Something That Gets My Goat
by Adam Sinicki
When I work out I find that lots of things get my goat. This might have something to do with the extra testosterone pumping through my veins, or it might be that as soon as you start working out you become a target for everyone in the world to spout shit at. This shit takes many forms, such as the people asking for inane advice (can I get pumped if I take steroids and don't work out?;, or in strange brags 'I used to have bigger biceps than yours but then real life took over'... Dick jockeys.
One that I have noticed particularly recently though is that when you work out everyone suddenly becomes a doctor and starts to tell you how much damage you're doing to your body. Or that bodybuilding is standing in the way of other leisure pursuits.
A goat. Gotten.
The other day for instance I hurt my back moving my mates furniture. I trapped a nerve – something that I always do and that will go away over time. Of course it's not the fact that I was helping my mate that's the problem though is it – according to him it's that I train too hard in the gym (never mind the fact that I've been forced to take time out of the gym lately).
Then take the example of some friends of one of my old flat mates – who came into our joint kitchen and started telling him how all my protein shake was damaging my body. Nevermind the fact that whey protein is not a drug in any sense of the word but actually a substance that is present in plain old fashioned milk. Nevermind the fact that most of us don't get enough protein in our diet...
Or how about my recent affront when I was told my muscles were getting in the way of my swinging a cricket bat. Likewise they have been accused of preventing me from doing yoga or from doing Tai Chi. The understanding of course is that muscles make me more stiff and bulky so I couldn't possibly move with any grace. The reality of course is quite different and in fact making a habit of tensing and untensing my muscles every day and getting used to the feeling has given me finer muscle control than I started with (and most cricket players sport fairly big arms too I might add). My abysmal shitness at tennis has nothing to do with my muscle.
My Mum has always been concerned that I am ruining my body, and I've even been told that I would be taller were it not for my habit of lifting big heavy weights then putting them down again. Let me tell you though – lifting weights makes you produce growth hormone in spades and that in turn makes you grow. Any impact sport will stunt your growth to a degree potentially, but bodybuilding has less impact involved than say football. So again... WRONG.
People seem certain that bodybuilding is bad for you and they are determined to convince me of the same thing. The good news is though, that I've done a wee bit of research for the last 15 years and I can safely say that it is not bad for you and in fact it's very good for you. The irony of the thing is, that the people who are telling me that I should stop working out so much are the very same people who eat tonnes of crisps, never do anything in the evenings, smoke, drink, eat cake and rarely move more than a centimeter. Is that how they think I should live? Is that what would make me healthier and able to lift boxes with ease? Darn if only I'd cottoned on to this secret sooner... I am all for eating and drinking and I do a fair bit of both myself, but then why am I being chastised for the one healthy thing that any of us does? I'm not Freud, but could it be that there is some ulterior motive here? Some other cause for this concern? (Or AM I Freud??)
