How has BBing changed your perception of your physique?

Dusty Hanshaw · Nov 7, 2007

I'm sure that when a lot of you read the title of this thread you thought it was possibly a stupid question, but read it again. I asked how it has changed your perception of your physique. I understand that most likely everyone on this board has a better physique now than they did when they started BBing but do you always feel that way when you look in the mirror? I ask this because I have found that the longer I bodybuild and the "better" my physique is the more I analyse it and pick it apart. Let me explain..

When I began training I was tipping the scales at 186lbs. In my mind I was HUGE and had the body that most people could only dream of having. Since then I have packed on over 100lbs of muscle and find that I am less satisfied than I was in the beginning. I understand that I am obviously a lot bigger and closer to my goals but I also spend more time focussing on the negative aspects of my physique. I just find it funny that in the beginning I saw this great specimen and now that I have advanced I see weak arms, under developed upper chest, and long distance runner calves.

My question is am I the only one who has seen my perception of greatness change so drastically since the beginning? Do you ever notice that you used to look in the mirror to check out your rockin physique and now you train in baggy clothes covered head to toe to hide your body from... yourself? I am a perfectionist obviously so I sometimes wonder if this sport is going to make me lose my mind.

Anyhow I am just curious if anyone on here has any thoughts on the subject and if they have delt with similiar feelings.

db006 · Nov 7, 2007

i think its the nature of the beast that is bodybuilding....i think we all started down the same path as you stated, thnking we were the shit, but as we actually progressed or failed, thats what seperated us from them(bodybuilders from joe lifter)...

HUTCH · Nov 7, 2007

I put a thread like this up a couple years ago so I know exactly how you feel. I remember my first competition at 147 lbs and thinking i was perfect...Now I look in the mirror and very rarely do I turn away thinking "wow I look awesome"...Usually its more like "what can I do to fix my chest or man I look small today"...I think its just the competition that does it to me...I know there are 7 guys in the country that kicked my ass last year and I just see all the things I need to work on in order to beat them...Some days I think Im getting closer and others like im light years away...

TooPowerful4u · Nov 7, 2007

I gotta agree with everything said here. In the beginning i thought i was GREAT. BUT whenever i showed up at a show, realized how great i WASNT. Rude awakening. Since then, the better i get, the less satisfied i am and the more i strive to improve. The better i become as a bodybuilder, the more motivated i become to get better and better. I sometimes forget how the outside world perceives us. To the average person we are HUGE. When we look in the mirror, we are far from it in our own minds.

Dusty Hanshaw · Nov 7, 2007

Honestly my change in opinion of my physique has nothing to do with people I have competed against or around me. I think it's just that striving for perfection can drive you insane because you can't win. There will always be room for improvement thus you will never be satisfied. I guess once you find yourself satisfied it might be time to retire.

MAINEVENT · Nov 7, 2007

In all honesty, i never thought i was much.....and still dont.

TooPowerful4u · Nov 7, 2007

Dusty Hanshaw said:
Honestly my change in opinion of my physique has nothing to do with people I have competed against or around me. I think it's just that striving for perfection can drive you insane because you can't win. There will always be room for improvement thus you will never be satisfied. I guess once you find yourself satisfied it might be time to retire.

I think that is an Arnold quote. The day you look in the mirror and are satisfied is the day you are no longer a bodybuilder and have retired. Something to that extent.

My personal agenda is a competitive one. I am such a competitive person, i always must compete in something and strive to be the best, if it is at all possible. Personal satisfaction is not in how i look, but in how i compete. I will play a hardcore game of checkers, challange you to an oreo eating duel, anything. Competition is in my blood. It IS my satisfaction. It is fun to me. I personally do not get as much satisfaction out of winning (oddly enough), as i feel if i ever reached the top... i would no longer have the hunger. Whenever i was the #1 seed in a wrestling tournament i was EXPECTED to win. I, myself, was the one to beat. I hate that. I dont like being top dog. I like being the underdog. When i lose, it pushes me to improve. When i win, i can either look to a higher level of competition, or accept where im at. I used to hate showing up at a wrestling tournament with a bunch of guys i had already beaten badly. It was not a challange. I knew i had already won. it sucked. I just wanted to go home. I FEED off of looking at pictures of better bodybuilders and pondering what i need to do to beat them, if i could beat them, and i hit the gym HARD with that goal in mind.

Dusty Hanshaw · Nov 7, 2007

TooPowerful4u said:
I think that is an Arnold quote. The day you look in the mirror and are satisfied is the day you are no longer a bodybuilder and have retired. Something to that extent.

