# Bodybuilding/Lots more hard work than you think



## PillarofBalance (Feb 24, 2015)

WRITTEN BY AJDOS

I think by now most of us realize bodybuilding, especially bodybuilding at a high level is a lot of work.
Most guys who get involved with bodybuilding relate to the idea of "hard work" being hard work with the big three.
Train hard.
Eat hard.
Sleep hard.

But I think they don't really understand the full scope of "hard work" when it comes to the prospect of being a bodybuilder...be it competitively or recreationally.

The real hard work is not isolated to the big three. No, in fact as many will tell you bodyuilding is a lifestyle.
Not just going to the gym, taking the sups, and gear etc...no simple shit that you don't ever consider when you start the endeavor of building a physique.

I mean the real laborious bullshit you have to endure day in and day out to make all your hard work come to fruition.
What do I mean exactly?

Well we all know bodybuilding requires food, growing muscle requires a good amount of protein, carbs and just the right amount of fat.
That being said, you will be doing a lot of cooking and even more cleaning.
I clean my kitchen every night before bed, I wipe down the counters, throw away the trash, do the dishes.
By 3 am I have at least tupperware and a spoon in the sink, after breakfast a new set of pan, bowls, plates and silverware.
Then I have to make my lunch which is chicken breats with rice, and 2 meals that are from supplements.
So I have to clean the foreman grill after Im done cooking the chicken, use 2 peices of tupperware to eat with during work, and two more with protein, some gainer and oats (dry) in it.
One gallon of water and Im set.
Thats 5 meals, cooked and prepped for the day.
When I get off work, I come home make 2 more meals, I like to eat a couple different things, but usually involves red meat.
So, more pots or pans, another plate and more silverware, not too mention the dirty tupperware and silverware I took to work.
So, clean that mess up and eat, clean up after those 2 meals take supplements and go to bed.

Thats just one day!
Thats also a very, very consolidated system I have come up with after years of doing this.
Im not trying to brag that I do a lot of work, but look at how much goes into making 7 of my meals!
On top of all the food that you cook and cleaning the kitchen, the inordinate amount of trash I produce.
On top of trash the recycling, empty one gallon jugs of water, and empty containers of protein and other various supplements.
Just think about all the extra effort that you as a bodybuilder have to put into cooking and cleaning every day...and its all because you are eating that much more.
Its something I think a lot of people simply arent prepared for and dont ever consider when they think of the effort involved with the bodybuilding lifestyle.

Oh, but wait theres more!

Your laundry. Just for starters your constant growth in phases makes you have to buy two sets of clothers...oh no, not just winter/summer. No its more like winter/diet, winter/bulk, summer/diet, and summer/bulk.
I gave up on having a lot of nice dress clothes, investing money there just means giving them to good will a 6 months later.
I just resort to having most every thing a 4xl or so and if I lose weight the clothes just have to be baggy, **** it thats what a belt is for.
You also have a n extra set of clothes you have to wash each week, if you do cardio at a seperate time of day you will have double the nasty, sweaty clothes to wash.
I had to get an extra hamper to put my grimy gym clothes in. They were contaminating my dirty work clothes so badly I had to form a segregated laundry system, even then it was simply controlling chaos.
These gym clothes also just get worn out, you will be spending a good bit of cash on cheap workout clothes...I simply resorted to visiting the good will stores and finding some big fat slobs old clothes and buying shirts and shorts for a buck a peice.
Get ready to spend 3 times the money on detergent and drier sheets too, and your electric bill is gonna tak a good little jump.
Just think I haven't even metioned the actual effort of washing, drying and folding all those clothes.

Now comes some of the fun parts, shopping!
Yeah grocery shopping...if your real savvy and have the extra money, SAM's or Costco will be your best friend, unfortunately I'm on a budget as are a lot of us.
So I shop for my groceries at the ol grocery store.
Not many bulk buys going on, you learn to get the stores weekly coupons and you learn where to find as many of the manufacturers coupons on the things you need, especially on foods.
Unfortunately alot of the coupons are not on anything really worthwhile so you have to spend a good bit of time sifting through them to find anything worth a damn to use, but if your gonna spend that much loot on food and things to clean with, you better damn well do it.

