I was chatting this over with a gym bud the other day, I have been ripped to the teeth a couple of times before, and have been massive(for me) often too. I have always persued my goals along the lines of looking good naked, bulking then cutting down as soon as possible - but what about looking good clothed. I am happy with how i look naked, farly defined, but no major cuts. but i have recently been bulking seriously, and have put on a stack of size, along with a lil fat. But now when I wear go out, I LOOK like i train, a six pack’s great, but i dont show it that often, but i am in regular clothes everyday. I like being called ‘BEEF’ or ‘ARNIE’ and people asking ‘how long have you been training’ rather than ‘do you train’ even though im not the leanest in the world. People stare - and I love it. Im not OTT huge at all, but I love looking different to other people, i love being storm-proof, and I find normal boring. Just wondering others opinion on this one.
If I was huge & strong, it would be obvious & if I was ripped & not so strong I’d probably look like a normal guy. I think I’d rather be huge & really strong & get looks & stuff.
My friend and I use the term “Chunk” to sometimes describe individuals who have mass, but don’t wear it well. I think that mass is important, but I get pissed off when you see a guy in the gym who is massive and he uses it to move a bunch of weight, but doesn’t put in the effort to get hard and ripped. Some guys are just innately massive, and that is fine. But I think it requires more hard work to put on quality mass, and then shed the weight and get ripped up. I would say being ripped is preferable, and being a “Chunk,” is worthy only for mass cycles.
I think I got more “I want to have sex with him” stares when I weighed 215 than now when I weight 245. But I suppose I looked like I trained when I was 215 too.
I’ve found the same thing. When I’ve looked my best clothed (about 200lbs @ 12%) I’ve been lacking in the naked department. When I’ve looked my best naked (160lbs @ 6%) I’ve been lacking in the clothed department. A good idea is to look great in clothes when you need to wear clothes the most (late fall, winter, early spring). Then cut down and look good naked during “beach season” (summer) when you don’t wear clothes nearly as often.
I have experienced both ends of the ripped spectrum, Dannyboy. Three years ago I was 280 at about 18% bf (at 6’1") and appeared enormous clothed. The strength was fun also (benching 405 for reps). I soon tired of my hugeness because I could do little but lift weights. I am now 225 at 8% and am scoring at an alarming rate. I also feel much better and have superior performance in athletics as a result. I have found though, that you can appear much heavier than your weight clothed by having a wide back and shoulders and ripped arms. Most people think I am around 250. Just my two cents, the choice is yours.
Keep training hard. Go on mass cycles for a period of time and then lean out for a period of time. Keep doing this over the years(yes years)and sooner or later you’ll look huge even when you’re real lean. It just takes time, commitment, and patience. Set short(3-6 months)mid range(1-2 years)and long term(3-10 year)goals. This is assuming you haven’t been training and dieting seriously for that long. Ten years ago I had the same problem, but 50lbs of muscle later the problem is solved(that’s five pounds of muscle per year).
I dieted for about 4 months and I got lean enough to see my abs decently, about 9% bodyfat. I got some more looks from women than normal. Then I went on a bulking cycle. Let me tell you the looks, comments, and touches I have been getting from women since then have been amazing. I have never had such success with women. I am now at about 11% bodyfat. So, even though I’m a little fatter it is the size that really turned them on. Keep in mind I was never small though. I mean I am about to diet again to get ripped. But, I think that size at a fairly low bodyfat, like 12% or below is fine. No chick is gonna freak if both of you guys get naked with the intention of having sex and you have a little bit of fat on your midsection. Sure a six pack is more attractive, but if she wants to see you naked already you’re home free. So, bottom line, IMHO you should never get above 12% or so, maybe a little bit higher over winter when bulking, and try to have some decent size. Then you should have no trouble attracting women. Of course the ideal goal would be to be both big and totally ripped but that is difficult to do and even more difficult to maintain.
Well, for one thing, if you are training for others perception, you have already lost. You can’t win that game, not even tie. Be pleased in yourself first.
