What Got You Into Bodybuilding?

[Palumboism]

What was it that caused you to start bodybuilding?

For me, it was gymnastics.  I started gymnastics when I was young and excelled at trampoline.  I became so good I they transferred me to a more advanced gym.  I followed Olympic gymnastics and was always impressed by the build of the gymnasts.  Around this time I saw the movie Rocky on television and my parents gave me an old weight set my grandfather had.  Training arms was my specialty and one of my friends at the time had some incredible peaked biceps which became my target. 

In junior high I was always good at the presidential physical fitness challenge which included how many pushups, sit ups, and pull ups you could do.  That junior high also had a Steve Reeves Universal multi-station machine like the one shown below.  It had a leg press, which is not shown in the picture.  This started my fondness for machine training. 

My Sophomore year of high school I ran cross country, which is a three mile race.  While cross country runners may not have upper body development, their legs are usually great.  Our coach would have us run hills repeatedly the day before a race.  Our team didn't do so well on the race the next day, but we excelled later because of it.  All the hot soccer girls would run cross country too and the male and female teams were combined.  My friend was into Lora baby and I was into Heather a cute blonde.

Dave Palumbo was also a runner before he started bodybuilding and he was known for his legs.  I can still stretch my legs without even thinking about it and my mind muscle connection with my legs comes from running. 

Skip to my senior year in high school and I got a membership to a gym which I went to five days a week after school.  I was probably over training out of ignorance of recovery time.

What's your story?

[BB]

I was a fat kid. Not crazy fat, but a 36-38" waist at #200 or so. Tried to thin out with regular sports and aerobics, but couldn't find anything I liked doing. One day I was over at a friends house and started looking through some mags he had laying around (they were mostly MM2ks), borrowed a few, and the rest is history.

[Gym-Rat]

Kid brought in Franco's book in 7th grade (1978), went home and starting lifting like crazy (Dad had weights).
The bicep on the cover blew my mind.

Haven't stopped training since... 

[King Shizzo]

It was probably Van Damme, Arnold, and Sly.

If you were the right age, those action heroes really set the stage for what teens wanted to look like.

[Bevo]

It was probably Van Damme, Arnold, and Sly.

If you were the right age, those action heroes really set the stage for what teens wanted to look like.

Have you gotten there yet with that

[King Shizzo]

Have you gotten there yet with that

I look more like Steven Seagal. It's a start.

[loco]

[deadz]

Old Arnold and Stallone movies also the Incredible Hulk series.

[Rambone]

All the schmoes on here got me into bodybuilding. I'm doing it for you guys!

[joswift]

used to like the physiques of Superheros in the comics
Captain America and Daredevil were big enough
Hulk and Thor too big

[Virgil]

Frank Frazetta cover art.  I read some of the early Conan paperbacks in the 70's as a kid. Then I got the Pumping Iron book ( still got it)

[MorganSA]

A cover of Frank Zane sometime in the 90s in London. Just surfed and skated before that, I didn't ever think of lifting. Still my goal physique, and I am nowhere close.

[SF1900]

Rocky movies, particularly 2 and 3.

[pamith]

The incredible hulk TV series, he-man, commando, GI Joe toys, superheroes in general, seeing my uncle's muscle magazines

[Wiggs]

My ego.

[pamith]

My ego.

Bro...

[Wiggs]

Bro...

Brutal if true.

[Gym-Rat]

Kid brought in Franco's book in 7th grade (1978), went home and starting lifting like crazy (Dad had weights).
The bicep on the cover blew my mind.

Haven't stopped training since... 

Me and a friend (who still owns the local gym I go to today 44 years later) pooled our weights together and lifted together. (12 yr old kids).

I then asked for Xmas for more weights and a bench (we were using makeshift stuff, saw horses, a yard bench seat, etc).

I then fashioned pulleys to the rafters for lats and tricep press-downs.
Been improving my home-gym since that day.
Three 110 lb. sets, pulleys, typical cheap bench, and I had a hollow curl-bar and tricep bar.
Also a speed bag and heavy bag. 

Wish I had pics of it, it was pretty funny.
Great for the times though, and great memories.

