Where are they now and are they still training...

[bodyhard]

Now and again old threads surface because someone (on purpose or not) bumps them up. You start to read them and you see some screennames of folks who used to be regulars here, some not so much, but they came into threads from time to time and sparked up some interesting conversations workout related or not.

Now I would be the first to tell you just because you are not posting on a specific forum doesn't mean that person isn't training anymore, hell there are people posting on this site who I often wonder did they ever train or are even training now, but that is another topic.....

But still I wonder if these folks who used to be regulars here are still in the iron game, still going to the gym (or at hone) and giving it their all. Or I wonder if life somehow got in the way (got married, had a baby, moved to a new home, got a divorce etc etc) and they not only stopped posting, but stopped training all together and now are living what some would call a "regular" life and they have lost all they have worked so hard for, strength and physique.....

[heatwave13]

Now and again old threads surface because someone (on purpose or not) bumps them up. You start to read them and you see some screennames of folks who used to be regulars here, some not so much, but they came into threads from time to time and sparked up some interesting conversations workout related or not.

Now I would be the first to tell you just because you are not posting on a specific forum doesn't mean that person isn't training anymore, hell there are people posting on this site who I often wonder did they ever train or are even training now, but that is another topic.....

But still I wonder if these folks who used to be regulars here are still in the iron game, still going to the gym (or at hone) and giving it their all. Or I wonder if life somehow got in the way (got married, had a baby, moved to a new home, got a divorce etc etc) and they not only stopped posting, but stopped training all together and now are living what some would call a "regular" life and they have lost all they have worked so hard for, strength and physique.....

I fall into this category occasionally. As you might notice from my "joined" date/post count ratio, I've been through periods where I'll participate on the forum for a while, then disappear for a year or more. But, through it all, I still stay in the iron game, grinding away.

Every once in a while, I'll read up on the topics here, but rarely post anything. It's an internet forum, after all, and I just don't feel that good about investing a lot of time/energy into the online world. I just take it all light heartedly anyway as I doubt anyone on here really cares what I have to say or takes it that seriously.

[bodyhard]

I fall into this category occasionally. As you might notice from my "joined" date/post count ratio, I've been through periods where I'll participate on the forum for a while, then disappear for a year or more. But, through it all, I still stay in the iron game, grinding away.

Every once in a while, I'll read up on the topics here, but rarely post anything. It's an internet forum, after all, and I just don't feel that good about investing a lot of time/energy into the online world. I just take it all light heartedly anyway as I doubt anyone on here really cares what I have to say or takes it that seriously.

No doubt life gets in the way for some folks and I can totally understand that. I am just wondering if the folks who chose not to participate/post on the forums for whatever reason, are still training.

I wonder about sh!t like that I guess I am just weird...

[tobymax123]

I quit posting here a long time ago, but I still read the O35 Misc almost every day. And I'm still training!

[bodyhard]

I quit posting here a long time ago, but I still read the O35 Misc almost every day. And I'm still training!

Nice!!! Keep killing it man, you have progressed significantly!

[wulf88]

Been awhile for me on here, other than lurking and ordering some stuff....Training again, after getting over some injuries (umbilical hernia, pinched nerves in the back/shoulder area) and 9 months of traveling around for training for once again being downrange, but hitting it when i can......

[grubman]

Honestly...these forums are pretty "boring" on the average day. The same topics come up over and over again, and the "new to lifting" questions are particularly tiresome (since the questions are things they could answer with a 5 minute Google search).

I think the average poster goes through phases where they are really pumped about lifting and just want to talk about it, then they go through the "I learned a lot and want to share it" phase, then they settle into a "lets see if anything is new" phase, and finally get bored. I mean lets face it, a random conversation about lifting with a real person is more fun than participating in a hundred threads.

I think the serious lifters are still doing it and simply have little use for the forum anymore. The majority of the newbies probably lifted for a few weeks, months, or maybe a year and just stopped. It's a hobby that is hard to start and easy to quit. You stick with it because it becomes a part of your lifestyle you enjoy, where for many people it's just "work", and people don't like to do "work" they don't have to do.

I remember it being my passion for a decade, vowing never to quit...yet somehow circumstance and ultimately laziness led to a 17 year break before getting back into it. Now I'm in a place where it is fun and easy to keep it as part of my lifestyle. I have a supportive partner, an accommodating schedule, a gym that is always accessible (my basement), and all that will keep the passion alive indefinitely.

As a tangent, I think it's odd how many people make a living, on a professional level, out of bodybuilding...and once their "prime" is over they simply stop and get fat and out of shape. I would think people who are passionate enough to dedicate so much effort to this, would be the ones to stick with it for life. When I see guys who were in great shape when they were young only to let themselves go to hell when they get older is kind of depressing on a number of levels. Worse are the guys who give up bodybuilding, yet stay in shape on a more casual level (like Steve Reeves, or Bob Paris, for example)...who sort of make you wonder if you are supposed to "mature" out of this whole bodybuilding thing.