Life Sucks

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

warning this thread has alot of bitching with leads to one question in the end

So I finally found a partner to go to the gym with last month. Which is great because intensity and ability to lift heavier has improved. However my partner is the same height, about 15lbs lighter than me and is significantly weaker. But he’s got a lean muscular physique, you can definitely tell he works out.

Anywho, we’re at work one day and the fact that we work out together is brought up. Some jack ass at work looks at me and says, well thats good you should be able to catch up to him pretty soon if you work out together. My workout partner looks at him confused and says, “i’m actually trying to catch up to him but he’s kicking my ass in the gym”. My co-worker looked completely shocked that I could possibly be bigger and stronger than this guy. I wanted to bitch slap him.

But this isn’t the first time this has happened. My roommate is now 30lbs lighter than me, when we used to weight the same amount people always thought he was heavier than me. Now I’m heavier than him by alot and people guess us at around the same weight give or take a few pounds. With an exception of when we go out to the beach or swimming and we have our shirts off then people can usually see a difference.
THen yesterday the topic of weight came up with a girl friend of mine and she guessed me at around 160lbs.

I really don’t understand how people can look at me and think I weight 30lbs lighter than I actually do. My thinking is that it could either be one of 2 things.

  1. I have lagging forearms which could make me look smaller when I’m in a shirt.

  2. My skeletal structure is a bit more narrow giving me a more lean appearance than most.

Does anyone else have this problem or have any ides on what the problem could be?

suggestions, comments flames welcomed!

2

Get used to it.
Unless you’re willing to sacrifice a lot of time/money to build thick forearms, big traps etc. so huge that you really stand out, it will be hard to tell that you work out if you have slender frame to begin with.
If you don’t train for size you gotta accept this. Life can suck!
If you do (bodybuilding) just be consistent with your training, it will pay off.

P.S.: Especially women have no clue what “muscular” means and will always think of Brad Pitt in Fight Club.

3

Your life doesnt suck.
Not sure if I would have spent 5 minutes typing out a rant about something like this.

Anyway, skinny frames will mostly always look skinny next to someone with a full frame.

People look at exposed areas to judge size.
This includes traps sticking out of tshirt necks, jawbones, forearms and calfs (when in shorts).

A guy can have hooge traps and forearms and look massive. Do more deads and hammer those forearms more.

4

who cares. use this in the gym when lifting to make you lift better and get bigger.

5

i don’t know why you care what these people think…?

6

There are children in Lebanon who would give their right leg for such a sucky life.

Get bigger. Or live with it. Those are your choices. Whining doesn’t help.

7

I’m 6’4" and have a lanky frame and get the same comments, too, even though I’m stronger than many people “thicker” than me. You just have to ignore it, or better yet evaluate why you’re placing that much importantance on the comments.

Unless you’re standing on a box, you’re pretty tall too, correct? Society generally generally treats tall people better. It’s best to enjoy that advantage and suck this disadvantage up.

8

[quote]hueyOT wrote:
i don’t know why you care what these people think…?[/quote]

Thanks for the replies.
Yeah I know this was more of a rant but today is an off day so I couldn’t take my frustration out in the gym so I decided to rant on here. It helps. :slight_smile:

However I do care somewhat what other people think. I work out to get stronger and for asthetic purposes. I don’t care if people look at me and don’t think I’m drop dead sexy. But at the same time I would like people to see the difference between me and a guy that is 30lbs lighter than me who doesn’t lift or eat right at all.

Thanks for the advice as far as doing more deads, increases my dead by 100lbs is my new goal.

9

nothing wrong with being ‘somewhat’ concerned with what other think… but it depends on what.

do you really care what somebody who doesn’t train at all thinks about physiques? their opinions are probably shaped by cosmopolitan magazine, music videos, and movie stars who depends on oil, tanning, makeup, and funny camera angles with lighting to look good.

so fuck it.

10

[quote]hueyOT wrote:
nothing wrong with being ‘somewhat’ concerned with what other think… but it depends on what.

do you really care what somebody who doesn’t train at all thinks about physiques? their opinions are probably shaped by cosmopolitan magazine, music videos, and movie stars who depends on oil, tanning, makeup, and funny camera angles with lighting to look good.

so fuck it.[/quote]

True

11

[quote]AndrewG909 wrote:
hueyOT wrote:
i don’t know why you care what these people think…?

