Disadvantages of Getting Bigger

Off Topic
1

This may sound like a repeat of what I have written before but I have to doubt if bodybuilding or building of the body whether through ‘strength training’ or ‘bodybuilding’ is good for us.

Studies indicate increased calorie consumption accelerates aging and smaller people seem to outlive big ones.

Other things of concern are:
-sitting and walking around with a stretched out, protruding waist all the time from the constant food consumption
-the joint strain from carrying ‘excess’ weight
-the heart and internal organ stress from having to supply extra blood, oxygen etc.
-strain, wear and tear from progressively larger weights
-flexibility drain from shortening of the muscles through motions as well as hypertrophy
-time spent feeding
-the inevitable fat gain from bulking leading to self-denial about body composition or frustration about progress and looks

I know all of these factors can be controlled to an extent but not entirely. I believe I would personally feel the best weighing 160 pounds or less at 5’11. Unfortunately that does not allow me to live up to the pressures set by the media as well as women and men.

2

LOL your stupid

3

Just stay small then, jeez.

It’s a choice people make, and I’m 100% sure I’d rather be lifting weights and eating lots of food (because who doesn’t enjoy eating?) than either sitting watching tv or running to keep active.

4

Never had any of those things happen. Granted, I am 22 and 170lbs at 5’11’'. I don’t take any supps tho and try to eat healthy and do cardio so I think that helps. Still growing. As far as pressure from the mainstream to be bigger… most people are small, bro.

5

Pressure from the media? Oh, you mean they want you to get as LaBuff as possible?

6

160 lbs or less at 5 11?

???

7

The bigger I get the less “hot” chicks check me out. I’m think’n smaller is the way to go!!

8

[quote]Alffi wrote:
This may sound like a repeat of what I have written before but I have to doubt if bodybuilding or building of the body whether through ‘strength training’ or ‘bodybuilding’ is good for us.

Studies indicate increased calorie consumption accelerates aging and smaller people seem to outlive big ones.

Other things of concern are:
-sitting and walking around with a stretched out, protruding waist all the time from the constant food consumption
-the joint strain from carrying ‘excess’ weight
-the heart and internal organ stress from having to supply extra blood, oxygen etc.
-strain, wear and tear from progressively larger weights
-flexibility drain from shortening of the muscles through motions as well as hypertrophy
-time spent feeding
-the inevitable fat gain from bulking leading to self-denial about body composition or frustration about progress and looks

I know all of these factors can be controlled to an extent but not entirely. I believe I would personally feel the best weighing 160 pounds or less at 5’11. Unfortunately that does not allow me to live up to the pressures set by the media as well as women and men. [/quote]

what the fuck are you doing on a Bodybuilding forum?

9

I figured you being from Finland would be kinda neutral on this subject.

as with anything there is always a line, if your 160lbs and 5’11 I’d say your a small guy anyway. Do you really think your going to die earlier if you weighed 200lbs at 5’11 and ate healthy foods, worked out and did cardio? Who do think will live longer this guy or the guy who sits behind a computer eating burger-king all day? In the end its your choice. Mine, I want to be healthy and be around as long as possible.

10

Ummm… The media is pressuring you into increasing your weight? You and I must be watching different stations. The media constantly demonizes Steroids, which are predominantly used to help men gain muscular weight, and Pro level BBers are basically ostracized by all except those who enjoy the sport.

Compare this to the physiques of MMA guys, where even if you dont enjoy watching the sport, most people will typically find that type of physique appealing.

Look at basically any magazine ad with male models in it and you’ll be lucky to find a guy who weights over 200 pounds. I’d say 150-170 is right about average.

Save for Hugh Jackman and the occasional Rock or Vin Diesel movie, male movie stars now-a-days are frail looking guys. Even the super hero movies are pretty jam packed with small guys.

Muscle mass is “out” right now. No more Stallones and Arnolds.

When not taken to the utmost extreme (ie crazy drug use, body weights, dieting) Bodybuilding should be a relatively healthy endeavor. Most of the weight lifting population will never hit 300 muscular pounds… or even 250 for that matter. I’d wager to say less than 10% of people that even lift weights will ever weight more than a muscular 220 pounds… And that may be generous.

11

Disadvantages:

Can’t sleep on my side
Fuckers asking me to help them move shit
Need new work shirts my neck has grown over 9000 inches

Other than that this shit is fucking awesome.

12

Alffi is right, strength training is terible for us. im going to throw away all my supps, quit my gym membership, stop thinking about what i eat and just do some cardio! hot abs baby! seriously though, alffi, you are kidding right? i am 5 ft 9 and 171 and feel tiny. are you just jealous that most of the strongman competitions are won by people from your country and your not one of them?

