium." It's hard though. Bodybuilding really is an addiction.

[trip]

TweetMark,

that is an excellent article and a part of life you should be fortunate you are experiencing many many folks never get to that point of introspection and are the better for it. It definitely sounds like you are.

One of the greatest emotional weakness's is this caustic thought..
"If I could just get xxxxxx (insert any goal) everything would be okay" Okay being I would FEEL great, fantastic whatever

And what happens many times is folks get there and there is an emotional burst of joy and then it goes away, and now they are more confused than ever. They had thought this thought, worked their butts off to get their and then they feel worse.

In life whatever you focus on will expand. Your thoughts seem now to be focused on the little great pleasures which are there for the taking everyday in everyway. You will most likely have more joy in life than every before and all the things you do will have more meaning, being a bb'r included.

Life changes in a moment, it is how we respond to that moment and who we become that determines our destiny, our joy, our happiness.

Inspiring post, thank you.

Trip

[maki riddington]

Tweet

Originally posted by trip
Mark,

that is an excellent article and a part of life you should be fortunate you are experiencing many many folks never get to that point of introspection and are the better for it. It definitely sounds like you are.

One of the greatest emotional weakness's is this caustic thought..
"If I could just get xxxxxx (insert any goal) everything would be okay" Okay being I would FEEL great, fantastic whatever

And what happens many times is folks get there and there is an emotional burst of joy and then it goes away, and now they are more confused than ever. They had thought this thought, worked their butts off to get their and then they feel worse.

In life whatever you focus on will expand. Your thoughts seem now to be focused on the little great pleasures which are there for the taking everyday in everyway. You will most likely have more joy in life than every before and all the things you do will have more meaning, being a bb'r included.

Life changes in a moment, it is how we respond to that moment and who we become that determines our destiny, our joy, our happiness.

Inspiring post, thank you.

Trip

*** I'm glad that this was a worth while post for the members here.

[warpalien]

Tweethappy medium, work a job that puts you on the workplate for 60+ hours a week, have a dedicated girlfriend you live with, and when you acctually get time to lift, and enjoy your cycle, you learn what the happy medium really is.