What influenced you to start training??!??!?

[SheDevil]

I started training for a sport when I was in school. I neglected the gym for a while as an adult, and was drinking more for a sport, lol. I eventually got bored with the nightclub/bar scene and fell back in love with the gym. Now it is an extension of myself, a part of me. Competing has been the icing on the cake of self-discovery.

[oldmma]

when i was about five or six i saw a picture my grandmother had taken of my grandfather when they were "courting". the picture was my grandpa holding himself up on a stop sign parallel to the ground with one arm and waving with the other. the man was slight by todays standards, 5'8" 190lbs. but he could could bring men to the floor with a hand shake, right hand, and as i was told by one of his old running buddies at his funeral, the odd head but. He also raised bulldogs and i always wanted the muscles his dogs had.

[access]

I always played sports when I was younger and as a teen the gym became part of my sports regime. On off training days from rugby we were expected to hit the gym and I found I responded very well to weights. I enjoyed the gym a lot and when I retired from rugby I was in the gym 5-6 days a week. Now part of this was necessity to as my lifestle for a year or two didn't change much from when I finished playing which meant lots of partying and drinking. If I wasn't in the gym I would have blown up big time and the first year after I finshed playing I actually did put on a bit of weight. For probably the next 5 or 6 years I was committed to the gym and then eventually my business took over my life and the gym had to take a back seat. Last couple of years I have been able to pretty much retire from work so i am back in the gym and loving it for the most part.

[Smiley]

I've always been a small fella with good muscle tone, was training in the gym in my late teens for another sport and loved the training with a passion then I had to give it up due to work commitments. Fast forward about 10 years and I had a mostly office job, was eating shit and knew nothing about nutrition. I wasn't fat but I was feeling like shit and getting out of shape slowly. Joined a gym, have made huge improvements and now I'm winning BB comps! All in a little over 4 years. Love it!