Bodybuilding??

[gladiator]

I am 18 years old 5 feet 10 1/2 inches, 180 pounds. I use to body-build but stopped because i felt i stopped growing. I want to pass 6 feet of height, but i am afraid to continue working out and not being able to reach my height goal. My brother is 6 feet, and i have several uncles over 6 feet. it is there somewhere in my genes. What do you guys recommend, is 5 feet 10 good height for bodybuilder, or am i too young to start body-building? i feel like girls are attracted to taller guys and that are built.

[Taz]

That is just a limited belief you have my friend. I am 5 ft 5 and don't really have too much trouble with the laides..I'm still learning though...

And as far as growing, I pretty much think you are not going to get any taller and try Robert Kennedy's Encyclopedia of Body Building..It is amazing and has tons of stiff from the Mr. Olympia!

[gladiator]

thanks bro.

[KingOfAces]

i don't know a lot about body building, but i doubt 18 is too young to start?

height is whatever it is. i'm 5'7", 165lbs, and that means nothing.

of course you want to be in the best shape you can be, not just to attract women, but just to feel good about yourself and to be healthy. but if you dont' feel like you're in the best shape, don't let it affect you. it's a mental thing...

[Taz]

The younger you start the better, 18 is a great age to start as you can build muscle insanely fast!Also the younger you start learning the methods with the ladies, by the time you are in your mid 20's you wil be a success! I wish I started earlier!

[gladiator]

thanks for the advice KingofAces and NoMoreMrNiceguy, i will take your advice.

[Solar]

I agree that body-building isn't necessary to date women and you should do what you want for your yourself, with the caveat that I'm a beginner here. When I've looked at who my hot girlfriends date, it's often not body-builders but smart, confident, lean, athletic guys. I've asked them if they'd like to date more built guys, and they've said they're not attracted to that look! Obviously a lot of women are, but I'm just throwing it out there to make the point that it's not 100%.

[Zebulon]

Gladiator,

Any height is good for body building, granted being taller gives you a slight natural advantage for competing but that's about it (even then that can be debatable as the shorter guys get more width per pound of muscle).

"i feel like girls are attracted to taller guys and that are built."

This is also pretty true for height but "built" is a very vague term (ask any girl to define the type of muscles a guy needs to be sexy and you'll get basically useless answers). However, if you're too big/bulky it totally works against you (there's a bit of a social stigma against brawny guys). You can still get that size, just be sure it's sculpted and very aesthetically pleasing muscle. It's relatively easy to get that bulk (supplements, gain a bit of fat, etc.) but I find it's much more difficult to sculpt a "competition ready" muscle. Your muscles just look different, more full, more developed, and more healthy. A lot of guys out there have the size it's just that their muscles are kinda ugly/lumpy and lack striations.

Biggest thing I found is that you have to treat muscle as a passive DHV (kinda like having nice clothes), it's there, it looks nice, but overall I just kinda ignore it (well unless your sluttin' it up, then that's all about showing skin ). I let the girl figure out I have muscle, she can see it in my legs when we sit down beside each other, when they go in for a hug they feel the width of your back and the definition of your chest, etc. They know it's there but I really want to show I'm the type of guy who takes care of himself and has his shit together, having a ripped body is just a kind of after effect of having a good life. Nothing screams insecurity more than the ripped dude who HAS to show it off (think Mike from the Jersey Shore, he got the ladies but his inner game was everywhere).

Lot of girls actually think I'm kinda skinny when they first meet me (I'm only about 170 right now, 5'7") but how you move with that muscle after a while they can tell you're packing some serious heat (body building does wonders for your walk). No matter how much you cover up, how you move almost always gives away your body type.

Overall, I totally recommend to body build. You can start as young as 14 (just don't power lift at all until your about 18). Once you hit 18 you're pretty much free to do whatever. I also recommend against the use of straps and other assistants until you have the form down pat with relatively heavy weight.

Anyways man, hope this helps!

[Keyser Soze]

A lot of good comments above, and some very practical insights from Zebulon in particular.

I have no useful input on bodybuilding (5' 10" and 155 lbs ain't going to have Mr Olympia looking over his extremely large shoulder!) but a question that struck me as I read this thread is whether being too "extreme" in one's appearance - particularly with something that's "permanent", like body frame, rather than "temporary", like an outrageous fancy dress outfit - closes more doors than it opens? For example, being a serious bodybuilder may get you an entre into the small subset of women who are really into bodybuilders, but it may make it harder for you with the larger number of women who find that much brawn unappealing (Zebulon made this point well). Of course, if you're only attracted to women who are attracted to bodybuilders, then it works perfectly (a bit like Mystery's approach, I think - his look served to attract the sort of women he was after and dissuaded the others).

Obviously this isn't about bodybuilding in particular - I could see it applying to face piercings, tatoos, death metal looks, goth fashion, tree-hugging (mangy dreadlocks and one shower a month, anyone?), etc. And I can see the problem being bigger when someone is new to this thing of ours.

I'm obviously not advocating that anyone be dull and just like everyone else, and I highly recommend that you do something with your look that makes you stand out in the crowd, but I imagine someone can hit a point where their appearance is so "out there" that it's counter-productive.

Anyway, just my 2p worth. Maybe some of the more experienced guys have some more relevant input!

Cheers,
KS

[Metz]

I'm more concerned that you will blame yourself if you don't reach 6' 0".

You can't really control that. You're body will grow to be that height or it won't. If you were only meant to grow 5' 11", that's as tall as you are going to get.

I would suggest stop calling this a goal and remove it completely from your mind, as well as other, similar "goals". You have no control over them, in an ultimate sense.