Anyway, i thought it would be good to show you a sort of before and after kind of shot. after all, through weight training and diet, i managed to manipulate my entire body's frame in time, ask any dedicated bodybuilder, and he'll tell you ...
''it's the longest art from but the shortest sport there is.''
the first picture is in year11 at school, so roughly around 3 years ago. I was about this size
(frame not height obviously) all my life. 
Now, the Elly you all know and .... erm ... are ok with today....
(Edit: this pic is actually about a year old, but i haven't got any more recent that are as flattering)
I had an interesting comment from Tutor Phil, on an earlier blog entry : ''why are you building your body?''
Short answer: I like what follows the built body i.e. the competing, the training, the diet, i enjoy it all
Long answer: when i first began bodybuilding, i wasn't in the best place of my life, without going into too much detail, i needed to have something to set my mind to, so i chose something I'd pondered on doing for a while anyway.
as soon as 6 months passed and old acquaintances would say ''blimey elly, u 'narf got big'' I fell in love with what I'd created! almost like an addiction, i got bigger and bigger...each session the weights got heavier and heavier, even to this day they still do!
after competing for the first time, i realised, this is who i am, it's not just superficial, i love the training, i love the early mornings and the late nights, the sore backs, the swollen legs and kneecap blowouts, it was finally something that i had to call my own.
Just as an artist draws inspiration from another, I have mine for this. Lee Priest.
Lee's about 5ft 3', a tiny guy, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in determination and brawn. a true champion, and you couldn't meet a nicer bloke if you tried! really down to earth guy, and an amazing 'sculptor'.
A fine example of his work, I think i still have a bit more to do however :/ ... thanks Lee
Hey Elliot, you know you really write very well - very entertainingly - and this is some very honest and frank writing. You're obviously a very bright lad; I'm looking forward to your essay; I don't know if you've got a question for it yet, but their might be a way for you to talk about the representation of male identity; for instance, you describe yourself as being a 'pencil neck' and now you're obviously more confident, because you've changed your shape; do you feel pressure from advertisement etc.? Do you think men are under as much pressure as women now to look 'perfect'? Discuss! :-)
ReplyDeletei always think, if you write boring, you're going to be bored. right?
ReplyDeletei was actually struggling a bit on an essay question, i dont think i've been given this much responsibilty since being handed metal cutlery for the first time.
i'll definatly have to think about it a bit more without a doubt.
thanks for the idea though, definatly better than what i had.