The obsession with being big.

[WOC1776]

I just like to eat a lot, and lifting gives me a reason.

 

[Niiick]

All of us have thought that if we just had this or that we would be happy. I took money out of savings to buy a ZO6 Corvette; after about a month, I wondered what the hell I was doing putting so much money in a car.

At one time I thought if I could just have a beautiful woman to fuck, that I would be happy. I lived with a flight attendant for 5 years. She was gorgeous, and the sex was out of this world (still have not met its equal), but after a while I got tired of the incompatibility issues. No matter how beautiful a woman is, there is always someone who is tired of fucking her.

Getting big (up to a point) improves your quality of life; at age 25 I weighed 150lbs and had 12 1/2" arms. At age 28 I weighed 183 and had 17" arms. I got more attention from women, I felt more self-confident, and I was more outgoing and social - I bettered my quality of life.

But, past a certain point, the law of diminishing returns takes over. So looking muscular and fit does improve your life up until you get the "I can never get big enough to suit myself," syndrome. If you are vulnerable to that obsession, the chances are that you are never going to be happy with yourself.

Except for some bodybuilders, most people think the really big guys are freaks, like someone who had 20 piercings in their face.

Damn true true true!!!

 

[Ehren]

I agree with Niiick, nowadays. But it wasn't always that way.

I've had the experience of being the biggest guy in the room at 273 and it wasn't all that. I was into PL and Oly forever so strength was the focus, I was big, strong, and relatively fat. Being that guy at 22 has a certain currency in the Pub. Being a behemoth in a Marketing meeting at a software company gets a different reaction. Not good.

People looked at me like Terry Tate: Office Linebacker

YouTube - Terry Tate Office Linebacker


My findings were as follows: 1.My knees, back and shoulders hurt. 2.Women don't care how strong you are. 3: Body image was only good when lifting heavy shit, so, 1 hour a day.

I'm smaller now, and I'm happy with how I look most of the year and even happier when I'm ripped I only want to be bigger if I can still look good. (plus or minus during a bulk). I train because I love it, and for the attention women. But it's just PART of what I want to be nowadays.

Unfortunately, shitty genetics means that I have to pay constant attention to diet and recovery and use light AAS to stay this way at 37y/o.

Now, if I could be 260 and shredded at 6'2", sure, I'd love it. But gaining a few lbs of muscle a year, getting stronger and not killing myself to do it are good for me. I'm in it or the long haul

 

[Emery]

I agree with Niiick, nowadays. But it wasn't always that way.

I've had the experience of being the biggest guy in the room at 273 and it wasn't all that. I was into PL and Oly forever so strength was the focus, I was big, strong, and relatively fat. Being that guy at 22 has a certain currency in the Pub. Being a behemoth in a Marketing meeting at a software company gets a different reaction. Not good.

People looked at me like Terry Tate: Office Linebacker

YouTube - Terry Tate Office Linebacker


My findings were as follows: 1.My knees, back and shoulders hurt. 2.Women don't care how strong you are. 3: Body image was only good when lifting heavy shit, so, 1 hour a day.

I'm smaller now, and I'm happy with how I look most of the year and even happier when I'm ripped I only want to be bigger if I can still look good. (plus or minus during a bulk). I train because I love it, and for the attention women. But it's just PART of what I want to be nowadays.

Unfortunately, shitty genetics means that I have to pay constant attention to diet and recovery and use light AAS to stay this way at 37y/o.

Now, if I could be 260 and shredded at 6'2", sure, I'd love it. But gaining a few lbs of muscle a year, getting stronger and not killing myself to do it are good for me. I'm in it or the long haul

Ehren, you bring up very good points. I completely understand what you are saying. For me, I am in an administrative role now, people look at me differently sometimes when I am wearing something that shows my arms, etc.

It was great when I was in my 20s, but now, it gets uncomfortable at times. I don't want to be feared because my arms are a few inches bigger than the other guy's arms in the room... But I have to admit, I do like the attention. I know I have some issues with body image. No matter what people say, I think a good many people in society today have issues with this.

I think the aging process is helping me grow out of some of these issues. I am now focusing more on condition and health than previous. I am not huge but I am bigger than most of the men at my place of employment. I eat like a bodybuilder and people don't understand that. I am constantly answering questions about my diet, etc. Of course, I have one small skinny fella there that makes remarks about AAS, etc.

I think it is a way of expressing ourselves. I think it it body modification through hard work, sacrifice and dedication that so many people don't understand, and that's okay. I don't understand some of their issues like smoking, eating fat shit all day and the negativity that some of them have.

A rant, but I think this topic is important for all of us!!

