As you get bigger, does everyone look smaller?

[Bchicago]

Hi everyone,

I think i may have noticed something interesting. As i've been doing SL, and am slowly getting bigger, i've started to notice that guys I know from work and school seem smaller, like they are thinner, and less built. Could it be that when I look in the mirror, I set my size as the new normal in my mind, and subconsciously compare other ppl to myself? (thus they seem smaller then I once thought they were).

I would like to know if anyone has noticed this too, or am I just dreaming.

-B

[pagangoddess]

I've noticed it. As my partner becomes more muscular other men look thinner & less built. I've also noticed the more in shape I become the more out of shape other women look even those 10 years younger than me.

It's not that I really care but it highlights how people let themselves go. It's sad to see they care so little of themselves.

[mjh]

I sometimes look at other guys in the gym and can be surprised to realize that I am actually bigger than them, or that I have broader shoulders/thicker quads/a bigger chest. I'm so used to thinking that I'm skinnier and scrawnier than most around me that it can be weird to realize that this is no longer as true as it once was.

I'm also more discerning about how I respond to physiques that once would have looked awesome or average to me. For example, the guy with the low bodyfat, bulging pecs and anterior deltoids? He doesn't work his back and it shows, he has badly internally rotated shoulders and always seems to be battling shoulder pain. Or the guy that is thick but carries a bit of bodyfat. he doesn't look that impressive but his forearms are massive, and sure enough, he'll be deadlifting insane weights. Before starting all this I would have seen Mr Benchy and thought he was more impressive, these days I know better and it is Senor Deadlift that I respect more.

[Ghost]

I actually started to notice this too a while back. Not that I think I've changed much but it's probably due to seeing one's body continually.

Anyway, I was in a party few weeks back and while I was just standing there talking with my friends, I suddenly realized out of the blue that hey, I actually am bigger than most of these guys and not as scrawny as I've used to feel. And then I had a stupid grin on my face through the party after that

I've started to pay more attention to other people's physiques. What used to look good or average, doesn't really look that good anymore.

[atypical1]

I haven't noticed that and in fact it's kinda the opposite sometimes. If I'm just at work or on the street I really don't notice how big or little someone is. But in the gym I do notice it but I tend to notice what someone's strengths are and try to figure out what they are doing better than me. When I look at myself I think that I should be a lot bigger than I am and, while I'm not that worried about it, I do look at ways of improving.

james

[vhalros]

I kind of feel like I'm about the same size as every one else around me, but then I look at myself in photo and realize I'm huge. Somehow my self-image quickly resets though.

[Ray]

I wouldn't say everyone else looks smaller, especially for me. I'm getting bigger, and stronger for sure, but I'm only 5'8" and about 165. But, like a few people have said what impresses me has changed. My gym is full of "captain upper-body" guys. It's usually packed but the squat rack is always open. There's one guy who looks big but almost looks like you could call him "fat". Then he deadlifts 500+ and OHP 225. That is impressive.

One day there were two guys in there together and they both looked pretty jacked (captain upper body). A lot bigger than me I thought. Then I saw them set up to deadlift, and I always pay attention to what kind of weight people move. These guys had lifting straps on, so I figure they're going big. They put on 155. I figured it's a warmup. Nope. They did 155 the whole time, with lifting straps. So I felt like a badass when they saw me load up 240 and chalk up. The look on their faces was great.

One thing that made me think "huh... I must look at least pretty big" is lately some of the guys who I think are way bigger than me ask me for spots on benches or incline benches and stuff.

[Dragar]

I think my awareness of other people has changed, the same as when you learn about anything - you evaluate their competence based on your more educated perception. Happens in work, sport, etc. As you progress people you thought were amazing when you first started a sport or hobby you recognise as being merely average, and you can more readily differentiate true class from the rest

In general as you get accustomed not only to being bigger yourself but being in an environment with a lot of people who are well built, that becomes the norm and skinnier folk stand out. That said when I see someone well built outside of a gym it sticks to mind more than it used to.

[Aghori]

It's something I noticed at my work as well. People started to seem skinny, scrawny, or out of shape to me. I'm getting bigger, but when I look at myself in the mirror, in my mind I look "normal" - not big.

[Bchicago]

s. But in the gym I do notice it but I tend to notice what someone's strengths are and try to figure out what they are doing better than me. When I look at myself I think that I should be a lot bigger than I am and, while I'm not that worried about it, I do look at ways of improving.

james that is a great way to improve oneself, i've starting doing that with other aspects of my life, and its really paying off.

ps. - sorry for getting back to this post so late, being the OP, its been a busy week for me.

[Bchicago]

I think my awareness of other people has changed, the same as when you learn about anything - you evaluate their competence based on your more educated perception.

Well said. You do experience this in a lot of things in life.

It's still a surprise to me in terms of physique because it is so hard to see the small changes in your own body day to day, since you see yourself in the mirror everyday, (whereas you'll see a change in your ability in work or school usually only when tested or challenged, which is not everyday). So when evaluated in those settings, you notice an observable change, but with physique it's imperceptible.

Until, you see someone you haven't seen in a week or more and you realize you are bigger (or the way i've seen it, that they are smaller, and I haven't noticed any change in myself), and its a bit surprising.

One funny thing i've noticed, even though I think other guys I know are getting smaller, my head size does not change, so i don't notice any relative change in anyone else's head size either, only the body, so it seems like people around be are turning into beanpoles. ;P

-B

[coreJack]

People don't look smaller to me, but I'm no longer the skinniest guy in the gym.

[MikeD]

I enjoy looking smaller but outlifting them, especially in exercises they won't do, like deep squats for sets across. I'd never let them know that, of course

[wrenchhands]

Well, I went from real skinny to normal-skinny, so, I'm not exactly outclassing people.

But I do notice people I used to look at as beast, I think, oh, they just do a ton of curls. Other people, who don't even tell, just look strong, because they have a neck.

And posture has been a big deal too. I'm 5'11, and so are many of my friends. But I'm taller then them simply by the fact I stand right.

[Ray]

The odd thing for me is, like a few people have said, it's hard to notice the changes in your own body because you look at yourself every day, and it's also hard to know how other people perceive you.

The thing that confuses me sometimes is I'll see a guy that when I look at him, I think "wow, he's big", then I see him do something and I can do more/heavier on the same exercise...and I'm like... wait...am I that big?

For example, the other day I was at the gym and getting ready to do my OHP. There was this big kid in there, and more specifically I noticed his arms/tris to me pretty damn big. I saw him doing OHP with an empty bar, warming up. My tri's/chest are my weakest area, so I was interested to see how much he could do. I finished my warmups, then loaded up 80lbs. on the bar (most I've done so far). He put a 10lb. plate on each side and did his sets, and had a hard time with it. Same guy went to do pullups and could barely do 1 with a wide grip. I was confused because to me, he was a lot bigger than me (but not fat) and I could put up/do more. So it made me wonder what I look like... if I think I'm smaller than I really am.