# Other Discussions > Bodybuilding / Fitness / Nutrition >  This obsession with muscle building

## Dav7

Am I the only one who doesn't get this whole obsession with building muscle (including abs etc), and prefers simply keeping a low body fat count and been thin? It just seems like so much effort, and tbh most of the results that come from bodybuilding and weight lifting (abs in particular) just look so unnatural and repulsive to look at. I'm saying that it's good to be overweight, or to be an obese slob, but my idea of a good look is to simply keep body fat to a minimum and achieve a natural lean look.

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## Aames

Post a picture of what physique you think is desirable. I can almost guarantee that it requires lifting weights. No one here is trying to look like Ronnie Coleman.

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## BigThinker

> Am I the only one who doesn't get this whole obsession with building muscle (including abs etc), and prefers simply keeping a low body fat count and been thin? It just seems like so much effort, and tbh most of the results that come from bodybuilding and weight lifting (abs in particular) just look so unnatural and repulsive to look at. I'm saying that it's good to be overweight, or to be an obese slob, but my idea of a good look is to simply keep body fat to a minimum and achieve a natural lean look.


 There's a huge difference between trying to be 'roided out, covered in veins versus just wanting to be thick and cut.  

It's rewarding to watch your weight on the scale go up as your body fat goes down.  It's rewarding to go to the gym and push yourself and release all those natural endorphins. 

I don't think that there's anything wrong with running  a healthy, low, skinny weight.  Skinny and bald just is not a good combo though.

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## Morbo

Like Big Thinker said, nobody is trying to look like Schwarzenegger, but even a moderate strong physique requires weight-lifting. In contrary to when you have hair, a skinny bald dude easier gets kind of an ill/sickly look.

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## Proper

The media demands muscles so we need muscles damnit!

And plus to be able to do what a scrawny guy probably can't makes me feel good cause I can snap em like a twig with strength. Until he busts out some jujitsu shit... Or low and behold, the ultimate sneak low blow.

To counter that jujitsu though, a gun. I needa look good holding a gun so that's why I'm building muscles. It goes hand in hand with a gun.

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## aim4hair

You'll never get that huge look without being on juice, and i also don't get how some ppl like that look.  But still to look good skinny, you need to lift, you don't have to get 6 pack as long as you have flat stomach and have the rest of your muscles defined.

Edit: plus incresing your muscles will help you keep your BF intact and boost your metabolism

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## baldozer

> Am I the only one who doesn't get this whole obsession with building muscle (including abs etc), and prefers simply keeping a low body fat count and been thin? It just seems like so much effort, and tbh most of the results that come from bodybuilding and weight lifting (abs in particular) just look so unnatural and repulsive to look at. I'm saying that it's good to be overweight, or to be an obese slob, but my idea of a good look is to simply keep body fat to a minimum and achieve a natural lean look.


 Agreed, especially for bald guys, so that your jawline, cheekbones etc. look promiment.

A good sharp face looks great even bald!

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## Dav7

> Post a picture of what physique you think is desirable. I can almost guarantee that it requires lifting weights. No one here is trying to look like Ronnie Coleman.


 Ah ha, now I see what you lot are getting at. Sorry, but when I seen the word bodybuilding, the likes of Ronnie Coleman is exactly what came to my mind and I thought you lot were trying to emulate that kind of look. Sorry about the confusion.

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## Aames

> Ah ha, now I see what you lot are getting at. Sorry, but when I seen the word bodybuilding, the likes of Ronnie Coleman is exactly what came to my mind and I thought you lot were trying to emulate that kind of look. Sorry about the confusion.


 Yeah, not at all man. I think physiques like the following are pretty universally appealing (and even these are probably too big if your primary goal is to attract women):

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## dex89

> 


 
These dudes are cheaters(Steroids). OP, I myself don't work out for looks but to protect  my love ones. I work on my strength and to build strength you need muscle. I also did MMA(kick boxing and brazilian jiu jitsu) which I shredded body fat. Bulking up gives you lot benefits like intimidating  ass holes and ladies pay more attention when you walk in to a room.

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## OtherSyde

Life is not a game, and therefore there is no such thing as cheating. It's only cheating if you're in some sort of competition with some sort of defined set of rules for you to break; such rules do not exist on the grander scale of life - at the beach, in the gym, in the club, etc. There is no cheating out in the jungle, only winning and losing. Just a fact.

Also, I don't think any of thse guys are "too big." They're more like "medium-sized."

