It's a manner of speech and writing. Someone carries themselves with a certain posture, usually unconsciously, and people tend to believe a certain set of things about them.
Karla speaks as herself, presumably as a 40something woman with lots of experience in life and has a certain writing style.
It gets interpreted by some to seem rather authoritative because it's not prefaced with comments about opinions, thoughts, etc. She's not a diffident lady who feels the need to say "I think" every time she has a thought.
It's not that you're saying you're an expert, Karla, it's just that you have a tone that makes others believe such.
It's a pain in the ass to "correct" so that others better understand that yes, sometimes you might just be talking out your ass. You're just naturally a certain kind of communicator.
But unfortunately sometimes you get read as more expert than you might be, and that could sometimes be a problem, especially to someone who doesn't take the time to read about who and where you are. Someone asks a question and you offer up your opinion on a solution. To some, they understand that this is your opinion, based on your current knowledge set. To others, they see a definitive answer to their question.
You're past the stage of a twenty-something lady who needs to struggle to assert herself and be taken seriously in her area of expertise... you're kinda the opposite of that.
Coming from someone who has had that issue herself, I'm just relating what I see.
/standard disclaimer that I might just be talking out my ass...
as an outsider to this part of the discussion, I can see how one would interpret you as a figure of authority based on your avatar
The title "Senior Member" also confers some gravitas, although I think it's merely a function of someone's post count (?). FWIW, I've been actively lifting weights for 4 years and the more I learn about the sport, the more I appreciate how little I really know.
Karla, I don't have anything to add of substance; however, I'm hopeful that you will take the comments made by a number of folks about your "aura" to heart and try to adapt your writing style somewhat to accommodate their concerns. Be a little more humble and less strident, and all will be well. A minor adjustment is needed here.
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"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
Karla, I didn't mean that the guys who'd been conversing in this thread were newbies, I meant the newbies around the forum. The NROL4W book brought a lot of people totally new to fitness and nutrition, for instance. Many of them look up to you because you've made tremendous progress in a short period of time.
While you're free to put whatever you want in your log, when I see someone else (who's new) respond that they're going to change their behavior based on what you're doing, I shake my head because those things won't necessarily work for them, nor are they always working for you the way you think they might be.
I don't have a problem with you changing your mind about something, your philosophy in regards to fitness and nutrition, or changing the conclusions about what you've been doing. Hell, I don't do half the crap I did to lose my 50lbs anymore.
I know that over the past few months you've made great progress and turned your body around dramatically. Props to you on that.
I think Nick might have something with the avatar. That's probably part of it. It looks studly and confident. Combine that with statements and advice that are put very strongly and confidently and you have an "air of authority." When you go to a nutrition thread and say something that looks definitive compared to the rest of the ideas and opinions, people slant toward the definitive advice. New people want to be told what to do, not given choices and be encouraged to consider the options.
I don't want to sound patronizing, but I remember the day you joined up here. You asked lots of good questions and learned so much, so quickly. You totally changed your paradigms about fitness and nutrition and saw things really take off! We were all really happy to read the posts of wide eyed wonderment (that's the not patronizing part) as you got fit and strong so fast. Hard work and all, but like a light switch too, in some ways. It was truly fun to follow along and see someone learning and inspiring others to kick things up and get fit, too.
Guys thanks for the advice... It is very helpful for me. You know people always tell me that I am a natural leader, and yet I never believe it until things like this happen. It boggles my mind in fact to tell ya the truth because (honestly) I see myself as an eternal beginner and have much less confidence inside of me than Iapparently project.
Roland you are right about my log. I look at it like a place where I can just say whatever I want to because it is MY BLOG and that is where people talk out of their asses. But you are right that there have been many instances where people have decided to do what I do. I am pretty sure that I have always told them though that it might not work for them. I will make sure in the future to do that if I haven't in the past. I am not really sure what esle to do about that. When somenone makes good progress there will be people looking to copy exactly with the hopes.... I am posting in my log to help people see that these sorts of changes are really possible with enough focus and hard work and honestly I feel like anyone can do what I do if they could be as consistent. That is the trick and the secret to all the progress. I am deadly consistent in my diet and workouts. I realize that most people do not have the ability to invest that much time into their own plan though so they have to find what works for them. I always support that to the extent that I can. Of course it is fun to have some of the banter and all that other stuff in there but my hope is that my BLOG is an inspiration to people more than anything.
RE the avitar. Great observation Nick. I never thought of it at all like that but I think you have something there. I'll see what I can do about coming up with something different but to be fair, you need to change yours because I am pretty sure that you are misleading me with that hot chicka pic! LOL!
Actually I want to also change my "senior member" status. I have been wanting to do that for awhile but haven't seen where that option is. Can someone walk me through that? Finally I will add a disclaimer to my posts as well (via a signature) so that people know that I am a newbie rather than a senior member since it will most probably be the case that I won't be able to change very quickly or entirely my way of communicating.
Again much appreciation for bringing this out and working with me to make it better for everyone. Please feel free to PM me or nudge me otherwise when you see infractions in the future so that I can fix it.
speaking of bodybuilding -
there was an article in one of the British papers about a photographer, Joachim Ladefoged who apparently published a book that is a series of art photos of Danish bodybuilders.
a gallery of some of the photos is here (warning, I find these vary odd and some are technically NSFW) - and it is photo-art rather than BB focused
speaking of bodybuilding -
there was an article in one of the British papers about a photographer, Joachim Ladefoged who apparently published a book that is a series of art photos of Danish bodybuilders.
a gallery of some of the photos is here (warning, I find these vary odd and some are technically NSFW) - and it is photo-art rather than BB focused
...that just ruined my day....you know exactly which picture I am referring to.
speaking of bodybuilding -
there was an article in one of the British papers about a photographer, Joachim Ladefoged who apparently published a book that is a series of art photos of Danish bodybuilders.
a gallery of some of the photos is here (warning, I find these vary odd and some are technically NSFW) - and it is photo-art rather than BB focused
That was some disturbing yet excellent photography.
