Used to Be

I've almost managed to convince myself that almost every athlete I've spoken to has at one time or another, been bigger, stronger, or faster than me. Is it just me, or does anyone else happen to encounter these ol' "back in the day" clowns. Not to say I'm any fitness genius or natural born athlete, but my progress has far exceeded my expectations, and for someone to come around and attempt to discredit this leaves alot of room for question.

Not to say I don't believe you used to bench 400 pounds in high school but, well.. I don't. I would appreciate if I could silently enjoy my progress and personal records in peace without your self-regarding commentary. Especially if no one asked for it!

Honestly though, who are these guys, and most importantly, where have their gains vanished to!? It's always a case of, "I used to look like this," or "I used to be able to lift this," but almost never any show.   Furthermore, why are you so concerned with a previous version of yourself?  For lack of better term, if you were "the shit" back in the day, and you look or perform like "shit" now, who exactly are you entitled to be preaching to?

I wouldn't have as much of a problem with this kind of thing if I didn't believe people did this in order to bring people down or to make themselves seem better than someone. We all work hard for our personal progress, not anyone else's at the end of the day. Bringing each other up and hailing our progress makes the fitness world more conducive for growth!