Randomly got complimented on my arms being "big" on the way back from lunch.

While I thanked the person and made some small talk about lifting, I thought, 'Dude, c'mon. I'm not even big.'

I think it's interesting, the perception of what constitutes "big" between people who lift, and people who don't.

Kind of that same phenomenon where people talking about Celebrity X being "so buff," and you just think, "decent bf%, no lats, no traps."

yehh...it's the special kind of body dismorphia that comes with lifting weights.

the compliments feelgoodthough

tfw people call you of using cell tech when arm barely 16'

Totally vouch that, after lifting and looking at olympias etc you see real size, your average joe that doesnt lift have no real idea what those cempetitiors looked like, I remember before I ever lifted and saw Zyzz on a 4chan post and thought "holy fuck that guys massive hes huge omg"

now zyzz a pipsqueak compared to many, and i don't see him in that sense anymore.

16 feet arms? arm routine plz

truthfully, being huge doesn't appeal to me. Size doesn't in any real regard to be honest. I'm more a function over esthetics. Probably easy for me to say, I have esthetics naturally, but still. I'd rather be the 170 lbs guy squatting 405 than the gym rat who is huge but can't squat 275 once.

The compliments are nice though. Back in 2011 my gfs friend pinned me against the wall with her hands on my biceps and was commenting on how big my arms were. It was sort of awkward given the situation but the compliments are nice

They weren't big by anyone's standards here but they weren't small either. meh

I'm currently trying to get back to that fitness level. I felt like a boss

Everyone would rather not be a gym rat who can't squat 275. I don't see how that has anything to do with it. The upper body warriors you see at the gym are loud and proud, but it doesnt mean they represent the big guys. They have no respect from the real big guys.


Anyway @OP, non-gym people think a 170lbs guy with decently low body fat is huge. Then you start lifting and realize those guys are twigs. It's pretty funny to think about.

Worst thing about being big tho is the people asking "how much you lift?" with no specifics about what lift at all. And no matter what answer you give them, they can't truly understand what it represents unless you change the unit of measurement to something like a fridge or a person.

a lot of people tell me I'm huge, I'm scrawn AF 160lbs at 6'1" I'm just like umm thanks? non-lifting people usually have bigger arms than me, cuz i never train them

same here

but we've seen the guys who have never exercised in their life. their traps are 100% horizontal and make a 90 degree angle with their neck. their arms are sausages, perfectly parallel.

we look up to and compare ourselves to guys who are crazy strong and have crazy physique, which is why when we look in the mirror we don't think we're jacked or anything... but i bet if we all compared ourselves now to a flex photo even 1-2 years ago we'd see the real difference.

when other people see a fit dude versus a dude who never works out, it's very clear. not just in muscularity, but posture as well. compliments are nice!

This post was edited by Wretch on Feb 12 2015 09:20am