Bodybuilders looking huge for their actual weight

[29trt]

I don't know if this topic has been brought up before but couldn't find anything in search.
Anyway I've noticed this since I first started lifting 15 years ago and got into bodybuilding some guys seem huge for their weight... and I do not mean the ilusion you get when you are shredded and you seem 30lbs heavier even though you lost 30lbs when cutting...
I am talking about guys at same level of BF one looks muscular and big but the other one looks like a baloon animal twice the size at same weight....
I remember a Yt video with that guy Jujimufu that went to train with a clasic physique guy and when they stated their weight even Juji was a bit taken back as he weighed the same as the other guy but that guy looked huge (granted he was a bit taller but still... wider, bigger etc) wtf is going on... and people talk about muscle maturity like what is that supposed to mean? one guy has muscle maturity and looks dense and hard and the other has what? water instead of muscle fibers, colagen?
And I am sure muscle insertions and shape play a role but still... is that all there is to it?

 

[jJjburton]

I don't know if this topic has been brought up before but couldn't find anything in search.
Anyway I've noticed this since I first started lifting 15 years ago and got into bodybuilding some guys seem huge for their weight... and I do not mean the ilusion you get when you are shredded and you seem 30lbs heavier even though you lost 30lbs when cutting...
I am talking about guys at same level of BF one looks muscular and big but the other one looks like a baloon animal twice the size at same weight....
I remember a Yt video with that guy Jujimufu that went to train with a clasic physique guy and when they stated their weight even Juji was a bit taken back as he weighed the same as the other guy but that guy looked huge (granted he was a bit taller but still... wider, bigger etc) wtf is going on... and people talk about muscle maturity like what is that supposed to mean? one guy has muscle maturity and looks dense and hard and the other has what? water instead of muscle fibers, colagen?
And I am sure muscle insertions and shape play a role but still... is that all there is to it?

Are you seeing these people in person or in a photo?

 

[29trt]

I've seen a guy like this in person, use to train at a gym that i used to work at, he was a pro... go figure... and he wasn't lying about his weight either because I've seen the scale with my own eyes... he was 205 but for ffs he looked like a 240 guy he was training with...
but yeah the most guys Ive seen in videos like the jujimufu one but there is no way you can say it was angles they wre right next to each other.... got to find that damn video it was a few years ago...
Idk maybe its just people lie claiming they are heavier...
but even when you look at guys on stage in the weight classes and there are 10 guys about the same weight and one guy looks like 30-40 lbs heavier...

 

[Millard]

I don't know if this topic has been brought up before but couldn't find anything in search.
Anyway I've noticed this since I first started lifting 15 years ago and got into bodybuilding some guys seem huge for their weight... and I do not mean the ilusion you get when you are shredded and you seem 30lbs heavier even though you lost 30lbs when cutting...
I am talking about guys at same level of BF one looks muscular and big but the other one looks like a baloon animal twice the size at same weight....
I remember a Yt video with that guy Jujimufu that went to train with a clasic physique guy and when they stated their weight even Juji was a bit taken back as he weighed the same as the other guy but that guy looked huge (granted he was a bit taller but still... wider, bigger etc) wtf is going on... and people talk about muscle maturity like what is that supposed to mean? one guy has muscle maturity and looks dense and hard and the other has what? water instead of muscle fibers, colagen?
And I am sure muscle insertions and shape play a role but still... is that all there is to it?

I think it's difficult to separate the illusory effects from the actual space they occupy. If they were both wearing same baggy clothes covering their muscles, the differences would be minimized.

Having said that, I think one factor that is rarely discussed when on this topic is body fat distribution. I'm not just talking about body fat percentage but where and how the body fat is carried in a person's physique.

Is most of the bodyfat distributed around the waist? Is it distributed intramuscularly as opposed to subcutaneously?

Some guys may have visible abs while approaching 15%. Others may struggle to show abs at a much lower percentage.

Yet, a 200-lb bodybuilder at 15% will always take up much more space than a 200-lb bodybuilder at 10%.

Nonetheless, the illusory effects of 10% usually lead to the latter bodybuilder looking much bigger all things being equal.

But not always, if the former is blessed with optimal bodyfat distribution (i.e. little stored around waist, evenly distributed throughout the rest of physique, preference for intramuscular over subcutaneously, they will look bigger in addition to taking up more space.

This is why:

 

[29trt]

I think it's difficult to separate the illusory effects from the actual space they occupy. If they were both wearing same baggy clothes covering their muscles, the differences would be minimized.

Having said that, I think one factor that is rarely discussed when on this topic is body fat distribution. I'm not just talking about body fat percentage but where and how the body fat is carried in a person's physique.