Thanks for the replies.
Yeah I know this was more of a rant but today is an off day so I couldn’t take my frustration out in the gym so I decided to rant on here. It helps. :slight_smile:

However I do care somewhat what other people think. I work out to get stronger and for asthetic purposes. I don’t care if people look at me and don’t think I’m drop dead sexy. But at the same time I would like people to see the difference between me and a guy that is 30lbs lighter than me who doesn’t lift or eat right at all.

Thanks for the advice as far as doing more deads, increases my dead by 100lbs is my new goal.[/quote]

Of course. Everyone cares about what people think, anyone who says you shouldn’t is being ignorant. Although it seems noble to say you’re “bodybuilding for your own peace and enjoyment,” this isn’t the case. I love working out and I love looking bigger, but if I were the last person in the world I wouldn’t do it.

Unfortunately (for you maybe, not for me), taller people tend to get the shitty end of the stick. If you’re 6 feet tall with 17 inch arms, you won’t look very big at all. If you’re 5’5 with 17 inch arms, you’re fairly massive to the avergage population. If you just have a small frame, use it to your advantage and focus on your shoulders, lats.

12

You’re an idiot.

13

I had a roommate that was 5 inches taller than me and weighed about 15-20 pounds lighter than me. I could bench almost twice what he could, squat more than twice what he could and people still thought he was the big one cause he was taller. Point being that people factor height into it a lot.

Also judgin by the pics in your profile you should probably do as was mentioned before and deadlift more for bigger forearms, and for your traps here http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459280

14

My dad and I are the exact same height with identical dimensions (leg/torso length). He also lifts, so upper body builds are similar as well.

However, I carry a great deal of muscle and fat in my lower body whereas he has scrawny birdlegs, having never done a leg exercise in his life.

I weigh 30lbs more than him but most people would never guess it.

Distribution of body mass can make all the difference.

15

[quote]kevbo wrote:
Of course. Everyone cares about what people think, anyone who says you shouldn’t is being ignorant. Although it seems noble to say you’re “bodybuilding for your own peace and enjoyment,” this isn’t the case. I love working out and I love looking bigger, but if I were the last person in the world I wouldn’t do it.[/quote]

Speak for yourself. I don’t like that people can tell I work out. I don’t want their “yo, you the buff man!” comments. I don’t want the questions “why do you do it?” I loathe attention and don’t want any of it. But it seems I have to get used to it, to learn to get out of it as quickly as possible.

Not everyone does this for others. I just want to be all that I can be, out of a sense of duty. I feel I owe it to the universe and everything in it, to live up to my highest potential, or die trying.

But you’re right, kevbo, that I do care about what people think. I want them to leave me alone.

And I’m sorry for anyone who’s the opposite, and wants to get this attention. But maybe you understand now that, like anything, it’s a double-edged sword.

16

[quote]AndrewG909 wrote:
warning this thread has alot of bitching with leads to one question in the end

So I finally found a partner to go to the gym with last month. Which is great because intensity and ability to lift heavier has improved. However my partner is the same height, about 15lbs lighter than me and is significantly weaker. But he’s got a lean muscular physique, you can definitely tell he works out.

Anywho, we’re at work one day and the fact that we work out together is brought up. Some jack ass at work looks at me and says, well thats good you should be able to catch up to him pretty soon if you work out together. My workout partner looks at him confused and says, “i’m actually trying to catch up to him but he’s kicking my ass in the gym”. My co-worker looked completely shocked that I could possibly be bigger and stronger than this guy. I wanted to bitch slap him.

But this isn’t the first time this has happened. My roommate is now 30lbs lighter than me, when we used to weight the same amount people always thought he was heavier than me. Now I’m heavier than him by alot and people guess us at around the same weight give or take a few pounds. With an exception of when we go out to the beach or swimming and we have our shirts off then people can usually see a difference.
THen yesterday the topic of weight came up with a girl friend of mine and she guessed me at around 160lbs.

I really don’t understand how people can look at me and think I weight 30lbs lighter than I actually do. My thinking is that it could either be one of 2 things.

  1. I have lagging forearms which could make me look smaller when I’m in a shirt.

  2. My skeletal structure is a bit more narrow giving me a more lean appearance than most.

Does anyone else have this problem or have any ides on what the problem could be?

suggestions, comments flames welcomed![/quote]

If most of those people knew you when you were smaller, that may explain why some will always see you as a skinny guy unless you add much more weight than where you are now. As far as people not guessing your weight correctly, unless they are into sports or bodybuilding, most people don’t have a clue how much someone weighs outside of “average”. Most people don’t have any concept of what 200+lbs of solid weight actually looks like. Guys in the gym may be able to tell but others won’t.