13

If you do any kind of weight lifting at all, even just to ‘stay in shape’, combined w/ a healthy diet, I think it would be hard to stay 160lbs at 5’11". It’s just too skinny. I don’t think being 200-210lbs at 5’11" poses that much of a stress on heart, bones, joints, etc, and you will probably still be fine moving well above the above mentioned weights.

I do see the point in the evidence of CRAN, calorie restriction w/ adequate nutrition, in the effects of cancer, aging, etc., but the studies haven’t been running long enough or even done on humans enough to really get representative data. Its a big issue, w/ a lot of variables that need to be ruled out, but I still don’t really get it.

I couldn’t find any data on chances of getting cancer vs getting in a car accident, but if you are ever in a head on collision, I think some muscle would go a long way in preserving your well-being. Imagine what would happen if you put 140lb guys on a football field w/ 250+ plus guys.

Right now, I think physical strength is the most ignored and maybe the most important factor in being ‘healthy’, and possessing the strength levels to be what I consider healthy, implies a greater amount of muscle mass than our current society deems ‘normal’.

14

[quote]Alffi wrote:
This may sound like a repeat of what I have written before but I have to doubt if bodybuilding or building of the body whether through ‘strength training’ or ‘bodybuilding’ is good for us.
[/quote]
Compared to…?[quote]

Studies indicate increased calorie consumption accelerates aging and smaller people seem to outlive big ones.[/quote]

Probably - i know that my heart will have to work harder to supply my body than it would if i stayed around 150lbs.
But i personally am not bodybuilding for life extension.[quote]

Other things of concern are:
-sitting and walking around with a stretched out, protruding waist all the time from the constant food consumption[/quote]

What? Bulking - even for someone who need to gain 70lbs - does not last indefinitely.[quote]

-the joint strain from carrying ‘excess’ weight[/quote]

This is true of someone who eats too much but does not weight training.[quote]

-the heart and internal organ stress from having to supply extra blood, oxygen etc.[/quote]

Stress that is adapted to over time with strengthening of the myocardium itself. Read: Cardio-vascular heath.[quote]

-strain, wear and tear from progressively larger weights[/quote]

No doubt - powerlifters are very injury prone, but again not only are the iron sports at an extreme level not about life extension, a general bodybuilding lifestyle IS very health concious.
Progression of exercise cannot be considered a ‘bad’ thing - and challenginjg the body with resisted movement (to a point) is prescribed by doctors.[quote]

-flexibility drain from shortening of the muscles through motions as well as hypertrophy[/quote]

Stretching is the answer to this.[quote]

-time spent feeding[/quote]

I have no comment for this fucking point[quote]

-the inevitable fat gain from bulking leading to self-denial about body composition or frustration about progress and looks[/quote]

Then you are doing something wrong. bulking is not a means to get fat. it is a means to increase muscle size with as little increase in fat as possible.[quote]

I know all of these factors can be controlled to an extent but not entirely. I believe I would personally feel the best weighing 160 pounds or less at 5’11. Unfortunately that does not allow me to live up to the pressures set by the media as well as women and men. [/quote]

I opened this thread expecting a debate about the REAL issues of bueing more muscualr than average - stereotypes etc…

Instead i found a bitch about health concerns that are attributed to morbid obesity.

Get a grip, and make it a little more specific to the forum next time.

15

[quote]Alffi wrote:
This may sound like a repeat of what I have written before but I have to doubt if bodybuilding or building of the body whether through ‘strength training’ or ‘bodybuilding’ is good for us.

Studies indicate increased calorie consumption accelerates aging and smaller people seem to outlive big ones.

Other things of concern are:
-sitting and walking around with a stretched out, protruding waist all the time from the constant food consumption[/quote]
Suck that shit in. [quote]
-the joint strain from carrying ‘excess’ weight [/quote]
Don’t you think that the tendons gain strength when your muscles increase? And there is a thing called stretching. [quote]
-the heart and internal organ stress from having to supply extra blood, oxygen etc. [/quote]
I think the opposite actually happens. Someone correct me? [quote]
-strain, wear and tear from progressively larger weights [/quote]
Sigh [quote]
-flexibility drain from shortening of the muscles through motions as well as hypertrophy [/quote]
Again, stretching? [quote]
-time spent feeding [/quote]
As opposed to time spent sitting in front of a TV and eating cheese puffs? [quote]
-the inevitable fat gain from bulking leading to self-denial about body composition or frustration about progress and looks [/quote]
Wow, you got me there.

16

http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/a/5/a5747-adba4dc2a35ec56e931fe0bc49897871.jpg

[quote]Alffi wrote:
This may sound like a repeat of what I have written before but I have to doubt if bodybuilding or building of the body whether through ‘strength training’ or ‘bodybuilding’ is good for us.

