Is weight lifting/working out really worth the time and effort?

Answer:

http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o166/jlbyl er/th___000ohhellsyeah0in.gif

From time to time, I see people asking if working out is worth the time/effort. Bottom line, it is! I was the antithesis of fitness, but through unwavering dedication, I'm starting to shape my body in ways I never thought possible.


It's only been a few months of dedicated weight lifting, but I'm already starting to see some results.

I took this pic about a week ago:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mishimak azama/IMG_4040.jpg

Now I know it's not much at all to look at, but you gotta keep in mind that I never had anything even remotely close to strong muscles or muscle definition anywhere on my body. So I know, first hand, that the hard work is indeed staring to pay off. 

Maybe this pic will give you an idea of how far I've come:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mishimak azama/265.jpg

Mind you, I'm still pretty green when it comes to this fitness stuff. If this is the kind of results, I, as a novice, have achieved though, I can't wait to see what I'll accomplish with a greater knowledge base.

I'm defintely going to start reading up on strenght training, cardiovascular training, nutrion, supplementaion, and anything else I need to know about.

I'd be remiss not to mention how valuable a resource this site is, as well as how important the cc community is to me. This site has helped me lose a ton of weight and community interaction has helped greatly with my fitness goals. I learn a little each day just by reading people's ideas, success stories, and even by imparting some support of my own on to others.

Stay committed, work hard, and in time you'll get rewarded greatly; I'm sure of it!

You are amazing! What a complete transformation!

I am stuck in a bit of a rut, seeing my bodyfat being stuck at 34%. I have felt like giving up lately, but i have to say, after seeing what you've done, i think i can do it too!

Great Job, You totally have bragging rights! Awesome job!

Wow. Serious congratulations are in order; you are the envy of and an inspiration to us all.

I think that it is also.  You look great and keep up the hard work.

Jerry

wow you look great!!  congrats!  I started FIRMLY working out at least once - maybe twice a day a week and a half ago.  3rd day, man I felt so much better about my body.  Every day it gets better and better.  But I know it is a slow process, so I hate to lose any day.  I've been doing it 6 days a week.  It does help so much.  Muscle helps burn fat also - so hey, who wouldn't want more and more muscle?

 

Original Post by mortalmonkey:

Original Post by goddess9:

I hate men and their ability to build muscle like it's nothing. (I'm half-joking here, but I am seriously jealous of that damned testosterone. ;) )

Seriously though - you look great! Your lats are getting there, I see.

I still can't do a single pull-up. I'm almost there though.  Earlier this week i almost made it all the way up to complete a full pull-up; a couple months ago I couldn't even do that.

I'm gonna focus great attention on lats for sure.

Thanks and good luck to ya!

 Don't feel bad.  I have gained so much weight while at the same time loosing so much muscle that I'm working on my first chin-up.  Perhaps we need to start a First Pull-Up club.

I managed to do my first pull up earlier this week I'm happy to report! It was super tough to make it all the way up, but I did it.

I did one again today; this time it was pretty effortless. I could still, however, do no more than one at a time. I tried doing  multiple pull-ups, but the second attempt would yield little more than a terrible, ineffective strain on my back (I couldn't even make it halfway up the second time.) I did 3 sets of 1, lol, with no problem.

By the fourth set though I was pretty much done. I could only make it halfway up. However, I was able to boost myself to the top with a little jump for negative reps. I did a bunch of negatives.

Hopefully, in the coming weeks, I'll be able to do multiple pull ups with ease.

you look great. Have you put your workout routine down on paper? What are you doing for your arms? I have been doing cardio 6 days a week and now I have to stop as I have eaten away all my muscle. I really want to start building my chest and arms again. good luck. ps. if you need a contact for a good italian suit, let me know.

Original Post by mortalmonkey:

I managed to do my first pull up earlier this week I'm happy to report! It was super tough to make it all the way up, but I did it.

I did one again today; this time it was pretty effortless. I could still, however, do no more than one at a time. I tried doing  multiple pull-ups, but the second attempt would yield little more than a terrible, ineffective strain on my back (I couldn't even make it halfway up the second time.) I did 3 sets of 1, lol, with no problem.

By the fourth set though I was pretty much done. I could only make it halfway up. However, I was able to boost myself to the top with a little jump for negative reps. I did a bunch of negatives.

Hopefully, in the coming weeks, I'll be able to do multiple pull ups with ease.

Do you go to a gym? If you do, they might have a cheater pullup machine. I highly recommend this for getting better at pullups. It's basically a counterweight machine, so you can take 10-20 pounds off your weight. It makes you get better at pullups real quick, let me tell you.

If you don't have this, try lat pulldowns - just use your body weight minus 10 or 20 pounds, and do front- and back-handed types. This will help get that motion strengthened. :)

I go to a small gym; no pull up machine though.

I do lat pull-downs though. I can't pull anywhere close to my body weight just yet though. I think I max at like 120 lbs and I weigh 170 as of yesterday morning.

Needless to say, I have a weak back!

It's a wonder I managed to do one pull up.

 

Hey this goes for women too! Ladies I'm looking at you!!

Wow... hard to believe it's you in both pics.. really amazing

 

I'm guessing it's only because your back hurts that you can't do pull ups, with mucle like that and weighing only 170 lbs you should do it easily. I'm 170 lbs too and have nowhere near your muscles and I can do them pretty easily (not many in a row though).. I only benchpress about 60-70 lbs...

If your back actually hurts doing it I would recommend just not doing them and instead use gym equipment to exercise the same muscles... knowing you can do them is plenty enough! Don't hurt yourself :)

 

Hey, my name is Jonathan.

Here is a recent progress photo of mine:

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/8136/progr essfinishedsz4.jpg

 

And another photo:

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4075/17flexl iftupjn9.jpg

 

Feel free to look at the rest of my photos.

 

I was a skinny little b**** growing up.  I mean, terribly thin.

 

So, i started working out when i was 18.

 

I'm 25 now.  I look forward to working out everyday.

 

It relieves stress, builds confidence, gives yourself accountability, very healthy, it's artistic, etc...  It becomes a daily part of your life.  Something I do for alone time for just me and I.

 

It's fun.  Keep at it.  If anyone has ANY questions or if you have some tips, don't be shy!

I'm just seeing results for the very first time after beginning to weight lift for a month. I had no idea, but I definitely am beginning to see results.

Nice work! I'm sure your quality of life is already/is going to be 10 times better than before.

If you have a "weak back" it might actually be your abs and core that are weak and not your back that's the problem.  A tight core will often keep a person from having back trouble, unless you've had an injury.  Either way, see if working your abs and core more will help with the back pain. 

Original Post by gymbully:

If you have a "weak back" it might actually be your abs and core that are weak and not your back that's the problem.  A tight core will often keep a person from having back trouble, unless you've had an injury.  Either way, see if working your abs and core more will help with the back pain. 

Been working at improving my back strenght. I'm up to about 5 perfect-form pull-ups at a time (well for a first set of reps that is; I can only do 3 perfect-form pull-ups per set thereafter) That's a ton better than just a short while ago when I could do 0 pull ups lol.

I took a pic of my updated lats (lol) last night. Could be better at this point I guess, but that's where I stand at the moment:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/mishimak azama/CIMG0726.jpg