Is most of the bodyfat distributed around the waist? Is it distributed intramuscularly as opposed to subcutaneously?

Some guys may have visible abs while approaching 15%. Others may struggle to show abs at a much lower percentage.

Yet, a 200-lb bodybuilder at 15% will always take up much more space than a 200-lb bodybuilder at 10%.

Nonetheless, the illusory effects of 10% usually lead to the latter bodybuilder looking much bigger all things being equal.

But not always, if the former is blessed with optimal bodyfat distribution (i.e. little stored around waist, evenly distributed throughout the rest of physique, preference for intramuscular over subcutaneously, they will look bigger in addition to taking up more space.

This is why:

View attachment 176681

that has to be it, the intra muscular fat especially...must be genetic and maybe exo insulin might promote that? (if insulin is the culprit that would fit best as the guys that seem bigger are always pro BB and would likely use insulin vs a normal gym guy)

 

[Megadick3000]

I agree with Millard but i also think theres more dimensions to this than just body fat distribution and percentage.

Sarcoplasm vs myofibrils may also be a factor. You can have denser muscles in terms of myofibrils built, but have very little sarcoplasm, and vice versa. The sarcoplasm, or intramuscular water, is going to give you more volume but not necessarily a prportionate rise in bodyweight vs. Myofibrils. However i say this in ignorancd of what the voolume:weight ratio differences are between actual muscle fibers snd sarcoplasmic fluid,im working on the perhaos incorrect assumotion that water is less dense than myofibrils and therefore gives more volume per pound than an equal pound of myofibrils in muscle fibers.

Another factor is bone structure and associated bone density. Bigger bones do not necessarily mean heavier bones. If a guy has really big bone structure he may have less bone density than another person with smaller bone structure, so much so that the overall weight of his skeletal frame is less than another person but larger as in occupying greater volume of space.

So i think you could break it into 3 contributing factors

1) body fat % and distribution pattern
2) sarcoplasmic fluid vs myofibril density
3) bone size vs bone density

Then theres lesser but maybe somewhat relevant things like insertion points, connective tissue, etc.

 

[Millard]

For sure. There's the whole thing about why bodybuilders can't swim/sink i.e. muscle is denser than water. So retaining more fluids (within the muscles) could occupy more space.

I'm not sure there's a lot that can be done to significantly change many of these factors. There are easier known ways to look bigger.

Duchaine once said that as men age, they develop more intramuscular fat. I don't know if this was just speculation on his part or evidence-based. I never looked into it.

 

[29trt]

there is one more thing some guys (myself included) don't look that big when relaxed... but with a decent pump look like a different person almost... it's like that saying some are showers others growers...
why exactly does this happen? are my muscles depleted somehow during rest vs other guy retains more fluid/blood?

I know this sounds like a stupid question but i've searched and searched even asked on PE forums and no one seems to a have a defitive answer ... for normal striated muscles I could guess some guys have more actual fibers but than why don't they expand at the same rate when pumped up as the guy who is small and gets dispropotionally big with a pump...

 

[29trt]

For sure. There's the whole thing about why bodybuilders can't swim/sink i.e. muscle is denser than water. So retaining more fluids (within the muscles) could occupy more space.

I'm not sure there's a lot that can be done to significantly change many of these factors. There are easier known ways to look bigger.

Duchaine once said that as men age, they develop more intramuscular fat. I don't know if this was just speculation on his part or evidence-based. I never looked into it.

If as you age you get more intra fat why do older BB look more dense and ussually younger guys look ballony?

 

[Megadick3000]

there is one more thing some guys (myself included) don't look that big when relaxed... but with a decent pump look like a different person almost... it's like that saying some are showers others growers...
why exactly does this happen? are my muscles depleted somehow during rest vs other guy retains more fluid/blood?

I know this sounds like a stupid question but i've searched and searched even asked on PE forums and no one seems to a have a defitive answer ... for normal striated muscles I could guess some guys have more actual fibers but than why don't they expand at the same rate when pumped up as the guy who is small and gets dispropotionally big with a pump...

This is more to do with vasodilation.

You want a crazy wicked pump? Part of that is how you train. Part is other things like PDE5 inhibitors such as Viagra, or nutritional vasodilators like citrulline malate. Also steroids, i get vicious pumps on AAS. Also hydration level plays a role here.

Also carb intake seems to make a big difference in pump, why? I dunno but maybe glycogen related?but i get way more dramatic pump when i intake 250g of carbs pre workout vs say 50g carbs pre workout.

