What are your hobbies?

thought it might be interesting to find out what you all do in your spare time...your passion or hobby

I used to do oil paintings of the race horses...and have some lovely drawings including the trotters....I did some work on commission a few years back....
I grew up with horses, and had a knack for detailed drawings....but on average takes me about 4 months to do the oils....I like to do the horses racing in action towards the finish line....
have not done any for awhile...and consider myself one of the best horse artists alive today....a lot of todays artists cannot do the legs and hooves correctly...imo
have a lovely portrait of Vo Rogue....what a stunner he was...and arrogant
both my brothers trained and raced horses....the younger one was a jockey to begin with..then went on to train for the rest of his life
I also like photography....
so when I become more attuned to this retirement thing... hope I can allocate more time to my hobbies
cheers
ps I could put photos of my work on here for you to see...but it leaves me exposed to others copying it
oh and I did a watercolour of a sheep :sheep:

I like pyrotechnics, but australia is a very anti commercial fireworks country compared to the rest of the world.

hello,

travelling on public transport,

thankyou
robots

good one...
recall when we used to have that fireworks day....someone , a big boy, put about 20 of the big sky rockets in a bottle on the fence....then lit one of them....that one sent the others off, bottle fell over and these crackers were going horizontal all over the place, about 1 metre high off the ground....luckily no one was hurt...we were in a house next to a major freeway...the rockets went across the freeway.....I was just a visitor...but freaking out with all the kids around

funny story...couple of mates out on the farm in woop woop, letting off rockets....one rocket fizzled out and went into the dam...the dog automatically retrieved it....would have loved to see the expression on their faces, when the mates spotted the dog hurtling towards them with the rocket in its mouth.....heard they dived under the cars.. luckily they scared the dog and it dropped it.....and no one, not even the dog was hurt....

we seem to have a lot of fireworks here in Melb....often hear them...think they are in the city or at docklands, robots might know more about that

blissbomb...now thats an appropriate name...
I was thinking more along the lines of the sweets...lolly gobble bliss bombs.....safeway occassionaly had them on the shelves last year.

Soccer (and other sports thrown in) fishing, hunting, target shooting.

Oh and of course cooking

Bodybuilding - but I'm not sure you'd class it as a "hobby", its more of a "lifestyle".

A simple overview of bodybuilding: You stand on stage under bright lights, and you are judged on your physique. You do 12 mandatory poses, and are judged on symmetry, size, shape, and condition (condition is how 'lean' or 'ripped' you are). There are different federations (some drug tested, some not), and different divisions - age classes, novice division, etc. but the open classes are generally height or weight based.

It affects nearly every aspect of my life, due to the amount of time, effort and money that is required. I eat 8-10 meals per day. Apart from when I am asleep, I don't go any longer than 2hrs without food. If I go anywhere for more than 2hrs, I take a cooler bag and food with me. I eat throughout the day at work, but continue working whilst eating. I spend a minimum of 1hr per day preparing food (some days longer).

My weekly food bill is $120. Add to that vitamins, protein powder, supplements, etc. its probably more like $200 per week. I train so hard that I often throw up. I am sore for days after training.

During the off season I am often full, yet I still have to eat. When getting ready for a comp (usually 4 months dieting), I am often starving 20mins after eating, yet have to wait 2hrs for my next meal. I spend all year getting ready for a comp, yet will only be on stage for 15-30 minutes. By trying something different in the final week to improve myself another 5%, I risk it back firing and looking like crap, and all my hard work will be wasted.

The majority of people who have no idea about bodybuilding think you are dumb or on steroids, or that its "not healthy".

I don't go out partying, dont play sports, and rarely drink (last drink I had was nearly 18 months ago). Obviously not all bodybuilders are like this, some take it more seriously than others.

Genetics play a major role, and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it (except be the best my genetics will allow me).

Despite all this, I love bodybuilding. And wouldn't have it any other way. Here are a few pic's from when I last competed (end of 2007). At the moment I plan on competing again at the end of this year. If I don't, its no big loss - I'll just keep training, get bigger and compete next year.

(I dont have a fake tan in the pic of my back, because it was taken at home a few weeks before a comp - not at a comp)

hello,

top effort Gav, thats dedication to the cause man

love the photo bottom left, genetics sure play the part as i am an ectomorph

thankyou
robots

Being outdoors (one of the reason the thought of living in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane etc makes me cringe and want to slit my throat )

Hiking (up behind Paluma Dam, Townsville)


Camping (Simpson Desert)


Mountain Bike Riding (Makara Peak, New Zealand)


(and racing), (RRR, Cairns, North Qld)



Ocean Kayaking is something I want to get into some more

and I wish I could take a decent photo


I used to do a lot of off road motorbike riding (including some long distance adventure stuff)

but gave that away to try and cut my carbon footprint.

I used to body build 25 year or so ago, well done Gav (I had good muscle size but struggled in the definition stakes !), not at you level though.. now.. sigh.. WAY to fat. Always thought about trying to find a training partner and getting back into it...

gav said:

Bodybuilding - but I'm not sure you'd class it as a "hobby", its more of a "lifestyle".


