Stretch
Subscriber
This is copied and pasted from a moderator at another board.
A few nights ago I was training at my gym and I was hitting my delts and biceps- I had a pretty good pump going so I pulled off my shirt to my tank top.
A younger fellow about 6'4 maybe 200 lbs in decent shape came up and introduced himself to me- Im a bit anti-social but I introduced myself to him as well. He said "Dude you are my goal and slapped me on the delt." Now Im not big on being touched by another man- but I laughed- not about the slap- but about what he had said. He thinks he wants this but if I could sit down with him for an hour and explain to him the realities of getting bigger- he may have second thoughts.
Adding size to ones frame is a easily attained goal for most- but getting above your genetic potential is a different ball game and takes quite of bit of forcing it on your body.
Lets outline some of the finer points of getting big, and dont get me wrong- there are much larger men out there than me, but genetically some have a much easier time reaching above average largeness on bodybuilding scale.
I am a smaller boned individual and my clavicles have decent width- I tend to have a thicker core and larger hips and legs.
I am 5'11 and currently sitting at 282 with no clothes on.
Now lests start with some basics-
FOOD:
Holy shit- the amount of food that has to be consumed is unreal- just to gain a pound or 2 is about $2-300 in groceries a week- not too mention supplements like gainers and protein powders- add those in your looking at about $400 a week.
Not too mention consuming it- somedays you just get plain sick of eating- and trying to consume clean sources of food that still have enough calories to support muscle growth is a very daunting task- its a high volume of food- digestive aids are just about essential- a colon cleanse is a daily used product to keep the pipes cleaned and help absorb all the food, that combined with a multi enzyme formula and especially some extra bromelain for the protein.
And then the water consumption- pounding all that food down is one thing but then trying to drink enough water to allow your body to remain properly hydrated is another thing- can you say BLOATED.
Visceral distention is something you better get accustomed too if you wanna dog it down properly.
Oh and you think you can get away with eating junk food to catch up on the calories??
WRONG- high fat foods like fried foods and pizza just act like a road block- they end up making it more difficult to keep consuming ALL your meals and many times will cause you to be lazy and bloated and probably miss the last few meals of the day from being so satiated.
Next is the kitchen- my kitchen is a hazmat warzone- the cooking and preparation of foods is a constant revolving door of cooking, cleaning and throwing out trash- every trash day I look at our garbage can and its busting out and my neigbors cans look tame compared to ours- recycling bin is full of empty protein containers- its a mess and a perpetual cleaning job which I am addmitidly slack about - thank god for my wife who keeps my ass in check on it.
Your eating schedule will be dictated by work, errands, and training schedules- get used to it- being literally chained to the fridge and going out to clubs and such is a thing of the past- just not practical if you wanna rest and eat to grow.
Supplements will become a big part of your life- obviously eating that much whole food is a daunting task- protein powders and gainers are a must if you value not popping like a cork.
Joint supplements, multi vitamins, fish oils, digestive aids, fat burners, creatines, NO products, and a myriad of training and recuperative aids will become a pill popping adventure- beware the supplement trap- keep it simple and use only whats necessary.
Oh yes and speaking of joint pains.
TRAINING:
Many guys think that offseason means insane high volume workouts and a lot of them- well I beg to differ.
If you plan on getting bigger and stronger you will be lifting weights that are above and beyond your previous strength levels- this means a lot of wear and tear on joints and tendons- not too mention that if you are allready a sizable guy that your body will take longer to recuperate the fibers you destroy more and more of with each subsequent workout. You will adopt a training methodology that will allow proper recuperation between lifting.
Currently Im training EOD- thats right every 48 hours or so- thats how much longer its taking me to get over the damage Im doing each workout now- if you are lifting heavy and using any modicum of intensity you will quickly see that your body will break down faster and faster- be smart and listen to it- once the aches and pains become a cummalitive grouping it will be hard to do every day tasks- even with recuperation the stress of heavy training will leave you hurting on a daily basis- pain will become your bedfellow- deal with it- its what it takes to drive on.
Injuries will occur- best bet is to try not to get hurt doing things stupidly- and avoiding the big blow out injury that can sideline you for the entire off season.
SOCIAL LIFE:
Yeah right!
