Should we try to get bigger?

I believe that in the past that I’ve expressed my admiration for Richard Blackman and the good work that he does for people. I am in awe of his awesome discipline and his positive attitude that he displays as his amazing physicality in his youtube clips. Granted that I don’t agree with a lot of what he preaches, such has his fruitarian and liquidarian diets, but I still respect his ability to stick to his principles.

One of the things that I initially disagreed with was on his FAQ section of his website. The last question on the page was about a bulking diet for bodybuilding. He refused to do that kind of work because he believes that nature has a blueprint and that we shouldn’t stray from it.

Now, my number one fitness goal last years was to bring myself from 157 lbs up to 180 lbs, which I succeeded at doing. I even got myself up to 187 lbs before dropping to my current 175 lbs. Subsequently, many have asked me about how I did it and I’ve written several blogs on the topic. So, on the surface it would appear that I would disagree with Mr. Blackman’s statement about increasing muscle mass.

Still, it got me thinking about my goals. Did I go beyond what I was natural for my body to carry? Is it right and healthy to bring my bodyweight up? Is it right for you to do so? What I arrived at was that at 187 lbs, I was still trim, muscular, and had a 30” six pack waist. The only problem was that I was a bit slow. My upper body was a bit unwieldy. That’s why I allowed my weight to drop.

I went all the way down to 168 lbs. Then, I noticed something: I had weakness in my lower back that disappeared when I got back up to 175 lbs. Even now, my weight will yo-yo a bit and when I get near that 170 lbs threshold, I notice lower back weakness that leads to pain. What I realize is that even though my body might drop down to the low 160’s if I don’t maintain a higher calorie diet. I feel that 175-180 lbs is probably ideal for me, even if nature may not say so.

Nature may not be perfect. It’s random and it allow in it flaws. Nothing is designed to last forever. Weakness is inherit in nature. It’s in human nature to manipulate to suit our needs. I feel that nature may have designed me to be thin and to have a weaker lower back. I don’t like that and I reject it.

What I think that I could take from this pondering of Mr Blackman’s opinion is a sense of MODERATION. I’m obviously not made to be over 185 lbs. Doing so serves no purpose other than to satisfy some carnal urge that doesn’t amount to anything useful in my pursuit of health and strength. You don’t need me to tell you that there is a so much of that in the fitness world. So, if muscle-making is your goal, then make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons.