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Most bodybuilders, particularly those under 200 pounds, are often of the mindset that there’s NO SUCH THING as being too big. They will eat, train, and sleep as much as humanly possible in order to gain new muscle mass weight. When they do finally achieve it, however, they may discover a few circumstances in which their new level of size is actually too much size.

When You Aren’t Comfortable Anymore
If you can’t sleep because your new big arms are going numb, then you may be too big. If you cannot walk up 2 flights of steps without getting winded, then you might be too heavy. If quality of life is suffering, then it may be time to wind things back a bit!

When Health Becomes A Concern
As our body weight rises, our hearts have to work that much harder in order to pump blood to the 200, no wait… 225, no wait…. 250 pounds we are carrying around. Your heart doesn’t know if you are 265 pounds of muscle or fat – it just knows you are a major task for it to handle Keep your weight reasonable and pay attention to your annual blood panels to ensure you are of good health!

When You Limit Career Options
If you are too big (or fat/bulky) to perform the tasks of your job, then it might be time to cut back. If your boss believes you are a steroid freak and your promotion options crash, then it may be time to cut back. Keep an honest eye and understand the limitations and expectations. of your individual workplace.

When Symmetry Starts To Suffer
We all have body parts which respond to training better than others, right? The key is to make sure they are never allowed to get too big, as they will throw off the overall symmetry and muscle group balance that bodybuilding judges do indeed expect when you step onstage. Nobody cares if you have 22 inch biceps, if your calves are only 17 inches. You’d score higher in the symmetry column by letting those biceps scale back to 20.5 inches, and focusing on building calves – and symmetry!

When Weight Classes Go Out The Window
Many bodybuilders of the competitive variety work very hard to keep their weight at a point that is commensurate with their height, in terms of bodybuilding show averages. The bigger you are, the higher your weight class. If you’re 239 pounds, you would much rather be competing against some who weights 235 pounds than someone wearing 260 pounds of muscle, so you might diet down to make weight for a particular class. In times like these, too much mass means you lose your class!