When You Notice ...

[arpeejay]

http://www.facebook.com/arpeejay

[Ragetiger]

Originally Posted by muscleboy82000

Couple of recent events.

1. I am back lifting hard after a couple months off due to a shoulder injury from a minor car accident. I must be putting some size back on because a couple of the big guys stopped and started chatting about working out. Definitely noticed I was being checked out.

2. Pulled out all of the summer clothes and realized that a bunch of shirts no longer fit. This was especially true of the short sleeve button down shirts that I could barely get my arms in. So went shopping and the only size in that style that the arms would fit were XXXL. Guess that I stuck with Polo's and Tee's now.

I'm having the same issue with button down shirts. they have no give. They use to be be a little on the snug side one day to being squeezed the next.

I can deal wit hthe 2XL stretch sleeveless but. . . I need my 3XL Will not touch the 3XL sleeved stretch shirt.

[The Magus]

Yesterday was my leg day, my favourite day, and I was having a good one. I've just got back on creatine and have been eating like a (nutritiously aware) BEAST, so was able to increase the weights on all my lifts. It was already a good day.

Then, on the leg extension, I realised that I could see veins on my quads. I mean, my legs have always been my best feature...I've always been overweight so they grew into nice, big, strong limbs, but I guess since I've been decreasing my bodyfat and getting the most out of my workouts over the last year, I'm starting to see some major changes.

The thought of those veins working hard to get blood to my quads was a real turn-on, and I swear I've never squeezed so hard at the top of a lift as I did once I saw what was happening.

[Mdlftr]

This year I've been concentrating on working my whole body every couple of weeks. I rotate my exercises so that I hit all body parts over a two week period, so that no one part gets overworked.

I've been doing deadlifts, lunges and squats pretty consistently. Since I hurt my lower back (ruptured disc leading to successful surgery) about 10-14 years ago, I'm very careful when doing squats. If I do barbell squats at all, I do them on a Smith machine. I'm much more likely to do lunges and bodyweight and weighted squats using dumbbells or kettlebells. I just assumed that I wasn't going to get much growth out of that because I "wasn't going heavy enough" even though I was and am using very good form.

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! I went shopping this week for summer shorts since I couldn't fit into the old ones. "Damn, I must be getting fat," I thought to myself, as I struggled to get into some admittedly old shorts and they pulled across the front.

At the store yesterday I saw a pair of really nice pale blue shorts by Urban Pipeline. They almost look the color of pale blue seersucker, but they're not seersucker fabric. Anyhow, they look great! As luck would have it, there were two pairs in different sizes: the size I think I wear, and one size up, which I mentally call "My fat size". I took both sizes back to the dressing room and tried them on. As I feared, "the size I wear" had pull lines in it when I pulled them on. The thing is, my waist was actually loose in the pants -- I could stick two fingers in the waist band and move them around. I didn't understand. As I stood there staring at the fit, I turned sideways in the mirror and suddenly realized --it's my butt sticking out that is pulling the pants!! It's not my waist that's too big for these shorts, it's my glutes! My bigger, harder, rounder glutes!

I happily put on the next size up and they fit very well. Big smile all the way up the aisle as I strut up to the register to pay for my new "musclebutt" sized shorts!

Thank you, squats, lunges and deadlifts!

Mdlftr

[built4superspd]

yesterday i pulled out a casual, short-sleeved linen shirt from my closet and when i slipped it on i realized that the sleeves were actually tight (and completely filled by my arms, totally cold). it took a few seconds to realize -- then, yeah, i decided i liked that. just had to be careful not to do anything very strenuous with my arms. when i took it off i double checked the size and admit to just a tiny bit of disappointment -- it was a large (I mostly buy XL's now but it was still nice to know that when i bought this it was a loose-fitting shirt).

[ashland]

The time that stands out the most for me is one morning I went to scratch my sides and suddenly I feel the bulge of my lats right there. I was ecstatic! I swear I sat there running my fingers over that bulge for like 15 minutes. XD

[rockhard]

Yesterday I went to the gym in the afternoon - half day Friday.

I was wearing an older short sleeve shirt. But it's the kind of short sleeves that are fairly long so I cuffed them up so I could show off. They felt snug but not tight.

Well when I got to the gym and tried to take the shirt off it wouldn't budge. I couldn't get my arms our of the sleeves. I just couldn't get it off. I thought I might be stuck until someone else came into the locker room. Fortunately after struggling for a minute or two I started to reflex and finally squeezed out of the shirt. I guess that's another shirt that i have to retire.

