I'm not a treadmill bunny. But, I feel like one lately. I don't spend much time on the cardio machines throughout the year. But the goal of striated glutes, lures me in. Being fixated on dieting down for bodybuilding prep is a strange endeavor. Building muscle requires a calorie surplus and a growth mentality. Burning fat requires creating a calorie deficit and calls for a completely different mindset than building muscle. To get in contest shape, you have to consciously "throw the mental switch", stop growing for a season to focus on shrinking down. All this blogging about fat burning and getting lean, might make you think I love getting skinny.
Let me clear that up! For me, muscle is what it's about. Muscle is what I love! I was a skinny kid growing up. I remember in junior high, seeing a guy walking down the hall. He was an older guy, stood 5'7" and had the most gigantic arms I had ever seen. His forearms made Popeye look like a hairdresser. I said to my friend Chris Volk, "Look at that guys arms!" He said, "That's Larry Scott, that's Mr. Olympia!" We followed him down the hall and asked if it was him. He smiled and said yes. For as long as we could keep him, he stood talking to us about muscle. He flexed his biceps on demand, while we squeezed those rock hard giants! It looked like he had stuffed softballs beneath his skin.
It was then I discovered I like muscle.
So in case you may think I'm all about getting lean, I'm not. I do find satisfaction in peeling away the soft layer that conceals abs and muscle definition. Even though the process isn't always fun. But what I really want is more muscle. Rock solid, slabs of thick brisket stacked on my chest. I want biceps and triceps that look like meat bags stuck to my arms. I want strong, beefy quads and thick sweeping hams. I want calves that look like stacks of books and square glutes that have the appearance of loaves of bread. I want a wide V back that looks like a big bag of thick snakes.
What else can I say? I like muscle. The more of it, the better.
I don't always take my shirt off at the gym. But when I do, Mike takes a picture.