gym buddy tries to lose muscle

[traveller]

I began working out at Gold's Gym in San Mateo, CA since it's close to my new job. There I noticed a hunky guy working out in the late evenings: 5'7"-5'8", 190 lbs, hairy chest, low body fat, narrow waist, and a nice pert butt. He has very short dark hair and dark brown eyes. His eyes seem to twinkle when he smiles.

After a week or so of seeing him almost every day, we eventually became acquainted. I learned that he was trying to reduce his weight down to 175-180 lbs. Although he looked jacked, he said that he hadn't done a cycle in 2.5 years. His heaviest weight was 250 lbs. while "on." Before he stopped juicing, he was continuously on for 6 years. His weight dropped to 215 lbs. (ripped) several months after he stopped. In the past few months he unintentionally gained 7 lbs of lean mass. I told him that I think he's nuts for slimming down.

Although he's natural now and dropped a lot of weight, he's still VERY strong. On a Hammer Strength machine for upright bench (don't recall the correct name), he was pushing 4x45 and 1x35 on each side; 215 lbs. on each side. When he used to bench press, his best bench was 505 (not sure if that's his 1 rep max), and 350 naturally. His best squat was 705, but he no longer squats due to a back injury from a car accident.

Of course, I wanted throw myself on him. I only learned yesterday that he's not of my persuasion. I'm a bit bummed because he's so nice and hunky. Sometimes I get confused when straight guys show too much interest in me. <Sigh>
He does personal training and is very knowledgeable about working out with injuries, kinesiology and steroids. I want him to create a workout program for me, and then plan my next cycle.

Traveller

[ottomun6]

Traveller, did he say why he wants to be smaller? It dosen't make sense, does his job depend on it?
Hey I understand what you mean about the "straight guy paying attention to you" situation. I went through a few myself. Several years ago one guy I knew was talking to a girl about politics or something, I remember looking at him and got lost momentarily in those smoldering eyes -they took my breath away, but I was too deep in the closet to do anything about it.
Its really tough, but it could really ruin a friendly relationship. I know it sucks but be strong buddy, maybe there's another guy just down the road that's even more beefy.

[brent]

Originally posted by ottomun6
Traveller, did he say why he wants to be smaller? It dosen't make sense, does his job depend on it?

I don't understand either. I just hope that this obvious form of mental illness doesn't spread!

Take care & I hope he gives you a routine that makes you swell like crazy!

[Notbigenuff]

I just want to be sure I understand. This guy has "juiced" in the past, "unintentionally" gained 7 lbs of lean mass (an amazing feat or proof that miracles do occur), and is very knowledgable about all things related to gaining size/muscle...hmmm, something doesn't seem to add up here.

So I have a few theories: 1) he's succeeded so well at getting big that he wants to see how small he can get or 2) he's proof that some people aren't happy with themselves no matter their physical potential, or 3) (my favorite theory) he just can't admit to other people that he actually works out to get big for fear of seeming "odd." In fact, I believe there was a thread here not long ago on "coming out" as a muscle lover. Maybe he's an extreme case of some kind--or unusually modest. Of course, this could also be his way of bragging ("oh woe is me, no matter what I do I just seem to keep adding all this pesky muscle" *flex*).

In any event, from how you describe him, I'd sure take his advice anytime. Just be careful that you don't unitentionally gain too much lean mass as well !

[traveller]

My reply earlier today must have gotten lost in the ether. Anyways, Jim, the object of my lust, never felt comfortable at a "heavy" body weight. In fact, he felt fat despite the low body fat % because he liked doing activities where his bulk slowed him down.

I was bummed to hear that he doesn't even have photos of himself during his juiced years. He never took any of himself, and he doesn't have copies of photos of him taken by others. <sniffle>

When I chatted with him between exercises tonight he mentioned how our fellow gym members have interesting quirks. He said that each gym has its own characteristics. Our gym has people who act as if they're not staring at you. I thought that was interesting since I made it obvious to Jim before we became acquainted that I was checking him out.

Although he doesn't play on my team, I enjoy looking at him. If only I can find someone like him who's into hulking out, and into me. :^P

Traveller

[wrestlejock646]

One of my neighbors, who's actually done some gay porn flicks for a major male studio was going through the same process. He'd been up to about 195 at a height of 5'5" and a very low bodyfat percentage at the same time. He was a heavily tattooed stud and handsome as hell. After knowing the guy for 3 years at his bulked up size, I noticed he was looking a little smaller each time I ran into him at the gym. Without commenting about his smaller size, I asked him what he was changing about his workouts. He replied that he wanted to start running triathlons and marathons. He was tired of being too heavy to walk up the five flights of stairs to his apartment without feeling out of breath. He also has a twin brother in another city--also gay, who is a runner and it was something he wanted to do with his twin bro. He added that he was getting approached at odd places by people who'd seen his scenes in videos proposing various offers that were starting to wierd him out. He's got a good job and wants to focus on that rather than doing porn. Lots of reasons to want to change focus.