[rockhard]

Sorry - I meant to write " after struggling for a minute or two I started to relax"

Talk about a Freudian slip! LOL

[hulkoutlvr]

what a hot moment! You should try to recreate that moment and how us pix!

Originally Posted by rockhard

Yesterday I went to the gym in the afternoon - half day Friday.

I was wearing an older short sleeve shirt. But it's the kind of short sleeves that are fairly long so I cuffed them up so I could show off. They felt snug but not tight.

Well when I got to the gym and tried to take the shirt off it wouldn't budge. I couldn't get my arms our of the sleeves. I just couldn't get it off. I thought I might be stuck until someone else came into the locker room. Fortunately after struggling for a minute or two I started to reflex and finally squeezed out of the shirt. I guess that's another shirt that i have to retire.

[cg12345]

Originally Posted by rockhard

I guess that's another shirt that i have to retire.

I think you wrote "retire" when you meant to say "demolish"...

[rad1987]

I've decided to come out of the shadows now that I've been lifting for about 4 months now. Now, I'm NOWHERE near as big as some of you guys, but I've put on about 2 inches on my arms, chest & legs. I'm 5'9, around 188, 14 inch arms (15 1/2 pumped), 38 inch chest, 25 inch quads (always had large, muscular legs and calves)

Since then, I've had several moments where I've noticed my gains.

1. I have this old short sleeve button down flannel shirt I've had for a few years and the last time I wore it, I noticed the sleeves were tighter then usual!

2. These next few involve my chest growth. These were my favorites! First time was a few days ago at the gym I looked in the mirror and noticed my fully pumped pecs and how much more noticeable they looked through my shirt. I flexed them hard and could actually see them ripple under my shirt!

3. A few days ago on the train I was wearing my medium sized Danzig shirt and while sitting, I looked down and noticed how my pecs bulged through it. Totally unpumped. Before I started lifting, I would have to squeeze my chest together to feel it flex. Now, sitting down, completely relaxed, I puffed out my chest, flexed it good and started bouncing my pecs. For the first time ever I could feel the muscles in my chest moving, my pecs jumping up and down.

4. Yesterday I wore a concert shirt that shrunk in the dryer and when I put it on, I seriously stood in front of my bathroom mirror for about 5 minutes. I am not a vain person at all, I've struggled with terrible self esteem issues (still do), but looking at myself I thought "Wow, I'm starting to build some muscle!" It was an awesome feeling, and adding to that I was also wearing a pair of shorts that fit pretty loosely. I naturally have a nice, shapely bubble butt and you couldn't tell when I wore those shorts. But now, I turned around and could actually see the shape of my butt though them. Thank you squats and lunges!

[inm]

That is a very gluterious story! makes me wonder if I'm doing the smart thing by returning to do them deadlifts (alternating with hip thrusts)..

Originally Posted by Mdlftr

This year I've been concentrating on working my whole body every couple of weeks. I rotate my exercises so that I hit all body parts over a two week period, so that no one part gets overworked.

I've been doing deadlifts, lunges and squats pretty consistently. Since I hurt my lower back (ruptured disc leading to successful surgery) about 10-14 years ago, I'm very careful when doing squats. If I do barbell squats at all, I do them on a Smith machine. I'm much more likely to do lunges and bodyweight and weighted squats using dumbbells or kettlebells. I just assumed that I wasn't going to get much growth out of that because I "wasn't going heavy enough" even though I was and am using very good form.

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! I went shopping this week for summer shorts since I couldn't fit into the old ones. "Damn, I must be getting fat," I thought to myself, as I struggled to get into some admittedly old shorts and they pulled across the front.

At the store yesterday I saw a pair of really nice pale blue shorts by Urban Pipeline. They almost look the color of pale blue seersucker, but they're not seersucker fabric. Anyhow, they look great! As luck would have it, there were two pairs in different sizes: the size I think I wear, and one size up, which I mentally call "My fat size". I took both sizes back to the dressing room and tried them on. As I feared, "the size I wear" had pull lines in it when I pulled them on. The thing is, my waist was actually loose in the pants -- I could stick two fingers in the waist band and move them around. I didn't understand. As I stood there staring at the fit, I turned sideways in the mirror and suddenly realized --it's my butt sticking out that is pulling the pants!! It's not my waist that's too big for these shorts, it's my glutes! My bigger, harder, rounder glutes!