As for physique, the universally-accepted one in society seems to tend to be the type involving defined muscles and the whole V-shaped upper body thing - but that is, of course, subject to individual preference. Sort of like ditsy, scrawny blondes with big boobs are the generally-accepted stereotype of women that men are supposed to lust after, but smart dark-haired girls with green eyes and other variations rarely have trouble finding men, and many men (like me) prefer those other types.

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## akai

re-post delete

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## Proper

I want to be muscular like the beebz, and wear no tshirt in public with no shame.

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## darryls

> Am I the only one who doesn't get this whole obsession with building muscle (including abs etc), and prefers simply keeping a low body fat count and been thin? It just seems like so much effort, and tbh most of the results that come from bodybuilding and weight lifting (abs in particular) just look so unnatural and repulsive to look at. I'm saying that it's good to be overweight, or to be an obese slob, but my idea of a good look is to simply keep body fat to a minimum and achieve a natural lean look.


 
i used to be obsessed but my genes suck so i just started focusing on my health and staying lean.

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## pat

I don't get the whole "obsession" either

Something like David Beckham's build or Christiano Ronaldo (who is a little bigger) is ideal in my opinion

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## BigThinker

> I want to be muscular like the beebz, and wear no tshirt in public with no shame.


 

Haha.

Bieber vs. Grown ass man BALD man.  Sure, Bieber has 14 year old girls crying at his concerts and he gets on hot ass late teen chicks, but you know that bald dude is attracting _real_ women and handling shit.




> I don't get the whole "obsession" either
> 
> Something like David Beckham's build or Christiano Ronaldo (who is a little bigger) is ideal in my opinion


 I agree.  Who the **** wants to dedicate hours and hours of their DAY to getting huge and _maintaining_ it.  Good, regular strength training mixed with healthy diet, sufficient sleep, and cardio -- Get lean with a little extra weight and be _healthy_.  Health permeates every aspect of our life.  

Also, those big juice heads look like shit and appeal to a small minority of women, who are most likely dumb skanks.  And, I think the dude in the picture is above average in size, but not grotesquely so and it fits his demeanor.

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## pat

I'm jealous of Bieber's hair, that's for sure...

What's funny is the other day I tried looking for recent photos of his dad on Google, to check his hair (to see if JB would perhaps be hit with MPB as he gets older) and HIS DAD WEARS A HAT IN EVERY SINGLE PHOTO. EVERY SINGLE ONE.

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## fred970

There you go, Justin Bieber's dad without a hat:

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## mariechin1234

Body building or muscle building requires a lot of dedication and consistency in order to gain muscle and regular work out sessions to product the fruitful results. The bodybuilders have the chances to become addicted to it.

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## fred970

You Americans are so conceited, bodybuilding culture just doesn't exist here in Western Europe, no man, no woman, no one would give two shits about your muscular body here. Pretty much less than 0,5% of the male population goes to the gym.

Surprising right? A country where men don't shame their fellow men with lines like "bro do you even lift?!". Yes it's possible, I don't know where it came from in the US, it was probably part of the media agenda, but American men bought into it big time.

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## Maxprovust

Great to see your post. I got you in same tune as of me. The purpose is to have a light & sound body.
Thank you for this post.

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## FooFighter

> You Americans are so conceited, bodybuilding culture just doesn't exist here in Western Europe, no man, no woman, no one would give two shits about your muscular body here. Pretty much less than 0,5% of the male population goes to the gym.
> 
> Surprising right? A country where men don't shame their fellow men with lines like "bro do you even lift?!". Yes it's possible, I don't know where it came from in the US, it was probably part of the media agenda, but American men bought into it big time.


  Who lied you that? In Europe espeacelly in Eastern or South  Europe bodybuilding or gym is very popular among young population. Last decade a lot of professional gym are opened everywhere. I am training at home. I have pull-up bar, dumbells and i am free steroid.

Everyone have opinion about what he/she likes, but most of the girls likes handsome bodies. 

Bodybuilding and gym is not popular in Asia and Africa and most of the countries in South America, because of the religious beliefs and economic situatioon in the most of the countries there.

USA and Canada are steroid countries. A, lot of guys especelly black guys takes steroid and drugs for hormonal growth.

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## Sondra

If you're comfortable with light, fit and healthy body it's good for you and if someone wants a big muscular bodybuilding body, they are  right in working for it. It's everyone's own choice.

