Respect for my Passion

It was the 4th of July, I was off work for the day but would hit the gym as soon as they opened for 30 minutes of cardio and calve training, then I would meet Roy at BodyComp Personal Training Gym in the afternoon to train quads. I love days like this, I feel so alive and accomplished.

I am progressing right along as planned, adding size but keeping bodyfat low, as you can see in my picture above. The diet still puzzles me, I will be writing more about it later, but I managed to avoid all starches now through the last weekend, none at all.

As I left Gold's Gym, another member stopped me, he is  young guy, an MMA fighter and fairly ripped, not someone you would call a couch potato by any means. "Hey- you are pretty much a professional right?" he asked, and he didn't wait for a response. He started asking me about my training, what my split was and how often I train each body part. We talked about it and he explained that he thinks his MMA is counter productive, he is staying small due to the sheer energy expenditure of the constant conditioning that MMA requires.

I told him how I was struggling a bit, I feel like my shoulders have lost much of their size, I have always been so proud of my massive shoulders, but I am training my chest right now with only a very little shoulder work thrown in. I will go back to training shoulders again in a few weeks, but right now I need to stop, so I can work on other body parts. I looked him in the eyes and said "You just may need to give something up", he nodded his head and agreed, he didn't want to hear it, but he knew it already.

He thanked me for my time, and walked into the gym, the conversation heavy on his mind. 

I appreciated this fellow for the fact that he engaged me in a meaningful conversation and wanted my advise, he saw me as a knowledgable  lifter, someone who has been able to accomplish what he is struggling with.

I felt really good after our conversation, almost "validated". I don't need anyone to validate my actions, but I think we all feel better when we beleive that people take us seriously. My daily exercise is not a hobby, it is a part of my existance, it is one of the things that makes Kristy, "Kristy".

There are those who find my devotion to the gym and my lifting "cute" and an entertaining hobby, and they wonder when I am going to come around and act like everyone else, or perhaps get bored, start eating like a "normal" person and find something more worthwhile to do.

Never.

The glutes and legs are growing, my goodness most of my pants are too tight and uncomfortable now in the butt and thighs, it is my goal but it's still rather funny. When I met Roy on Wednesday he remarked "Well your legs and  glutes are bigger, or maybe it's the shorts?" No, it is the shorts you see here, the same ones I have been wearing and they cannot shrink, they are all man made fibers, I have grown, just where I am trying to. We laughed about it and he said "You said you wanted a 'shelf butt' so when you have a 2 inch ledge that you can set a coffee cup on, we will quit". Until then, I am destined to having sore glutes, quads and hams for a bit longer.

I am proud of my lifting, proud of my accomplishments and prod of my determination and drive. It's unfortunate that everyone cannot see how important it is and respect it, but I won't let that stop me, I will contnue to surround myself with people who do share my passion and together we share a mutual respect.