I happily put on the next size up and they fit very well. Big smile all the way up the aisle as I strut up to the register to pay for my new "musclebutt" sized shorts!

Thank you, squats, lunges and deadlifts!

Mdlftr

[rad1987]

Had to make a run to Target today and put on a shirt I haven't worn at all since I started lifting.

Not only are my arms stretching out the sleeves but my chest, shoulders and back are filling it out as well.

This shirt wasn't tight at all when I bought it, it was a rather large fitting Medium.

Needless to say I'm feeling pretty bulky right now

[stronguns]

Originally Posted by rad1987

Had to make a run to Target today and put on a shirt I haven't worn at all since I started lifting.

Not only are my arms stretching out the sleeves but my chest, shoulders and back are filling it out as well.

This shirt wasn't tight at all when I bought it, it was a rather large fitting Medium.

Needless to say I'm feeling pretty bulky right now

Wait until you reach out to do something and your hear the shirt rip! Cool feeling.

[rad1987]

1. This past Monday I did biceps at the gym, and for my last exercise I did seated curls with the handle bar machine. During my last few reps was when I noticed for the first time I had veins bulging out of my forearms.

2. The next day I wore a hoodie on the way to work since now that its fall, it gets chilly in the early morning ( I wake up at 5:30am for work, not bad considering the L trains are not packed). I rolled up the sleeves and I actually had to struggle a bit to get the sleeve up past my forearms. That's when I noticed that my forearms are getting bigger...

3. I was in the bathroom at work washing my hands and during that, as I was bent over the sink, I looked into the mirror and noticed that I actually have a fucking split between my elbow and my biceps!!

4. My work shirts are feeling tighter in the back now that my lats are growing.

5. Yesterday on the train on my way back home, I noticed my reflection in the window and I realized that Im looking much more powerfully built. I was standing with my arms crossed. Now, I'm not the biggest guy and I haven't been seriously bulking up like a bodybuilder, but I couldn't believe that the strong, powerful looking guy in the reflection was me.

6. An hour ago I was taking a steam in my room mates bathroom (went to a concert last night, drank quite a bit, hungover, you get the picture lol) and when I stripped off all my clothes, I stood in front of the mirror and saw how bigger and bulkier I've gotten. My shoulders are so much broader, my chest thicker, my back wider, arms looking meatier. I'm pretty genetically blessed with my lower body, always had naturally huge calves and thick quads, and even before I started lifting I've always had a naturally big beefy bubble butt. Holy fuck....I stood sideways and saw how my ass now looks like a fucking SHELF. All these squats and leg presses are turning my legs into tree trunks and my ass into a dynamite muscle bubble butt. For the first time ever, I got a fucking hard on just looking at myself.

7. Speaking of bubble butt, this one is from a while ago that I forgot to mention. I lap swim for cardio and I prefer speedos over trunks. They don't drag, they're cheaper, dry quicker, and don't take up a lot of space in my swim bag. Plus I have a massive speedo fetish and love to wear them any chance I get. Anyway, I have a large collection of speedos and usually I wear the classic solid Speedo racer briefs when I lap swim. I have noticed in the locker room mirrors that my butt has been filling them out more. My speedos usually stretch out a bit when they get wet, but now when I get out of the pool, my speedos are completely skin tight in the rear. Thankfully not too tight for comfort, I would hate to have to rebuy my whole speedo collection!

[Centaurian]

I've been keeping a record of my growth over the past few months with some posed pics. I've noticed a steady growth, but something about today's pics really struck me with the progress I've made. The muscle definition that's starting to come through more, and my stomach seeming flatter/more muscular.

Also, I've always had larger legs than most, but working out consistently has grown them. I noticed how big that was when I had trouble fitting my legs into any of my pants about a week ago haha. And flexing them, they are almost fully solid now, no longer the soft muscle of before.

And of course, everytime I do an arm workout at the gym, the pump always catches me off guard haha. I always look bigger and more vascular.

[bulkybud]

Been making good progress lately but today, doing barbell shrugs, I was able to use 405 lbs. for 8 reps.
First time I lifted over 400 lbs. in any exercise.
I know that there are people here who passed this milestone long ago, but for me... I'm a happy camper.
Sore, but happy.

bulkybud

[bulkybud]

305 bench today! Only got 2 reps, but it's a start!

bulkybud

[schwermarko]

I was interviewed at some point, and have only seen the finished presentation quite recently. The first time there was a cut to my interview, all I could think was--Oh holy shit, I'm huge! The contrast of seeing "normal sized" people, and other people I think of as big, and then a direct comparison to me.