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## mlamber5

For about 7-8 years I used to be obsessed with "getting big." Now, i do stay in shape and lift but i might go 3-4 times per week instead of 3 hrs a day 7 days a week slaving away and pounding all food in sight. I just don't care any more, so much more important things in life, and 90%+ females will be fine with some muscle and leanness but not an over the top look. Furthermore, I can't possibly imagine how the body obsessed dudes can focus on furthering their careers/studying/work like they really should while revolving so much of their lives around their body. I am so glad I am out of that phase of my life.

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## jamesst11

> The media demands muscles so we need muscles damnit!
> 
> And plus to be able to do what a scrawny guy probably can't makes me feel good cause I can snap em like a twig with strength. Until he busts out some jujitsu shit... Or low and behold, the ultimate sneak low blow.
> 
> To counter that jujitsu though, a gun. I needa look good holding a gun so that's why I'm building muscles. It goes hand in hand with a gun.


 This is old, but super funny. haha  :Smile:

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## jamesst11

> You Americans are so conceited, bodybuilding culture just doesn't exist here in Western Europe, no man, no woman, no one would give two shits about your muscular body here. Pretty much less than 0,5% of the male population goes to the gym.
> 
> Surprising right? A country where men don't shame their fellow men with lines like "bro do you even lift?!". Yes it's possible, I don't know where it came from in the US, it was probably part of the media agenda, but American men bought into it big time.


 If you encounter a man that says to you, "bro, do you even lift?", even in the United States, he is considered a huge dousch bag.

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## fred970

> Hi, I am new in this forum.
> I want to know how to gain weight without any supplement or medicine.


 Eat more food. You're welcome.

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## polios

> You Americans are so conceited, bodybuilding culture just doesn't exist here in Western Europe, no man, no woman, no one would give two shits about your muscular body here. Pretty much less than 0,5% of the male population goes to the gym.


 I think about half of guys from their teens until their mid 30s go to gym. There is a clear obsession in Europe, too. It does not matter whether you are in the East, South or North.

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## fred970

> I think about half of guys from their teens until their mid 30s go to gym. There is a clear obsession in Europe, too. It does not matter whether you are in the East, South or North.


 Belgium, virtually no one goes to the gym here. And if you do, you will get laughed at.

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## Jasari

> Am I the only one who doesn't get this whole obsession with building muscle (including abs etc), and prefers simply keeping a low body fat count and been thin? It just seems like so much effort, and tbh most of the results that come from bodybuilding and weight lifting (abs in particular) just look so unnatural and repulsive to look at. I'm saying that it's good to be overweight, or to be an obese slob, but my idea of a good look is to simply keep body fat to a minimum and achieve a natural lean look.


 Generally if it requires hard work it's worth the effort. People are okay to keep their delusions and pretend that 'muscle' is undesirable but the reality is that it's the polar opposite and more or less the best thing you can do [Especially if you suffer hair loss].

To use the words 'repulsive' is the ultimate straw man. Those obscenely muscular men you see in magazines are a look that you will never achieve in ten lifetimes. That's the by product of serious genetics and a bucketload of steroids. 

Guaranteed for 99% of the population the more muscle you can pack on your frame the better you'll look. I've been bulking and cutting for near on ten years [I'm now 28]. I've got a relatively large frame and I'm currently 85kg [185lb] at a lean body mass at 6'0.

If I had ten kilograms more muscle I'd look even better. No matter how much work I do the reality is that from here on out the gains will be limited to 2-3lb per year maximum.

The TLDR: When anyone says "I don't get the obsession with…" or "It's a pointless endeavour" what they're really saying is "I don't want to put in the hard work therefore I'll denigrate those who do".

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## fred970

Not really. I just have better things to do than lifting weights in front of a mirror, and I'm no less of a man because of that.

Even if you do it to get laid, working out is pointless because women judge you on your unalterable traits: height, natural frame, face, hair.

I've known men who went from skinny twink to roid-heads but were ugly. They got zero girl before getting into bodybuilding, and zero girl after.

So what's the point really? Oh you do it for yourself, right? For your confidence! For your health of course! Give me a break, we all know why men work out.

Can someone tell what other species works out in order to increase their mating value? Or even to improve their confidence? Do lions work out? Are lions that don't work out pussies to lionesses?!

Just get to a healthy weight, anything else you do will not make your life different than it would be if you had never set foot in a gym. That's the harsh reality.

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## polios

> Can someone tell what other species works out in order to increase their mating value? Or even to improve their confidence? Do lions work out? Are lions that don't work out pussies to lionesses?!