I guess for someone who's always wanted to be bigger, his decision hit me as strange at first also. However, this guy is going to look great at almost any bodyweight he gets down to. Instead of looking like a competition ready bodybuilder now, he looks like a jacked amatuer wrestler. I'll take either version of the eye candy he offers. <G> But, I'll still be trying to pack on more size myself.

My thought about this is--whatever floats your boat. You can't get to the gym everyday, year in and year out to get bigger if deep down you know you want to try something else. Who knows, after he runs his triathlons and marathons he might change his mind and get huge again. Its just a choice we all get to make for ourselves. I have a feeling, if he was relying on juice--and I'm not saying this guy was definitely geared up--that he might have realized that huffing and puffing up to his apartment every day was a reflection on his health he didn't want to continue.

BTW, these real life muscle threads are nearly as much fun to read daily as new stories....I hope everybody keeps them coming in.

[brent]

wrestlejock646,
It sounds like your friend had some good reasons for changing. I guess that if I ever got that beefy, I might get tired of it after a while. OK, I probably wouldn't , but I can see why someone might... It does sound odd that 5 flights of stairs would tire him out however! It sort of makes me think about increasing the amount of aerobics I do! When training to bigger one's self, we must not forget to do aerobics AND stretching. The point about possibly being 'geared up' is another good reason to stop... IF he was geared up to start with, I understand why he'd want to quit while he could still get his health back. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing, and maybe he will swell back up one day. Do you have access to pics of him at different weights? It would be hot to do a photo montage of him in reverse chronological order!

Also, I agree that these "Real Life" threads are the best at the forum right now, to me, because they are real. I like the sightings bits, because they seem to offer a constant stream of real muscle for us to read about, and appreciate. I was having lots of luck a couple weeks ago with the good weather we were having, but that has all gone to s**t right now. So I will have to rely on others sightings, unless I see some boys that are muscled, and like being cold & wet. *thinking about a new form of, "Wet T-shirt connetest*

[ottomun6]

Yeah, Brent has a point there about the guy having trouble getting around. I knew a guy a while back that was my size then (I assume) got juiced up. He was suddenly carrying about 40 lbs of extra bulging muscle and as we were talking one day, he mentioned that just running out to his car in the parking lot left him winded. He wasn't used to being so big and beefy. I'm sure if he were doing aerobics regularly, he would have been able to carry those big muscles around easier.
Its not totally a problem of size, Tom Platz was a massive bodybuilder back in the 80's (with ungodly huge quads) and he did aerobics, played tennis, rode a bike and even did the splits at shows just to show that being huge dosen't nescessarily mean musclebound.

[ottomun6]

Traveller, I'm sorry to say that I've known a couple of guys that didn't take pictures of their "muscled up" stage in life. And the worst thing was that each of these guys quit lifting and went back to being skinny. The first guy (about 5'8" and 140 lbs) said that he was just curious about putting on some size. so he went at it (I assume he eventually got juiced up) and grew to about 220. He needless to say, had to borrow clothes from his large framed father, and even the size large shirts were getting snug. But he had things happened in his life that made it difficult to keep up his muscled up state, so he slowly shrank back down to 140-145.
The other guy totally surprised me when he said that he was buffed (about 6' and 135) he was especially thin for his height. He said that in his gym rat days (before he got married) that he built himself up to almost 240 lbs, had biceps well over 20", a 31" waist, and his chest was about 52"!!! He was benching over 450 lbs! I was stunned. He looked so thin that you couldn't even imagine him even having the nerve to walk into a gym, much less turning into a mountain of muscle like that. He actually had pictures but they disapeared when he tied the knot. Well at least married life has put a few pounds on him recently (even if it ain't muscle)

[Notbigenuff]

Ottomun6, I'm amazed that anyone who was once as big as the two guys you describe could even get so thin.

In my, albeit limited, experience big guys tended to start out with at least an average build. Of course, I did meet one guy who now weighs a muscular 220 but when he graduated from high school was only about 140 lbs. He doesn't have any pictures either, but the difference is once he experienced life with muscles he saw no reason to ever go back (thank goodness).

I hope this trend of big guys getting small doesn't catch on...

[ottomun6]

Yeah Notbigenuff, that's how it hit me too. (Especially the second guy) He almost looked like a starved long distance runner. I was almost pleading for pictures of his mountain of muscle days. Darn, he was thin but he was cute. Marriage spirits away another muscle stud .
The first guy I didn't really know that well, but he mentioned it he should have kept working out. (sigh) if only he had, I think he would be awesome to gawk at.

[Notbigenuff]

Maybe he will be awesome to gawk at once again. If you run into him in the future, perhaps a few well placed suggestions would do the trick!

[The Magus]

Maybe we should start handing out cameras to these guys...all those wonderful bodies, lost to the past....

*sigh*

[traveller]

Last night while doing my part of my leg workout with Jim, the guy who's working on losing mass, he blurts out that he does have some relatively recent pictures of himself. I don't know how my face appeared, but all I said was, "Oh?!" He took them when he temporarily dropped to 184 lbs. At that weight he said he was competition-level ripped. In a few words while looking embarrassed, he said he posted the grainy pictures in a personal ad (for women) that had a so-so response. I could only speculate the avalanche of responses if he posted those pictures for men online in the SF Bay Area.

