In the past and still I have been called many names. Every time I step into the gym I just have to get used to the fact that I will be called names because of my stick figure and the amount of weight I lift. Chicken legs and pencil neck were rarely used on me. No. When I lift weights I am what they call as lifting like a girl. Or lifting the ladies weight. And that trend still continues.
Well if I weigh 120 lb it is not very easy to benchpress with a plate (45 lb) on either side now is it. Due to my small frame the 7 foot olympic bar causes stability issues. Only so much of my muscle is there touching the bench to stabilize the bar. And a weak rotator cuff does not help me at all.
The best advice these strong gym guys can give is "you are not trying hard enough" or "you are not lifting heavy weights, using light weights will take you no where". These so called advices don't help me. Guys remember I am skinny. I am not bulky like you with your broad shoulders and bug rib cage. And please believe me when I am saying I am trying my best. I am telling the truth. They have no idea how hard it is for a skinny guy to lift so much weight. How can they not understand I am giving my 100%. I am not acting that I cannot lift. It is not a joke to have a heavy bar above your body and thinking I will not push it and let it crush my body. No. I am trying my best to push it. I cannot do it.
Well I stopped taking advice from any one now. I just experiment with various routines and workout days and diet and I am trying to find what works best for me. I need not gain 5 lb of muscle a month. I just want to get slightly stronger every week and be able to notice some physical change in 6 months. That is all I ask. Is it too much to ask?
Well if I weigh 120 lb it is not very easy to benchpress with a plate (45 lb) on either side now is it. Due to my small frame the 7 foot olympic bar causes stability issues. Only so much of my muscle is there touching the bench to stabilize the bar. And a weak rotator cuff does not help me at all.
The best advice these strong gym guys can give is "you are not trying hard enough" or "you are not lifting heavy weights, using light weights will take you no where". These so called advices don't help me. Guys remember I am skinny. I am not bulky like you with your broad shoulders and bug rib cage. And please believe me when I am saying I am trying my best. I am telling the truth. They have no idea how hard it is for a skinny guy to lift so much weight. How can they not understand I am giving my 100%. I am not acting that I cannot lift. It is not a joke to have a heavy bar above your body and thinking I will not push it and let it crush my body. No. I am trying my best to push it. I cannot do it.
Well I stopped taking advice from any one now. I just experiment with various routines and workout days and diet and I am trying to find what works best for me. I need not gain 5 lb of muscle a month. I just want to get slightly stronger every week and be able to notice some physical change in 6 months. That is all I ask. Is it too much to ask?
I have faced similar situations Chandan and I know how frustrating it feels that people do not bother to understand what you are going through and are having their head in the sand so to speak. But one thing I have noticed is that most of the endomorphs who hit the gym (and seem to make easy gains) already have a strong basic body which just needs to be shaped. And that is all they do. The majority of them are not getting any stronger and have no clue how to build lots of muscle. Its like they go from 80 to 90 but guys like us have to go from 20 to 90. Thats a lot of work and we are better off because of it! :) I try to keep in mind what Anthony says in his book: you dont have to lift more than anybody; you just have to lift more than what you lifted last week. That I guess is the way to go.
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