💯 Ian 💯@Ironhands57
TLDR
This is a necessarily long post but I understand many won't read it. Which is fine, but I have to share one of the coolest things I got to experience at my first bodybuilding show. And it happend at intermission while I was spending time with my wife and coach before the next session.
I noticed an older man and what I assumed to be his adult son just kind of looking at me and talking. Well the older man eventually approached us and explained that his son was Autistic, and was having some struggles with his fitness journey and asked if I would speak with him. So of course I said yes, anything I can do to help I am down.
His son came over and introduced himself, he was very heavy, but had only recently put the weight on. He was struggling with work and things and he said He is afraid to lose his muscles so he knows he needs to eat a lot to keep all his muscles. So we spent some time discussing the importance of muscle, but also the importance of maintaining a healthy weight while gaining muscle. We discussed the principles of Cutting and Bulking and even muscle memory. And how the muscles that he has earned will not abandon him even when he cuts, and just because his lifts might decrease as soon as he eats in a surplus again he will ramp back up and even surpass his previous lifts.
It was a great conversation, I shared my pictures from before I started bodybuilding. He told me his goal was to look like Arnold one day, and he said he wanted to talk to me because I looked the most like Arnold......talk about hit you right in the feels.
I eventually had to excuse myself from the conversation as the show was about to start back up, but I could have sat there and talked shop for hours. The take aways for me....you never know the impact you are having, even just going about your daily life. I was having a pretty wild hectic day, doing things I had never done, but I got a moment I did not see coming, and I am so thankful for that. Also to see a father just wanting to help his son, its something I am fortunate to see regularly because I am surrounded by Men who do this, but it never gets old. And of course......I look like Arnold! So I didn't take the overall win in the show.......or did I?