When I was 16 years old, I started working out because all my friends were doing it. I didn't have anyone to talk to when they went to the gym because we used to play video games, and I was left alone in the game lobby. So, I decided to start working out too. As the years went by, all of my friends quit working out, but I'm still going. It feels more like work for me now, but I always ask myself why I should quit the journey that I started. After all, I wouldn't have started it in the first place if I didn't want to see it through.

Going to the gym has really changed my mindset and the way I think about things. It's more than just a lifestyle for me now. It's become a part of who I am and how I live my life.

As many brothers comment already it's a way of life. I've been working out 23 years now non stop, except 2 years back I got a umbilical hernia sergury and had to stay away from training for a couple of months.. Worst time of my life!! Even my job isn't easy I never skip a workout. I truly can't understand how so many people do there 9-5 jobs and nothing after that lol, even good food with out working out its going wasted!!

I use it as an excuse to go to the gym and check out the new crop of yoga pants

Lifting weights has improved every bit of my life. It gave me confidence. Get me away from addiction. Got me more women. The discipline I got from it helped me be better at work, keeping a schedule, helped with my anger and makes me feel better all around. It’s like a super vitamin. It made me want to improve everything in my life that I wasn’t good enough at and I have.

Since I don't fight anymore lifting is the next best thing. Though I do still train on the heavy bag and pads and occasionally I will light spar. I was addicted to fighting. I never was a bully but when I got in a scrap at school I loved the rush fighting gave me. Win or lose it didn't matter to me. Just the fact I was in a fight was enough for me. I gained a reputation. Until a teacher took notice her friend was a boxing coach and wanted me to put a positive spin on my fighting. She paid for a year of lessons and went from there.

My dad got into lifting when he was a teen and into adulthood. I would copy everything he did. He gave me all his weights when I was a kid. I would work out in the garage not knowing exactly what I was doing but I enjoyed it lol. I would lift to keep and gain strength between training. Lifting was something I never let go. I just enjoy it a lot. I channel my aggression I used in fighting and apply it to lifting. I just like being strong really. Plus I like being able to hit harder. Plus grab and hold onto people if I grapple.

I never had a single friend who met my dad and didn’t tell me he was the biggest guy they’d seen…prick was still squatting and pulling 500lbs dead’s well into his upper 50’s….he’s 72 now and still trying to grind…that’s why I lift it was the way I grew up terrified of this monster….and as pumped mentioned I also have 3 daughters first two are out of the house still one at home and none of them have had a boyfriend that wasn’t terrified of me not that they have any reason to be but still

I have a very addictive personality, i live in the extremes. So i can diet super hard and clean or go to the other end and eat two gallons of ice cream, McDonalds breakfast , Wendy's lunch and kfc dinner. I went to jail at 20 and had cell mate that was a bodybuilder and his dad sent us Muscular Development(magazine) and i read every word of every issue we had and i was hooked. over the next 9 years i was a mess screwing up my life and id spend about 3 months a year trying to do the right thing and trying to live right. The only thing i wanted to do was work out and read muscle mags (youtube now). its been about 2 years now that ive been doing good, and the gym is my absolute world. Ive done these online physique challenge things and even won some cash, but now i want to get on stage. I would love if i could have bodybuilding be my career and I put enough time and effort into it but idk if im genetically gifted enough and I'm also kind of old to be starting to compete now, but I won't stop and ill always train either way. I just want to be a 300 pound 6% bodyfat freak. Nothing brings me anywhere near the dopamine rush that training hardcore does, I NEED to train, I feel like id die without the gym

Growing up I was incredibly skinny. For my height I was in the second percentile for weight, meaning 98% of the world who was my height weighed more than me at that age. This led to getting picked on, never getting picked for school recess kickball teams, etc. I was one of the best athletes out of my friends as a youth (as evidenced by my performance on the soccer field, tennis court and basketball court), but always suffered from not being big enough or strong enough to reach higher levels of competition.

I'm sure we've all heard this story before so it's about 12 years ago I was in a situation where there wasn't much to do but work out or get stuck in your head. So I started working out. Started eating more. This is before AAS. I went from 6' and 128lbs (yes that's crazy, I know) to 160 at the same height. So still skinny, but stronger and more confident.

Working out gave me a new hobby to learn about and study and put into practical application in the gym. Suddenly I was getting noticed by girls just for having a nice body which was something that was never my calling card. I'm a nerd at heart TBH. I'll never be a 245 lb beast, and I'm happy being on the leaner side (easier on the joints, heart and cardiovascular system).

So I do it mainly to give me something to do, a way to set goals and achieve them. It improves my physique, my ability to do my job and stuff around the house
I stay young at heart and in mind and body, I like the science of it all. Boosts my endorphins, I stay happier, less depressed, and more focused. I've enjoyed reading the comments in this thread so keep posting ladies and gentlemen!

I work out and learned to fight because i got 3 daughters and 47 yrs now. Id be damned one of them bring home a boyfriend thats bigger than me or got better hands than me!

Was raised with it. Dad was a POS, mom and grandparents pretty much raised me. Military family. Fitness and proper eating was just the right way to live. As I got older, career choices came into play as far as maintaining my personal standards. But at the end of the day, as I’ve gotten older, I’m vain. It’s a choice I make, I refuse to look in the mirror and see a physique I’m not happy with looking back at me. I cover it up if I’m bulking, my wife hates the look. But I don’t do it for her, I do it because I need to be comfortable in my own skin. Carrying a nice physique keeps me comfortable in my own skin.

I think my motivation is very similar to yours. Physical stuff has always been my outlet for stress, even when I was a youngster. Bad day at work, take it out on the iron plates. Wife giving me grief, take it out on the iron. I believe it makes me a better, calmer, more balanced person. “Less of an arsehole” may be more of an accurate description.

I’d also agree I’ve made some of my best mates in guns over the years. Let’s be honest, we’re a weird bunch to put ourselves through what we do, and gyms are populated with like minded weirdos. Marriage made in heaven lol.