Recently I was on my facebook account and saw a picture of one of my friends (Friend A) who is preparing for a bodybuilding show in April. He is currently cutting carbs and looking really lean. He has posted a few pictures of himself during his grueling transformation. When I was in high school with this guy he was always a pretty skinny dude. Now he is fully dedicated to the lifestyle of a bodybuilder and I couldn’t be more impressed.
I know all about the hard work, hours in the gym, strict and sometimes (well most of the time) boring and bland diet, and overall dedication that goes into preparing for a bodybuilding show.
I also have seen one of my friends (Friend B) from the gym that I work for lose almost 175 pounds of fat. She posts a few pics here and there on her facebook of her amazing transformation. I still remember when she came in day 1, head down, very shy, and looked very unsure of herself. She now comes to the gym twice a day, runs races and her attitude has pulled a complete 180. She is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met, and she continues to amaze me every time I see her.
I know all about the hard work, hours in the gym, strict and sometimes boring and bland diet, and overall dedication that goes into losing weight.
Both friend A and B have done amazing things to transform their bodies. Through blood, sweat and tears they have worked their asses off to get where they are. I dont see either one of them slowing down either. Now comes in the main reason I decided to write this…
After (Friend A) posted a picture of himself showing his abs on facebook, I texted a friend – “hey, have you seen Friend A’s latest picture on facebook?” The friend that I texted proceeded to send me a screen shot of him/her and 2 other people chatting about it on their iPhones…the texts were as follows “hahahahahahah” “TOOL”. Now this prompted me to ask the question, “Why does this make him a tool?”. After a few back and forth texts, another mutual acquaintance of ours came up in conversation. “Do you know so and so? (not Friend B) she has lost a ton of weight and looks great!”…To this I thought, “ok, so she was overweight, lost a ton of fat and looks awesome, yet Friend A who was once skinny and gained a ton of muscle and looks awesome is a tool?”. Now I understand, not every person is into big muscles or whatever you wanna call it, but I’m looking bigger picture here.
I can see how a lot of people would think that posting shirtless pics of you posing on facebook would be “toolish”, but really, if that is their passion, and they work 10 times harder than you ever will in the gym, why does it matter? Friend A is not a tool, he is a really nice guy who maybe according to some people does “toolish” things by posting shirtless pictures of himself. I’ve seen pictures on facebook (I’m guilty) of people out drinking and looking like tools.
So tell me, what really is better? Someone who treats their body and lifestyle with complete dedication and seriousness, or someone who goes out and slams a bunch of booze, might make decisions they regret, and feels like garbage the next morning?
The main reason I posted this is because sometimes I think people need to take a step back, and think before jumping to conclusions. How can you judge one transformation that takes hard work and dedication as making someone a tool, and judge another that takes just as much hard work and dedication as being awesome and inspiring?
To me they are both inspiring people, and if more people took the time to really think about the hard work and dedication that goes into creating a healthy lifestyle through bodybuilding or weight loss, they might realize that these are just normal people, pursuing a better life and working pretty damn hard at it. Only if more Americans could take some notes from Friends A and B…
Please comment and share your opinions, I wont judge 😉