Overcoming the "Get Big" mentality
I remember it with incredible clarity. The moment I decided that I was going to start living a healthy and fit lifestyle. I was sitting with some friends of mine and we were watching footage from a film project of ours. In one scene I saw myself, without a shirt, running. I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was embarrassing how out of shape I looked. It’s easy to lie to yourself in the mirror when you can suck in the gut or flex the pecs a little. This was brutal truth. I was out of shape.
Like anything else I do, once my mind was made up, I dove in headfirst. Let’s just say…I did everything wrong! My actions were motivated more by ego than science and legitimate fitness studies. I bought a fancy new pair of performance-enhancing sneakers, performance-enhancing lifting gloves, a slick-looking heart monitor, an ergonomically designed weight belt…you get the point. Here I was, 186 pounds and armed to the teeth with swanky new gear and a stack of trendy fitness magazines and web articles that promised “KILLER ABS!”, “INSANE TRAPS!!”, and “MONSTER ARMS!!!”
At the time, my goal was to bulk up to 200 pounds. I needed to pack on 14 pounds of muscle. My thinking at the time went something like this: “Gotta’ get big! What do I do? Lift heavy. Thursdays- Lift heavy, Fridays- Lift heavy, Saturday- Rest. Sunday-Lift heavy. Wanna’ get big? Gotta’ eat big! Protein shakes three or four times a day. Eggs, milk, more protein shakes. Protein builds muscle, so I need more protein, right? Ooh, what about creatine? Creatine makes you big too. Let’s use some of that, and then I can lift even heavier! If I lift big, eat big, and take a bunch of supplements, I’ll be a mass of twisted steel in no time!”
Sound familiar? Know anybody like this? Are YOU like this? I know I was. It was all about working harder instead of smarter. I was trying to eat as few carbs as possible (which sapped my energy levels) and was likely overtaxing my kidneys with excessive protein supplementation. I was so bogged down in food and exercise schedules, routines, and conflicting fitness theories from so many “experts” that once I moved to Connecticut my whole “healthy lifestyle” unraveled. I couldn’t possibly keep juggling all the things I thought I needed to be doing at the time. Did I “get big”? Well, I ballooned up to 210 pounds. Not only did I meet my goal, I exceeded it! The problem is, I felt lethargic. I looked bloated. I had no motivation to work out at all, let alone the way I did in the beginning. My back hurt, my hips hurt, and I was fatter than I had ever been before. 200 pounds wasn’t the dream I was hoping for.
Luckily, I had a friend who was honest enough to tell me that I needed to get my butt back in gear. This time I went into it with my brain as well as my arms. I did real research from reputable sources and began to learn about the advantages of functional exercise. “Getting big” is all well and good for impressing the guys in the locker room, but that seems to be its only real function. Needless to say, that did not mesh with my goals. After about a month I discovered CrossFit. It seemed equally insane and intriguing to me at first. My diet was involving a lot more fruits and vegetables. I studied the real science of carbs and exercise and started eating the right kinds of carbs at the right times and in the right amounts. I started to do these short, intense exercises. I was doing these crazy workouts that involved kettle bells, box jumps, and medicine balls. It was all so beautifully simple but so extreme at the same time! I knew almost immediately that THIS was the training for me.
I’ve been doing CrossFit for just over one month. That’s it. One month. Not that these numbers are the goal of training, but just to give you an idea: My weight has dropped from 206 to 192. I’ve lost an inch of fat from each thigh. Both arms have gone from 16 to 16.5 inches. My chest measurement is up one inch. My waist and hip measurements have each dropped significantly (pants with a “36 inch waist that did not fit are now hanging loosely and my belts are on their tightest settings). My max pull-ups have increased by four, and my muscular endurance is light years beyond what it ever was before. One month. Seriously; and do you know what’s funny? I did this without my weight gloves, weight belt, heart monitor, or other “necessities” from the “get big” days. I still use supplements, but more useful ones, and in smarter amounts. I’m spending less time actually exercising, yet I’m getting results I never could before. I guess the “get big” obsession may not be all the fitness industry makes it out to be, eh? If I had to offer one piece of advice, it would be this: Eliminate all of the influence and information out there that is designed to sell you something, whether it’s supplements, magazine subscriptions, or miracle workout machines. Ignore it. Do the research yourself on functional training and true healthy eating, and then do what feels right. Believe it, you’ll know it once you’re doing it!