BTW, he is really friggin' strong. On a (single leg) leg curl machine, his weight setting would exceed mine by 20 lbs. The machine weight stack limited his poundage lifted. For stiff-legged deadlifts, he beats me by about 210 lbs.; keep in mind that he's been doing those for years, I've only started doing them in January off and on. Out of jealousy/envy I asked him to do the exercise without straps (which I don't use). He did his lifts without a problem. <sigh>

Traveller

[ottomun6]

Originally posted by traveller
Last night while doing my part of my leg workout with Jim, the guy who's working on losing mass, he blurts out that he does have some relatively recent pictures of himself. I don't know how my face appeared, but all I said was, "Oh?!"
Traveller

Traveller, I read that "Oh?!" and laughed so hard , I almost fell out of my chair!!! I can only guess what your expression looked like, but I bet it was noticable

[brent]

Originally posted by Notbigenuff
I hope this trend of big guys getting small doesn't catch on...

I think we all agree on that point.
Maybe you can have your straight friends help you get big so they can live vicariously through you.

(stupid wives...)

[Notbigenuff]

Brent,
Interestingly enough, I do have one straight friend who seems interested in my development. Enough so that he ask me frequently how big I've gotten or notices if I've lost weight, etc. So maybe he is living vicariously through me already...or threatened if I get too big. He only seems to work out if he thinks I've gotten bigger or stronger than him...

Maybe a few more friends like him are just what I need though!

[The Magus]

He only seems to work out if he thinks I've gotten bigger or stronger than him...

I think I may be seeing the beginning of this sort of thing myself...a friend-of-a-friend who used to only see me once a year or so moved down here in September...he was a big jock in high school, and now gets back into the weight game every now and then (I haven't worked out with him, but our mutual friend has: he says his form is wretched, but his body is damn impressive).

When he moved down, he asked me, awe in his voice, if I'd lost 80 pounds (I'd only lost 10 at that point, but my shape had really changed). Since then, he's been more serious about lifting, and even though he's got a much better body than I do, he's started asking me questions about nutrition and excercises and stuff.

I'm thinking that in another year, though, I might start to surpass him...our mutual friend tells me that he never works legs (old hockey injury), rarely works back, and pretty much just does chest and arms...

[Notbigenuff]

Okay, maybe the gym buddy that Traveller knows isn't so unusual in trying to lose muscle. I saw a guy at the gym today who looked familiar to me. Then it finally dawned on me that he looked exactly like a guy who used to hang out at the gym all the time about a year ago--only he must have lost 50+ lbs of muscle since I last saw him! He was still muscular in a "Men's Fitness" or "Men's Health" model kind of way but he used to be more of a "Muscle and Fitnes" or "Flex" kind of guy.

I didn't confirm my suspicions, however, I just couldn't figure out a way to say "hey, didn't you used to be a lot bigger?" without sounding like an insult (in case I was wrong).

Of course, if it was him it explains why I hadn't seen him in the gym for quite a while...

[traveller]

Notbigenuff,

I had a similar experience with someone who lost weight quickly. One former co-worker, JA, seemed to suddenly drop a lot of lean weight. I usually saw him at work or at the gym at most once a week. A few months ago I noticed that JA lost at least 20 lbs. on his 5'11" frame; I was surprised to say the least. JA is a fairly lean musclebear who averaged about 220 lbs. When I had a chance to talk with him, I asked him about the weight loss. JA wasn't happy about me pointing out something that embarrassed him. Oops! I responded by telling him that I just wondered if that was his intent, and that he still looked hunky--so very true! It turns out that JA had some health problems which affected his weight. Now, he's on a bulking cycle that makes him look a bit porky according to another former co-worker. I haven't seen JA for over a month, so I'm curious to see him. It may be a stark contrast to his condition about a year ago when he was on a cycle that brought his weight to a lean 230 lbs. He looked great dressed up in corporate nerd casual, i.e., khakis, short-sleeve Madras shirt, Clark Kent glasses, and a 5 o'clock shadow with muscular bulges in all the right places.

Traveller

[ottomun6]

Hmm, I know what you guys mean about the approach to someone that was bigger. And I tried to do the same too without sounding like a jerk.
I usuallly try to do it as casually as possible, like "How you been? haven't seen you, ...how's life treating you?" most times they will just blurt it out that they are pissed that they lost weight or that they have been sick or something.
Let's face it, the ego is a fragile thing when it comes to big muscles getting small.
Some guys roll with the punches, but its very rough for others.

[Notbigenuff]

Originally Posted by Notbigenuff

I saw a guy at the gym today who looked familiar to me. Then it finally dawned on me that he looked exactly like a guy who used to hang out at the gym all the time about a year ago--only he must have lost 50+ lbs of muscle since I last saw him...

Some folks here might be interested to learn that the guy I saw and reported on in my earlier post did turn out to be a different guy than the one I thought he was. How do I know? The real guy was back in the gym today--and he didn't lose weight, he's packed on several more quality pounds. Had to pick my jaw off the floor when I saw him!