What is the importance of being muscular nowaday?

[zinc4]

No Zinc I'm not some roided up black guy, I'm 180cm tall weigh 85-90kgs and come from a mixture of Indian/Arab and Eastern European bloodline. And have been playing sports since I was 5 and fighting since I was 12. I am an ecto-mesomorph, so I stay lean all year round but find it slightly hard to gain weight, it's taken me 12 years of lifting on and off to get to this size without the use of drugs, I have however taken EPO and HGH both in pill form when I was in high-school to recover from a torn hamstring, and still do when I get injured, as it speeds the recovery up.

I don't disagree with anything you said about martial arts, and yes they can do extreme things but I also know for a fact that these same people will never ever actively engage in a fight as it's always taught to walk away instead of sticking around and fighting.

The thing you don't realize about fighting in a ring or cage is that it's not staged, and the other guy KNOWS what he is doing and most likely has 5-10 years of martial arts and boxing/kickboxing under the belt. Apart from a few "gentleman's" Rules its a kill or be killed blood sport. You are taught to go in and dismantle the other guy and finish him off its completely different to defending yourself from single or multiple armed attackers, in the ring you can't just shrug off a few people and make a dash for safety, in the ring you have to stand your ground and fight or get ripped apart. You have to find a chink in their technique and break through it.

It's completely different worlds. I walk around these days not looking at people but analyzing the way they walk how the carry themselves to pick up weakness in their bodies just in case I have to defend myself against them, I can't turn it off its something that I picked up from fighting in the ring and cage.

The horse stance is actually not a real fighting stance its more of a finishing/ ending stance used to shift your body weight around and used to train the legs, you can either do martial arts training or weights ............ OR do both. I found out as a young teenager that martial arts taught the control and discipline but the actual fight's taught me how to be versatile unpredictable volatile and downright dangerous and use the controlled disciplined actions from martial arts into fighting and beating guys.

BUT The side affects of having a decent body are that you get noticed more by EVERYONE, Men and Women. Men are afraid to look you in the eye, and Woman gawk at you like deer caught in headlights. Your sheer presence commands respect and admiration at the same time, everyone knows you either fight or play a heavy contact sport. It's a feeling that I can't explain you have to experience it to know what I mean.

Having said this You do get treated like a dumb brute, you can say and get away with some dirty things to women and be very brash and rough when handling a woman and she will get soaking wet. Guys will mock you behind your back yet cower when you look at them, they won't believe that you are educated and smarter then they are because you look like a guy that spends all day in the gym.

There are pros and cons BUT the pros outweigh the cons by far, When I was in my peak condition at 23 I could literally walk up to a hot girl and just say "hi my name is $%^&*(, I would like to take you home tonight/tomorrow/next week" And majority of the time I could pull a number/kiss/lay on the same day.

I can agree with that...however, horse stance is used to train will power and to balance the body, lower your chi or center of gravity and build internal power. I agree it would be silly to break out into a horse stance in a fight....but it still is very valuable for training purposes.

 

[Chamber36]

I used to see muscles as a bonus... I did when I first read this.... But now, I think that a good physique really puts you in the game.

Unless a person is exceptionally charismatic AND sexual, I'd say it's almost necessary to be in good shape if u wanna contend seriously in the game

 

[cordoncordon]

Wrong.....the human body can take much more than you or anyone in the media gives it credit for and with less food and so called nutrients than what is believed as well...it can literally adjust to all kinds of stress over time...without artificial crap like steroids...if you want to take steroids then that is your business...but there are side affects and it is toxic in general so don't get on here trying to fool people that is is somehow good for you or required if you work out a lot.


To the other guy, yeah i used to drink a lot of beer but have cut it out for health and training reasons....and no i don't smoke or anything like that...i am sure you can in fact use steroids in a relatively safe and controlled manner because i have known plenty of people who have used them, but let's not act like they are good for your body or even a good idea for that matter....plus what is wrong with going the natural route?

You haven't read a thing I posted did you? I said the average person doesn't really need to use them. But for a professional athlete, especially one that undergoes a huge amount of stress every day, I see nothing but benefits and zero side effects while using them in a controlled manner. Next time you are out training like a pro athlete does, or a race horse does, let me know. But from what I read you seem like the type of person who watches sports on tv with your beer gut and who keeps saying "ya know, back in the day, when I played HS football.....blah blah blah" no one gives a ****e.

 

[Ringleader41]

Im muscular and ive never gotten a compliment from a single women, but i get attention from dudes like no other

 

[zinc4]

You haven't read a thing I posted did you? I said the average person doesn't really need to use them. But for a professional athlete, especially one that undergoes a huge amount of stress every day, I see nothing but benefits and zero side effects while using them in a controlled manner. Next time you are out training like a pro athlete does, or a race horse does, let me know. But from what I read you seem like the type of person who watches sports on tv with your beer gut and who keeps saying "ya know, back in the day, when I played HS football.....blah blah blah" no one gives a ****e.