Get ready to give that up for the most part- not only will you want to dedicate any free time to rest and recuperation - you will be too damn tired to really socialize- especially when you are needing to eat all the time- not exactly the best in social settings.
Occasionally I go to a couple of my bber friends houses - they understand so its no big deal but- usually the need to be close to the food and couch are a dictating force in your life- bodybuilding is a lifestyle that really is not that integratable with most peoples everyday lifestyles of going out for drinks and such.
Not too mention the looks and strange questions you will have to put up with from J Q Public on a regular basis- I cant go to the gym or Target without being stopped by total strangers and asked silly ignorant questions...they dont know any better but it really doesnt make it any less annoying.
Women usually absolutely hate it- theres the Brad Pitt fight club look and then YOU- too big they will say- yuck, nasty veins, etc...etc...
You are not going to blend in- I have adopted a style of wearing completely oversized clothes to try to hide any semblance of size- I would rather be confused with someone who is just overweight- but its hard to hide at certain weights- get used to strangers asking you dumb shit- it will be part of every day life for a while.
DATING:
Well I got very lucky and met my wife who is completely supportive of my bodybuilding endeavors. But I can tell you she was the first one- most women hated the fact that it detracted from their attention and felt like it competed with them.
Not too mention- most just didnt understand it- a couple did but they were not that into it- going to the gym a couple times a week for maintenance purposes just isnt the same as squatting til your purple- they wanna go out and have a good time- which I can tell you - you will not really feel like doing if you are training and eating hard.
Bottom line is it will be hard to find someone who is understanding and patient enough to put up with your lifestyle- there out there but hard to find- very - and if you are in a relationship- dont be surprised at the strain it can put on it.
GROWING PAINS:
Well you think that you can only hurt from training?? WRONG...your bodyweight increasing week by week puts a lot of stress on support structures in your body- one of the first places you notice this is your feet- my left foot is now flat- the arch has slowly collapsed and internally pronated to the point I have to wear special orthodic inserts- to correct it.
Not only that but my left foot is a full size larger than my right- about 2 years ago I had a size 12 now I have a 14 and a 15...shoes are a bitch to find and buy at those sizes let me tell you.
The problem starts there and has worked its way up my leg into my hip and lower back- all this shit from a foot- and most of it from daily walking and standing only to be exacerbated by heavy lifting.
My shoulders and forearms stay in a perpetual state of soreness and cramp quite often- doing cardio is becoming harder and harder to do - pushing the extra weight around the neighborhood is like hiking up the side of a mountain sometimes- I dont even do calf workouts anymore since they are always sore from cardio.
Your proportions will change as well- get ready to lose the ability to reach all the way across your body e.g pinning yourself in the delt or tricep will be like being constricted by an Anaconda. Tieing your shoes is a real task and putting socks on is really a pain in the ass- I can see in a week or 2 that I will no longer be able to cut my toenails as my distention is now compressed against my upper thigh and impinges my diaphragm- nice sensation of having the wind pushed out slowly and feeling your face about to pop like a fat lady sat on you- ah yes the joys of size- pretty soon Ill need the dog nail trimmer to cut my own nails...oh yes and you will be shitting more from all that eating- get prepared for a lack of range of motion in the wiping department- and you will be spending a pretty penny on some TP.
Bumping into doorways and hitting your shins and stubbing your toes is going to occur with much more frequency now too- I seem to keep a scratch on either forearm from brushing by the corners of doors and things that put a scratch on me- now usually I am not so clumsy- but with a lot more me in the way I tend to not realize that I have less horizontal clearance- my wife calls it clumsiness I call it proportionately impaired.
DRUGS:
Holy Cow I could go on and on- but yes Anabolics, and peptides will become a regular thing and trying to find the best way to integrate them into your life is a real pain in the ass- excuse the pun.
First off- you really dont need as much AAS when consuming that much food- your body is going to be pretty anabolic and there is but so much new protein that can be synthesized each day- look how slow your nails and hair grow- thats protein synthesis in action.
But nonetheless I usually do anywhere from 750 -1000 mg of test and another 600-800 of deca with my weight gain season- I like to run HGH and IGF along with it to help with nutrient partitioning and keeping the joints healing at a bit faster rate while simultaneously keeping bf% down- but it can be even more expensive so I tend to spend less on drugs and more on food which should be the primary anabolic.
