Guys. Did you have weights, or work out equipment in your 20s?

I think it's more of a self-motivation thing when someone does the physical exercise consistently. If they start young usually they will stay doing it fairly consistently for the rest of their lives unless of course a crippling illness or disease stops them.
 

By my early 20's I had 550lbs. of weights, I remember because I could dead lift everything I had. I had built a squat rack and a heavy duty bench, and had everything set up in a room I remodeled in my moms house.

I had some buddies that would come by a few evenings a week and we would lift weights and talk about girls. Good times.
 
I was married with children when I was in my 20s, and weights were never on the shopping list. But my younger brother had a set, and a bench as well. They were in his garage. I used to go over to his place on a Saturday to take turns doing lifts and presses with him, and my wife would get really mad.

Looking back, I can't say I blame her....a young girl home with 2 babies all day through the week, and dumb daddy takes off on Saturday to lift dumb-bells. But I was so jealous of his set up, man. If he'd been married, I'd have taken my wife and kids, but then, me and him would've still been out in the garage the whole time...she probly wouldn't have been any happier with that.

Did I mention the part where he lived almost 20 miles away? Jeez, I was dumb. But I think I only went over there like 5 times. Only šŸ¤Ŗ

Adding practically imperceptible bulk wasn't worth going home to an angry young wife.

When the weather turned nice, my brother moved his weights and bench out onto his patio, and was too lazy to take it all back in when winter came. A couple months later his $1,000 weight set was ruined. From my perspective, that was like dumping 4 months worth of groceries into a landfill. Priorities adjusted.
 
These days, I get my workout lifting big block cyl heads (76 lb ea) up and over the fender of the car. Then, for a bench press, I lay under and lift the T-10 trans (70 lbs.) up and install.
Sadly, I've been doing this a few too many times to suit me.
 
I still do. I have an exercise room and hit it 3 times a week at least. DId a stairbastrd for 30 years till the 2nd one broke. Now have a stationary recumbent bike and bench to work out on...I did nautilus machines and stairmaster each day for 15 years in my 30s and 40s.
 
I had the standard 110 lb set that most sporting goods shops offered back then. My iron weights were covered with an orange/red hard plastic to prevent rust and make them quieter. When I joined the Navy, I gave the set to a young cousin.
 
In my late teens, I did bodybuilding for a couple of years. I had one barbell and bench and several dumbbells, so I didn't have to keep adjusting weights. It made a difference and people noticed. By my twenties I moved on to basketball. Today I have a bench and weights in my living room. It's not about building muscle or strength anymore. It just helps at times, when I feel a weakness, usually in my back. I hike most every day. It's just a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours, and my dog loves it. There is no doubt that it's his favorite thing to do. I no longer try to break a sweat. It's a very comfortable activity.
 
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I worked out with weights in High School. Then took a 40 year break and started again at age 58. I was able to make progress for a couple of years but never got back to what I could lift in High School. Then around age 70 things started to go downhill. I still do bench presses but at nowhere near what I could do at my peak. Still I think lifting at least slows down your decline.
 
In high school I worked out after school and ran track. In my 20s I had free weights in the house and used them. In my 30s I had a full weight system bolted to the wall, complete with bench and pulleys, installed in a spare bedroom. I was too busy working to use it very often, but in my early 40s when we moved to Dallas I joined a gym. I've been going to the gym for 19 years now. I've just made it a part of my weekly routine so it is never an effort to go. When I was young, I did it for muscle. Now it's just to maintain muscle tone and flexibility.
 
squatting dog said:
No, but, while laying underneath, I did dead lift a lot of Cat Dozer D5C belly pans. Does that count? ;)

Info: The approximate weight of a belly pan for a Caterpillar D5C Hi-Trac dozer is 196 lbs (88.91 kg).
Click to expand...
I can relate SD, as I used to do heavy equipment repair myself.

I noticed another poster did as well. Apparently there are a few of us on here anyway.
 

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