Although my bodybuilding journey started a couple years back, the idea has always been somewhere in my head. The decision of devoting my life to attain a lean physique with massive muscle cuts and enormous strength was not out of blue. There is a whole chronicle from inspiration to emanation behind it.
Raised in a strict household, I have always been inclined to follow a routine and embrace the value of time. As a child, I used to draw sketches of Marvel heroes with all the muscular and ripped details. It was the first outlet of how I wanted to look, in my head. However, health was never my concern.
If I recall my childhood, there are numerous accounts of participating in sports, but I was never fond of a healthy diet which was the reason I have always been underweight and lean. Even in my late teenage, I had to face difficulties finding my size for clothes in stores and eventually shop from the kids section. Not only this, I have always been a victim of bullying due to my skinny physique.
Being the only sibling with a slender body, I was always looked down upon in the family. All of this misery sparked a fire of building my body but it wasn’t bright enough. I used to watch YouTube videos about how to gain mass effectively but it never motivated me enough to step in the gym because I thought, it’s certainly time consuming and won’t win me any bread.
Fast forwarding to my early 20’s, I learnt how to dodge bullying and derision. Yet I felt like something was missing. I never felt complete on my own although I owned my body. That’s when I came across a powerful source of motivation and inspiration, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Almost everyone is a fan of arguably, the greatest bodybuilder of all time. But I connected to his interviews and podcasts on a personal level as I was living in a state of denial that bodybuilding is a personal ethic rather than a fruitful career. So why waste time?
When I learnt that everything Arnold has reaped: movie roles, American citizenship, public speaker and Governor of California, is the result of what he sowed in bodybuilding. All he did was devote his life to bodybuilding and success, fame and money followed him. Of course, it was not a piece of cake, but it surely is an example of how dreams come true. Let’s talk about some of the insights which finally made my mind to bring a change in my life.
The bodybuilding godfather chose to be a bodybuilder at a time when sports were frowned upon. He was a lone wolf and popularised the whole bodybuilding world on his own. When he decided to act as a leading actor in Hollywood movies, his agent laughed off at him. Studio officials and casting directors ridiculed his accent and name. But Arnold used all this hate as his fuel and became the highest paid actor of that time. When he stood for election in 2003, people made sham jokes. Newspapers published “The bodybuilder-movie-star trying to run for office.” as their headlines in order to support the mockery that people were entertaining. To their shock, when Arnold completed his second term in 2011, California was in a better place than ever before.
Pondering over the struggles of Arnold, from a man with a couple of pennies in his pocket to a millionaire at the age of 25 all because of bodybuilding, I acknowledged that my life can turn around too. I started working on myself right at that moment. I made a nutrition chart for myself and started hardcore weight training. I had days when I didn’t feel like hitting the gym but a quote by Arnold had me going which said, “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
These were the inspirations which stuck with me, to become the state champion of bodybuilding and I consider myself lucky to be one of those who got the chance to live their dream. I worked hard to realize this dream. I hired a trainer and did whatever I could in my capacity to become a bodybuilder. The journey wasn’t easy as I faced a lot of challenges. I didn’t know how to order steroids, but eventually I overcome those challenges. For steroids, I relied on TeamRoids, while for improving my diet, I consulted a dietitian. Ultimately, my hard work paid off and now I am at a stage where I can say that I’m proud of what I have achieved.