Jesus WEPT! Who wants to look like this? That has little to do with training and mostly to do with such massive amounts of steroids and GH that I'm surprised he hasn't kicked the bucket yet.
I am pretty sure that even our resident bb'ers recognize that none of these guys are natural.
Jesus WEPT! Who wants to look like this? That has little to do with training and mostly to do with such massive amounts of steroids and GH that I'm surprised he hasn't kicked the bucket yet.
I am pretty sure that even our resident bb'ers recognize that none of these guys are natural.
JP, it deals with personal preference.
Of course we're not oblivious, every pro since the late 50s has used steroids (and hgh after Yates). You can, however, take piles of juice of not gain. You have to put in the work.
Of course we're not oblivious, every pro since the late 50s has used steroids (and hgh after Yates). You can, however, take piles of juice of not gain. You have to put in the work.
If studies meant anything I could cite little things like this where a no-exercise group added lean mass by taking T. Yes, exercise helped add more, but a boosted endocrine system is still pretty powerful.
__________________ Megaloi -- My Blog
"Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers."
- Mignon McLaughlin
No, steroids don't do it for you, but they sure do facilitate things.
You can 1) work harder w/o negative consequences and 2) get greater benefit per amount of work.
Whereas a one-hour workout might net 1 arbitrary unit of return and a two-hour workout would be too much to recover from, add in even a moderate dose of AAS and now you not only get 1.5 units of return from that hour in the gym, you can get 2-2.5 from that two hour session. Do more work, and recover from that work, and of course you'll see better results.
That's irrespective of the fact that androgens do Good Things (TM) to muscle fibers and protein synthesis rates (which is actually how they cause all this to happen).
To say that "it's not drugs, it's hard work" is dismissive of the fact that the drugs do indeed change the equation. No one is (well, I'm not) denying that you still have to work hard and put in the time, but deflecting the topic away from the drugs is pointless: people take them for a reason.
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Articles | Blog | Pirate my book. "Yeah, but you did your post grad thesis on trolling, so you don't count."
-JP, endorsing how awesome I am
No, steroids don't do it for you, but they sure do facilitate things.
You can 1) work harder w/o negative consequences and 2) get greater benefit per amount of work.
Whereas a one-hour workout might net 1 arbitrary unit of return and a two-hour workout would be too much to recover from, add in even a moderate dose of AAS and now you not only get 1.5 units of return from that hour in the gym, you can get 2-2.5 from that two hour session. Do more work, and recover from that work, and of course you'll see better results.
That's irrespective of the fact that androgens do Good Things (TM) to muscle fibers and protein synthesis rates (which is actually how they cause all this to happen).
To say that "it's not drugs, it's hard work" is dismissive of the fact that the drugs do indeed change the equation. No one is (well, I'm not) denying that you still have to work hard and put in the time, but deflecting the topic away from the drugs is pointless: people take them for a reason.
I fully agree. I'm saying to get a back like Joel Stubbs you need Hard Work+AAS. Not half-ass work+AAS.
One of the great things about androgens is they tend to raise basal levels of protein synthesis. So not only do you get a nice effect around training, you get the basal benefits all of the time you are not training.
If you go back to the NEJM paper that compared rest, rest+steroids, training, training+steroids, the effects of training and androgens appears additive...
You can, however, take piles of juice of not gain. You have to put in the work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fulmen
I'm saying to get a back like Joel Stubbs you need Hard Work+AAS. Not half-ass work+AAS.
Your second quote I agree with. The first quote was exaggeration.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cycomiko
If you go back to the NEJM paper that compared rest, rest+steroids, training, training+steroids, the effects of training and androgens appears additive...
Bingo.
__________________ Megaloi -- My Blog
"Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers."
- Mignon McLaughlin
RE the avitar. Great observation Nick. I never thought of it at all like that but I think you have something there. I'll see what I can do about coming up with something different but to be fair, you need to change yours because I am pretty sure that you are misleading me with that hot chicka pic! LOL!
Hah! When I first came here I wasn't sure if Nick was a man, or that really hot chick in his avatar
Okay ladies and gents. Please let me know if this new AVI is too badass for the board. I have a geeky shot I could use too but it just doesn't work as well. I will consent if this one risks the same misconceptions...
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But you are right that there have been many instances where people have decided to do what I do. I am pretty sure that I have always told them though that it might not work for them. I will make sure in the future to do that if I haven't in the past. I am not really sure what esle to do about that. When somenone makes good progress there will be people looking to copy exactly with the hopes.... I am posting in my log to help people see that these sorts of changes are really possible with enough focus and hard work and honestly I feel like anyone can do what I do if they could be as consistent. That is the trick and the secret to all the progress. I am deadly consistent in my diet and workouts. I realize that most people do not have the ability to invest that much time into their own plan though so they have to find what works for them. I always support that to the extent that I can. Of course it is fun to have some of the banter and all that other stuff in there but my hope is that my BLOG is an inspiration to people more than anything.
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