Its Saturday morning and there’s a new face at the gym. He’s been weight training for about a week and he knows exactly what he wants. He’s had it with being weak. He’s had it with feeling small. He’s got something to prove and he’s training like it. The regular crowd is doing their thing. The posers are glued in front of the mirrors, eyes fixed as if in a trance. The talkers are standing around chatting about their lives and current events. The old timers are dutifully performing their task just as they have year after year. The new kid is different. He’s insane. He’s on a mission. He’s going to train as long and as hard as it takes to reach his goals. He won’t slow down, he won’t quit, he won’t,,,,,,,
 

He won’t be back next week!
 

Gawd I wish that I had a dollar for every time that I’ve seen this. Some newby comes into the gym with a vengeance, sparks flying from his hands as he grabs the iron with all of the spit and venom that his weak little limbs will muster. So eager to change his life, so anxious to gain respect, but like a virgin on prom night it’s almost over before it began.
 

What happened?
 

Our little friend has made an important discovery that his parents, teachers and guidance counselors who all took turns wiping his chin neglected to share with him. Life is hard and worthy goals are not achieved without effort. Bodybuilding is hard work folks. If it weren’t then everybody would be doing it.
 

Raised in a generation in which self esteem is more important than effort, we see that our newby lacks the capacity for either. If your new to this sport than read the next line as many times as it takes to sink in.
 

Expect Pain!
 

Ever notice the grimacing face of an experienced lifter as he completes the last few reps of a difficult set. That’s because it hurts, he isn’t faking it.
 

Do you want 20 inch biceps? Expect pain
 

Do you want quads that draw your pants tight with every step? Expect to be sore.
 

Do you want abs with ripples so deep that they could make a sailors daughter sea sick? Expect to be hungry.
 

Until you can come to grips with the sacred truth that all successful bodybuilders, enhanced or not, embrace pain like a lover, than you will wash out like so much sand on an empty beach. In a week, no one will even remember that you were coming to the gym.
 

I’m telling you this because I want you to succeed. I don’t want you to be just another flash in the pan who drifted through the gym with little or no impact. I want this enough for you that I feel compelled to share one of bodybuilding’s nastiest secrets with you. That secret is that no matter how good your genetics are or how stocked your medicine cabinet is, you still have to lift your ass off. There is no easy way and if you aren’t mentally prepared for this truth then you might as well hang up your lifting straps and take up golf because you will never be a bodybuilder.
 

A guy from my gym is a classic biker from the tattoos to the attitude. While out on a ride on one of his two Harley’s he was pulled over by a State Trooper for not wearing a helmet. The officer was sympathetic to my friends frustration as he said “I understand how you feel, I’m a biker myself.”. My friend answered back, “Dude, you ain’t a biker, your just a guy who rides a motorcycle”.
 

And now my friend, you have a decision to make. Your reading this magazine because you want something. You have a drive as primitive as life itself to be physically dominant but until you can master your senses and rise above the burn you will never be a bodybuilder, you will just be a guy who lifts weights.
 

Its up to you. Each new wave on the beach brings new sand forward and washes the old sand back out to sea. Where do you fit into this scenario? I like success stories and have little tolerance for excuses or failure. Will you be at the gym next week? Do you really have what it takes? Its in your head and in your hands to achieve your goals but you must understand the sacrifices that lay before you. Bodybuilders live in pain and thrive on self denial. Are we crazy? No, we’re proud. We have something that everyone else wants but few have the unbending will to achieve. Are you truly up for the challenge? This is the hardcore truth laid out before you in all of its uncensored glory. Do you want to be a bodybuilder?

Expect pain!

Kerry Dulin