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Gaining Size… Why?
I’ve had this thought on and off over the years and thought I’d post.
I remember when I was 18. I saw some photos of bodybuilder Achim Albrecht in a muscle magazine and thought, “Man, I’d love to look like that.” If I remember right, he was about 5′10″ (my height), and weighed about 250 (about 100 pounds more than me). But, I really wanted to look like that.
I just looked up some photos of him (same photos, in fact) and, well… Why would anyone want to look like that? Funny how your priorities and perspective change as you get older.
Now if you’ve looked around here, you should know that this is not a bodybuilding site. I think that building functional strength the old-fashioned way can make your body look and feel its best. Plus as the old saying goes, you can be as strong as you look.
Leaving bodybuilding alone though, if you’re interested in gaining mass, I encourage you to think about why. Why do you want to be bigger? Really think about it.
It’s not a bad thing in and of itself. There are good reasons. Maybe you’re underweight and are tired of being skinny. Maybe you play football or another sport where some additional weight would be an advantage. Maybe you’re into powerlifting or strongman, and you simply need to gain size to continue gaining strength (or think you need to).
But there are a lot of people out there who want to be bigger simply for the sake of being bigger. Maybe it’s the, “Wow, look how big that guy is!” factor, I don’t know. But before you start putting on the pounds for no real reason, think about what you’re getting yourself into.
- You have to eat a lot, and that can be expensive.
- You have to buy bigger clothes.
- You will lose some mobility.
- You will be heavier. How will that effect you standing, walking, sitting, lying down, etc.? What about long-term effects on your joints?
- You will get older, and will likely end up with more fat than you planned on.
Now again, I’m not knocking the idea of gaining mass when you have a reason. I’m all for people reaching their goals. What I’m talking about is relatively young people who want to gain some ridiculous amount of weight (like 50 pounds or something) simply because they think it would be cool to be big. I can almost guarantee that you’ll eventually end up wishing you hadn’t done it.
Personally, I always try to think about practical things. I can think of a few situations where being heavy could be an advantage in a life or death situation. However it seems that more often than not, it would be a hindrance.
So, if you are six feet tall and weigh 150 pounds, by all means - put on some weight! Get a barbell and do some deadlifts or squats, eat your meat and drink your milk. But if you’re six feet tall and are at a normal weight (say, 180 or so) - do you really think you need to gain 50 pounds? If your sport calls for it, then maybe so. But just for the heck of it? Think it through.
Tags: Barbells & Dumbells, Muscle Building, Strength TrainingPopularity: 15% [?]
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