Bodybuilding.com - Robben Salyers's BodySpace

Personal Info And Background:

Real Name:	Robben Salyers
Sex:	Male
Age:	47
Location:	Maple Plain, Minnesota, United States
Occupation:	Business Owner
Personal Website:	http://www.bodybuilders.com/robbens.htm
Primary Gym:
College:
High School:
When I Started:	Feb, 2004
How I Started:	As the story goes on the hows and whys of why and how I got started at bodybuilding it goes like this. I was sitting in my favorite bar, a nice bar at that, having a drink, when I caught a glimpse of myself in the bar mirrors. It was a simple 'Moment of Truth.' I now was that guy with the spare tire of "fat" using the aid of an untucked shirt to cover it all up... How could this be? When did I become a jelly belly? The realization was simple. The combination of age, running a business and being a dad had taken its toll. At that moment, I discovered the "want" and the "will" to put myself back together. I thought all I needed was to lose about 10 pounds (No big deal!). Well... that "No big deal!" turned out to be 50 pounds of pure fat. During the early stages of my transformation, by dumb luck, I ended up going to a bodybuilding competition in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As I watched the guys hitting their poses, I said to myself: I can do that! I leaned over to my then six-year old son and asked him if he thought I could do this... Looking up from his Gameboy with his big brown eyes, he said: "Yeah, Dad, you can be a showoff!" And then, coolly, he went back to playing his Gameboy. It was less than nine months from that "Moment of Truth" in the bar, that I got up on the NPC stage and became a bodybuilder. I still laugh with family and friends about my transformation; the journey I have taken... We laugh because who would ever have thought that this Dad, in his forties, would become a "Cool Dad" to his kids and a hard body that now steps onto the NPC stage. And that is the story on how I got started. So if I can do it. Anyone can do it... All it takes is the will and the want.
Why I Love It:	You know, it's not about moving the weight. For me, it's more about true presence - it's being there - it's being in the now - enjoying the moment. If the workout is done right, there's this wonderful kind of energy that becomes in the gym. So to me, it's very much about recognizing this energy and creating from it a physique that my spirit, my soul wants to live in. The gym is a place where I create art from the within and in the without.
How I Stay Motivated:	From these eyes, staying movtivated is simply doing "One rep - One set - One workout at a time". And as I walk out of the gym I always say to myself, "I'll be back tomorrow". One of many realities is this: So many people, day in and day out give it their best effort to run away from their workouts. Are you one those kinds of people?
BB Accomplishments:	No titles, no awards; the only accomplishement I have is the desire, the passion, the will and the want, to help others find themselves in the gym.
Forum Signature:	~The important thing is to recognize our faults, avoid self-denial, and have the courage and self-sufficiency to make constant adjustment in our lives~
Last Updated: May 1, 2008 5:30pm