Like anything else I do, once my mind was made up, I dove in headfirst. Let’s just say…I did everything wrong! My actions were motivated more by ego than science and legitimate fitness studies. I bought a fancy new pair of performance-enhancing sneakers, performance-enhancing lifting gloves, a slick-looking heart monitor, an ergonomically designed weight belt…you get the point. Here I was, 186 pounds and armed to the teeth with swanky new gear and a stack of trendy fitness magazines and web articles that promised “KILLER ABS!”, “INSANE TRAPS!!”, and “MONSTER ARMS!!!”
At the time, my goal was to bulk up to 200 pounds. I needed to pack on 14 pounds of muscle. My thinking at the time went something like this: “Gotta’ get big! What do I do? Lift heavy. Thursdays- Lift heavy, Fridays- Lift heavy, Saturday- Rest. Sunday-Lift heavy. Wanna’ get big? Gotta’ eat big! Protein shakes three or four times a day. Eggs, milk, more protein shakes. Protein builds muscle, so I need more protein, right? Ooh, what about creatine? Creatine makes you big too. Let’s use some of that, and then I can lift even heavier! If I lift big, eat big, and take a bunch of supplements, I’ll be a mass of twisted steel in no time!”
Sound familiar? Know anybody like this? Are YOU like this? I know I was. It was all about working harder instead of smarter. I was trying to eat as few carbs as possible (which sapped my energy levels) and was likely overtaxing my kidneys with excessive protein supplementation. I was so bogged down in food and exercise schedules, routines, and conflicting fitness theories from so many “experts” that once I moved to Connecticut my whole “healthy lifestyle” unraveled. I couldn’t possibly keep juggling all the things I thought I needed to be doing at the time. Did I “get big”? Well, I ballooned up to 210 pounds. Not only did I meet my goal, I exceeded it! The problem is, I felt lethargic. I looked bloated. I had no motivation to work out at all, let alone the way I did in the beginning. My back hurt, my hips hurt, and I was fatter than I had ever been before. 200 pounds wasn’t the dream I was hoping for.
Luckily, I had a friend who was honest enough to tell me that I needed to get my butt back in gear. This time I went into it with my brain as well as my arms. I did real research from reputable sources and began to learn about the advantages of functional exercise. “Getting big” is all well and good for impressing the guys in the locker room, but that seems to be its only real function. Needless to say, that did not mesh with my goals. After about a month I discovered CrossFit. It seemed equally insane and intriguing to me at first. My diet was involving a lot more fruits and vegetables. I studied the real science of carbs and exercise and started eating the right kinds of carbs at the right times and in the right amounts. I started to do these short, intense exercises. I was doing these crazy workouts that involved kettle bells, box jumps, and medicine balls. It was all so beautifully simple but so extreme at the same time! I knew almost immediately that THIS was the training for me.
I’ve been doing CrossFit for just over one month. That’s it. One month. Not that these numbers are the goal of training, but just to give you an idea: My weight has dropped from 206 to 192. I’ve lost an inch of fat from each thigh. Both arms have gone from 16 to 16.5 inches. My chest measurement is up one inch. My waist and hip measurements have each dropped significantly (pants with a “36 inch waist that did not fit are now hanging loosely and my belts are on their tightest settings). My max pull-ups have increased by four, and my muscular endurance is light years beyond what it ever was before. One month. Seriously; and do you know what’s funny? I did this without my weight gloves, weight belt, heart monitor, or other “necessities” from the “get big” days. I still use supplements, but more useful ones, and in smarter amounts. I’m spending less time actually exercising, yet I’m getting results I never could before. I guess the “get big” obsession may not be all the fitness industry makes it out to be, eh? If I had to offer one piece of advice, it would be this: Eliminate all of the influence and information out there that is designed to sell you something, whether it’s supplements, magazine subscriptions, or miracle workout machines. Ignore it. Do the research yourself on functional training and true healthy eating, and then do what feels right. Believe it, you’ll know it once you’re doing it!
Authored by George Rutherford, assistant trainer at SECT CrossFit, father of two, devoted husband, and all around good guy.
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