It affects nearly every aspect of my life, due to the amount of time, effort and money that is required. I eat 8-10 meals per day. Apart from when I am asleep, I don't go any longer than 2hrs without food. If I go anywhere for more than 2hrs, I take a cooler bag and food with me. I eat throughout the day at work, but continue working whilst eating. I spend a minimum of 1hr per day preparing food (some days longer).

I train so hard that I often throw up. I am sore for days after training.

Click to expand...

In all seriousness...how does this affect your social life? Are most your friends fellow body builders? Or so you have a very wide diverse range of friendships.

How does this affect your sex life?

I'm not having a go at you. But I can't see how I'd ever be happy commiting 100% of my life to an all consuming thing.

Soccer, boxing, trading, waching documentaries.

Which comp do you compete in once a year Gav and in what class?

I actually know quite a few bodybuilders, tough tough sport, especially towards the end of your ripping diet hey!

hello,

i hope he still getting his 2-seconds of dizzyness Gordon2007

thankyou
robots

Soccer
Cycling
The gym
Reading

Golf - hole in one 13th April 2008

Hey........newbie here......

Hobbies include home renovation/documentaries/gardening/walking/cooking.

I consider my time of recent reading the ASF and learning from what I have read now one of my hobbies, with a little punting here and there over the past few months.

Yes...chose the unfortunate name of Kelvin to be anonymous when I first joined..........so kelvin it is!!

I consider the Share market my hobby right now I guess until I earn more a year from it then my normal work it will always be that way.. Haha Think that will take some time.

Heres my hobby. Its great fun, laps any circuit faster than a V8 Supercar....but I've had enough of it and its up for sale. $9,750 if anyone wants a adrenaline rush Im going to settle for 'normal' gokarting, untill I make millions on the share market, then I'll step into a real racecar.



And the best moment of my life: coming third at laguna Seca in the 'Suerstars of Superkarts' challenge in America.

gordon2007 said:

In all seriousness...how does this affect your social life? Are most your friends fellow body builders? Or so you have a very wide diverse range of friendships.

How does this affect your sex life?

I'm not having a go at you. But I can't see how I'd ever be happy commiting 100% of my life to an all consuming thing.

Click to expand...

My social life involves spending time with my g/f. I grew up in a country town, so most of my old friends are still back there. I see them whenever I head home. Yes, a lot of my friends are bodybuilders. It is a very tight-knit community, and for the majority, we go to all the shows (even when not competing) just to support each other and socialise.

Whenever I go out to dinner for special occasions I'll just eat whatever I feel like, as long as I am getting enough protein it doesn't really matter (unless its really close to a comp). Neither my g/f or I are into going out and partying. Every week my g/f and I go to Nando's and a movie - its out treat for the week. It's cheap, and I let myself eat whatever I want. But I become more strict when dieting for a comp.

Obviously all this varies from person to person. I know bodybuilders who still drink/smoke, go out partying, dont care about being fat off-season and eat whatever they want (eg KFC). But obviously these things will impact on your results. Even some Pro's do this, due to their fantastic genetics they can get away with it, so they do.

My sex life is fantastic, but I'm not going into details : It is not uncommon for bodybuilders to have low libidos when dieting for a comp, but I've never had any problems Those who choose to use steroids really need to know what they are doing, otherwise their natural testosterone will shut down hard after a cycle, which will definitely affect sex life.

Bodybuilding is very consuming if done seriously. I have friends that let it rule their life. I have a friend who is almost 40, renting, doesn't even own a car, struggles financially, yet is one of the most successful bodybuilders in Australia. I know quite a few ppl in similar situations. I do not want to end up like that, which is why I put in the effort to get a decent job, and read forums like this so I can expand my knowledge. I also know others who are financially successful AND successful in bodybuilding, so it is possible to find a 'balance'.

gav said:

Bodybuilding - but I'm not sure you'd class it as a "hobby", its more of a "lifestyle".


It affects nearly every aspect of my life, due to the amount of time, effort and money that is required. I eat 8-10 meals per day. Apart from when I am asleep, I don't go any longer than 2hrs without food. If I go anywhere for more than 2hrs, I take a cooler bag and food with me. I eat throughout the day at work, but continue working whilst eating. I spend a minimum of 1hr per day preparing food (some days longer).

My weekly food bill is $120. Add to that vitamins, protein powder, supplements, etc. its probably more like $200 per week. I train so hard that I often throw up. I am sore for days after training.

Click to expand...

Hi Gav,
You look great!
I'm young, and I'm just starting out in weight training. My biggest problem is eating and food and gaining weight. I'm stuck on 60kg and would like to go up.
I'm suprised your weekly food bill is like $200 ... that's like $30 a day, which is quite cheap.
I would have thought that food might cost $50 a day or so.
I guess you spend a lot of time preparing and cooking meals don't you?
I'm probably on the opposite spectrum to you professionally and socially; i.e. stocks and financial markets are my main focus in life, whilst bodybuilding and fitness is just a hobby.
I'm a busy professional who works in finance, so I often don't have time for it, and usually eat out, i.e. red rooster chicken breast and sandwhichs and stuff. Which is very expensive, but less time consuming.

LOL no 1 has mentioned skateboarding/ surfing or bodyboarding
My hobbies include bodyboarding, bodyboarding and bodyboarding!!!!
It's so much better then surfing