How Big is Too Big?

Training
161

[quote]jbpick86 wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
In effect, it seems we have people who define relatively normal discomfort seen when trying to push your body into new areas of conditioning…as too much to keep pushing.

Shit, there won’t be any really big people left soon if that is the common sentiment lately.[/quote]

I don’t see it personally as a case of not wanting to push myself to achieve my goals, just that being that really big isn’t my goal in the first place. I don’t know if that is how others in this thread feel, but it seems like my opinion is shared by a few.

My goals aren’t just to become bigger/stronger/leaner, but also faster, more agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier. There comes a point where chasing any one of these individual sub-goals too far is detrimental to the other goals.

However, this is just my personal goal, and I’m sure there are plenty of others out there who want to pursue size over all else. [/quote]

We have virtually identical goals. [/quote]

Same here

162

[quote]LoRez wrote:

I used to be faster, more agile, more flexible, and fitter… but now I want to be bigger and stronger. I’d be ok with keeping my current leanness.

At this point though, mentally it’s much easier for me to just go out and push myself to run several miles over rolling hills and keep increasing that pace week over week… than it is for me to force down the protein and calories that keep me growing in size.

They’re just different challenges, based on different histories.[/quote]

In many ways I’m jealous of your singular goal, as I do think it is much more beneficial to be “harcore” and push yourself hard when you only have one goal in mind, and I do like pursuing a goal “all-out”.

It sounds to me like you are an ideal candidate for Professor X’s strategy of pushing through discomfort with sustained periods of high calorie intake and periods of recomp at higher bodyweights.

Good luck with your goals.

163

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
In effect, it seems we have people who define relatively normal discomfort seen when trying to push your body into new areas of conditioning…as too much to keep pushing.

Shit, there won’t be any really big people left soon if that is the common sentiment lately.[/quote]

I don’t see it personally as a case of not wanting to push myself to achieve my goals, just that being that really big isn’t my goal in the first place. I don’t know if that is how others in this thread feel, but it seems like my opinion is shared by a few.

My goals aren’t just to become bigger/stronger/leaner, but also faster, more agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier. There comes a point where chasing any one of these individual sub-goals too far is detrimental to the other goals.

However, this is just my personal goal, and I’m sure there are plenty of others out there who want to pursue size over all else. [/quote]

I understand that…I am just pointing out that it seems that many of you are after this “all around athlete” goal…when this is IMPOSSIBLE. You aren’t Captain America…or even Bo Jackson.

Regardless of what you want to do well in life, trying to be “all things” will leave most just running inc circles.

Mind you, that is NOT saying anything bad about your goal…just showing I see a lot of people now with this goal…but very few who actually become outstanding in any area after several years pass.

In my honest opinion, I think many have this goal now because that is what you have been told you are supposed to want…which is more a manufacture of the fitness industry.

It is way easier as a personal trainer to get someone ripped…than get them gigantic and ripped.[/quote]

I don’t really think that the people with these particular goals aim to master any of them really. Just have a balance of them that helps them enjoy their life according to their particular goals. I would consider it almost impossible to excel in anything while working at many things but that’s a trade off some are willing to make.

As a side note: many people who want this “athletic” build and performance often realize that strength training is a priority and tends to benefit a lot of the other domains.

164

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
In effect, it seems we have people who define relatively normal discomfort seen when trying to push your body into new areas of conditioning…as too much to keep pushing.

Shit, there won’t be any really big people left soon if that is the common sentiment lately.[/quote]

I don’t see it personally as a case of not wanting to push myself to achieve my goals, just that being that really big isn’t my goal in the first place. I don’t know if that is how others in this thread feel, but it seems like my opinion is shared by a few.

My goals aren’t just to become bigger/stronger/leaner, but also faster, more agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier. There comes a point where chasing any one of these individual sub-goals too far is detrimental to the other goals.

However, this is just my personal goal, and I’m sure there are plenty of others out there who want to pursue size over all else. [/quote]

I understand that…I am just pointing out that it seems that many of you are after this “all around athlete” goal…when this is IMPOSSIBLE. You aren’t Captain America…or even Bo Jackson.

Regardless of what you want to do well in life, trying to be “all things” will leave most just running inc circles.

Mind you, that is NOT saying anything bad about your goal…just showing I see a lot of people now with this goal…but very few who actually become outstanding in any area after several years pass.