[funk51]

What was it that caused you to start bodybuilding?

For me, it was gymnastics.  I started gymnastics when I was young and excelled at trampoline.  I became so good I they transferred me to a more advanced gym.  I followed Olympic gymnastics and was always impressed by the build of the gymnasts.  Around this time I saw the movie Rocky on television and my parents gave me an old weight set my grandfather had.  Training arms was my specialty and one of my friends at the time had some incredible peaked biceps which became my target. 

In junior high I was always good at the presidential physical fitness challenge which included how many pushups, sit ups, and pull ups you could do.  That junior high also had a old Marcy/universal style multi-station machine like the one shown below.  It had a leg press, which is not shown in the picture.  This started my fondness for machine training. 

My Sophomore year of high school I ran cross country, which is a three mile race.  While cross country runners may not have upper body development, their legs are usually great.  Our coach would have us run hills repeatedly the day before a race.  Our team didn't do so well on the race the next day, but we excelled later because of it.  All the hot soccer girls would run cross country too and the male and female teams were combined.  My friend was into Lora baby and I was into Heather a cute blonde.

Dave Palumbo was also a runner before he started bodybuilding and he was known for his legs.  I can still stretch my legs without even thinking about it and my mind muscle connection with my legs comes from running. 

Skip to my senior year in high school and I got a membership to a gym which I went to five days a week after school.  I was probably over training out of ignorance of recovery time.

What's your story?

   

&t=440s    that looks like steve reeves personal universal machine.

[pamith]

Brutal of true.

My nikka

[webstar]

used to like the physiques of Superheros in the comics
Captain America and Daredevil were big enough
Hulk and Thor too big

This except it was 80-90s wwf wrestling

[Palumboism]

that looks like steve reeves personal universal machine.

Thanks Funk, that's the one. 

I really liked the leg press.  It was my first realization you could train your legs in the same way you train your upper body and it felt so right.  The seat was comfortable and the handles were in the right place, all the ergonomics were correct.  You could adjust the seat based on your height it was easy to adjust the weight.  It was an epiphany for me on how to train with machines.  I was hooked.  The only problem was we only got to use this equipment a few times, but it planted the seed in my head.

[Primemuscle]

When I was a teenager, I was the epitome of the 98 lb. weakling. A friend of my parents who was in his early 30’s was a bodybuilder. He always went swimming in our pool when my parents invited him to barbecues. His physique was head turning… especially the heads of the middle-aged women at the party.

One time he invited me to join him at Vic Tanny’s gym in Reseda, CA and showed me a few basic exercises. After ‘working out’ he took me to lunch at a nearby Sizzler restaurant. We both had steaks… what else would a bodybuilder back then eat for lunch?

Walt invited me to attend a local bodybuilding competition. I was hooked. Been training ever since then.
When I was in my 20’s and we’d moved back to California, I trained with Walt at his home gym in his garage three times a week. It was great. -Never reached his level of development. He was my inspiration.

Anyone old enough to remember the Charles Atlas adds in the back of comic books?


Vic Tanny's Gym... I don't remember it only being who were women working out.

[King Shizzo]

When I was a teenager, I was the epitome of the 90 lb. weakling. A friend of my parents who was in his early 30’s was a bodybuilder. He always went swimming in our pool when my parents invited him to barbecues. His physique was head turning… especially the heads of the middle-aged women at the party.

One time he invited me to join him at Vic Tanny’s gym in Reseda, CA and showed me a few basic exercises. After ‘working out’ he took me to lunch at a nearby Sizzler restaurant. We both had steaks… what else would a bodybuilder back then eat for lunch?

Walt invited me to attend a local bodybuilding competition. I was hooked. Been training ever since then.
When I was in my 20’s and we’d moved back to California, I trained with Walt at his home gym in his garage three times a week. It was great. -Never reached his level of development. He was my inspiration.

Anyone old enough to remember the Charles Atlas adds in the back of comic books?


Vic Tanny's Gym... I don't remember it only being who were women working out.
https://fitnessvolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Vic-Tannys-Bodybuilding-Gym.jpg

[Primemuscle]

Which is why you look like you do. You shut the door to the gym and stuffed your gut instead.