But AAS and fat burners will not be the only drugs- BP meds can be a regular part of the bulking proces- thats a lot of wieght and extra bf thats putting pressure on the miles of vascular system that you have- keep this in mind - your BP can be your worst enemy- I try to keep mine around 170/85 at the highest- anything above that is putting a great deal of stress on your heart and kidneys.
Keep your cholesterol in check as well with fish oils and niacin (flush free).
But many times I use other drugs such as the occasional T3, clen, and anti estrogen- its a lot even when scaled down- keep in mind that your health can be compromised if these things are not taken care of properly.
This doesnt even take into account the physical pain from that much pinning- I tend to spread out my injections into a EOD like pattern for more steady blood levels so even with long acting esters I shoot EOD- well depending on the mg of the gear and who made it sometimes you walk around like a huge punching bag full of sore injection sites- no matter how you rotate them its painful- compounded by an allready sore body from heavy lifting and its pain and more pain all day long- its enough to make you feel 20 years older- and god forbid the occasional serum sickness aka test flu- then your looking at a fever and body aches too- all in all you have to be mentally tough and love the life to gut that out on a daily basis.
And get ready for some fucked up breathing- a set of stairs will make Darth Vader sound like a soprano comapared to your heavy breathing - and sleeping - you will want some breathe rights and a air humidifier- or you will suffer shitty sleep and self induced sleep apnea from a larger bodyweight.
Which if you think thats nothing - wait til your driving down the road in the afternoon about to fall asleep at the wheel from sleep debt, and the exhaustion catches up to your training- yeah real fun.
All in all this set of circumstances grows and gets worse and more exaggerated each passing week of weight gain which makes one outlook towards there final goal for the offseason look more and more out of reach and can really fuck up motivation when you feel like its an impossible task- but bbing teaches you to believe in yourself so you keep plugging away and dealing with the day to day realities of it.
Some people will have the genetics to not experience some of this- their bodies can carry more muscle and weight- for the rest of us mere mortals a secondary layer of stress awaits us.
So you still wanna be HYUGE??
A few nights ago I was training at my gym and I was hitting my delts and biceps- I had a pretty good pump going so I pulled off my shirt to my tank top.
A younger fellow about 6'4 maybe 200 lbs in decent shape came up and introduced himself to me- Im a bit anti-social but I introduced myself to him as well. He said "Dude you are my goal and slapped me on the delt." Now Im not big on being touched by another man- but I laughed- not about the slap- but about what he had said. He thinks he wants this but if I could sit down with him for an hour and explain to him the realities of getting bigger- he may have second thoughts.
Adding size to ones frame is a easily attained goal for most- but getting above your genetic potential is a different ball game and takes quite of bit of forcing it on your body.
Lets outline some of the finer points of getting big, and dont get me wrong- there are much larger men out there than me, but genetically some have a much easier time reaching above average largeness on bodybuilding scale.
I am a smaller boned individual and my clavicles have decent width- I tend to have a thicker core and larger hips and legs.
I am 5'11 and currently sitting at 282 with no clothes on.
Now lests start with some basics-
FOOD:
Holy shit- the amount of food that has to be consumed is unreal- just to gain a pound or 2 is about $2-300 in groceries a week- not too mention supplements like gainers and protein powders- add those in your looking at about $400 a week.
Not too mention consuming it- somedays you just get plain sick of eating- and trying to consume clean sources of food that still have enough calories to support muscle growth is a very daunting task- its a high volume of food- digestive aids are just about essential- a colon cleanse is a daily used product to keep the pipes cleaned and help absorb all the food, that combined with a multi enzyme formula and especially some extra bromelain for the protein.
And then the water consumption- pounding all that food down is one thing but then trying to drink enough water to allow your body to remain properly hydrated is another thing- can you say BLOATED.
Visceral distention is something you better get accustomed too if you wanna dog it down properly.
Oh and you think you can get away with eating junk food to catch up on the calories??
WRONG- high fat foods like fried foods and pizza just act like a road block- they end up making it more difficult to keep consuming ALL your meals and many times will cause you to be lazy and bloated and probably miss the last few meals of the day from being so satiated.