So, you think thats it?
Nah, theres more, lets say you have a day off from your pay job, and you end up having a number of errands to run, these errands might have you driving around and going from place to place on particular day...well get your cooler out and pack it up with food so when your out and about you have your meals with you, remember eating every 2 hours? Yeah that means you have to drag all that wonderful food around with you at times like that.
Just one more wonderful aspect of bodybuilding lifestyle that I think many don't even consider.

Then there's all the time you spend doing all these things, not just time but EXTRA time, everyone does these things, but bodybuilders have to do a lot more of them.
I am always amazed by the time constraints created by all the eating and time spent at the gym.
Between all this, my school work, and a job, holy shit, I don't have much time to even scratch my ass.
You get up early and you try to squeeze all of it in one day and get to bed at a decent hour so you can be rested up and do it again the next day, and the next so on and so on.

I love bodybuilding, I love doing it, there is something empowering about doing it, but I never imagined all the ways it would affect my life and how much extra work it creates outside of the gym.
I think its truly why a lot of people end up quitting, its not the gym workouts or the eating, its everything behind the scenes that it takes to do those things.

Bodybuilding is one of the most rewarding endeavors I think a person can do, but be prepared its a lot more than eating hard and training hard, its living hard.
The great thing about bodybuilding is it teaches you the self discipline to handle all these extra things that go into creating a better physique.
For me its truly a labor of love.


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## trodizzle (Feb 24, 2015)

Another great post and so true. Lots of extra chores come with this lifestyle. I'm the exact same way when it comes to my kitchen. Every night I'm prepping food and cleaning up for the next morning.


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## LeanHerm (Feb 24, 2015)

Great post pillar and that's why I'm not a bb. Lol 

I like beer and pizza


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## deadlift666 (Feb 24, 2015)

Story of my life.


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## Trauma RN (Feb 24, 2015)

I'm no pro by any means, but people truly do not even have a clue what it takes to even get onto a stage. I work 13 hrs shifts 7a-7:30p...my day really doesn't start till then, 7:30pm. Gym, food, cook, shop, repeat. Like you said, not to mention housework, travel time, rest time...and if you have a family....


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## trodizzle (Feb 24, 2015)

You totally forgot to mention all the time we have to set aside for masturbation and relations with our man/woman/ladyboy (I don't judge).


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## Paolos (Feb 24, 2015)

POB so true! People have no perception what it really takes. I tell people that every hour of every day has a task associated
with this sport and they don't buy it. You filled in the blanks of what I tell people.

Most think "Well I train hard and eat a couple of clean meals a day so I'm doing the work" BS they are just scratching the surface.

Here's  little pic of 16 finished meals that last 1- day in my house for the two of us. The cooking alone takes 2 hours not including cleaning,
shopping or planning.



Great post!


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## cotton2012 (Feb 24, 2015)

Man I thought I was the only one. 

                                                "You want to know what I'm training for? Life mother****er!"


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## wabbitt (Feb 24, 2015)

Truly a great loss to the community.  RIP AJ.


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## Assassin32 (Feb 24, 2015)

Paolos said:


> POB so true! People have no perception what it really takes. I tell people that every hour of every day has a task associated
> with this sport and they don't buy it. You filled in the blanks of what I tell people.
> 
> Most think "Well I train hard and eat a couple of clean meals a day so I'm doing the work" BS they are just scratching the surface.
> ...



You're a competitive Bodybuilder?


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## Paolos (Feb 24, 2015)

Assassin32 said:


> You're a competitive Bodybuilder?



Wife has been competing for 2 years and I'm getting ready for my first show.


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## Assassin32 (Feb 24, 2015)

Paolos said:


> Wife has been competing for 2 years and I'm getting ready for my first show.



Cool, man. It's definitely not my style, but I have a lot of respect for the dedication, time and energy that goes into it. Good luck with your prep and kudos to your wife.


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## Paolos (Feb 24, 2015)

Assassin32 said:


> Cool, man. It's definitely not my style, but I have a lot of respect for the dedication, time and energy that goes into it. Good luck with your prep and kudos to your wife.



Thanks brother she kills it so I'm just trying to keep up! I'm competing in the over 50 class


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## Flyingdragon (Feb 25, 2015)

Novice or Pro, the details are pretty much the same.  It doesnt get any easier once u have reached the Pro ranks.....Some guys have been doing this practically non stop for over 20 years.....