Overall i would agree that being both big and ripped is an ideal goal, and is my future, however I am currently natural(whatever that is!) and go from being very lean to a larger, bulked up state a couple of times a year. Ripped is great, and i wouldnt go to the beach summer time if i wasnt lean. My point is that when everthings going well, and ordinary people, who as a rule have no idea what we put ourselves through, stop and notice. I would love to be bigger, I dont think i’ll ever stop training and i agree that ‘chunks’ are not how i want to be percieved, i am currently at 204lbs@12%, yet was down to about 7% in summer, and had been lean for quite a long time. Just enjoying hefting big weights and feeling very stable at the mo! I agree that time, commitment and patience are definitely necessary - and since i have concentrated on back and shoulder size as atlas stated people notice it alot more as it is uncommon. As far as people percieve me, I orignally started this endevour years ago for that reason - but the feeling of self worth & confidence it has given me is great.
I am another guy who’s in the small-medium size, but quite lean (180 and about 8%). In a big jacket, you couldn’t tell me apart from a guy who didn’t work out, but that’s not the point. If you choose clothes that emphasize your muscularity and shape, women will notice, guaranteed. And I don’t mean just wearing those “monkey-man” muscle shirts all the time - choose sweaters and shirts that are light enough or shaped so that they show your development off. Sometimes subtle hints via tasteful fashion choices are better than “in-your-face” size, but I am of course biased being a medium-sized guy. You can also focus more on visible muscle groups like the other guys said…forearms, traps, and delts, along with an emphasis on back work will probably show up the most…two cents appears on the table…
Cam,
I totally agree with you on choosing clothes that highlight your physique. I’m medium build myself being about 185lbs with about 5% bf. I get pretty decent comments on my physique because I have good back and traps development. Some think I weigh more than I do because of this.
Man, what a great topic, lots of good opinions, so I thought I’d add mine.
Maybe a little background on me first is a good idea. I’m about 6’6, and was very skinny through high school. My persistance in the gym paid off, and eventually I hit a high of about 224lbs. My athletic performance increased greatly and chicks started to notice me. I dropped back and normally fluctuated between 200-215lbs.
Then this past summer I decided to give modeling a try and went balls to the wall with my training and nutrition and frankly it was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life, and certainly the most rewarding. When I finally got my first photoshoot done, my bodyfat dipped to about 4% and I weighed about 205. Seems low for a guy my size, but I looked incredible. I can’t tell you what it was like to have all those people stare at me at the beach like that, or look at me like I wasn’t human. My photos quickly got me an agent (despite being ‘too tall’ for modeling, my bodyshots made the agents jaw drop so she took me on) and I’d never been so proud of myself before.
More recently however, I've taken an interest in moving into fitness modeling instead of mainstream. I was on a mass cycle until this past saturday and I hit a peak of 241 lbs. Now because I have very good genetics and fast metabolism, my bodyfat never really went up that much (doubtful it ever went over 9%) and it won't take me long to get it back down again to see that 8pack :) I'm hoping to be 225-230 ripped now. I guess I am very fortunate to be able to stay so lean during mass phases.
But during my mass cycle I felt awesome. I’ve never felt more powerful and confident in my entire life. And because of my natural leanness, I still looked awesome. And I was very vascular, and one thing I’ve come to love over the years is vascularity. A girl came up to me in a bar this saturday and told me my arms looked gross because of all the veins. But it didn’t stop her from talking to me for 20 mins as she played with them 
So anyways, my point is that I’m torn. Acheiving ultimate leanness was awesome. The coolest thing anyone said to me when I was ultra-lean was that I looked fake. But there is also something to be said for walking around feeling so strong and powerful, which just doesn’t happen when your bodyfat is that low.
I find it really makes of difference who you hang out with. If you go to the beach with a bunch of tan and ripped guys and you just went on a mass cycle, or even you haven’t got as lean as you want yet, they get more looks than you. I know when I was in college playing football still, I looked like a normal guy (to an extent anyhow) when I weighed 250 and the rest of the linemen I hung out with were 250+.
But to put it in perspective, have you ever talked to two different women, one looks like Julia Roberts and the other is the ugly duckling. But after you start talking to them the ugly ducking starts looking better and better because she is so cool, plus if you’re not comparing her to Julia Roberts it makes a lot of difference.