A deep look into my perspective

Waking up a few hours earlier in the mornings to hit the gym before class.
Hitting the track after a long day to get in ab work and cardio.
Eating 2300 calories everyday, and eating once every two to three hours. 
Eating cleanly, and sacrificing all the good junk food that you want to eat. 

Why would any student put themselves through this grueling physical/nutritional regiment while already putting themselves through an extremely demanding mental regiment with school and studying? 

The answer is simple: the pursuit of physical enlightenment. 

That’s what I tell people when they ask me why I “suffer”. Some see it as suffering; I see it as a necessary sacrifice that’s only temporary in order to reach my personal goals. What I do in the gym is for me, and only me. I don’t work on my physique to impress women, to make other men jealous, etc. I spend my hours in the hot weight room for myself, and myself only. I may not be as aesthetic as I want to be right now, but you better believe that I will be soon enough.

When I was in high school, I was rather scrawny, but I soon joined football, and I gained roughly 60 pounds within a time span of four years. I became accustomed to the physical demands, and working out because it became second nature to me. This mindset transferred over with me into college, and I continued to work out. However, as a new college student, I began to take working out lightly, skipping workouts for mundane excuses, such as hanging out with friends. I used to eat very unhealthily, just because I could. I may not have thought that it was a big deal, but my body sure did. I no longer looked muscular, yet very soft, and out of shape. This prompted a reconstruction of my mindset, and I began taking weight lifting and dieting more seriously. 

To be honest, the main reason why I work out can be attributed to my lack of self-esteem that has deep roots from my childhood. Some may argue that this is an unhealthy outlet for that kind of problem, but I argue that if it makes me feel better about myself, allows me to be proud of myself, what is the harm? Another thing that bodybuilding has helped me learn, is the value of discipline. Without discipline, you cannot gain aesthetics in any way; it’s as simple as that. 

Without telling yourself: “You must wake up early. You must eat healthier. You must do this. You must do that.”, you would slip up all the time and spiral into chaos. Bodybuilding is my key to structure. It is my path to enlightenment. 

After all, if I am going to get mentally ripped in college, why not get physically ripped as well? A perfect balance of brains and brawns. That is what I am striving for; the discipline to go and study for x amount of hours, or the discipline to go lift that heavy ass weight. Bodybuilding is my passion, and if you follow this blog, you will eventually warm up to the idea. I promise. 

In the immortal words of Hans and Franz...I just want to pump, (CLAP), YOU UP! 

Hello, world!

Muscles. Definition. Power. 

Words that come to mind when you see the awe-inspiring physique of a bodybuilder. There's something about a bodybuilder's physique that tends to draw the attention of the everyday person; it's just difficult to ignore the hulking behemoth. 

When you look at the evolution of the male figure from the 20th century up until the present, there are two observations that are consensus: acceptable fashion has definitely changed, but moreover, and arguably more important (for the purposes of this blog), masculinity has changed. In the early half of the 20th century, going to the gym, proper nutrition and lifting weights were not a primary goal to men who were not athletes, let alone an activity that one could consider a profession. Men with rippling muscles were relegated to circus “freak show” acts, and were considered a phenomenon, a curiosity, and something to gawk at.

However, in this day and age, gyms are now more prevalent, the supplement/vitamin industry is roughly a 60 billion dollar industry, and people can actually make a profession out of working out and lifting weights. Bodybuilding has evolved as a culture throughout the years, and millions of men, young and old, have begun to embrace it as a way of life, all over the world. Bodybuilding may seem as a trivial and inconsequential topic to discuss, however, bodybuilding has become a cultural phenomenon. 

From the days of Eugen Sandow, the “father of modern bodybuilding”, to Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps the most influential body builder of all time, to today’s current Mr. Olympia, Phil Heath, the world of bodybuilding has evolved through time. The culture of bodybuilding goes much deeper than simply going to the gym, selecting a weight, and just lifting it. Bodybuilding in itself is a science, a controversy, a social medium, and moreover, a way of life for many people. Within bodybuilding, there is a plethoric amount of subtopics that can be discussed and questioned. One such topic that was mentioned in the beginning was the way masculinity has evolved throughout the years; the physique that Arnold had when he won Mr. Olympia was considered the best in the world at his time in the 70’s, but by today’s standards, he would have been deemed “too small”, when being compared to his modern day counterpart, Phil Heath. 

Exploring this trend in an increased expectation of masculinity translates socially to how young men are developing, in terms of psychologically and physically. This blog can also explore bodybuilding from a cultural standpoint, and its impact in different cultures. For example, in some modern day Asian cultures, the image of a man is one of a man who is slim, sleek, and slender. It would be interesting to see how bodybuilders in these cultures deal with the fact that they are in fact going against the norm. Yet another topic that can be discussed, is the obvious topic regarding steroids, and even broader, the seedy underbelly of bodybuilding. Steroids are a huge problem in any modern day sport, and in a sport that involves being the biggest, most ripped that you can be, bodybuilding is definitely not an exception.

Personally, I am also in a pursuit of aesthetically bettering myself. As a university student studying neuroscience, I am already conditioning my mind with this mentally taxing subject; I feel that I should condition my body in the same intensity. With this blog, there is a vast world to explore: socially, culturally, scientifically, etc. Whilst there are much more pressing matters that I could be writing about, I feel that this blog is a good break from my constant academic ventures, and delve into a subject matter that is not discussed often, but is still very prominent today. Come join me in this venture, and hopefully we can uncover some insightful details about bodybuilding together!