It’s summertime and that means you’ve gotta let those biceps breathe a little. But as you’re hitting the gym to make sure that XL tank top looks like an XS, take a second to consider that bigger isn’t always better. Sure, it’s good to be in shape, but here are five reasons why having the most ridiculously shredded muscles on the beach might make you the loneliest guy at the bar…
1. Bad Skin
Ever see a bodybuilder’s skin up close? It can be kinda gross, between thestretch marks and tissue inflammation from over-exercise. Research from the journal Dermatology linked whey protein to acne in 2012, and juicing makes it worse: In 2007, German researchers discovered that “acne occurs in about 50% of [anabolic steroid] abusers and is an important clinical indicator of AAS abuse, especially in young men 18-26 years of age.” Juice some damn carrots instead!
2. Exhaustion
Speaking of which, your body uses natural anabolic hormones to build muscle mass, but training too hard can overburden your adrenal gland, potentially lowering your testosterone level, which in turn may lead to low sex drive and chronic fatigue. What’s the point of getting a girl’s attention with your giant muscles if you can’t stay up past midnight?
3. Dehydration
Some dudes will intentionally dehydrate themselves to get into a certain weight class or make their veins bulge more. Long-term dehydration can lead to bad kidney problems — also, WTF, you need water to stay alive. Human Code!
4. Heart Problems
Most weightlifters have no issues with this — in fact, they have lower blood pressure than average — but super muscle freaks who take too many weird supplements and/or lift too much can have major cardiovascular issues andtear their aortas, which is fatal one-third of the time. Nothing wrong with bulking up, just accept that you’ll always be smaller than the Mountain on “Game of Thrones.”
5. Girls Don’t Like Insanely Big Muscles
According to a 2005 study at Harvard Medical School, women actually prefer men with 20-30 fewer pounds of muscle than guys consider ideal for themselves. “Our findings suggest that Western men have a distorted view of what they ideally should look like,” said lead researcher Dr. Harrison Pope Jr. While being able to lift a truck may be impressive, it’s not necessarily attractive.
(via Guy Code)
