Anyone else feel better physically and mentally at a stockier build?
I’ve been ripped and lean before, for example in my 20s, now 33, and know I could get there again, but being a bit stockier (still muscular) just feels… better. I perform better, feel more solid, and honestly enjoy my body more day-to-day. My shoulders are much bigger. Stomach is bigger, not a gut, but also not ripped, and I enjoy how it looks. 5'10" size 34 pants.
Wondering if other men have found the same? or if the “always shredded” goal doesn’t actually feel optimal long-term…
20 comments
19 BMI is my goal
My understanding is that at low BF %s (like 10% or lower) you look incredibly shredded but feel like shit all the time.
Why do you care what GUYS think?
ALL guys think you should look like Rambo
Women don’t want The Hulk. They want Superman
It depends from person to person. The recommended body fat for men usually is roughly 10-20%. That doesn’t ofc mean that having it a bit over 20% is really bad. The thing is that some people at 10% will feel exhausted or hungry all the time while others will be fine, so that person might settle for a bit higher bodyfat, to feel better.
Coming from another beefy boy (5’11 200 and 34 waist.) I haven’t been shredded since college // high school doing high intensity sports but I don’t feel a need to get there either. Only major difference is my trunk is wider from chest to hips. Love to eat and drink; not gonna be counting macros or any of that bullshit any time soon. I have an athletic build, no beer belly here. Sure it would be nice to lose 15 and get back to peak weight. But I feel and look good , plenty strong and good endurance etc. the diet discipline and time to get that 15 pounds I’ve learned (from trying) is not sustainable for me nor worth it. It’s all about balance
If you feel good, run with it.
I always felt my best, and happiest, and got flirted with the most when I was built like a power lifter, not a body builder
Ive always been a “big guy” – yeah its absolutely not a brad pitt sixpack, but in my work as security and police, not needed at all.
What is needed is for me to run at you full speed and just knock you to the ground, and my size was great at that. People often were shocked like “fuck, you run faster than I thought”
Yeah, for 200yards, thats it…. if I dont get you within that I wont get you, my 55kg partner might, but he wont be able to bodyslam you to the pavement like I can… so its a 50/50 if he will win or not. In my case its 98% on my side as you will not fight after I bodyslam you at 25km/h
I prefer more ripped. My clothes fit better, I feel more agile, I like the aesthetic
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I’m 6ft, been 70kg and 113kg. Sitting at 94kg now and prefer this weight over either. Both spectrums had their perks and negatives.
When I was 70kg I had excellent cardio, I had never touched a weight in my life and my body composition was ok but very squared. I was in my early 20s at the time doing kickboxing so despite being decent at fighting at the time (competing) I had no imposing figure at all and people wouldn’t flinch at trying to push me around (used to go clubbing a fair bit). I’m my early 30s I started powerlifting and attained a physique that was imposing but I was tired all the time because the training had to be intense, even with 8-10 hours of sleep, I was always stuffing my face and sleeping on a full stomach, along with constantly being bloated and stiff.
I’ve dropped down to 94kg now and while I’ve dropped a fair bit of muscle, I’ve nearly lost my tummy, my cardio is better and I feel lighter. I eat OMAD and water fast on occasion for 24-48 hours while doing light weight training, gone back to kickboxing and doing lots of cardio. Never felt better. My sleep is also way better and I require less, wake up feeling fresh all the time too.
Idk, I have been ripped all my life. I would feel weird being… Bigger. Lol
It depends how you get ripped. Most dudes basically starve themselves unsustainably, diet too long and then crash out. A lot of dudes who lift also arent very active, so they basically rely on diet alone to stay lean.
I think if you give yourself enough time and find a way to get active (10K steps is good but IMO regular higher intensity cardio is better and more fun) you can def stay lean. And personally I prefer to be leaner than stocky. It’s not hard for stocky to become straight up obese if you dont stay on top of your weight.
Plus theres a lot of gray area between stocky and shredded. You dont have to be at either extreme, you can just be at whatever is comfortable and sustainable.
I’m 48, 5’10” and 205. I train 5-6 days a week and carry a fair amount of muscle. I perform better with a little body fat. I got down to 195 for a while after my divorce a few years ago and while I was rocking a 6 pack I didn’t feel as strong and my gas tank wasn’t as big. I was also super stressed though so that might have been part of it.
Any adult man who lifts should weigh at least 200. Otherwise you look like a toothpick
Big guy myself. Currently looking weight because I have gone too far and noticed my body is starting to hurt from being too big. But generally yes I do feel better heavier then lighter
As a kid I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger go from Mr. Universe to a bag of saggy skin and flesh. I saw the same happen to my father. When I looked around at the oldest people alive I never saw a heavy or fat one. So Bruce Lee became my ideal body type. Lean and fit.
I’ve always been lean and that body shape makes me feel at my best.
I don’t go to the gym to bulk, more to keep fit with a nice toned definition
I’m 59 183cm and about 175 atm and that’s about my optimum weight.
No, but I’m lean. I spent time as a counterterrorism veteran and now live in one of the more dangerous areas of the US. I walk around here a lot and I’ve seen the stocky dudes getting worked the fuck over repeatedly in the neighborhood. It’s like the victim build. All of the SEALs I deployed with were lean and average height. I’m lean and tall. I think there’s a lot of advantage to being 150-160lbs at 6’ and being able to throw a 300lb man.
Bigger stomach gets in the way of things. Your body requires more calories to move. I have a friend, ex Ranger; and he’s stocky and a little shorter than I am, and we go back and forth all the time about who is better off. Someone gave him a double hernia, but I’m still charging along unphased.
I prefer having a stockier build because I don’t like the food sacrifices I have to make for a more ripped physique. I tried it once and the foods and drinks I had to give up to maintain were not would not be worth it to me now.