Okay, nice bait.....your little sob story on athletes needing steroids is funny......professional athletes don't need steroids period...yeah they help and offer a shortcut but there have been athletes for 1000s of years before steroids came along and like i said in another post the average western professional athlete's training regimine is nothing compared to that of the Shaolin monks in China who who live and breath it every second of the waking day without steroids nor is it compared to Muay Thai kickboxers in Thailand......and there are all kinds of other examples...

And I train right now in Longfist Kungfu...about 3-4 hours a day 5 sometimes 6 days a week....and that is pushing it with a 6 day a week job...not including running which is about an hour a day....and yes, i enjoy college football on TV on the weekends when it is football season but i am nothing like what you described...also, i have found something much better than steroids...it's called qigong...i know it's amazing that there is something natural that can enhance you that isn't a drug...mind blowing right...the human body and mind is capable of amazing things on its own....but little nancies like yourself are always looking for shortcuts and are obsessed with becoming big...

And to stay on topic with the OP....in my experience women like guys with a slender but muscular and well toned physique over an overly muscled/bulked up guy that resembles someone from the body building magazines...of course there are exceptions, but i am speaking in general here...in fact if you are too big i have known many women who think it's gross or that you are too obsessed with yourself...once again speaking in general here about your average woman...

 

[yuppaz]

Studying martial arts for 10 years, ive learnt that just having muscles doesnt really mean anything. I mean the psychology is that a man with muscles gives a woman a sense of security. But in regards to martial arts, someone who is muscularly big does not always win, rather its their downfall, as they focus there training on looking big and strong, which takes away from their speed, technique and over all power.

To me, its not about how big you are, but how hard you can hit.

Pfffft - NONE of it is relevant in the real world now that guns exist. You punch hard, well that dude over there is good at getting away from crime scenes so train all you want. I love body building and it's because it is a never ending challenge and I like how I look in the mirror. Only reason...

 

[Who Dares Win]

Amen...good post.

I've used steroids on and off the past 7 years and have never experienced a single side effect from using them, other than a significant increase in strength and confidence. The physical and psychological benefits derived from COMMONSENSICAL AND MODERATE USE of steroids is not to be overlooked.

The drug companies are already advertising testosterone on TV. Just watch any network's coverage of the national news at 630 tonight. They'll air TONS of drug commercials, and "testosterone replacement therapy" is at the forefront of many of those stupid drug commercials that you see on TV all the time. What do you think TRT is? It's basically steroids, albeit in much lesser dosages. They inject it in your ass, just like steroids.

Well said Espi, this is an other demonstration of how ignorant and stupid the average citizen is, apparently if a guy does an epistane cycle followed by a bullteproof pct he is supposed to die in 24 hours and pay for his "greediness and immoral choices" while someone using test replacement therapy is doing well since he is an old man and not a body builder therefore is ok, right?

This is the mental process used from the average ignorant citizen regarding steroids, its no different than those housewifes eating ice cream the whole night near tv which tells you to quit protein powders because the manifacturer puts "steroids" in it...yeah 20euros/kg of protein powder which the manifactures substitute with 20euros/gr of steroids....straight from business studies right?

Anyway its funny and sad at the same time while kids can buy candies and get sick from them before they reach 16 yet if you try to buy any SERM following a cycle it takes a medic prescription or a risk to get arrested if caught with moderately high quantities, same with cigarettes.

This is an other side of the bvllsh1t we've been told and the liberties we've been deprived of from a "morally superior citizenship and government".

 

[Gro0ver]

And to stay on topic with the OP....in my experience women like guys with a slender but muscular and well toned physique over an overly muscled/bulked up guy that resembles someone from the body building magazines...of course there are exceptions, but i am speaking in general here...in fact if you are too big i have known many women who think it's gross or that you are too obsessed with yourself...once again speaking in general here about your average woman...

I have to agreed with that, generally speaking. Women can get turned off by a guy who appears to into himself, but of course everyone has different tastes, i'd say if you were slim/toned/athletic looking you'd maybe appeal to the widest audience but they'll always be women who like big guys as well.

The bottom line though is to work out and play sports because it feels good and you like the way it makes you look, not because of bonuses it might or might not get you with women.

 

[JohnChops]

Well said Espi, this is an other demonstration of how ignorant and stupid the average citizen is, apparently if a guy does an epistane cycle followed by a bullteproof pct he is supposed to die in 24 hours and pay for his "greediness and immoral choices" while someone using test replacement therapy is doing well since he is an old man and not a body builder therefore is ok, right?

