I step on the scale and I know it says I weigh 215lbs but when I look in the mirror I feel like i’m 185lbs. My arms look small but they are 17 inches cold flexed.
I know its all in my head but does anyone else feel like this?
[quote]anijjar wrote:
I step on the scale and I know it says I weigh 215lbs but when I look in the mirror I feel like i’m 185lbs. My arms look small but they are 17 inches cold flexed.
I know its all in my head but does anyone else feel like this?[/quote]
That depends on what your goals are. I would consider 17" to be small FOR ME at that body weight so no, it is not that far off that you feel that way if you compare yourself to people more developed.
Smaller people or those who don’t lift wouldn’t understand that. They would claim something is wrong with you because you see yourself as needing to improve. It is that desire to improve and the fact that we do see areas that need to be worked on that keeps us in this.
I know I’m a big guy, but I don’t walk around like I consider myself to be that big. I think I have a long way to go and that I don’t look as developed as I would like to be. There is a big difference between that and actually thinking you see a skinny rail in the mirror.
Many of us who started this as skinny guys never actually see ourselves as “big enough”.
It’s call big-o-rexia. Many of us suffer from it. There is no cure. Every goal in size you reach will only prove to you that you didn’t set your goal high enough.
I also think the reason I feel small is do to being 6’2. When I see a guy that is 5’8 or 5’9 he looks enormous compared to me.
I definitely started off as a skinny guy. We are talking 6’2 at 170. That was about 2.5 years ago. I put on 55 pounds and still feel like the same guy at 170. So I see what you mean.
Read the “To Be Or Not To Be” thread going right now. Professor X and said very similar things in regards to what keeps you pushing the envelope.
Dude, it’s not just tall people.
I’m 5’6" tall and weigh 197. I’m a 41" chest and 17" arms but no one EVER says I’m big or comments about me being a bodybuilder/lifter at all. I do get told I don’t look my age (36), people guess me at 29 or 30.
My solution to this problem is to get cut this year. I’m working hard to get seriously lean because a lean guy looks bigger then a guy who outweighs him by 50lbs with no definition.
Don’t believe me? Watch Blade 3 and look at Ryan Reynolds. The dude looks HUGE, but he’s not, he’s just cut like a razor.
I know exactly how you feel. My "bigorexia’ makes me feel like a little sissy, even though I’m bigger then 95% of the people in the gym. I think it’s because I compare myself to the pro’s in the magazines and not the people around me.
I think it keeps me motivated to get bigger, but also makes me feel I’m never happy with my appearance…It’s one of those sucky good things!
- Adam
Yeah I get the age thing too. I’m actually 24 and people think i’m 29 or 30. Then it comes as a shock to them that I am actually younger than them. Hopefully by the time my competition rolls around in november I feel a lot better about my physique.
[quote]MightyMaus wrote:
Dude, it’s not just tall people.
I’m 5’6" tall and weigh 197. I’m a 41" chest and 17" arms but no one EVER says I’m big or comments about me being a bodybuilder/lifter at all. I do get told I don’t look my age (36), people guess me at 29 or 30.
My solution to this problem is to get cut this year. I’m working hard to get seriously lean because a lean guy looks bigger then a guy who outweighs him by 50lbs with no definition.
Don’t believe me? Watch Blade 3 and look at Ryan Reynolds. The dude looks HUGE, but he’s not, he’s just cut like a razor.[/quote]
No, Ryan Reynolds does NOT look “HUGE” in Blade III. No, someone 50lbs heavier does not look smaller than someone who is ripped at the same height unless that 50lbs is all blubber and they simply look out of shape.
I’d rather think that I look smaller than I am than think I look bigger than I am…
[quote]gabex wrote:
I’d rather think that I look smaller than I am than think I look bigger than I am…[/quote]
That’s how I feel about it. The only downside is people who don’t lift will think you are insane if you weigh much over 230lbs yet claim you want to get bigger. That is why I don’t discuss this shit outside of this forum and some people at the gym.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Many of us who started this as skinny guys never actually see ourselves as “big enough”.[/quote]
That is just the opposite with those of us that started off fat. We never see ourselves as “lean enough” which can hurt our progress in the end as a bodybuilder do to the fear of being fat once again. lol I’m working on it though!
Don’t feel too bad dude, just keep workin on what you view as your flaws. I’m a little smaller than you weightwise (6’1", 208 lbs or so), albeit with BF% around 13-15%, and i doubt my arms exceed 15 and a half inches… look like shit, ha. Just motivates me more.
[quote]MightyMaus wrote:
Don’t believe me? Watch Blade 3 and look at Ryan Reynolds. The dude looks HUGE, but he’s not, he’s just cut like a razor.[/quote]
Yeah, he must be what, 6lbs heavier than Brad Pitt? He’s really pushing the limits of what looks good and being TOO big!
Oh I dont feel bad. I just think it sucks but oh well there is nothing I can do about it.
Your all misinterpreting what I’m saying about how Reynolds looked in Blade III. Perhaps I just worded it wrong.
A guy at 200 at < 10% body fat will always look better to the ladies and the untrained eye than they guy at 230+ and 15%< bodyfat.
95% of the feedback we get about how we look is nonverbal, social and from people who don’t know jack sh*t about this stuff. To those people a lean, muscular physique will always outrank size/strength without definition.
Hence why the maligned Mr. Pitt can f*ck any woman on the planet, and has probably had more “grade A” *ss than all of us combined.
My fiancee drooled over Reynolds in Blade III, but when I showed her a youtube of a guy benching 1,000 all she could say was “But… he’s FAT!”.
The truth hurts.
[quote]anijjar wrote:
Oh I dont feel bad. I just think it sucks but oh well there is nothing I can do about it. [/quote]
There is, lean out - hard. Trust me, the girls at the pool will notice.
Judging from your avatar I’d say your about a 160 lbs.
I’m just fuckin’ with ya man! Read this book:
[quote]MightyMaus wrote:
anijjar wrote:
Oh I dont feel bad. I just think it sucks but oh well there is nothing I can do about it.
There is, lean out - hard. Trust me, the girls at the pool will notice.[/quote]
Well right now I am between 8-10% bf and this is the first I have ever been able to see my this clearly without flexing. Its a pretty good feeling. When I am down 4-5% for the competition I am sure I will a lot better about myself.
Oooopppps, wrong book!