 

[method2madness]

I am only 5'1 and I am 2 months post contest. Last week I hit a solid if not a little bloated 195lbs. I saw this and was very pleased for about 5 minutes and then it hit me, being 195 at my height is just uncomfortable, impractical, and undesirable. So while the quest for size is definitely there, I think for many of us there is a limit, and I hit mine last week.

 

[bigguns6611]

 

[Necrias]

getting big is a side affect of my choice to go to the gym and lift.

the fact that lifting weights is the only thing i can rely on. the only thing i trust. i know they will be there for me, day and night.

no matter how good they are... friends and family arent always there. they fall back on promises. they miss things. they forget stuff.

the weights, they dont bullshit. they fight you. they always make sure you know they are right there. with you. the pain. the soreness. the tiredness. its a promise that isnt broken.

i need something stable in my life. my life has been nothing but chaos since i was born. drugs. violence. moving every few months. nothing stable. nothing set. nothing i can trust to be there for me throughout everything.

until i found the gym.

that keeps me motivated.

i may never be huge. i may never be 4% bf. i may never squat 1000lbs. but thats not why i do it.

i do it for me.

Perfectly stated. If you are not constantly bettering yourself in someway, what the hell is the point of living? The road to where I am now was paved with blood, sweat, and chalk, and will keep pushing on until that road ends.

 

[1Rhino1]

I became more serious and addicted with my trainning following a divorce.
The gym was my outlet... and i was there constantly.
with that new freinds developed and a new direction.. shorlty there after i did my first bodybuilding show... The addiction grew even more..

I was the fat kid growing up in between two very athletic brothers.. Forced to play every sport and sucked at them all. The weights and genetics aloud me to see my sport.

Everyone has an addiction; coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, etc... some are more dangerous then others. Im happy with my addiction and desire to grow. I think of all those people who live a sedative lifestyle, with no happiness. There are so many out there. When i see them and their lifestyle, i feel pretty damn good that i am disciplined to get up at 4 am train till 6- go to work- spend time with family etc....and look the way i do at 42 yo.

To each their own i guess

I got heavy heavy into it following a breakup with my fiancee, so I def feel you Bro.

this question gets debated to no end from time to time...for me after 30 years of doing this crap i realized hey maybe i just like it? its really that simple...people in the end gravitate toward their personal preferences there dsoes not have to be an underlying psychological issue behind every damn thing.

Fucking right, drop the book and step the fuck back. Lol.

getting big is a side affect of my choice to go to the gym and lift.

the fact that lifting weights is the only thing i can rely on. the only thing i trust. i know they will be there for me, day and night.

no matter how good they are... friends and family arent always there. they fall back on promises. they miss things. they forget stuff.

the weights, they dont bullshit. they fight you. they always make sure you know they are right there. with you. the pain. the soreness. the tiredness. its a promise that isnt broken.

i need something stable in my life. my life has been nothing but chaos since i was born. drugs. violence. moving every few months. nothing stable. nothing set. nothing i can trust to be there for me throughout everything.

until i found the gym.

that keeps me motivated.

i may never be huge. i may never be 4% bf. i may never squat 1000lbs. but thats not why i do it.

i do it for me.

You and I sir are the same.

People change, things change. Friends are phony, and my boss is a fucking liar.

110 lb dumbells are still gonna be 110 lb dumbells tomorrow.

I don't need a training partner, he will probably bitch up and cost me my gains anyway. I don't need approval from the bitches I run into at the gym. Or the hearty conversation that comes with standing by the rack waiting for my next set to begin.

I just need to go in there, blast satanic occult music, focus, and throw the truest friends I have around for a while.

 

[nolenut]

No, no... just throwing that out there as ONE example of why some of us do what we do... not a "blanket statement"

Medical degree? No, I'm a lowly ICU nurse

BDD... Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Oh- and EVERY TIME I see your handle I keep thinking it says, "NSCA"... memories from when I was a member with them.

I recently gave up a good career for nursing school. I am doing an accelerated BSN/MSN program, that shit aint easy. Our diet therapy prof had those that were obese, according to BMI stand, and it was aggravating, then we had to analyze our diets, and 4,000 kcal's with 400 grams of protein didnt sit well. We wont even get started on my defense of steroids in pathophysiology.

 

[myosin]

I bet...

I recently gave up a good career for nursing school. I am doing an accelerated BSN/MSN program, that shit aint easy. Our diet therapy prof had those that were obese, according to BMI stand, and it was aggravating, then we had to analyze our diets, and 4,000 kcal's with 400 grams of protein didnt sit well. We wont even get started on my defense of steroids in pathophysiology.

I had to learn to know when to "pick and choose" my battles... One voice in a couple gets a bit tiring One thing I did notice though, once I started working and "proved" myself after awhile, Dr's and nurses became more inclined to entertain different topics. You getting your MSN will help lend more "credibility" to any other "progressive" topics you might want to lead.