This is the mental process used from the average ignorant citizen regarding steroids, its no different than those housewifes eating ice cream the whole night near tv which tells you to quit protein powders because the manifacturer puts "steroids" in it...yeah 20euros/kg of protein powder which the manifactures substitute with 20euros/gr of steroids....straight from business studies right?

Anyway its funny and sad at the same time while kids can buy candies and get sick from them before they reach 16 yet if you try to buy any SERM following a cycle it takes a medic prescription or a risk to get arrested if caught with moderately high quantities, same with cigarettes.

This is an other side of the bvllsh1t we've been told and the liberties we've been deprived of from a "morally superior citizenship and government".

No serm no cycle . Anyway, half of the news media is from idiots who use synthol and explode their body parts with oil, which is retarded. Also you can use un-methylated prohormones so they don't produce harsh toxins from the break down to 1-testosterone in the liver.

I think zinc is just mad or blindly going into what the media says because he fails to do his own research.

 

[muscleman]

I think zinc is just mad or blindly going into what the media says because he fails to do his own research.

It's pretty clear zinc needs to do his homework on bodybuilding before talking, but it is what it is.

BB /= steroids, he doesn't seem to get that though.

And I'm not sure why he's defending his martial arts, although I can kind of understand it because he's committing '3-4 hours/day 5-6 days/week' to it, which is a pretty ridiculous time investment. You really do have to justify that in some way.

I train doing calisthenics 45-60 minutes 4-5 days/week and I'm pretty sure I look better than most martial artists. I bet you my strength (not to be confused with power) is up there too. But yea, 'it's all vanity'.

PS. like other posters have mentioned, justifying it from a self-defense standpoint is silly with knives/guns + element of surprise in any 'smart' engagement. You'd be better off doing some modern hand-to-hand training. I've disarmed people a number of times in my life, but to this day I've yet to have an opportunity to roundhouse someone.

This is kind of fun though.

 

[goundra]

99% of guys have no training, so a trained man can beat them easily, despite making many so called 'mistakes". I've used the horse stance a few times, moving into it to punch, to the SIDE, from a distance. Once I used a jumping, pivoting move, landing in the horse and leaning a bit, to strike a punk from so far away that he couldn't BELIEVE that it was happening. A truly fit man can standing broadjump well over 7 ft. If he also does a 180 degree shift of body orientation in the air, and can really get wide and deep with the horse stance, that's another 3.5 ft of "reach". Add 2.5ft or more of arm and hand, and in 1/2 second or so, you can be punched in the floating ribs from 12 feet away. You'd be shocked to learn how SLOW you can be and still score heavily on the average guy. They have no idea what to do, basically, and that normally means that they do NOTHING, and get busted up really bad, very quickly, in a fight with a trained man.

 

[zinc4]

It's pretty clear zinc needs to do his homework on bodybuilding before talking, but it is what it is.

BB /= steroids, he doesn't seem to get that though.

And I'm not sure why he's defending his martial arts, although I can kind of understand it because he's committing '3-4 hours/day 5-6 days/week' to it, which is a pretty ridiculous time investment. You really do have to justify that in some way.

I train doing calisthenics 45-60 minutes 4-5 days/week and I'm pretty sure I look better than most martial artists. I bet you my strength (not to be confused with power) is up there too. But yea, 'it's all vanity'.

PS. like other posters have mentioned, justifying it from a self-defense standpoint is silly with knives/guns + element of surprise in any 'smart' engagement. You'd be better off doing some modern hand-to-hand training. I've disarmed people a number of times in my life, but to this day I've yet to have an opportunity to roundhouse someone.

This is kind of fun though.

A martial artist who is serious about it could give a flying flip about what he looks like...he does it for many other reasons...

If you do bodybuilding simply because you love doing it, then that is respectable...but if it is just to make yourself look better or to appeal to the opposite sex, then...meh...

Also, i like to spend that much time training because Longfist is very complex and the initial phase of conditioning required for it is very very difficult...you don't see much progress in your skills if you don't train much...but i love doing it...and i don't do it for the self defense skills or to get a chiseled body although those both come naturally with training, i do it because it is a beautiful art form and puts your mind at peace...and it is not just physical..half of it is meditative stuff and controlling your breathing and mind while under a lot of pain and stress...

Also i had a severe case of insomnia and anxiety that meds only made worse and no amount of normal exercise or working out could fix before i began my training...but kungfu and qigong fixed me completely....it has been the best thing to ever happen to me...the benefits go so far beyond what something like bodybuilding or hardcore working out offer...it really is life changing...and not only that but the way you move and see things in normal life begins to change...you just become much more smooth and fluid with your movements and reactions in ordinary life....the benefits go so far beyond having a good body or self defense...

I am sorry, but when you mention steroids i just think it's retarded to inject toxins into your body just for the sake of getting bigger or stronger...it just seems so mundane...

 

[Eternal_water]

My virgin view on muscle for what its worth is that muscle is not critical.

