Back in my 20s, I weighed around 155 pounds after cutting down from about 210 over 3 to 6 months — the classic “get ready for summer” cut. Even though I got really light, I kept my strength up by training with heavy weights. At one point, I was benching 415 pounds for reps regularly. In hindsight, though, I wish I had focused more on longevity — things like conditioning, yoga, and mobility. Now, I deal with various injuries, persistent pain, and mobility issues because of the way I trained when I was younger.
I was in such good shape that I actually considered competing in a bodybuilding show. But when I found out that “natural” shows weren’t always tested as strictly as expected, I dropped the idea. I wasn’t interested in competing against others who might have advantages I wasn’t willing to pursue.
These days, I hack squat what used to be my bench press warm-up weight, and I can’t bench at all. My ego has had to adjust, and I’m limited in what I can do now. Like I said earlier, hindsight is 20/20.
The point I’m making is this: for anyone doing what I did back then, it’s just not worth it. I’m living with chronic pain now, and it could have been avoided. We train for health, but in my case, it turned out differently. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.
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