What It's Like to Be a Bodybuilder

[Swede]

=).

[Triple-H_2005]

Was that the guy that wrote the article that I can't see?

[sassy69]

The guy has good control of his body, but I think I can top him in bicep size....

But yea.. its all relative I guess. The 4'10" vegan Indian ladies I work with think I'm a beast while I'm gnawing down my chicken breast on a fork before competition time. "Savage!" was what one of them commented. I laughed. By the same token, these ladies are about as big as my underweight 8 yr old nephew.

[Barrett]

=).

You read my mind.

At least his routine wasn't flamboyant and odd. Otherwise, he'd look realllly douchy.

[JAM]

You read my mind.

At least his routine wasn't flamboyant and odd. Otherwise, he'd look realllly douchy.

Haha, even Kai Greene just gave a "WTF?" and cocked his head sideways at that routine.

[Lann1011]

I wonder why the pulled the article..

The guy looked like a slightly bigger male fitness model.. and he was wearing jeans so, no leg shots..

He talks about how he bumps into people cause he is soooo big.. he would compete as probably a middle weight, (My best estimate)

[JackedQuads]

I wonder why the pulled the article..

The guy looked like a slightly bigger male fitness model.. and he was wearing jeans so, no leg shots..

He talks about how he bumps into people cause he is soooo big.. he would compete as probably a middle weight, (My best estimate)

I can almost picture this guy typing away at his computer all mad at the world for hating him for his brutal world class 17 inch arms and tree trunk 24 inch thighs (tree trunk since he can't find any jeans that he can fit in unless they are tailor made).

[hifrommike65]

I Know My Shirt’s Not On. (You Needn’t Keep Reminding Me.)

June 5, 2010 By Christian Matyi 21 Comments



Christian Matyi would like to take his shirt off without you psychoanalyzing him, or projecting onto him your own insecurities. Capiche?

Few things I can do are more politically charged than taking off my shirt.

You see, I belong to a visible minority. And like so many minorities, my presence can be unsettling for those who aren’t “used to my kind.” But unlike those minorities defined by more uncontrollable features (disability, skin color), I chose my minority status.
I am a bodybuilder—and not just some sporty guy with a Gold’s Gym membership who wants to show off his boyish abs. I’m a bodybuilder with a capital “B.” You know the type. I’m a big, muscular guy whose proportions are a little more exaggerated than just your average dude who hits the weights. My back is almost as wide as some doorways, and my leg girth converts “loose fit” into “slim fit.” My measurements confound the suit tailors of the world. Everything I’ve done to my shape in the past seventeen-plus years has put me in a minority class. And, frankly, I’m happy to be there.
Unfortunately, some people don’t share my contentedness. I am often bumped—literally shoulder-checked—in crowded supermarkets and laundromats by hipsters and preppy girls who exude an attitude of, “Oh, I didn’t notice your massive frame directly in front of me! Hope the irony of that doesn’t BUG you, Mr. Big-man.”
People seem to want to talk about my body. Often it’s in a derisive way, akin to when people want to mock a silly tattoo: “And what does that symbol mean to you?” they’ll ask condescendingly. “Which tribe, exactly, does that tribal tattoo represent?”
There’s an undertone of blame to their comments. How dare I make people around me self-conscious about their own form?! No one actually says that aloud, but it’s clear from the tone. I hear everything from, “Well, obviously you want people to talk to you about your body” to “I wouldn’t want to go to a beach with you because I couldn’t enjoy my day.”
Statements like these, from friends and strangers alike, are where it gets political. I try to be courteous, but engaging people about body perception only fires up more heat. It’s as if they want to work through all of their male body issues in a cutesy two-minute interaction. My body is seen as an invite for a unique brand of sound-bite, body-image therapy.
The message that often ends up coming across is a weird, chilling Orwellian dictate: The body of a bodybuilder is not his own—it’s public domain, to be used for debate on issues relating to the body. The choice to be a bodybuilder is a forfeiture of unique perception. The bodybuilder has volunteered to become a tool for pop-psychology chatter.
Many people presume that a guy wouldn’t build his muscles past the point of “fashionably normal” unless he has a massive dent in his psyche. Ironically, that’s often true, but that’s a discussion for a future column. The point is that whenever I take off my shirt—or even wear a tank top—this argument breaks out, and opinions spring forth like geysers.
It’s hard for my size not to show. Dress loose, and I look bigger. Dress tight, and I look… well, you get the idea. I am visibly a bodybuilder, and I can’t hide that. (Nor would I, even if I could.) But should I choose to show a little more muscle—maybe a sleeveless shirt, or (gasp!) no shirt on a hot day—these derisively intoned conversations break out.
When the guy in a Starbucks starts play-acting that I’m going to beat him up if he accidentally cuts me in line, it’s not really a compliment. When the woman at a cash register wants to scold me for buying cheese and ice cream—every time I buy cheese and ice cream—it gets monotonous and obnoxious. It feels belittling, not victorious, when I get teased at the beach—at the beach!—for having visible abs, as if my goal is to intentionally make others feel uncomfortable. No one likes to feel like the villain if they haven’t committed the crime, but it’s enough to make a bodybuilder want to go back to being lazy.
I’m not sure when the heroic male form became such a common enemy. But, unlike real political views, the politics of the body are open topics triggered by the “poor slobs” who dare not dress in bags. I’d always though that if I were to be credited with radicalism, it would have involved exploding buildings, fringe political ideals, and clandestine ransom videos. But, alas, the fastest way for me to upset the American norm is to show up shirtless.

http://goodmenproject.com/2010/06/05...-reminding-me/

[MiamiMadePunk]

I Know My Shirt’s Not On. (You Needn’t Keep Reminding Me.)