17

[quote]hueyOT wrote:
nothing wrong with being ‘somewhat’ concerned with what other think… but it depends on what.

do you really care what somebody who doesn’t train at all thinks about physiques? their opinions are probably shaped by cosmopolitan magazine, music videos, and movie stars who depends on oil, tanning, makeup, and funny camera angles with lighting to look good.

so fuck it.[/quote]

good stuff

18

[quote]Kailash wrote:
kevbo wrote:
Of course. Everyone cares about what people think, anyone who says you shouldn’t is being ignorant. Although it seems noble to say you’re “bodybuilding for your own peace and enjoyment,” this isn’t the case. I love working out and I love looking bigger, but if I were the last person in the world I wouldn’t do it.

Speak for yourself. I don’t like that people can tell I work out. I don’t want their “yo, you the buff man!” comments. I don’t want the questions “why do you do it?” I loathe attention and don’t want any of it. But it seems I have to get used to it, to learn to get out of it as quickly as possible.

Not everyone does this for others. I just want to be all that I can be, out of a sense of duty. I feel I owe it to the universe and everything in it, to live up to my highest potential, or die trying.

But you’re right, kevbo, that I do care about what people think. I want them to leave me alone.

And I’m sorry for anyone who’s the opposite, and wants to get this attention. But maybe you understand now that, like anything, it’s a double-edged sword.[/quote]

He won’t understand just like most people won’t unless they are actually carrying enough size to stand out everywhere they go. Yes, it does get tiresome sometimes for people to ALWAYS acknowledge you based on size. You end up learning to get used to it. However, it isn’t something you can take off at will. Someone who carries that much size won’t blend in anywhere. Work on your own self confidence and it won’t matter much.

Along with that is the truth that someone who truly pushes themselves that far above average isn’t looking to fit in. I have no desire to be only a number or to be easily missed upon walking into a room. I could care less for the most part what every individual thinks. I didn’t blend in even when I was smaller so it really isn’t that much of an issue.

One thing that does stand out is how much importance he places on the thoughts of others. If you are only lifting for other people, I doubt how long you will be doing this. People like that seem to be the first to drop out of the gym the moment life throws a curveball. They become one the “off and on”.

19

Hey man, tyler durden had great abs…
Maybe that’s just what people are think- mistaken. Maybe wear smaller clothes to reveal your build? It is summer after all. As long as you are talking about events such as gaining 15kgs of muscle, you aren’t going to be wrong

20

[quote]Kailash wrote:
kevbo wrote:
Of course. Everyone cares about what people think, anyone who says you shouldn’t is being ignorant. Although it seems noble to say you’re “bodybuilding for your own peace and enjoyment,” this isn’t the case. I love working out and I love looking bigger, but if I were the last person in the world I wouldn’t do it.

Speak for yourself. I don’t like that people can tell I work out. I don’t want their “yo, you the buff man!” comments. I don’t want the questions “why do you do it?” I loathe attention and don’t want any of it. But it seems I have to get used to it, to learn to get out of it as quickly as possible.

Not everyone does this for others. I just want to be all that I can be, out of a sense of duty. I feel I owe it to the universe and everything in it, to live up to my highest potential, or die trying.

But you’re right, kevbo, that I do care about what people think. I want them to leave me alone.

And I’m sorry for anyone who’s the opposite, and wants to get this attention. But maybe you understand now that, like anything, it’s a double-edged sword.[/quote]

Don’t get me wrong like I said I don’t want to stand out at all. Being extremely skinny all my life I would be happy if people just didn’t view me as puny.

Prof X. THanks for the comment. To answer the question of why I lift: I can’t lie, part of the reason I want to get big is so that when I come home from overseas and my girlfriend sees me, she will be impressed. BUt I don’t solely work out for her, I’ve been working out since freshman year in highschool on a daily basis but I didn’t know shit from shinola, so dedication to lifting shouldn’t be a problem. I agree that if I did solely do it for her I wouldn’t be lasting very long I do it mostly for strength, overall health, and well because I would like to get into boxing again but I would like to do it for a whole nother weight division. However even though I don’t work out entirely for other people it still is a little kick in the gut when I get compared to people that can’t even bench there own body weight. I know you said that always getting asked your size and always standing out can be tiresome but can you honestly say it wouldn’t bother you if you were standing next to a guy who is significantly smaller than you and people looked at him as being your superior??? If you don’t you are a much greater man than I.

Thanks for all the responses. I guess you guys are right, alot of it is probably a confidence thing. I should learn to take what people say lightly.