Will A Weight Training Lifestyle Lead To A Dangerous Muscle Building Addiction?

Weight training is a hobby that takes dedication and consistency in order to encourage dramatic muscle gain, with weight lifters committing themselves to regular workout sessions, consuming strict meal plans, and attempting to achieve sufficient rest each evening. For those who have the time to easily perform a weight lifting session several times per week, and who are able to follow the proper meal plan without difficulty, bodybuilding does not become an overwhelming chore, but certain bodybuilders haphazardly organize their lives, and find themselves struggling to integrate life with proper weight lifting and diet techniques, yet they feel so attracted to producing muscle gain or fat loss results that they begin abdicating responsibilities in other, far more important areas of life in favor of their bodybuilding agenda.

This is why scheduling is essential to bodybuilding success, as having a specific time devoted to weight lifting, as well as portions of the day where meals are consumed, will ensure that there is no daily struggle to choose between bodybuilding sessions and family or work. Yet, even those who structure weight lifting and diet around a daily, organized regimen many times will encounter unexpected scenarios that cause them to rearrange their day, and for those who become obsessive over muscle gain, this can produce intense internal stress, to the point where other far more critical aspects of life are ignored in favor of a workout. For most, careful scheduling is sufficient to avoid any regular occurrences that promote skipped meals or abandoned weight lifting workouts, but life has a way of offering unexpected inconveniences, and when bodybuilding begins to occupy a far more important segment of life than that of its true classification (a hobby), relationships and our obligation to helping those around us can suffer greatly, leading to a loss of proper perspective on the meaning of our very existence.

Bodybuilding in and of itself is innocent, and does not need to become a narcissistic pursuit used to base every aspect of confidence and self worth upon, yet for some, this is exactly what transpires, and bodybuilders begin valuing themselves based upon the type of attention they receive from others, which correlates with the amount of muscle mass that they carry on a given day. Steroids complicate this matter further, as a bodybuilder establishes a status quo that is based on drug abuse, and to maintain an identical level of superficial attention from others, steroids need to remain a constant, and this leads to a powerful psychological addiction, both to drug abuse and the bodybuilding lifestyle.

Many families are ruined by various addictions, including drugs, alcohol and pornography, but while few consider physical fitness to be a dangerous pursuit, bodybuilding is a hobby that can generate obsessive feelings that will alienate a weight lifter from others, to the point where life begins to revolve around a mere workout and diet regimen, with all else occupying a lower priority. This skewed psychological framework destroys marriages, causes a level of obsession with self that eventually leads to infidelity, and will result in a level of sadness and grief that can lead to severe depression and a plethora of addictions, such as those mentioned.

To avoid such one dimensional thinking, a bodybuilder should place the hobby in proper perspective, knowing that a meaningful existence is based upon how we love God and others, with making those around us feel special and wanted ranking far above whether we have a large biceps muscle or ripped abs; giving to others is what fuels true happiness. Yet, this does not in any way suggest that bodybuilding is contradictory to a well adjusted, selfless existence, as the vast majority, with disciplined scheduling, can easily integrate an effective bodybuilding routine into their lifestyle without harming relationships or daily obligations, yet for this to successfully occur, organization is of utmost importance. Those who do not follow a structured timetable towards daily activities feel overwhelmed with what they must accomplish, but if carefully analyzing their day, will find that much time was squandered specifically due to haphazard living.

Therefore, to reduce the chance that bodybuilding will conflict with life's more pressing concerns, choose specific weight lifting workout and diet times that do not adversely impact family, friends or work, and do so knowing that if unexpected distractions surface, you will rearrange your schedule to focus upon the most important concerns first, so that bodybuilding compliments a happy, well adjusted life, as opposed to severing the harmony and peace that we all strive for.