In my honest opinion, I think many have this goal now because that is what you have been told you are supposed to want…which is more a manufacture of the fitness industry.

It is way easier as a personal trainer to get someone ripped…than get them gigantic and ripped.[/quote]

I guess at this point in my life I am content to be better than most at a lot of things but not really be the best at anything. My interests are so varied and I am all the time trying new things so this type of training fits in with my life the best. But I also want to be as big as possible without compromising my athletic goals, and I realize that will not be big comparatively but that’s what I am shooting for because that’s what gives me the most enjoyment. Much the same as you enjoy receiving comments on your size, I enjoy knowing that in most things that I compete in I am the fastest person there.

165

[quote]Professor X wrote:

I understand that…I am just pointing out that it seems that many of you are after this “all around athlete” goal…when this is IMPOSSIBLE. You aren’t Captain America…or even Bo Jackson.

Regardless of what you want to do well in life, trying to be “all things” will leave most just running inc circles.

Mind you, that is NOT saying anything bad about your goal…just showing I see a lot of people now with this goal…but very few who actually become outstanding in any area after several years pass.

In my honest opinion, I think many have this goal now because that is what you have been told you are supposed to want…which is more a manufacture of the fitness industry.

It is way easier as a personal trainer to get someone ripped…than get them gigantic and ripped.[/quote]

I completely agree that it will be impossible for me to reach my goals completely, but then I think the same can be said of any sets of goals. Will you ever be truly content with your physique? Also, on that topic, my training has certain focusses, and for me being relatively big, explosive and lean are a greater priority than fitness and flexibility. I agree that if I were to pursue each goal equally I’d likely make poor gains in each area, so I prioritise some over others.

It may well be the case that many others are influenced in the ways you have described. I can assure you it is not the case for me personally. I grew up reading fantasy novels and since the age of 8 I’ve always longed to have the physique and abilities that I imagined great warrior heroes having. I’ve always thought of them as big and strong, but also fit and flexible etc etc as mentioned above. Major nerd moment, sorry about that.

166

Also, my goals fit my particular body shape much better than “getting hyuge” will. For visiulization, I was built to be the cornerback not the D-end ha

167

[quote]setto222 wrote:
As a side note: many people who want this “athletic” build and performance often realize that strength training is a priority and tends to benefit a lot of the other domains.
[/quote]

That may be true, but let’s be real here, NO ONE is going to walk around getting pegged as enormous in muscularity without that alone being the primary focus for a while.

It is just my opinion that I think many new trainers are literally missing this concept…so they ignore periodization and just run in circles trying to be all things at the same damn time.

168

I can definitely agree with that. I know that no one will ever look at me and think “holy crap that guy is huge”. I never have really chased that maximum size rabbit because it was never as important as other qualities. I want some size but I am only willing to sacrifice so much athleticism to have it.

I sometimes look at training like those create-a-player sliders on Madden. You are given a finite amount of points to distribute amongst your players individual qualities. Judging by our differing opinions, I would bet that our distributions would look a lot different X ha.

Agreed about trainers, but you have to remember that they are frequently dealing with clients that come in and point to a guy like Bauber and say “I want to look like that guy, and I want to be able to dunk, and I want to run a 5k all before I turn 40 in 3 months.” That’s not an excuse for putting people on effectual “do-it all” programs but just saying that they have my sympathies at times.

169

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]setto222 wrote:
As a side note: many people who want this “athletic” build and performance often realize that strength training is a priority and tends to benefit a lot of the other domains.
[/quote]

That may be true, but let’s be real here, NO ONE is going to walk around getting pegged as enormous in muscularity without that alone being the primary focus for a while.

It is just my opinion that I think many new trainers are literally missing this concept…so they ignore periodization and just run in circles trying to be all things at the same damn time.[/quote]

100% agree. The people who watch the CrossFit games and decide that doing mainpage crossfit is the best way to get muscular are bonkers. Many of those athletes strength train for the majority of their workouts and quickly switch over to conditioning before competition. Better yet, many of those athletes focused on strength and Oly lifting for years before they moved into crossfit.

170

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
In effect, it seems we have people who define relatively normal discomfort seen when trying to push your body into new areas of conditioning…as too much to keep pushing.

Shit, there won’t be any really big people left soon if that is the common sentiment lately.[/quote]

I don’t see it personally as a case of not wanting to push myself to achieve my goals, just that being that really big isn’t my goal in the first place. I don’t know if that is how others in this thread feel, but it seems like my opinion is shared by a few.