June 5, 2010 By Christian Matyi 21 Comments



Christian Matyi would like to take his shirt off without you psychoanalyzing him, or projecting onto him your own insecurities. Capiche?

Few things I can do are more politically charged than taking off my shirt.

You see, I belong to a visible minority. And like so many minorities, my presence can be unsettling for those who aren’t “used to my kind.” But unlike those minorities defined by more uncontrollable features (disability, skin color), I chose my minority status.
I am a bodybuilder—and not just some sporty guy with a Gold’s Gym membership who wants to show off his boyish abs. I’m a bodybuilder with a capital “B.” You know the type. I’m a big, muscular guy whose proportions are a little more exaggerated than just your average dude who hits the weights. My back is almost as wide as some doorways, and my leg girth converts “loose fit” into “slim fit.” My measurements confound the suit tailors of the world. Everything I’ve done to my shape in the past seventeen-plus years has put me in a minority class. And, frankly, I’m happy to be there.
Unfortunately, some people don’t share my contentedness. I am often bumped—literally shoulder-checked—in crowded supermarkets and laundromats by hipsters and preppy girls who exude an attitude of, “Oh, I didn’t notice your massive frame directly in front of me! Hope the irony of that doesn’t BUG you, Mr. Big-man.”How dare I make people around me self-conscious about their own form?! No one actually says that aloud, but it’s clear from the tone.The body of a bodybuilder is not his own—it’s public domain, to be used for debate on issues relating to the body. The choice to be a bodybuilder is a forfeiture of unique perception. The bodybuilder has volunteered to become a tool for pop-psychology chatter.
Many people presume that a guy wouldn’t build his muscles past the point of “fashionably normal” unless he has a massive dent in his psyche. Ironically, that’s often true, but that’s a discussion for a future column. The point is that whenever I take off my shirt—or even wear a tank top—this argument breaks out, and opinions spring forth like geysers.
It’s hard for my size not to show. Dress loose, and I look bigger. Dress tight, and I look… well, you get the idea. I am visibly a bodybuilder, and I can’t hide that. (Nor would I, even if I could.) But should I choose to show a little more muscle—maybe a sleeveless shirt, or (gasp!) no shirt on a hot day—these derisively intoned conversations break out.
When the guy in a Starbucks starts play-acting that I’m going to beat him up if he accidentally cuts me in line, it’s not really a compliment. When the woman at a cash register wants to scold me for buying cheese and ice cream—every time I buy cheese and ice cream—it gets monotonous and obnoxious. It feels belittling, not victorious, when I get teased at the beach—at the beach!—for having visible abs, as if my goal is to intentionally make others feel uncomfortable. No one likes to feel like the villain if they haven’t committed the crime, but it’s enough to make a bodybuilder want to go back to being lazy.

HAHAHAHAHA, what a skinny bitch fitness model trying to be a bodybuilder, he's just saying that because he wants to be an IFBB pro and compete in the model(gay) division so he can be the IFBB mr model(gay) olympia.

[hifrommike65]

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RREC_b05ihY&feature=channel"]YouTube- 2007 MuscleMania Fitness atlantic Interview with XN[/nomedia]

[MiamiMadePunk]

fixed and after 15 years, he's still looks like a buck 65 max fitness model, and why does he say that bodybuilding is science if he himself has not reach the 220+ contest weight level yet.

[Silidons]

strong 404

[Barrett]

jesus christ! Wow. You people need to stop making fun of him. I feel bad now, even. After reading that, he's obviously got some kind of block in his head, from all the "cheese and ice cream". He obviously has some sort of severe pyschological issue.

I was bigger than him when I was 18 and I could count a few other guys on here who probably were too. And its honestly not saying much. This guy at best weighs 190. And thinks the world is out to get him because he looks like a fitness model. I would venture to say 75% of this forum is bigger than this guy and they fit through doors just fine, dont get scolded in the grocery store, and don't get dirty looks at the beach, and probably don't get "checked" in the laundromat or the mall, and hasn't been "persecuted" near to the degree he has. This dude is a fucking head case.

So if you're reading this Christian, contact me. I have a good psychiatrist I can put you in touch with. And remember, you're a 190 lb Christian Matyi, not a 290 Jay Cutler.

[Triple-H_2005]

I do believe that we've successfully identified a naturally occurring example of "over-estimation of self".

Wow.

I really don't even know where to begin with this guy. Back "almost as wide as some doorways"?

Yeah, if it's the door to Frodo Baggins' Hobbit-Hole.

[hifrommike65]

I'm wondering whether he has some sort of self-conscious body language in public that brings out these reactions in others. He might secretly want to be the center of attention wherever he goes, & unconsciously or consciously provokes reactions in others. I have seen a lot of bodybuilders in public who do not cause a stir, or get comments, or anything at all similar to what he describes.