Cork

What about other people's numbers? My training partner (who I've taken from square 1) hit 315lbs for a double on rack deads yesterday and I couldn't be more proud! He's only been lifting for a year.

I think we are missing the point here. I would totally put a bumper sticker on a Ferrari. Especially one that says "I have a Ferrari, and you dont."

It's funny you mention that. When a man tells a woman that she should train like a man, she says "I don't want to get big." When a woman tells a woman to lift weights, she's all ears. I've been with my now-fiancee for 6 years. It had taken 5 years of browbeating to finally get her to lift like me. It's been a year and she loves the results.

Oh man, I'm glad that there are some enthusiasts in here! Ursula, sorry to single you out, but those trainers are only continuing to endorse antiquated beliefs and it's so frustrating to hear it still being repeated. Women and men should train the same. You don't have testacles so you will never have to worry about getting huge. Using heavy resistance training will make you feel way better. Also, repetitive core training is not what is making your waist smaller. Your diet and improved fitness level are doing that. With normal gym routines and a healthy diet, your waistline will see improvement whether you do core training or not. If you start training like a guy, and you do realize you're putting on too much muscle for your taste, it is so easy to lose muscle if you get to that point. Nice numbers at that BW RoryQ. Hopefully you have a fast recovery from that neck injury. Anyone dabble in a competitive nature? I've stepped on stage as a bodybuilder, as much as I hate to consider myself one. I want to start getting in to strongman, but I need bigger numbers first. My overhead press is pathetic. Tattoos in the gym...Don't even get me started on that subject. Bro tattoos are the worst. The most common I see are Bible references in script that is so tiny that now that it's aged it just looks like scribble, surrounded by some weird looking clouds with rays of light coming out of it. Speaking of lifting blogs, my favorite is by far ChAoS & PAIN . Very NSFW, this guy is hilarious.

Excellent thread idea. This area is my forte. I'll put it out there that if anyone has any questions about exercise and nutrition, I'll be glad to help out. I've been a student of Wendler's 531 for about 3 years, but now I prescribe to the Juggernaut System because of its higher volume and inclusion of sprinting. I don't know how many people are as serious about lifting as I am, so I imagine that that flew over a lot of people's heads. Let's say I lift for strength with a side dose of hypertrophy based on percentages of a 1 rep max. I am a strength sports enthusiast.

When I got my chest done, the skin was very tight and sensitive. I had an upper body day scheduled after my tattoo but I couldn't go through with it because any motion that put any kind of stretch on the pec felt like it was tearing the skin. I couldn't even do push ups. Being that the tattoo is on your forearm, there isn't a lot of skin stretching in that area, so you would probably be fine. Just keep it clean!

I get all my important news from Yahoo! Nick Hill Insert *eyeroll* here. The reason I post this is because IMO, it doesn't look nearly as good as it should. The spear isn't even straight. Maybe compared to other college sports tattoos it looks pretty good though I guess.

No no, see, the tattooer comes right to you and does it in your living room. Talk about service! When I got my pec done, I was in the laying down position, I had to sit on my hand to stop my shoulder from tweaking out. I'm in the same boat as you with it, it was totally involuntary. Flexing the fingers and making a fist seemed to help too. I think it was just a circulation problem from being locked in to one position for a long time.

So what you're saying is that you're going to open up a combination tattoo and sushi parlor? I'll come out for that!

@jade1955 I don't want to make things awkward but I like your penis.

Do people with Japanese art on them believe in that specific deity? I'm okay with people getting religious symbols on them depending on what it is. I know a professed Satan worshiper who has Jesus Christ on his neck. In that case I feel that it's out of place.

So I just read the first 15 pages and I'm skipping the last 10. What have I learned from all this? Next time I go to get a tattoo, I am just simply going to point at the artist, point at the location I want something done in, and then point to the reference material I brought with me so as to not offend anyone.

I love the look of B&W realism. That Yoda looks badass, and so does the Vader from what I see.

I think the biggest problem with tattoos in the workplace is when trying to acquire a job. I feel as though that a lot of people still view tattoos as an irresponsible thing to do. Just the whole view of "Man, I just had this weekend bender in Vegas, and look at the tattoo I got!" imparts some degree of a lack of intelligence. During the interview process, it's important to show intelligence and responsibility. Honestly, as contradictory as this sounds being that I have a tattoo myself, if I were to interview 2 identical people with identical experience in my field, 1 had no tattoos showing, and the other had several showing, I'd hire the one with no visible tattoos. Maybe I'm also affected by the longstanding bias and view of tattoos. I don't know how to put this to not offend anyone... can we break down jobs into higher degree and lower degree? Say for example, jobs where it's common for people to have Masters and/or Doctorates as the higher degree, and then Highschool and/or Bachelors for lower degree? In the higher degree situations, I feel that tattoos will directly have an impact on your career. That's the point I'm trying to get across with regards to the mentality of tattoos showing a lack of education. I have a Bachelors myself, but I work with a ton of Masters and Doctorates. I don't know a single one of them who have a tattoo. I don't know if it is indeed an education level view of it, or just the current generation that is holding those jobs, but there is definitely a bias.

Is the removal process worse, less, or equally painful to actually get the tattoo?

How do you guys have the money for all this?!

I'm going. Time to finally meet faces!

I got my tattoo finished up in October and I won't be going under the gun again any time soon. I'm in Kev's boat with needing to save. Wedding and a house are coming up. Other than that, I did reach out to Dana Helmuth and he said he is interested in my idea. I'll be getting in touch with him once I'm ready financially, which will hopefully be 2013 at the latest.

hawk, well said! I'm only a beginner to the tattoo world, so I'm going to speak on a strictly business mindset. It's funny that hawk mentioned McD's as I was going to make the same comparison. No matter how "mainstream" tattooing becomes, there will always be a demand for high quality work from reputable artists. The best thing you can hope to do to survive is be open to all and build a solid reputation. Tattooing is small business. It's no lie that the majority of small businesses (in USA) fail. You have to put the time and energy into it. You can't give up or lose hope because of scratchers and low quality work. I'll draw a parallel too. I make home brew beer and I give it to my friends and family, it's good stuff. No matter how much I brew though, I, my family, and friends will always be buying from other craft breweries because of solid reputation and selection.

Ah yes, I have seen your gallery. Power lifters come in all shapes and sizes though. You never know who competes in what these days. I know a couple 165lb lifters and I'd never guess what they were capable of if I hadn't seen it first hand.

I feel as though it was subliminal for me to check out this thread. Talk of squat and dead lifting nary sneaks under my radar. I take it one of you is crossfit and the other is a powerlifter? I share your enthusiasm for dot and spider fillers as well as barbell antics. I really like the look of fillers, it brings it all together and just makes it look complete.

That brings back fond memories of my nipple area getting tattooed. @embers I'd really like to see more pics of that sleeve.

I love this thread. Can't wait to post pics in it again, haha!

I can't help it but whenever I hear Rock of Ages I think of Def Leppard. Definitely some awesome pieces in here though.