My goals aren’t just to become bigger/stronger/leaner, but also faster, more agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier. There comes a point where chasing any one of these individual sub-goals too far is detrimental to the other goals.

However, this is just my personal goal, and I’m sure there are plenty of others out there who want to pursue size over all else. [/quote]

I understand that…I am just pointing out that it seems that many of you are after this “all around athlete” goal…when this is IMPOSSIBLE. [/quote]

Huh…this is kind of like setting limits on what one can accomplish…no?

I seem to remember a 1000 page thread where you railed against this.

Hmmmmmm

171

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
In effect, it seems we have people who define relatively normal discomfort seen when trying to push your body into new areas of conditioning…as too much to keep pushing.

Shit, there won’t be any really big people left soon if that is the common sentiment lately.[/quote]

I don’t see it personally as a case of not wanting to push myself to achieve my goals, just that being that really big isn’t my goal in the first place. I don’t know if that is how others in this thread feel, but it seems like my opinion is shared by a few.

My goals aren’t just to become bigger/stronger/leaner, but also faster, more agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier. There comes a point where chasing any one of these individual sub-goals too far is detrimental to the other goals.

However, this is just my personal goal, and I’m sure there are plenty of others out there who want to pursue size over all else. [/quote]

I understand that…I am just pointing out that it seems that many of you are after this “all around athlete” goal…when this is IMPOSSIBLE. [/quote]

Huh…this is kind of like setting limits on what one can accomplish…no?

I seem to remember a 1000 page thread where you railed against this.

Hmmmmmm[/quote]

Illogical statement by you.

No one is placing limits by saying it would take several life times to be able to conquer ALL SPORTS…unless someone is a genius savant in that area which is possible.

172

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
In effect, it seems we have people who define relatively normal discomfort seen when trying to push your body into new areas of conditioning…as too much to keep pushing.

Shit, there won’t be any really big people left soon if that is the common sentiment lately.[/quote]

I don’t see it personally as a case of not wanting to push myself to achieve my goals, just that being that really big isn’t my goal in the first place. I don’t know if that is how others in this thread feel, but it seems like my opinion is shared by a few.

My goals aren’t just to become bigger/stronger/leaner, but also faster, more agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier. There comes a point where chasing any one of these individual sub-goals too far is detrimental to the other goals.

However, this is just my personal goal, and I’m sure there are plenty of others out there who want to pursue size over all else. [/quote]

I understand that…I am just pointing out that it seems that many of you are after this “all around athlete” goal…when this is IMPOSSIBLE. [/quote]

Huh…this is kind of like setting limits on what one can accomplish…no?

I seem to remember a 1000 page thread where you railed against this.

Hmmmmmm[/quote]

Illogical statement by you.

No one is placing limits by saying it would take several life times to be able to conquer ALL SPORTS…unless someone is a genius savant in that area which is possible.

[/quote]

Which one of these is a sport?

“More agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier.”

Nobody mentioned any sports?

Just admit you just did EXACTLY what you argued so valiantly against.

173

[quote]UtahLama wrote:
Which one of these is a sport?

“More agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier.”

Nobody mentioned any sports?

Just admit you just did EXACTLY what you argued so valiantly against.
[/quote]

Actually, we just mentioned sports…which is why I mentioned Bo Jackson.

It was relating that idea to be an all around athlete.

You may have caught that if you read the thread instead of just looking for things to complain about.

174

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

Which one of these is a sport?

“More agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier.”

Nobody mentioned any sports?

Just admit you just did EXACTLY what you argued so valiantly against.
[/quote]

Actually, we just mentioned sports…which is why I mentioned Bo Jackson.

It was relating that idea to be an all around athlete.

You may have caught that if you read the thread instead of just looking for things to complain about.
[/quote]

I did read the thread, and caught your typical hypocrisy…I know you never admit to being wrong, and will argue anything until you die.

But this is open and shut.

But as per usual that does not matter to you.

For the record I agree with you, chasing multiple masters does not work…I just enjoy your politician like ability to flip/flop.

Carry on.

175

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

Which one of these is a sport?

“More agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier.”

Nobody mentioned any sports?

Just admit you just did EXACTLY what you argued so valiantly against.
[/quote]

Actually, we just mentioned sports…which is why I mentioned Bo Jackson.

It was relating that idea to be an all around athlete.

