Adarq.org

I got huge body dysymorphia yesterday squatting in the gym infront of a mirror. Felt skeletal, it really bummed me out. Maybe it's cause everyone around me was a lot bigger and i was like wtf, i lift? No. I'm freaking skinny. 175lb @ 6'3" crew checking in .. lol.. i wish i was a lean 200 .. but short of drugs it aint happening! Just embrace it i guess :/

I've actually felt the same way as you going to gym at my uni last semester. It's all in your head man. Plenty of those huge fuckers have half of their muscle mass as non-functional junk weighing them down. Verkhoshansky talks about it in his book, it's called sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, where the space between muscle fibers increases, but has no corresponding strength increase.

I mean most people that go to the gym have different goals than we do. Imagine if you did upper body circuits with high volume with the same vigor of chasing a big squat. I'm sure you would be huge, if that's what you really cared about. I'm pretty sure most girls don't care how big you are.

BTW, nice squat.  Very strong, especially considering you're 6'4".  Your femurs look LOOOOONG.  Probably have great potential in SL jumping

Thanks! I hope you're right. I have the long achilles and low mass for it too. It's just a matter of getting the technique down and getting a super strong p-chain.

Is that a high or a low bar position? I can't tell from the video. It does look like the hips are really involved, though.

Actually a short Achilles is better for one leg jumping, because it takes less to load and snaps quicker => better ground contact times. A long Achilles is great for standing vertical jumps

It's high bar. I'm happy that you think so, I've always been really quad dominant and did most of my squat by bending at the knee. Getting more hip power has been a huge focus for me this winter. Clearly it's been successful to some degree at least.

Edit 1: Damn I dunno why I thought that long achilles was better.

Edit 2: I figured it out. It's from the KellyB article about SL jumping, which I apparently didn't read very thoroughly.

the length of the Achilles tendon does have some relevance, as it explains the ability of kangaroos to hop around with little effort. The tendon acts like a rubber band. However, plenty of excellent high jumpers don’t appear to have relatively lengthy Achilles tendons compared to the rest of their body. A more important factor is tendon stiffness.

Well, that's what you always hear about the Achilles.

Yeah, it's impossible for me to initiate a high bar squat from the hips, I would just lose position.

A longer Achilles usually translates into more knee bend in the jump. You should watch that Donald Thomas vs Stefan Holm video.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BmuHGu-SB0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BmuHGu-SB0</a>

Yeah, that's the basic idea.

But in a standing vert, a long Achilles is better. Anyway, no need to talk about it because you can't change what you have, so... might as well continue working on that PC strength.

to Final Phenom:

Yeah you basically have the body of a high jumper..  Tall long and skinny.  You got some strength too so really tuning up your body for sl jumping should do a lot for you.

About the achilles, yeah who gives a flying crap.  Lots of long achilles guys jump high off 1 leg, while lots of short achilles jump high too.  Doesn't matter if you strengthen/stiffen them up.

to Maxent:

Can't get to a lean 200 at 6'3" without drugs?  I know it's hard, but that self-defeatist attitude will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  That's the same kind of pointless mindset as white or asian guys saying "I can never jump like him, I'm not black".

Also, about girls... Cmon guys we're not in high school anymore.  They really don't give a fuck about how ripped or buff you are.  It's crazy how many guys still think like this whenever you go to fitness videos on youtube and look at the comments and shit.  Being an attractive man is about your mental qualities not how big your muscles are.  A lot of times skinny guys who train and build a nice body will get more girls.  Contrary to what he or his bro friends thinks, he's getting more girls because of the new found confidence he has in the transformation he worked his ass off for.  The confidence is picked up by girls.  Most girls have no clue what it is about the guy they are attracted to.  They don't know, so a lot of times they just say whatever "makes sense" like "oh he got a nice body" or some dumb shit. 

As long as you are a man from a mental standpoint -> know's who he is and what he wants, doesn't try to please with their looks or actions, and other actually mentally manly stuff, girls will be attracted to you.  From a body standpoint, it helps to be in general shape, but any more or less than that matters about 1%.

It's no coincidence, creative artist type guys get way more girls than your average gym bro.  It's way more respectable to see a guy work hard just to express himself and accomplish his own inner goals.  It's not respectable to see a guy work hard for others to validate him.

No we're in violent agreement that girls don't care how buff you are or ripped. I don't think anyone would dispute that unless talking about extremes which no one is. My view is being jacked in clothes -> more confidence -> improves how you carry yourself -> better with females. But dieting down so you look skinny (or if naturally that way, staying it by avoiding the temptation to eat your way to obesity) is a hard choice cause apart from how you look in the mirror (only matters to you) and athletic performance (again only to you), it's not going to do you any favours with women. Personally i feel more confident when i'm bigger and heavier than I do when skinnier. I dont know why; it just happens that way. Easier to feel like a man when you're not super light imho.

That just means you are letting society dictate standards for you.  A real man sets his own standards without judging others standards.  Sorry for the bluntness.

Lots of very skinny weak guys carry themselves with extreme confidence.  It's cause they don't let anyone tell them what is "good" and "bad" from a body perspective.  They know that shit doesn't define them as a man.

^not necessarily, i dont think that has much to do with it, for me anyway. I think it's biological. a 220 pound dude feels more invincible than a 175 one. You feel and are stronger, bigger, all of that, it carries over to normal life even if it's mostly a potential thing (eg in a fight for survival) it means more confidence.

Nope, that's buying into standards.  We may still have similarities to our cavemen ancestors, but we have evolved drastically since then from a mental perspective.  Brute strength is not "survival".  Mental strength is.  Random example:  Kendrick Lamar is a 5'6" guy who looks skinny fat.  You think a guy like him has any sensations of feeling "vulnerable" or would feel more invincible if he got jacked?? 

If being bigger makes you feel more invincible, you are either very naive or buying into illusory standards.  Your mind/soul makes you invincible.

What you are saying CAN bring you more confidence.  If it's in the form of "I made this transformation and am proud of myself" then that's more a mental/spiritual thing.

If it's in the form of "I am stronger and bigger than you", that's buying into societal standards of what makes one better than another, which is an illusion.  It's a big illusion, because you buy into it and it makes you feel "confident" but it's a fake confident, one belonging to a person who is actually mentally weak if they need that kind of validation to feel "invincible"


edit:  BTW, no way am I saying there's anything wrong with working out and wanting to get bigger.  It's about, is the desire coming from you or is it coming from society/other people's expectations.  If it's coming from you, then training becomes an art form, one that is a very creative process.

^not necessarily, i dont think that has much to do with it, for me anyway. I think it's biological. a 220 pound dude feels more invincible than a 175 one. You feel and are stronger, bigger, all of that, it carries over to normal life even if it's mostly a potential thing (eg in a fight for survival) it means more confidence.

Definitely. When you're walking around rough areas it definitely feels a lot better being bigger as opposed to being small. I used to get into lots of fights because I hanged out with the wrong people and either we'd find trouble or trouble would find us. I haven't been involved in a fight for years now, but I know personally if somebody is squaring up to me and they're 200+lbs I'm going to attack them first if I feel like they're invading my personal space because I feel intimidated. On the other hand if they're <175lbs I'll feel a lot more relaxed because I know that if shit goes down I've got a high probability of beating them. Same as if a female was in your face you'd laugh it off or just walk away because you know you can handle yourself. This is just from a strictly physical standpoint.

Mentally I agree with what everyone is saying that size doesn't mean shit. Mentally you can also defuse a lot of physical situations.