Some disadvantages to being muscular

Some disadvantages to being muscular

I’d say there are way more benefits than negatives, but there are some negatives. For example:

1. People get intimidated easily. This can be a benefit sometimes- like when someone wants to start a fight on a night out, they’ll usually skip my group and go pick on an easier target. Or when someone spills my drink, they’ll usually apologize and buy me a new one instead of just walking off like they did before I got big. In other situations though it can be awkward, like trying to meet new people or at work.
2. People will inappropriately touch you. I went to a party the other night and this gay guy kept following me around and hugging me, squeezing my arms/chest and trying to put his hands on my abs. It’s just awkward and while sometimes welcome (by cute girls) in reality the majority of the time its uncomfortable. I don’t get really upset about it but I have had nights where I’ve avoided certain people because they got way too touchy. It can suck as well having someone interrupt a good conversation to slap my ass or squeeze my traps.
3. Clothing can be a hassle. I wear large or extra large tops but because the only thing that really gets bigger on those shirts is the stomach area they still look stretched around me shoulders and arms. That makes it look douchey, like I buy nothing but tight shirts on purpose. With suit shirts I have to tuck them in because otherwise I’ll have a sail cloth of fabric flapping around my waist. I also can’t roll up sleeves past mid-forearm, which doesn’t look as good as the high-roll most of the time. Jeans and suit pants are the worst though, if I go shopping for them it will be a miracle to find a pair that fit. They also blow out in the crotch easily, meaning my clothing shopping has become too costly. Speaking of which buying new clothes is a chore because most of them just don’t fit right.
4. If you talk about fitness for five minutes and spend an hour discussing literature, a lot of people will still accuse you of talking about nothing but the gym. In actuality gym is just a part of my life but besides my friends and people who I have other things in common with (like reading, study, etc) a lot of people I talk to on a night out will just assume I care about nothing but lifting heavy weights.
5. You have to listen to a lot of peoples excuses. People constantly justify to me why they don’t have a body like mine, usually saying ‘not enough time’, which is complete bullshit because clearly I found the time to do it. I work, study, have a social life and other hobbies, yet apparently time is not a factor. It’s ridiculous to me how often people say stupid stuff like that, as though watching three hours of TV is a necessary activity and hitting the gym needs to come after that.
6. Grocery bills are sky-high. I spend at least $80–100 a week on food while I’m bulking. I’ll go through 1–1.5kgs of meat a day.
7. Related, I can cook a fair few dishes but it still gets boring. You lose interest in cooking fancy when you need specific calories and macronutrient profiles, so I end up rotating the same handful of dishes.
8. Also related, having a girl cook for me is less awesome than it should be. Usually they’ll say something like “I know you need a lot of protein so I used TWO WHOLE CHICKEN BREASTS in this stirfry!”
9. And then of course eating out. Buying a sushi platter for yourself gets weird looks and pains the wallet.
10. Body dysmorphia. There is a sweet spot where you actually think you look good and usually you’re not there. Despite being <10% bodyfat year round I often feel fat because I ate a big lunch, or skinny because I’m carb-depleted and my arms are skeletal. I know objectively I still look big/ripped but I look at myself and go “I looked better on Friday” which hits the self-esteem. Realistically I think I look ‘bad’ two days to every one I look good. That’s a lot of how I motivate myself to train anyway though so it’s probably a necessary part of the process.

Some of the answers I’ve read are easily preventable, but those above are part and parcel of gaining muscle. If you stretch, you’ll be able to reach your back no matter how big it gets. If you do cardio, you won’t tire any easier in sport.