 Perhaps, that is true to some extent. It rather depends on genetics and perhaps in the stone age the genetically strong were just bigger than those who were hunting as hard and more attractive (because they could better hunt and protect). Nowadays, we do not get the same exercise we use to get. Manly working in offices and staying skinny that is why we can help our attractiveness so easily by working out and some choose to do it. -- That's at least my theory of this. 

Of course I assume that muscles make you more attractive. I actually read some study that liberal woman do not care about muscles when it comes to attractiveness of men. Perhaps Belgium is more liberal in general...

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## ozkan

Hi Guys, 

I have had a mega FUE HT operation ( a 2-day operation yielded in 6700 grafts) in Istanbul. Could you tell me please how long I should wait to hit the gym again? 

Thanks,

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## ozkan

Hi Guys, 

I have had a mega FUE HT operation ( a 2-day operation yielded in 6700 grafts) in Istanbul. Could you tell me please how long I should wait to hit the gym again? 

Thanks,

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## polios

> Hi Guys, 
> Could you tell me please how long I should wait to hit the gym again?


 Wow that is some big transplantation work! I believe you should ask a doctor about that. To be sure I would not go the gym as long as you are not allowed swim. Just my guess.

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## ozkan

Hi Polios, 

Thanks. Yes indeed, that was a big operation. I am looking forward to seeing the results. I will posts some pics (before after) to relevant threads. By the way I have checked with my doctor. He says that I have to wait at least a month to do sport again. In fact this was one of his instructions after the operation. I have overlooked it somehow....

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## MikeM8

It is a kind of addiction when you finish your workout and you feel some sort of trembling/growing in your muscles. Arnold described it in the documentary "Pumping iron". 
So I guess that is why some people go to the gym so often they can barely fit through the door.

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## Candide

There is nothing like the sort of obsession with gyms and muscle-building in Europe or Asia that there is in the United States, where every high school kid seems to feel duty bound to be in the weights room 4 nights a week.  Interestingly, muscle-building and gym culture in Europe and Asia often seem to be associated with the gay community, and is part of a wider interest in personal appearance.  

It is surprisingly how suddenly the muscle trend developed - very few people went to a gym before the 1980's.  None of the male sex symbols of the 60's or 70's had six packs, or visible muscle of any sort.  I wonder if it will disappear just as quickly in a decade or so's time.

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## polios

> It is surprisingly how suddenly the muscle trend developed - very few people went to a gym before the 1980's. None of the male sex symbols of the 60's or 70's had six packs, or visible muscle of any sort. I wonder if it will disappear just as quickly in a decade or so's time.


 I am also counting on modern sex symbols. There are actually a lot sex symbols who are not handsome because of their muscles but there is some other chemistry about them that just seems right. I would tell Benedict Cumberbatch is one of these.

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## fred970

> There is nothing like the sort of obsession with gyms and muscle-building in Europe or Asia that there is in the United States, where every high school kid seems to feel duty bound to be in the weights room 4 nights a week.  Interestingly, muscle-building and gym culture in Europe and Asia often seem to be associated with the gay community, and is part of a wider interest in personal appearance.  
> 
> It is surprisingly how suddenly the muscle trend developed - very few people went to a gym before the 1980's.  None of the male sex symbols of the 60's or 70's had six packs, or visible muscle of any sort.  I wonder if it will disappear just as quickly in a decade or so's time.


 This, a million times this. The guys from the US/UK here just refuse to believe what you just wrote.

In Europe, people and women will even see you as an overcompensating loser if you go to the gym, or someone who is too narcissistic and over-obsessed with his appearance.

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## polios

The obsession really got crazy in the 90s when it became also popular in Hollywood to show of some trained bodies. Before that it was just something for freaks like Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallon. I hope it will becomes less of a trend in the next 10 years or so.

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## kadze

muscules (I am not talking about crazily pumped mosnters) are assotiated with good nutrition and overall state of health. Just as hair. So it is pretty natural for men to look after themselves in this regard just as you care about hair.

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## polios

> muscules (I am not talking about crazily pumped mosnters) are assotiated with good nutrition and overall state of health. Just as hair. So it is pretty natural for men to look after themselves in this regard just as you care about hair.


 Truth. That is why I do fitness and fight my hair loss at the same time.

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## Candide

Up to a point, yes, but the physique that most guys in the US are aiming for, the one that appears on the front of every fitness magazine published in the last two decades, is a wholly artificial creation.  You can only get it (if at all) with the use of a sophisticated gym, and usually a bit of help from drugs.  People look at the physiques of Hollywood guys like Zach Ephron, and what they don't realise is that these guys' job is to work out.  They spend every hour they have in the gym with a personal trainer, and they live on protein and supplements, to keep looking the way they do, because it is their livelihood (and let's face it, they don't usually have much acting talent).