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## McDuffy (Feb 25, 2015)

Dude great post, this cycle i'm on is consuming my life, had to buy all new clothes. See friends a lot less, etc. the money spent on gear is nothing compared to the money spent on everything else.


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## Maintenance Man (Feb 25, 2015)

Wait a sec here...POB is a BBer???! Since when? As much shit as EVERYONE here talks about BBers...Plers are supposed to be gods. Before you ask, No I'm not either. I just pretend to be a gym goer. That's it.

Ummmm aren't you a PLer???


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## goodfella (Feb 25, 2015)

Great post! Should try showing this to a girlfriend that doesn't understand why you don't have any free time


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## deadlift666 (Feb 25, 2015)

Maintenance Man said:


> Wait a sec here...POB is a BBer???! Since when? As much shit as EVERYONE here talks about BBers...Plers are supposed to be gods. Before you ask, No I'm not either. I just pretend to be a gym goer. That's it.
> 
> Ummmm aren't you a PLer???


He didn't write the content.


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## PillarofBalance (Feb 25, 2015)

Maintenance Man said:


> Wait a sec here...POB is a BBer???! Since when? As much shit as EVERYONE here talks about BBers...Plers are supposed to be gods. Before you ask, No I'm not either. I just pretend to be a gym goer. That's it.
> 
> Ummmm aren't you a PLer???


Written by ajdos at the very top....


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## Maintenance Man (Feb 25, 2015)

deadlift666 said:


> He didn't write the content.





PillarofBalance said:


> Written by ajdos at the very top....



I know, i know...but its like youre giving homage to BBing or something. Weird from a PLer, thats all. I thot BBing was all rubbish and faggotry?


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## jdusmc1371 (Feb 25, 2015)

Great post, well written! Really motivating and inspiring! I have to say the constant dishes is what I dislike the most..


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## DieYoungStrong (Feb 25, 2015)

Maintenance Man said:


> I know, i know...but its like youre giving homage to BBing or something. Weird from a PLer, thats all. I thot BBing was all rubbish and faggotry?



I have nothing against bodybuilding. Takes a shit load of dedication. What I hate is when people who are neither PLers or BBers talk shit about either.


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## PillarofBalance (Feb 25, 2015)

Maintenance Man said:


> I know, i know...but its like youre giving homage to BBing or something. Weird from a PLer, thats all. I thot BBing was all rubbish and faggotry?


It's where I started. I wanted to be Jay Cutler. He is also the logo for my company.  Bodybuilding really takes a shit load of work and discipline. Same as being a powerlifter or really any other sport.  I enjoy watching the Olympia and Arnold Classic and absolutely respect the hell out of them.  

I make jokes about the tans and posing trunks but a singlet ain't much better.

Like dys said it's the douche that don't compete in either that do the bashing.


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## trodizzle (Feb 25, 2015)

PillarofBalance said:


> It's where I started. I wanted to be Jay Cutler. He is also the logo for my company.  Bodybuilding really takes a shit load of work and discipline. Same as being a powerlifter or really any other sport.  I enjoy watching the Olympia and Arnold Classic and absolutely respect the hell out of them.
> 
> I make jokes about the tans and posing trunks but a singlet ain't much better.
> 
> Like dys said it's the douche that don't compete in either that do the bashing.


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## Maintenance Man (Feb 26, 2015)

DieYoungStrong said:


> I have nothing against bodybuilding. Takes a shit load of dedication. What I hate is when people who are neither PLers or BBers talk shit about either.





PillarofBalance said:


> It's where I started. I wanted to be Jay Cutler. He is also the logo for my company.  Bodybuilding really takes a shit load of work and discipline. Same as being a powerlifter or really any other sport.  I enjoy watching the Olympia and Arnold Classic and absolutely respect the hell out of them.
> 
> I make jokes about the tans and posing trunks but a singlet ain't much better.
> 
> Like dys said it's the douche that don't compete in either that do the bashing.



Yes, I agree with both of you. I get what you're saying. Hes a fukkin asshole, that guy. It takes more dedication than most people realize. I'm still only just learning about a small fraction of it. And yes the article was a great read as well.


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## bsw5 (Mar 1, 2015)

Good read POB


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