250g carbs plus citrulline malate pre workout plus some high rep work like Borges Myo-Reps or some drop sets and its pump city.

I dont run no carb diets like keto but ive heard guys on keto complain they get shitty pumps, maybe its more to do with less glycogen = less robust muscle activation = less vasodilation = less pump. But im just speculating on the why, i can however say anecdotally higher carbs = bigger pumps.

 

[Rickt]

I agree with Millard but i also think theres more dimensions to this than just body fat distribution and percentage.

Sarcoplasm vs myofibrils may also be a factor. You can have denser muscles in terms of myofibrils built, but have very little sarcoplasm, and vice versa. The sarcoplasm, or intramuscular water, is going to give you more volume but not necessarily a prportionate rise in bodyweight vs. Myofibrils. However i say this in ignorancd of what the voolume:weight ratio differences are between actual muscle fibers snd sarcoplasmic fluid,im working on the perhaos incorrect assumotion that water is less dense than myofibrils and therefore gives more volume per pound than an equal pound of myofibrils in muscle fibers.

Another factor is bone structure and associated bone density. Bigger bones do not necessarily mean heavier bones. If a guy has really big bone structure he may have less bone density than another person with smaller bone structure, so much so that the overall weight of his skeletal frame is less than another person but larger as in occupying greater volume of space.

So i think you could break it into 3 contributing factors

1) body fat % and distribution pattern
2) sarcoplasmic fluid vs myofibril density
3) bone size vs bone density

Then theres lesser but maybe somewhat relevant things like insertion points, connective tissue, etc.

Can someone explain what he said. Wow all that science mega dick I'm sure you teach at a university somewhere.

That went so far over my head. I hope one day I know a hundredth of what you know.
Lee Priest competed under 200 pounds same with frank zane and franko columbo. All are short compaired to arnold or rammy. But standing alone they all looked 220pounds. Only when side by side with a taller person did they look nugetty.
So my point is without something to compair a person to you really don't know.
It was before all your time. But back in magazine days and no Google you never knew just how big a guy was. They made them all look the same. But come the o when they stood together the difference was obvious.
My point. Megadick is right. Even though I have no idea what he said.

 

[AlwaysHungry]

It's the right combo of drugs plus the right timing.
Also other reasons stated above are all correct.

But try this cut down to single digits.
Then use equi , tren , drol ,gh , slin.
You will understand what I'm talking about.
With the right combo you will look bigger than much heavier guys.

There was a guy at my gym , competitor.
Had a sick physique!!! Was prepping for a show I was bulking at the time so no fancy veins and such.

I was around 100kg at the time this mfer was barely 80kg a little shorter than me but still!!! Was looking a lot more bigger.

Anadrol plays a HUGE role it volumize the muscle competitors abuse anadrol to the point you can't imagine. Pair this with GH pair this with tren thin skin.

 

[29trt]

It's the right combo of drugs plus the right timing.
Also other reasons stated above are all correct.

But try this cut down to single digits.
Then use equi , tren , drol ,gh , slin.
You will understand what I'm talking about.
With the right combo you will look bigger than much heavier guys.

There was a guy at my gym , competitor.
Had a sick physique!!! Was prepping for a show I was bulking at the time so no fancy veins and such.

I was around 100kg at the time this mfer was barely 80kg a little shorter than me but still!!! Was looking a lot more bigger.

Anadrol plays a HUGE role it volumize the muscle competitors abuse anadrol to the point you can't imagine. Pair this with GH pair this with tren thin skin.

So I'm not just imagining it, at last someone who has witnessed this first hand.
thank you for your response!

 

[Big_paul]

some guys seem huge for their weight...

They are shorties.

 

[may2021]

there is one more thing some guys (myself included) don't look that big when relaxed... but with a decent pump look like a different person almost... it's like that saying some are showers others growers...
why exactly does this happen? are my muscles depleted somehow during rest vs other guy retains more fluid/blood?

I know this sounds like a stupid question but i've searched and searched even asked on PE forums and no one seems to a have a defitive answer ... for normal striated muscles I could guess some guys have more actual fibers but than why don't they expand at the same rate when pumped up as the guy who is small and gets dispropotionally big with a pump...

There's just mutant people that lift.

We all look far better after lifting or having a serious pump (even I do and I just started up again after 20 years off). But what I thought you we're talking about are extremely large, muscular people that aren't the tallest/heaviest.

I saw one of those guys at the grocery store the other day. The guy was wider than two people. I asked him how many eggs he eats a day.

Then I saw two very muscular dudes that probably have been lifting minimum, 10 years each. But the difference between the first guy and the past two was night and day.

All three eat 6 eggs a day.