The problem is that people can't always distinguish between Hollywood and reality, so it sets a worryingly unrealistic benchmark for the average guy.  It's the same with hair.  Practically everyone in the film industry is supplementing their natural hair with toupees and extensions, which makes the rest of us look inadequate by comparison.

I'm grateful that these trends are far less extreme in Europe.

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## polios

It is really a pity that we do not see many actors with hair loss who then cover it up. I would love to see some more actors like Nicolas Cage, not only bad-ass guys like Jason Statham that should feed some stereotype.

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## Candide

> It is really a pity that we do not see many actors with hair loss who then cover it up. I would love to see some more actors like Nicolas Cage, not only bad-ass guys like Jason Statham that should feed some stereotype.


 There are tons of showbiz people who are bald but cover it up, they just do it in secret.  Ben Affleck, Matt McConnaughey, Enrique Iglesias, Brendan Fraser have all been revealed as toupee-wearers, and those are only the ones we know about.  We now know that in the heyday of Hollywood virtually every male star was wearing a toupee, but these were closely guarded secrets at the time; maybe in 20 years time, when the tell-all biographies come to be written it will turn out that the same is true of today's stars.

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## polios

Interesting which stars will be among them. I mean those you have mentioned are quite some obvious cases. Ben Affleck and Matt McConnaughey - I could have imagined that. Other cases are not so clear. Like Christian Bale for instance.

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## timflowen

Really interesting

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## Dominik Kahan

> Am I the only one who doesn't get this whole obsession with building muscle (including abs etc), and prefers simply keeping a low body fat count and been thin? It just seems like so much effort, and tbh most of the results that come from bodybuilding and weight lifting (abs in particular) just look so unnatural and repulsive to look at. I'm saying that it's good to be overweight, or to be an obese slob, but my idea of a good look is to simply keep body fat to a minimum and achieve a natural lean look.


 Exactly, bodybuilding is not a panacea ... to be killed in the gym and get injured by super weights ?! You can look cool and doing more advanced sports and with your own weight! For example, yoga or pilates are more functional, in my opinion.

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## Ubaldo

Protein is one of the most important part of body building. First prefer natural protein intake. Natural protein can be get through egg,pulse. If it is not sufficient than use external protein.

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## Adam201

> Generally if it requires hard work it's worth the effort. People are okay to keep their delusions and pretend that 'muscle' is undesirable but the reality is that it's the polar opposite and more or less the best thing you can do [Especially if you suffer hair loss].
> 
> To use the words 'repulsive' is the ultimate straw man. Those obscenely muscular men you see in magazines are a look that you will never achieve in ten lifetimes. That's the by product of serious genetics and a bucketload of steroids. 
> 
> Guaranteed for 99% of the population the more muscle you can pack on your frame the better you'll look. I've been bulking and cutting for near on ten years [I'm now 28]. I've got a relatively large frame and I'm currently 85kg [185lb] at a lean body mass at 6'0.
> 
> If I had ten kilograms more muscle I'd look even better. No matter how much work I do the reality is that from here on out the gains will be limited to 2-3lb per year maximum.
> 
> The TLDR: When anyone says "I don't get the obsession with" or "It's a pointless endeavour" what they're really saying is "I don't want to put in the hard work therefore I'll denigrate those who do".


 Great post,and so true.Well said!

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## Iken

People don't always look into the mirror because they're vain, self-obsessed etc with, they want to see their progress, they want to see what they're working so hard for everyday, hitting macros, training in the gym 6x per week.

If they're not your goals in life then don't hate on others brah, just let them be.

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## DeAndre Miller

it really is an obsession, especially when it comes to steroids.

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## Faflla

It seems to me that in terms of building muscle mass is always small. I have been doing bodybuilding for 3 years now, but I understand that I still have to train and progress a lot in order to show a decent result. To be honest, the steroids I order from http://powerliftinghigh.com/ help a lot during muscle building. If you are just starting out in professional sports, they can provide free advice for you.

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## michaeljh241

Steroids - definitely not! It is better to make a nutrition schedule and a training plan for a month with your trainer!

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## JustMays

> Steroids - definitely not! It is better to make a nutrition schedule and a training plan for a month with your trainer!


 Let's not forget about sports nutrition. After workouts, I always drink weight gainers like Optimum Nutrition Pro (my favorite brand of sports nutrition) and my muscles grow great.

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