My personal agenda is a competitive one. I am such a competitive person, i always must compete in something and strive to be the best, if it is at all possible. Personal satisfaction is not in how i look, but in how i compete. I will play a hardcore game of checkers, challange you to an oreo eating duel, anything. Competition is in my blood. It IS my satisfaction. It is fun to me. I personally do not get as much satisfaction out of winning (oddly enough), as i feel if i ever reached the top... i would no longer have the hunger. Whenever i was the #1 seed in a wrestling tournament i was EXPECTED to win. I, myself, was the one to beat. I hate that. I dont like being top dog. I like being the underdog. When i lose, it pushes me to improve. When i win, i can either look to a higher level of competition, or accept where im at. I used to hate showing up at a wrestling tournament with a bunch of guys i had already beaten badly. It was not a challange. I knew i had already won. it sucked. I just wanted to go home. I FEED off of looking at pictures of better bodybuilders and pondering what i need to do to beat them, if i could beat them, and i hit the gym HARD with that goal in mind.

I love oreo's

db006 · Nov 7, 2007

i challenge y'all to an oreo eating contest...im sure bulldog21 will be in when he see's this thread, im sure some others will be too..name the the place...ill bring the milk..

MAINEVENT · Nov 7, 2007

db006 said:
i challenge y'all to an oreo eating contest...im sure bulldog21 will be in when he see's this thread, im sure some others will be too..name the the place...ill bring the milk..

Now thats a challenge im up for! Good idea Dave!

TooPowerful4u · Nov 7, 2007

db006 said:
i challenge y'all to an oreo eating contest...im sure bulldog21 will be in when he see's this thread, im sure some others will be too..name the the place...ill bring the milk..

You have no idea what your in for lol. Iv been thrown out of 4 buffets and gotten every free meal in the area for the "if you eat it, its free" challanges. Bring your boy Mike, i want payback, if i cant beat him on stage il kick his azz at the dinner table lol. Ask him about the 12lbs i gained from prejudging to night show and how big and bloated i got in 3hrs

... after pre's i hit like 6k calories haha

Franco dont want none of this, my bloated 240 will eat his 280 under the table any day of the week, especially on a post contest rebound!

db006 · Nov 7, 2007

TooPowerful4u said:
You have no idea what your in for lol. Iv been thrown out of 4 buffets and gotten every free meal in the area for the "if you eat it, its free" challanges. Bring your boy Mike, i want payback, if i cant beat him on stage il kick his azz at the dinner table lol. Ask him about the 12lbs i gained from prejudging to night show and how big and bloated i got in 3hrs ... after pre's i hit like 6k calories haha

Franco dont want none of this, my bloated 240 will eat his 280 under the table any day of the week, especially on a post contest rebound!

i dont know...i saw franco at the NA's, and it looked like the new franco ate the old one...i hardly recognized him...you going to the easterns?...maybe we can get it on at lunch....

steele · Nov 7, 2007

weakness more apparent with progression

i had a very balanced "athletic" looking physique when the first 2 years of eating and lifting correctly. 3 years later my weak parts became more apparent but i think that is just b/c i have grown so much.

kinda like its hard to tell what weak body parts a novice lifter has b/c he really doesn't have any outstanding bodyparts. STEELE

HUTCH · Nov 8, 2007

steele said:
i had a very balanced "athletic" looking physique when the first 2 years of eating and lifting correctly. 3 years later my weak parts became more apparent but i think that is just b/c i have grown so much.

kinda like its hard to tell what weak body parts a novice lifter has b/c he really doesn't have any outstanding bodyparts. STEELE

That is a great point!!

TestPolska · Nov 8, 2007

I still see the 130 some pound dude staring back at me when I look in the mirror. I thought higher of myself back then, now being exposed to so many great physiques I am humbled more so now than I ever have been. I realize my place in the food chain and hopefully climb my way to the top day by day.

balplayer · Nov 9, 2007

my being out of shape is other peoples in shape. and im not happy being out of shape. so yes it warps you.

JETHRO TULL · Nov 9, 2007

I GET WHAT YOU ARE SAYING, BUT I'LL AGREE WITH MAINEVENT ON THIS ONE.

I NEVER HAVE THOUGHT I LOOKED VERY GOOD AND I STILL DON'T! LOL.

I ALSO THINK THAT I'VE NEVER STRIVEN FOR PERFECTION....I JUST WANTED TO LOOK PRETTY GOOD.

I THINK NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO GO WORKOUT....RATS.

buselmo · Nov 9, 2007

it's funny... just last night i was talking to my wife about this...

before i started bodybuilding, i was "skinny fat". Even then, i thought i had a good physique... I never was very self concious about the way my physique looked... 80 lbs later... I hate the way i look... i always think that i'm too small, normal people would look better, too fat... Fact of the matter is, if i hit 20% body fat, i'd be considered "normal"... i think even if there was someway to alter my genetics and pack on 80 more lbs of muscle and get down to 3% fat, i'd still think i look like crap and need to be bigger and leaner...

so, you aren't alone, Dusty

The Wolf · Nov 9, 2007

I remember when I first started, and when I first juiced I thought I was the dogs bollocks. I used to walk around with imaginary lat synydrone and I thought I was big. It wasnt until 5 or 6 years later when I thought I might as well compete that I found out how shit I was. But thats when real bodybuilding started for me. Now Ive learned to be a lot more patient and defenetly a lot more humble too.