Next is the kitchen- my kitchen is a hazmat warzone- the cooking and preparation of foods is a constant revolving door of cooking, cleaning and throwing out trash- every trash day I look at our garbage can and its busting out and my neigbors cans look tame compared to ours- recycling bin is full of empty protein containers- its a mess and a perpetual cleaning job which I am addmitidly slack about - thank god for my wife who keeps my ass in check on it.
Your eating schedule will be dictated by work, errands, and training schedules- get used to it- being literally chained to the fridge and going out to clubs and such is a thing of the past- just not practical if you wanna rest and eat to grow.
Supplements will become a big part of your life- obviously eating that much whole food is a daunting task- protein powders and gainers are a must if you value not popping like a cork.
Joint supplements, multi vitamins, fish oils, digestive aids, fat burners, creatines, NO products, and a myriad of training and recuperative aids will become a pill popping adventure- beware the supplement trap- keep it simple and use only whats necessary.
Oh yes and speaking of joint pains.
TRAINING:
Many guys think that offseason means insane high volume workouts and a lot of them- well I beg to differ.
If you plan on getting bigger and stronger you will be lifting weights that are above and beyond your previous strength levels- this means a lot of wear and tear on joints and tendons- not too mention that if you are allready a sizable guy that your body will take longer to recuperate the fibers you destroy more and more of with each subsequent workout. You will adopt a training methodology that will allow proper recuperation between lifting.
Currently Im training EOD- thats right every 48 hours or so- thats how much longer its taking me to get over the damage Im doing each workout now- if you are lifting heavy and using any modicum of intensity you will quickly see that your body will break down faster and faster- be smart and listen to it- once the aches and pains become a cummalitive grouping it will be hard to do every day tasks- even with recuperation the stress of heavy training will leave you hurting on a daily basis- pain will become your bedfellow- deal with it- its what it takes to drive on.
Injuries will occur- best bet is to try not to get hurt doing things stupidly- and avoiding the big blow out injury that can sideline you for the entire off season.
SOCIAL LIFE:
Yeah right!
Get ready to give that up for the most part- not only will you want to dedicate any free time to rest and recuperation - you will be too damn tired to really socialize- especially when you are needing to eat all the time- not exactly the best in social settings.
Occasionally I go to a couple of my bber friends houses - they understand so its no big deal but- usually the need to be close to the food and couch are a dictating force in your life- bodybuilding is a lifestyle that really is not that integratable with most peoples everyday lifestyles of going out for drinks and such.
Not too mention the looks and strange questions you will have to put up with from J Q Public on a regular basis- I cant go to the gym or Target without being stopped by total strangers and asked silly ignorant questions...they dont know any better but it really doesnt make it any less annoying.
Women usually absolutely hate it- theres the Brad Pitt fight club look and then YOU- too big they will say- yuck, nasty veins, etc...etc...
You are not going to blend in- I have adopted a style of wearing completely oversized clothes to try to hide any semblance of size- I would rather be confused with someone who is just overweight- but its hard to hide at certain weights- get used to strangers asking you dumb shit- it will be part of every day life for a while.
DATING:
Well I got very lucky and met my wife who is completely supportive of my bodybuilding endeavors. But I can tell you she was the first one- most women hated the fact that it detracted from their attention and felt like it competed with them.
Not too mention- most just didnt understand it- a couple did but they were not that into it- going to the gym a couple times a week for maintenance purposes just isnt the same as squatting til your purple- they wanna go out and have a good time- which I can tell you - you will not really feel like doing if you are training and eating hard.
Bottom line is it will be hard to find someone who is understanding and patient enough to put up with your lifestyle- there out there but hard to find- very - and if you are in a relationship- dont be surprised at the strain it can put on it.
GROWING PAINS:
Well you think that you can only hurt from training?? WRONG...your bodyweight increasing week by week puts a lot of stress on support structures in your body- one of the first places you notice this is your feet- my left foot is now flat- the arch has slowly collapsed and internally pronated to the point I have to wear special orthodic inserts- to correct it.
Not only that but my left foot is a full size larger than my right- about 2 years ago I had a size 12 now I have a 14 and a 15...shoes are a bitch to find and buy at those sizes let me tell you.
