A little bit about myself.....

My name is Ron, and my interest and fascinaton in bodybuilding started at the early age of twelve (The Incredible Hulk was my BIGGEST inspiration in the day. :) ) But I did not get involved in weight training until well into my twenties. The bulk of the time in between was spent dreaming of muscles and getting some semblance of muscle on my bony frame. Why the delay? Sheer timidity and embarrassment!

Being painfully shy in my early years, the thought of showing my skinny muscle-less body in a gym was unthinkable. So I did what a skinny kid would do, I went and purchased a small plastic weight set and begun my "muscleman" routine in the comfort of my basement at home (and would you believe that I was even embarassed to go into the store and buy the weight set?? Sad!!). After two weeks, I acquired (and admired!) a little "bulge" that looked somewhat like a bicep that seemed to have grown out of nowhere on my arm. But, unfortunately, my trainig took a backseat to other things in life: graduating from high school, going to college, work, and just plain growing up. But even then, the sight of anyone that had that "bodybuilder look" always made me yearn to get back into the gym. In particular, to this day I can remember going down the stairs to my study hall on campus, and comping up the stairs was this HUGE thick muscle guy wearing a white t-shirt and white shorts. It was summertime and he was also tanned. I admired and hated him at the same time. It was only a few seconds in my life and still it is a memory that stays with me. So, that day I thought "I really REALLY need to get to training..." And it goes on...

And so I started yet again. Weight gain powders, haphazard routines, fad diets, GH releasers that tasted like cherry cough syrup, .... I tried everything!! And in retrospect, I was doing everything wrong!! My 29th birthday was my turning point. At a height of 6’ 1", I weighed a "whopping" 129lbs soaking wet. 129 POUNDS! I looked like I was suffering from malnutrition! It was then that I came to my Damascus Road... either make a true concentrated effort to learn and make strides in my quest for muscles, or forget the whole thing. And it was time to cut my losses, as I had spent thousands of dollars on snake oils, pseudo weight gainers, supplements, gizmos, machines, bad advice and the like. What did I decide? I decided to get really serious.

My first step was to join my first true gym. AND WHAT A STEP THAT WAS! And to my amazement, walking into the gym did NOT cause the earth to open up and swallow me. That first step was hard psychologically, but it was the best thing I could have done for myself. It made me learn to overcome my fear and the false perceptions I had of gyms and bodybuilders. I then learned tip, techniques and lifting from some pretty terrific people, who instead of being these muscle monsters that I had created in my mind, were actually some really nice people who just happened to live in big muscled bodies. And no one kept staring at the "skinny kid" (me) like I thought!

It was then after getting past the fear and doubts that I started to teach myself how to lift the proper and correct way, I did a LOT of reading, did the trial by error and learned to "listen" to the muscle. And I also learned that bodybuilding isn’t just about hoisting a weight around, it is also about adopting a lifestyle. And in order for it to work, bodybuilding must be integrated into your daily life. Getting your workout in must come as naturally as brushing your teeth or combing your hair. And like I was told by one really terrific training partner, "you gotta want it bad enough". By the time I was 35, my weight had gone up from 119 to 225lbs, with some nice muscle thickness. (the "skinny genetics" came in handy in that respect!).

Fast forward to today, I'm 46 years young, still bodybuilding and loving it! I’ll probably never become a stranger to the weights or a gym as long as I can lift a bar. No, I haven’t made it to the posing podium, (not yet anyway, but it’s never too late if I should decide to do so!), but being a bodybuilder isn’t just about getting on a stage. If you’re like me, you just like to look like you are very familiar with weight lifting and having a physique that with every compliment you get, you know that there are others that are just looking with admiration, envy, etc etc. But YOU please YOU! :)!

Well, I may have gone on a little longer with my little story than I had planned. However, I write this in the hopes of sharing my story with someone who has been, or is in the same boat that this former skinny kid was in. And to show that bodybuilding is not just for becoming a Mr. Olympia. It is, to me, a way of life and to good health. And no, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t about my physical appearance, because I really like the way I look after a real heavy duty training session! But the physical appearance is merely part of the entire picture. The self-esteem, focus, dedication and pride of achievement that bodybuilding brought to me extended into other parts of my life for the better.

Before I finish, I have to give credit to the one person that really was a catalyst to keeping me focused and training towards my goals. My first serious training partner Donovan Duncan at Powerhouse Gym in Texas. This man had a physique to die for, and was always there at the gym whether training someone for competition or just to hang around to say hello. It's been years since our paths crossed, but one day I would like to shock him with a handshake and have him not believe his own eyes! :)

So with that, I hope that if you have not entered a gym yet, to take that step...if you want to be one of the big guys, it is all up to you! And once you are on track, be the best musclehead that YOU can be! Don't follow, lead!! Like i always say, "If you're not the lead dog, the scenery never changes..."

Keep pumpin!!!

Ron