Bodybuilding may look like pure vanity to some, but it is a grueling process physically and mentally. Ignacio Arienza shares his story.

Photos show a 4-month physical change (All pictures were taken by Veronica T.)

You know, most of the time, we think we have it all planned out and we think we know what we want, and that it is enough to get us there. We assume that just by thinking about something, we already know how we are going to react to it when it finally happens. We create this overly confident attitude based on assumptions. Yet, most of the time, things happen quite differently than what we originally had in mind. Feelings gets mixed, emotions get twisted, and that over confidence we once had falls apart leaving us in pure crisis over what we really know and what we think we do, and that applies to almost everything in life. Most people do not understand the sport of bodybuilding. What I do… or why? They may even question how it is possible that I do such things for pleasure. Yet, one thing is certain, they might not understand my reasons, but they can see my work, my determination if they choose to look at my physique with an open mind.

I say this because, it may look shallow and even dramatic from the outside perspective, but honestly the inner self gets beaten up repeatedly by oneself if one does not know how to manage the concept of process and progress. 

Bodybuilding for many people has worked as a powerful tool to retake control over their lives. To reestablish one’s relationship with themselves. For me, bodybuilding happened out of nowhere. Recalling five years ago, I remember that my girlfriend started to go to the gym and so It pushed me to try it out. Since day one I truly felt connected to that mentality, almost as if I belonged there, that was my Batcave. At the time I did not know I was going to end on the path that I find myself today, but I knew that the gym had become a part of my life. 

Bodybuilding gave me back something I thought I had lost a long time ago, control.

A Couple of years before I started going to the gym, I had constant cases of tonsilitis. Every couple of weeks I would get sick and stuck inside my house for days, until one day, when a doctor found a solution. He told me that I would be better off having a surgery to remove my tonsils, and never having to deal with such pain again, and so that what I did. It was Christmas night of 2015, some days after the surgery was done. I remember eating chocolate ice cream while my whole family was having a feast. After that, we all went to bed. That night changed my perspective of life. It was 3:00am and I woke up terrified, I was drowning in my own blood. What had happened was that my stitching had gotten loose and so what was keeping my throat together fell apart… not being able to hold the blood inside, I found myself drowning on my bed at the middle of the night, I was fifteen years old. 

I am still alive.

Well, all I can say is that I am still alive, and we got in time to the hospital. After that I realized how little control I had over everything really in my life. What could I eat and when? What could I do and when? When would I be able to do normal things again? It changed me, it brought me to an amazing realization of meaning, and belief that every single day matters. And it is up to me to make it worth it. There ain’t one day which I let myself go, because I know that we as humans are too vulnerable to place all our faith in the idea that “I’ll do it tomorrow”, yet we are not wise to take into account if “we will be here tomorrow”. With Bodybuilding I know that not only everyday counts but also that every meal, every sleep, every minute counts. Some days are harder than others sure, but that’s life. Most of the time life is a choice.

We either adapt to it or cry over it.  

Bodybuilding requires me to consume up to 2,000 grams of food on the daily. Those foods are mainly meats, rice or pasta with healthy fats such as nuts. The amount of food I consume can deeply interfere with my mood, my energy and even alter my ego, but it does not interfere on my goal.

Depleting food or cutting food generates insomnia as my body is constantly wanting to hunt for food, not to mention strong joint pain. But the pain, it matters, it works as a constant reminder that nothing comes easy and that nothing is or will ever be perfect.

We must learn to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

For instance, last summer during quarantine 2020, I lost about 20 kilos from my last bulking season. At the time seeing the results, I wasn’t satisfied with my physique, as I thought the results would be more drastic. But about a month ago, seeing a picture from that same day – June 2020, I can appreciate much more my work and my physique. I realize it now, is because we tend to judge ourselves very critically in this sport, so much that we forget about our improvements.

The truth is overall satisfaction kills the ability to build and the motivation to create, and those who are 100% satisfied with what they have, do not aim for more.

That is just not who I am.