Studies indicate increased calorie consumption accelerates aging and smaller people seem to outlive big ones.

Other things of concern are:
-sitting and walking around with a stretched out, protruding waist all the time from the constant food consumption
-the joint strain from carrying ‘excess’ weight
-the heart and internal organ stress from having to supply extra blood, oxygen etc.
-strain, wear and tear from progressively larger weights
-flexibility drain from shortening of the muscles through motions as well as hypertrophy
-time spent feeding
-the inevitable fat gain from bulking leading to self-denial about body composition or frustration about progress and looks

I know all of these factors can be controlled to an extent but not entirely. I believe I would personally feel the best weighing 160 pounds or less at 5’11. Unfortunately that does not allow me to live up to the pressures set by the media as well as women and men. [/quote]

If bigger is better, why do the guys on here lust after slender in-shape women? Shouldn’t a huge powerlifting woman or Ms. Olympia be more the object of lust?

I agree that leaner = better, with the understanding that adipose is low and that the person is obviously in shape. MMA guys, sans all the ink, would probably be about the best form for males.

17

I’ll give you the stretched stomach but every other point is complete bollocks.

The studies to do with longevity are based on an increased lifespan in lab mice when fed a huge calorie deficit for their entire life (if I remember correctly we’re talking less than 1500 calories a day throughout your entire life to get an effect on humans). I’m guessing it has to do with slowing the metabolism and telomeres, but who wants a slow metabolism for maybe 5 measly years as an old man? Maybe it can help with certain diseases but in a healthy individual it seems pointless.

Extra joint strain may be a factor but most people will never get to a weight where it’s an issue, it’s more likely to be related to what activities you do than your weight (ex running on concrete). My joints are buggered anyway so I figure I’ve got nothing to lose. I can’t imagine heart or organ stress being a factor until you break 300lbs at 5’10 unless you’re genetically predisposed to have problems (CT for example - he’s pretty big as it is and seems to do fine at his current size even with a dodgy heart).

The loss of flexibility is bullshit - shortening the muscles? Using a limited range of motion frequently on certain exercises can cause problems, but it’s nothing that stretching can’t fix. As far as time spent feeding goes you’re really clutching at straws, many cultures spend a long time eating everyday and it doesn’t seem to cause them problems (French etc). As far as inevitable fat gain goes, so what? Do you want to be anorexic? Is going a year or 2 (maybe more) without abs really that painful?

Finally, who the hell is pressuring you to get huge? Outside of this site and a handful of others guys are encouraged to be skinny as hell. You’ll fit right in at 160lbs. Your entire argument is COMPLETE HORSESHIT.

18

[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Alffi wrote:
This may sound like a repeat of what I have written before but I have to doubt if bodybuilding or building of the body whether through ‘strength training’ or ‘bodybuilding’ is good for us.

Studies indicate increased calorie consumption accelerates aging and smaller people seem to outlive big ones.

Other things of concern are:
-sitting and walking around with a stretched out, protruding waist all the time from the constant food consumption
-the joint strain from carrying ‘excess’ weight
-the heart and internal organ stress from having to supply extra blood, oxygen etc.
-strain, wear and tear from progressively larger weights
-flexibility drain from shortening of the muscles through motions as well as hypertrophy
-time spent feeding
-the inevitable fat gain from bulking leading to self-denial about body composition or frustration about progress and looks

I know all of these factors can be controlled to an extent but not entirely. I believe I would personally feel the best weighing 160 pounds or less at 5’11. Unfortunately that does not allow me to live up to the pressures set by the media as well as women and men.

If bigger is better, why do the guys on here lust after slender in-shape women? Shouldn’t a huge powerlifting woman or Ms. Olympia be more the object of lust?

I agree that leaner = better, with the understanding that adipose is low and that the person is obviously in shape. MMA guys, sans all the ink, would probably be about the best form for males.
[/quote]

I don’t train to make myself more attractive to guys.

19

I know despite all the disadvantages for a lot of people the benefits outweigh the costs. But if you just think about it, would not you think it would feel lighter walking around being much smaller and would not that be nice? I don’t want to discourage anyone from growing (those that do it anyway know what feels best to them in the end and I trust their judgement) but I don’t think anyone can deny that much. The feeling of power and dominance over one’s enviroment is what compensates for that.

I just happen to think this is a serious male body issue (studied fact) that is not discussed very often. I think everybody who gets serious about getting bigger without that much of a passion should be considered a martyr of sorts.

If anything, I think realizing all this stuff should make the training population feel more proud about themselves although it also sort of gives the lazier kind an excuse.

20

Why did i read this shite? I beleive you should just cancel your membership here, it makes no sense at all for u to post. Do you get your jollies by antagonizing. Douchebag.