Older Bodybuilders and Misshaped muscle bellies

[Zylog259]

I’ve been seeing a lot of misshaped biceps and triceps lately on older
Pros and older bodybuilders. Anyone know the cause? I know some had bicep tears but for example, Jay Cutler. His biceps look really odd. I’m pretty sure he never experienced a bicep tear. Is it from SEO, or maybe nerve issues? Just kind of curious.

 

[FrancisK]

Wouldn't the simplest explanation just be the constant contraction and detraction of the muscle over time....IE flexing? That and the extreme difference between a bodybuilders muscles at their peak vs when no longer competing?

I know I'm not phrasing that well, think of a piece of rubber than you're continually stretching to it's limit in multiple directions for sustained periods of time....it's going to be misshapen after a while.

 

[buck]

My biceps are shorter then they used to be. Much bigger gap down by the elbow. As the muscle fibers tear way from the tendon with heavy pulling over the years/decades muscles can look different.Tendons can tear from the bone causing shape to change as the pull is different hence change in shape but still be very functional. If fibers tear in the belly of the muscle that seems to give them a flatter look.

 

[buck]

If a muscle gets damaged and adheres to the fascia that can also change the shape and how it pulls. I have had ART to break up those adhesins in the past

 

[hawkmoon]

I'd assume tears and SEO. There are other age related factors such as type II to type I motor unit conversion that might impact shape along with impaired glycogen storage.

 

[LATS]

I talked about this a few years ago.. many masters competitors ( over 50 etc) notice a shortening of the muscle such as the triceps and bicep.. lateral quad near the knee etc.. I surmised that the repeated stress of heavy loads over time pulls muscle fiber back from the tendon gradually.. I have seen this in my own tricep long head and bicep.. I brought this up to numerous people over the years as I see it more and more in masters shows.. and many agree with me that it is a gradual tearing over years of the fiber away from the tendon.. you coukd see this also with Ronnie in his later years on his lateral quad near the knee.. I just except thats it's there and it's happened.. my long head of my tricep used to go all the way to the elbow.. now it's about a half inch or more difference.. us old guy take a beating

 

[AllOkJumpmaster]

I wonder if this is somehow drug related? I dont mean that in a negative way, but I have not noticed this in any of the masters naturals, in fact, most of the natural pros hit their best physiques in the mid 40's to mod 50's window. Not sure what the answer is, but it simply cannot be a lifetime of contracting the muscle under load that causes it, or else we would see it across all populations that train?

 

[hawkmoon]

I wonder if this is somehow drug related? I dont mean that in a negative way, but I have not noticed this in any of the masters naturals, in fact, most of the natural pros hit their best physiques in the mid 40's to mod 50's window. Not sure what the answer is, but it simply cannot be a lifetime of contracting the muscle under load that causes it, or else we would see it across all populations that train?

AAS increase calcification so it may be a factor.

 

[southernmucle214]

Side note: Cutler tore his bicep in 2011

 

[iwantmass]

I can't speak for anyone else. But I completely tore my right bicep tendon that connects to the forearm off the bone. And it was hanging on by a thread at the bicep itself. Both required surgery. This has mutilated the shape of the right bicep. Strength-wise it still functions similar to the left one, but I have to stick to neutral grip type movements. No underhand lat pulls etc. For perspective, this injury happened over 5 years ago, so this is probably as good as it gets.

 

[alfresco]

I believe it is a normal function of aging and is unavoidable. It occurs in males and females alike as well as those that have never weight trained in their entire life and there is nothing you can do about it.

 

[specter]

I’ve been seeing a lot of misshaped biceps and triceps lately on older
Pros and older bodybuilders. Anyone know the cause? I know some had bicep tears but for example, Jay Cutler. His biceps look really odd. I’m pretty sure he never experienced a bicep tear. Is it from SEO, or maybe nerve issues? Just kind of curious.

Cutler blew both biceps shortly before he stoped competing, so yeah.. muscles look weird because we hammer them with needles over and over and over again, year after year, blowing large portions of oil based steroids in there, water based suspensions etc, you get sterile abcess forming, scartissue and just wonky shit going on inside the muscle.

 

[pesty4077]

If I took regular people who don't work out and put a younger person against an older person, the youthful person's body will look much better. Part of the aging process, nothing more.

 

[buck]

If I took regular people who don't work out and put a younger person against an older person, the youthful person's body will look much better. Part of the aging process, nothing more.

Sarcopenia sucks! Much less old skin.

 

[qbkilla]

I wonder if this is somehow drug related? I dont mean that in a negative way, but I have not noticed this in any of the masters naturals, in fact, most of the natural pros hit their best physiques in the mid 40's to mod 50's window. Not sure what the answer is, but it simply cannot be a lifetime of contracting the muscle under load that causes it, or else we would see it across all populations that train?

I wouldn’t be surprised if naturals aged better than aas users just based on the toll drugs take on the body and also the fact that nattys can't build as large muscles so they are more proportional. Eg I see alot of enhanced guys torso dominant, combined with distention from pushing the calories...where naturals are smaller but look leaner and more proportional.

 

[gains4000]

I’ve been seeing a lot of misshaped biceps and triceps lately on older
Pros and older bodybuilders. Anyone know the cause? I know some had bicep tears but for example, Jay Cutler. His biceps look really odd. I’m pretty sure he never experienced a bicep tear. Is it from SEO, or maybe nerve issues? Just kind of curious.

Cutler used SEO but he also did tear his bicep.

 

[gauge22-v2]

Sarcopenia sucks! Much less old skin.

Fucking old skin. Skin my quad tear drop is getting little wrinkles ffs.

I wonder if getting fat would help that out

 

[buck]

Fucking old skin. Skin my quad tear drop is getting little wrinkles ffs.

I wonder if getting fat would help that out

I would be ecstatic with just the tear drop. Mine has spread more like covid.
John Goodman used to say the way to keep skin young was to keep gaining fat as the fat pushes the skin out. Worked of many years for him. And then he lost a bunch of weight! And now his wrinkles are made of crepe paper!

 

[Aikman56]

I can’t speak for anyone else, but my misshapen & frighteningly atrophied calves are the result of trauma to my L5/S1, severe the tibial nerve emanates.

Since I had the injury in 2012, they’ve gradually gotten worse and worse. They were never “good”, but they weren’t as laughable as they are now.

On the left, 215.
On the right, this past September.

 

[bizzbtw]

I can’t speak for anyone else, but my misshapen & frighteningly atrophied calves are the result of trauma to my L5/S1, severe the tibial nerve emanates.

Since I had the injury in 2012, they’ve gradually gotten worse and worse. They were never “good”, but they weren’t as laughable as they are now.

On the left, 215.
On the right, this past September.

Im right there with you. Had surgery on my L5-S1 and my L4-L5 is fused, and after my fusion my left calf atrophied into oblivion.