The problem starts there and has worked its way up my leg into my hip and lower back- all this shit from a foot- and most of it from daily walking and standing only to be exacerbated by heavy lifting.
My shoulders and forearms stay in a perpetual state of soreness and cramp quite often- doing cardio is becoming harder and harder to do - pushing the extra weight around the neighborhood is like hiking up the side of a mountain sometimes- I dont even do calf workouts anymore since they are always sore from cardio.
Your proportions will change as well- get ready to lose the ability to reach all the way across your body e.g pinning yourself in the delt or tricep will be like being constricted by an Anaconda. Tieing your shoes is a real task and putting socks on is really a pain in the ass- I can see in a week or 2 that I will no longer be able to cut my toenails as my distention is now compressed against my upper thigh and impinges my diaphragm- nice sensation of having the wind pushed out slowly and feeling your face about to pop like a fat lady sat on you- ah yes the joys of size- pretty soon Ill need the dog nail trimmer to cut my own nails...oh yes and you will be shitting more from all that eating- get prepared for a lack of range of motion in the wiping department- and you will be spending a pretty penny on some TP.
Bumping into doorways and hitting your shins and stubbing your toes is going to occur with much more frequency now too- I seem to keep a scratch on either forearm from brushing by the corners of doors and things that put a scratch on me- now usually I am not so clumsy- but with a lot more me in the way I tend to not realize that I have less horizontal clearance- my wife calls it clumsiness I call it proportionately impaired.
DRUGS:
Holy Cow I could go on and on- but yes Anabolics, and peptides will become a regular thing and trying to find the best way to integrate them into your life is a real pain in the ass- excuse the pun.
First off- you really dont need as much AAS when consuming that much food- your body is going to be pretty anabolic and there is but so much new protein that can be synthesized each day- look how slow your nails and hair grow- thats protein synthesis in action.
But nonetheless I usually do anywhere from 750 -1000 mg of test and another 600-800 of deca with my weight gain season- I like to run HGH and IGF along with it to help with nutrient partitioning and keeping the joints healing at a bit faster rate while simultaneously keeping bf% down- but it can be even more expensive so I tend to spend less on drugs and more on food which should be the primary anabolic.
But AAS and fat burners will not be the only drugs- BP meds can be a regular part of the bulking proces- thats a lot of wieght and extra bf thats putting pressure on the miles of vascular system that you have- keep this in mind - your BP can be your worst enemy- I try to keep mine around 170/85 at the highest- anything above that is putting a great deal of stress on your heart and kidneys.
Keep your cholesterol in check as well with fish oils and niacin (flush free).
But many times I use other drugs such as the occasional T3, clen, and anti estrogen- its a lot even when scaled down- keep in mind that your health can be compromised if these things are not taken care of properly.
This doesnt even take into account the physical pain from that much pinning- I tend to spread out my injections into a EOD like pattern for more steady blood levels so even with long acting esters I shoot EOD- well depending on the mg of the gear and who made it sometimes you walk around like a huge punching bag full of sore injection sites- no matter how you rotate them its painful- compounded by an allready sore body from heavy lifting and its pain and more pain all day long- its enough to make you feel 20 years older- and god forbid the occasional serum sickness aka test flu- then your looking at a fever and body aches too- all in all you have to be mentally tough and love the life to gut that out on a daily basis.
And get ready for some fucked up breathing- a set of stairs will make Darth Vader sound like a soprano comapared to your heavy breathing - and sleeping - you will want some breathe rights and a air humidifier- or you will suffer shitty sleep and self induced sleep apnea from a larger bodyweight.
Which if you think thats nothing - wait til your driving down the road in the afternoon about to fall asleep at the wheel from sleep debt, and the exhaustion catches up to your training- yeah real fun.
All in all this set of circumstances grows and gets worse and more exaggerated each passing week of weight gain which makes one outlook towards there final goal for the offseason look more and more out of reach and can really fuck up motivation when you feel like its an impossible task- but bbing teaches you to believe in yourself so you keep plugging away and dealing with the day to day realities of it.
Some people will have the genetics to not experience some of this- their bodies can carry more muscle and weight- for the rest of us mere mortals a secondary layer of stress awaits us.
So you still wanna be HYUGE??
opcorn:
That's scary dangerous IMO! [}
]