You may have caught that if you read the thread instead of just looking for things to complain about.
[/quote]

I did read the thread, and caught your typical hypocrisy…I know you never admit to being wrong, and will argue anything until you die.

But this is open and shut.

But as per usual that does not matter to you.

For the record I agree with you, chasing multiple masters does not work…I just enjoy your politician like ability to flip/flop.

Carry on.[/quote]

Uh, wow…someone saying “no one can gain more than 80lbs of muscle naturally” (when people are sitting there saying they did it) is now the same as “unless a genius savant, you will not be a master at all sports in one life time”.

Uh, ok.

Back to the topic…since that went nowhere.

176

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

Which one of these is a sport?

“More agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier.”

Nobody mentioned any sports?

Just admit you just did EXACTLY what you argued so valiantly against.
[/quote]

Actually, we just mentioned sports…which is why I mentioned Bo Jackson.

It was relating that idea to be an all around athlete.

You may have caught that if you read the thread instead of just looking for things to complain about.
[/quote]

I did read the thread, and caught your typical hypocrisy…I know you never admit to being wrong, and will argue anything until you die.

But this is open and shut.

But as per usual that does not matter to you.

For the record I agree with you, chasing multiple masters does not work…I just enjoy your politician like ability to flip/flop.

Carry on.[/quote]

Uh, wow…someone saying “no one can gain more than 80lbs of muscle naturally” (when people are sitting there saying they did it) is now the same as “unless a genius savant, you will not be a master at all sports in one life time”.

Uh, ok.

Back to the topic…since that went nowhere.[/quote]

LOL…just amazing.

You say in one thread…don’t assign limits, that will hold people back.

YOu say in this thread…there is NO WAY you can do this, it’s IMPOSSIBLE.

LOL

177

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

Which one of these is a sport?

“More agile, more flexible, fitter and healthier.”

Nobody mentioned any sports?

Just admit you just did EXACTLY what you argued so valiantly against.
[/quote]

Actually, we just mentioned sports…which is why I mentioned Bo Jackson.

It was relating that idea to be an all around athlete.

You may have caught that if you read the thread instead of just looking for things to complain about.
[/quote]

I did read the thread, and caught your typical hypocrisy…I know you never admit to being wrong, and will argue anything until you die.

But this is open and shut.

But as per usual that does not matter to you.

For the record I agree with you, chasing multiple masters does not work…I just enjoy your politician like ability to flip/flop.

Carry on.[/quote]

Uh, wow…someone saying “no one can gain more than 80lbs of muscle naturally” (when people are sitting there saying they did it) is now the same as “unless a genius savant, you will not be a master at all sports in one life time”.

Uh, ok.

Back to the topic…since that went nowhere.[/quote]

LOL…just amazing.

You say in one thread…don’t assign limits, that will hold people back.

YOu say in this thread…there is NO WAY you can do this, it’s IMPOSSIBLE.

LOL[/quote]

I actually wrote is is POSSIBLE if you are a genius savant in that area…so what are you talking about?

178

So I just learned that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to improve on getting bigger/stronger/leaner and just generally more athletic (which I thought was a modest goal) unless you are some genius savant demi-god.

179

[quote]jbpick86 wrote:
I can definitely agree with that. I know that no one will ever look at me and think “holy crap that guy is huge”. I never have really chased that maximum size rabbit because it was never as important as other qualities. I want some size but I am only willing to sacrifice so much athleticism to have it.

I sometimes look at training like those create-a-player sliders on Madden. You are given a finite amount of points to distribute amongst your players individual qualities. Judging by our differing opinions, I would bet that our distributions would look a lot different X ha.

Agreed about trainers, but you have to remember that they are frequently dealing with clients that come in and point to a guy like Bauber and say “I want to look like that guy, and I want to be able to dunk, and I want to run a 5k all before I turn 40 in 3 months.” That’s not an excuse for putting people on effectual “do-it all” programs but just saying that they have my sympathies at times.[/quote]

Lets get back to the topic, pretty sure I had the last relevant post. I am enjoying this discussion to much for it to go down in flames just yet.

180

[quote]Maiden3.16 wrote:
So I just learned that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to improve on getting bigger/stronger/leaner and just generally more athletic (which I thought was a modest goal) unless you are some genius savant demi-god.
[/quote]

Wow, who said this?

This isn’t about “improving”. We were taking about MASTERING.

You seem lost here.