I know plenty of skinny guys who have gf's, in fact every single male I know except for me has a gf and very few of them are muscular - so it can't be vital.

It is however a major advantage. Having bulging muscles will go a long way for cancelling out deficits in other areas such as value, game, personality, popularity, money etc. A very long way.

Also for a cold approach when the girl knows nothing about you other than your appearance, the incredible hulk is going to be in with a much higher chance than the stick man.


So not the be all and end all, bit it is much better to be with it than without it.

 

[zekko]

I heard this old country song on the radio last night. It reminded me of the effect that the female body has on the male. A lot of the vainer guys here seem to believe that muscles on a man are the same thing as tits on a girl.

But there is no part of a man which will ever have the same impact of tits or ass on a girl. It's just part of nature, but I know some guys would be shattered by finding this out. Such vanity regarding looks is a feminine trait, not a masculine trait.

Here are a few selected lyrics from the song "Baby's Got Her Bluejeans On", by Mel McDaniel. A guy is not going to get this type of reaction:

Down on the corner, by the traffic light,
everybody's lookin', as she goes by,
they turn their heads and they watch her till she's gone.

Heaven help us, baby's got her blue jeans on.

She can't help it if she's made that way,
she's not to blame if they look her way,
she ain't really tryin' to cause a scene,
it just comes naturally, nah , the girl can't help it

Lord have mercy, baby's got her bluejeans on.

I know plenty of skinny guys who have gf's, in fact every single male I know except for me has a gf and very few of them are muscular - so it can't be vital.

That matches my experience as well. That's why I've never bought into this idea that only the top 10% elite guys can get laid, because it's very clearly not the case. All you have to do is look around you. Most guys I know are either getting laid, married, or have girlfriends. The guys who aren't are in the very small minority. The PUA idea that there is one guy getting all the girls while the other nine are sitting around alone is so ridiculous that it's laughable.

 

[Who Dares Win]

That matches my experience as well. That's why I've never bought into this idea that only the top 10% elite guys can get laid, because it's very clearly not the case. All you have to do is look around you. Most guys I know are either getting laid, married, or have girlfriends. The guys who aren't are in the very small minority. The PUA idea that there is one guy getting all the girls while the other nine are sitting around alone is so ridiculous that it's laughable.

I guess the problem is not who gets the girls but at which terms, getting the same girl when she is 20 and having her blow you the same day is not the same thing of getting her at 35 and being forced to committ to her to have her used mouth after a month of dating.

Even more impact has what she believes of you, a thing is that she stays with you because she genuinely feels attracted from you while an other is her staying with you because she realize that she is hitting the wall and you are the lesser evil she cant still get before her final "retirement" from the field.

I dont know you guys but for me it really sucks to be considered as a second class option from girls, first because I get something AFTER someone else and if I get it first I have to work much more to get the same, this is not the foundation of a happy life based on self confidence and security.

And doesnt matter how much a b1tch can fake, your gut can tell.

 

[rhythmic]

My flatmate gets laid despite being not even a tiny bit muscular, and so did I before I started working out (I wouldn't describe myself as 'muscular' now, just slightly strong). So I know it isn't vital.

I'd certainly say it can have a positive effect in a lot of situations; being toned more than muscular in particular will probably raise you a point (or two or three depending on your body right now) up the scale.

On the vote I went for "can make the difference between being desired/respected given the rest of the package is sufficient"; no-one is going to think much of a dribbling mess with muscles.

 

[TheStig]

I heard this old country song on the radio last night. It reminded me of the effect that the female body has on the male. A lot of the vainer guys here seem to believe that muscles on a man are the same thing as tits on a girl.

But there is no part of a man which will ever have the same impact of tits or ass on a girl. It's just part of nature, but I know some guys would be shattered by finding this out. Such vanity regarding looks is a feminine trait, not a masculine trait.

Here are a few selected lyrics from the song "Baby's Got Her Bluejeans On", by Mel McDaniel. A guy is not going to get this type of reaction:

Down on the corner, by the traffic light,
everybody's lookin', as she goes by,
they turn their heads and they watch her till she's gone.

Heaven help us, baby's got her blue jeans on.

She can't help it if she's made that way,
she's not to blame if they look her way,
she ain't really tryin' to cause a scene,
it just comes naturally, nah , the girl can't help it

Lord have mercy, baby's got her bluejeans on.


That matches my experience as well. That's why I've never bought into this idea that only the top 10% elite guys can get laid, because it's very clearly not the case. All you have to do is look around you. Most guys I know are either getting laid, married, or have girlfriends. The guys who aren't are in the very small minority. The PUA idea that there is one guy getting all the girls while the other nine are sitting around alone is so ridiculous that it's laughable.

+1000000
That fact isn't gonna stop me from working hard in the gym though lol