I suppose this isn't actually growth related, per se, as I've always been big, although I get leaner all the time. (I'm a powerlifter, so the models and bodybuilders will always think Im fat, I can deal) It's just that it's a bit odd having to wrap your head around not being normal.

I also have this problem when people are handing out schwag, if it's a T I'll say 3 and if it's a tank I'll say 2, not realizing that for most people think small, medium, large, where as I am just counting the X's in front of the L

[arpeejay]

http://www.facebook.com/arpeejay

[brutus]

Originally Posted by schwermarko

I also have this problem when people are handing out schwag, if it's a T I'll say 3 and if it's a tank I'll say 2, not realizing that for most people think small, medium, large, where as I am just counting the X's in front of the L

I've thought this is how sizing should go for a long time!

[The Magus]

So, my mom sent me a picture of myself from a few years ago, and I want to post it here, but I have no clue how to do that. Ugh...anyone care to point me in the direction of a "how-to"?

[Curiosity]

I think there's still no way to post pics directly to the forum. (Someone correct this if that's been added.) As far as I know, you'd have to upload your pic elsewhere on the interwebs and link to it here.

[cg12345]

Just coming home from the gym, had such a sick leg day I was trying to take a progress pic of my legs and for the first time ever I was literally having trouble rolling my shorts legs up over my quads, they were so pumped! That was the first time anything remotely like that had ever happened to me, I felt like such a beast


http://i43.tinypic.com/11tpr0j.jpg

[adre2108]

I have been on a bulk for the last six months. And today I realized just how big I have gotten. I work in health care and have to wear scrubs a lot. When I changed this morning I saw that even the largest scrubs we have are too small for me. It felt good and at the same time I now have a real problem...

[arpeejay]

http://www.facebook.com/arpeejay

[adre2108]

I am 6'5'' and 308 lbs at the moment. Not all muscle I have to admit but I love the size.

[The Magus]

Legs!

I've been seeing great progress all over the last year or so, but the part of me I'm most excited about are my legs. I've always had big legs (partly because I was fat, but I think I just naturally have solid legs), so they're still one of my best features now that I've lost a fair bit of fat, but more and more I'm starting to see definition. My legs are going from basically nice and thick, to nice and thick and ripped. Where before I could only really see the outside head of the quadriceps, I can now see that diamond-y shape in the middle-front area, and when I'm drop-setting let extensions at the end of a hard leg day there's even some vascularity starting to come through.

At the gym, I know I'll never be the guy to wear pants, and I prefer to wear short-shorts (they have to have some elastic give, though, because I've ripped through shorts doing squats before), because there's nothing I love more than seeing those legs work.

Monday I'm with my trainer for a special leg day, and I'm going to see if we can get some pictures taken. If so, I'll bite the bullet and set up some photobucket or flickr account to post here.

[The Magus]

Posting again....since I've always been overweight, I've never in my life had abs. Pro-tip: binge drinking 3-4 times a week and binge eating on pizza and poutine (a French-Canadian delicacy, mmm....) doesn't help.

Since I've been sober and working out for the last couple of years, my waist size has gone down about 13 inches, and one of my goals for this summer is to finally have abs.

Last night I was fooling around and flexing for my bf, and when he was feeling my gut we realized that we can see and feel the top two rows of abs coming in, and the 3rd row is on its way. Depending how the light falls, you can actually see the top 2 rows of abs, too.

If that's not motivation to stay on track with diet and cardio, I don't know what is. I can't wait to find out of I have a 6-pack, and 8-pack or what.

[stronguns]

Originally Posted by The Magus

Last night I was fooling around and flexing for my bf, and when he was feeling my gut we realized that we can see and feel the top two rows of abs coming in, and the 3rd row is on its way. Depending how the light falls, you can actually see the top 2 rows of abs, too.

If that's not motivation to stay on track with diet and cardio, I don't know what is. I can't wait to find out of I have a 6-pack, and 8-pack or what.

Excellent news! Keep it up you're doing great!

[rad1987]

A few months ago I changed work schedules so now I work out early in the morning with a good buddy of mine. He's very dedicated to lifting so I've been going Monday through Friday and it's been very consistent. The growth I'm experiencing is awesome. I feel like my muscles have gotten a big boost. Triceps are huge now. My arms and chest are filling out my shirts more. I can't put a shirt on now without puffing my chest out and flexing my arms.

[arpeejay]

http://www.facebook.com/arpeejay