I was looking through the massive thread “Favorite Bodybuilding Picture” and I got a good side by side comparison of an off season JoJo with Prof X’s profile pic. It got me thinking, if you look at JoJo he looks like a fat ass, specifically because he’s got a massive ass. When you look at the profile pic, the guy looks massive but not as unappealing as JoJo, mainly because he has a slim waist and a more appealing taper down to his slim legs. JoJo doesn’t have this taper which makes him look like any other obese guy you see walking the streets, albeit with massive arms.
It’s not going to stop me from squatting, but it’s just food for thought. If we are training for looking halfway decent is a massive set of glutes and thighs really appealing? Especially when covered with clothes, as we spend the majority of our time.
What the HELL is this thread supposed to about? What is wrong with your eyes? Why doesn’t T-Nation have a policy against posting from children and the mentally incapacitated.
[quote]kingdpt wrote:
So are you comparing a real person with a comic book character?[/quote]
Yeah I am comparing a comic book character to a real person because the comic book character is an idealised version of reality. So the ideal is for a slim waisted and small legs. Yet we are constantly told “Shut up and squat!”. Well wait a second is this really freakin’ ideal? Do I want to look like an obese low-life? Is my time in the gym spent making myself unappealing to the opposite sex when clearly my goal is otherwise? I’m just throwing ideas out there and waiting still to hear reasoned arguments for and against.
I know what you’re saying, but outside of people who actually want to look like a bodybuilder, few people actually try and build up a really thick pair of legs (for aesthetics).
You’ll find the average person’s aesthetic taste then the large thighs aren’t part of it. People on this site try for these large legs because they like the bodybuilder leg aesthetic, and generally don’t care most chicks don’t dig huge legs.
[quote]blw121 wrote:
kingdpt wrote:
So are you comparing a real person with a comic book character?
Yeah I am comparing a comic book character to a real person because the comic book character is an idealised version of reality. So the ideal is for a slim waisted and small legs. Yet we are constantly told “Shut up and squat!”. Well wait a second is this really freakin’ ideal? Do I want to look like an obese low-life? Is my time in the gym spent making myself unappealing to the opposite sex when clearly my goal is otherwise? I’m just throwing ideas out there and waiting still to hear reasoned arguments for and against. [/quote]
You have no clue what you are talking about. The man you are insulting is Jo Jo Ntiforo. The pic above was taken the same day as the one you posted (back in 2003). You think his waist isn’t small? Mind you, that is his heaviest bodyweight ever at that particular period (270lbs). It is accepted that the ones making the most progress from year to year do bulk up in the off season. Why would you judge someone esthetically when they are in a period where the goal is mass gain and not dieting down for competition?
All of you who jump in this forum without a clue of what bodybuilding involves makes me wonder what is wrong with you.
Why is a massive set of arms any more appealing than a massive set of thighs? I’d rather have the thighs, personally. I think big legs look awesome, and I respect anyone who puts in the serious time and effort required to build them. Same with upper body, but legs are generally tougher.
And I really don’t think he looks obese. I’m not sure how you’re getting that. He looks powerful.
He’s right. All you guys say to do squats and deadlifts and eat chicken and tuna to get big. Why don’t we take a hint from the biggest motherfucker I ever seen and destroy and eat planets.
[quote]
Do I want to look like an obese low-life? Is my time in the gym spent making myself unappealing to the opposite sex when clearly my goal is otherwise? I’m just throwing ideas out there and waiting still to hear reasoned arguments for and against. [/quote]
I don’t understand this. This guy doesn’t look fat. He looks like he has a large waist, but even in a tight shirt there is clearly no gut or anything of that nature. I don’t think there’d be many people that would see him walking down the street and say “gosh what a fatass.” They might be a bit put off by his general size, but I don’t think having a big butt, thighs, or even a big waist necessarily makes people think poorly of you.
[quote]blw121 wrote:
The angle of his body and the fact that he was bulking at the time make Jojo look comparatively chubby, especially in his waist. This must be due to squats.
Should we stop squatting because it’s making our butt look big?
I’ve recently stumbled onto the fact tha Vince Gironda (and a number of current and previous bodybuilders) advocated NOT squatting, because it would develop thickness in the waist. Instead, they do sissy squats and lunges that don’t involve leaning forward.
Sometime back, TC tried to articulate what the point of T-Nation was (aside from sell supplements). One point he made was… many of us want to be functional bodybuilders- look good, but also be strong. I think that’s one of the main reasons they push squats and deadlifts so much. They develop good leg mass, and the slight widening of the hips is acceptable to promote the increased athleticism that comes with them.
Another thing is… think about what it would look like to have a 270lb IN SEASON bodybuilder with a 32" waist. I mean, yeah it’d be cool… but you can only have so narrow a waist before IT starts to look out of proportion.
Fortunately, we have gH to prevent us from attaining such a stature.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
blw121 wrote:
kingdpt wrote:
So are you comparing a real person with a comic book character?
Yeah I am comparing a comic book character to a real person because the comic book character is an idealised version of reality. So the ideal is for a slim waisted and small legs. Yet we are constantly told “Shut up and squat!”. Well wait a second is this really freakin’ ideal? Do I want to look like an obese low-life? Is my time in the gym spent making myself unappealing to the opposite sex when clearly my goal is otherwise? I’m just throwing ideas out there and waiting still to hear reasoned arguments for and against.
You have no clue what you are talking about. The man you are insulting is Jo Jo Ntiforo. The pic above was taken the same day as the one you posted (back in 2003). You think his waist isn’t small? Mind you, that is his heaviest bodyweight ever at that particular period (270lbs). It is accepted that the ones making the most progress from year to year do bulk up in the off season. Why would you judge someone esthetically when they are in a period where the goal is mass gain and not dieting down for competition?
All of you who jump in this forum without a clue of what bodybuilding involves makes me wonder what is wrong with you. [/quote]
I didn’t intend to insult JoJo but it did come off like that. I just used that picture as an example, to be honest the angle is rather unflattering when compared to your other pictures of JoJo. But even at his slimmest with a pair of jeans on he isn’t going to look like what we see constantly in comics and media. I know that’s part and parcel of being a bodybuilder but why when bodybuilders are our idols does he not represent what we see in the wider community as perfection?
And also I agree bulking is a good method for gaining mass. I can personally attest to trying to use this slow bulk business and getting sub-par results. I’ve now moved over to eating more and am enjoying much better, stretch mark inducing results.
My point is that why do these idealised characters that we hold up as models of perfection have slim waists and comparatively smaller legs, yet on this site and others we constantly hear “just fuckin’ squat”, etc. I’m not implying that squatting will give you a massive waist but in paraphrasing Jack Reape, I don’t know anyone who squats 800 pounds who you would describe as lithe. I just wanted to start an honest discussion about why we’re obsessed with things that to be honest would turn most people off. And I didn’t start lifting weights to become some freak that disgusts women and children.
Personally, I want quads that prevent me from wearing most mass produced pants and hamstrings that hang off of the back of my legs. I dont care what people think of my physique. I do this shit for me. If you are at the point of worrying what some chick is going to think of your legs, you havent been doing this for long and you wont be doing it for much longer.
Bodybuilding is MY thing. I dont need to prove anything to anyone else. If I cared what people thought, Id be out spending my money on gucci sunglasses instead of ground beef and oats.
