Being in a gym environment, one can easily begin to categorize the type of people looking for change, both positively and negetively. A weekly exercise rootine followed by a healthy diet and lifestyle will no doubt have a lasting impression on one's state of 'being' as well as disciplinary development (goal setting). The results are always mixed dependant of course on the personality types. Every January there is an influx of eager beginners looking to shed a few pounds and begin a new lifestyle. By March, about one third of these'newbies'stick it out and by summer, they've gone the way of the dinosaur leaving the gym altogether, only to return next January after Christmas season(I will NOT refer to it as holliday season!)
Throughout the year of course there are a few negative examples of people wanting too much too fast. I refer of course to the 17-21 year old male demographic. These kids are easily recognizable.(disclaimer: I am not referring to all 17-21 yr old males, just certain arch-types...) Upon arriving at the gym they never go into a locker room, preferring to train and leave. Their workout consists mainly of 1-2 sets of bench press followed by ten minutes of looking in the mirror. Next, this breed of person will walk to the next exercise (usually something completely opposite like hamstring curls thereby showing their innocense)with his chest puffed out as if he weighed 250lbs when he's about 120lbs (with a brick in each pocket!) Hopefully this visual will make you laugh, cause what typically follows is sad.
When they leave the gym, reality kicks in. They weren't the biggest dogs in the yard. So the emotional epiphany will usually give way to the ego, and they become prone to clever marketing strategies with supplements, or worse, dillusions of grandeur with steroids.
I have no problem with supplements. For the most part they are a necessary means to muscle recovery. I have taken protein shakes, L- glutamine and betagen. My workout demands nutrition, and instead of going home and eating two whole chickens, I find this way to be much more cost effective. I have never taken steroids. I have no desire to take them, nor do I desire the effects of them. Too often, our token example (male 17-21yr old)will find himself prey to his own stupidity. A friend of mine once remarked, that you don't get the body, you only rent it. So our little buddy begins his first cycle of 'juice' and within three months is now weighing about 165 and looking shredded. Well, that three month cycle has seen your body produce and acquire enourmous amounts of testosterone, that eventually it stopped producing its own. (uh oh...) In six months our friend has become a very angry young man governed by emotional instablity and uncontrollable acne.(yup, another side effect...). Now his cycles are over and he must take an anti-estrogen to 'settle down.'
A month later, he weighs 150 and is not as strong as he once was while on the 'juice.' Two months later, he's in a freefall, either he does another cycle or he's losing everything,..well maybe not everything, in some cases some dudes get a lovely set of man-boobs! (take a look at Vince McMahon without a shirt!) You get my point. The moral of this story is that nothing is for free, work hard and results will build, no sacrifice, no victory and every other cliche...Saint Josemaria Escriva(No! not more Catholic undertones...lol!!) once said 'Blessed be pain, praised be pain...'Oh well, Me, I gotta do some Chest, kay, not for nutting but!'
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