I've always considered my bodybuilding/fitness journey very interesting. Because I started when I was 14.

The way I always tell it is like this:

When I was 14, I thought I was becoming a man, I looked at my childish body in the mirror and said this is not what a man's body is supposed to look like. So I started building muscle.

What's more badass than that? 🤣🤣

But that's more of the storyteller in me speaking, that's not the complete truth.

The complete truth is that, when I was 14, a boxing academy came to my school to recruit new boxers. I was super interested, and decided I would join them.

I started imagining what life would be like, how I'll dominate the ring and how I can go on to be such a great boxer. That was when I looked at my body and felt like that's not what a boxer's body should look like. So I started building muscle.

I didn't join the academy because, just days later, I realized it was going to cost a lot of transport to attend their facilities, and my parents were never going to sponsor that.

But I kept working out because I now thought that childish body was not what a boxer should look like, neither is it what a man should look like. I kept on building to look like "a man". Lol.

This is not to deride any man who is not muscular, nor is it to make y'all feel bad. This is talking about the thought process I had.

_{Alright, alright, I still kinda have that thought process. LOL}

This is me at 15:

I was only doing regular pushups. I wasn't lifting nothing! It was until I was 16 I lifted weights a few times. Then I stopped and went back to pushups. This time different variations of pushups. This is what I was looking like:

Once in a while I'll lift some weights, but hardly.

Until this year. This year I've gone to the gym more times than I have in my entire 12 years journey.

More about the 12 Years journey..

Is that I haven't been as consistent as "12 years" must sound. I've gone months within these 12 years without working out. But never a full year, though. Say, 1 or two months here and there. There have been 4 - 5 months once or twice too.

The breaks are usually due to ailments, exams, work, writing projects, etc. But this is what I've looked like over the years:

And who would forget the best shape I've ever been:

LMAO

This year I was going to make up for everything but I've just found out it is cutting into my finances a lot, and I've decided to slow down a bit.

Lessons

If you can't make it to the gym due to finances or what not, make do with home workouts. They are very effective, and you can find a lot on YouTube.
You can also make your own weights by filling containers with sand, stones or water. Get creative.
Lifting weights is the best type of workout for bodybuilding, from experience. It gives you more vitality, it is more fun, more addictive, and it requires less motivation than home workouts.
Don't worry about consistency. Just start, and do what little you can. With time things could really explode.
There are too many benefits of lifting weights, and these are benefits you would feel and see, rather than just theoretical benefits. You'd be surprised at how strong you are becoming, how great you feel, how much anxiety you no longer feel, and how much SEXUAL PROWESS you now have 😉. Mind blowing! It is better than the best drugs!
You get more of these benefits when you lift weights than when you do weightless home workouts like pushups, etc.

The End

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