Mr Muscle has a problem

Maitreya K 20 spends as much time honing his musical skills as he does chiselling his body The Punebased musician who goes by the moniker Max Kate says having a muscular body is like ldquopersonality developmentrdquo He spends roughly 16 hours a week doing a mix of heavy weight training pushups pullups legs and cardio ldquoI feel that if I am improving my physique I am improving in personality and characteristics toordquo While fitness experts are all for the young focusing on building strength they are wary of the growing trend where young male gymgoers are finding mental personality gratification in muscle strength When this borders on obsession it gets a namemdashmuscle body dysmorphia disorder or bigorexiaJay Patil is a the final year student of BSc IT and admits to getting hooked to muscle building in 2019 His reason for continuing I feel more confidentExperts say that the condition is exhibited mostly by men and characterised by excessive weight lifting a preoccupation with not feeling muscular enough and strict adherence to eating foods that lower weight and fat and build muscle This tends to overlap with an obsession with the physical appearance This tends to overlap with an obsession with the physical appearance coupled with frequent checking of the self in the mirror or not at all Bigorexia is also known as reverse anorexiaSunil Kudva who runs the personal training centre Elite Fitness in Gamdevi with his wife Madhuri Kudva says ldquoWe have been members of the fitness industry for more than 30 years and itrsquos only in the last six years or so that we have seen this preoccupation become common among menrdquo Jay Patil who is a the final year student of BSc IT admits he got preoccupied with muscle building in 2019 His reason for continuing I feel more confident This confidence they say comes from noticing a change in the way others perceive them ldquoMy body is the reason people talk to me they want to know how I achieved thisrdquo says PatilMaitreya K 20 is happy with his transformation but says he is nowhere near done and wishes to push himself to get more muscular He compares achieving a muscle goal to the high of winning somethingAccording to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health roughly eight per cent of young men aged 16 to 22 years in the US are overtly concerned with muscular strength building and use potentially harmful supplements and steroids to achieve a desired physique ldquoThe biggest trouble with men wanting to be really big is that they lack ability they just look big Ability refers to whether you are faster stronger are able to do more stuffrdquo explains Kudva Patil recalls that he was a skinny teenager which is when he started going to the gym ldquoWhen you are skinny you know you are disadvantaged as far as your appearance goes I was suffering from an acute lack of confidence I never felt greatrdquo he says Gaining confidence then became synonymous with working out and building muscle a sort of quantifiable and tangible meter gauge to earn selfworthldquoDysmorphia refers to the feeling of insecurity with your physical selfrdquo says Mumbaibased psychologist Purvi Shah who is also the founder of mental health and life skills counselling outfit iPurviShah ldquoBody dysmorphia patients lack security selfworth and are anxious It is a perceived flaw There is no real physical problem there is a perception that there is onerdquoPurvi ShahMaitreya spends oneandahalf hours at the gym ldquoI gym every day It the gym is like a temple where I head to pray to each and every part of my body because itrsquos this body that is giving me so much Itrsquos as if I am in conversation with my body and figuring whether every part the anatomy is as it should be and the right sizerdquoThis question often has no answer A person with body dysmorphia will want more ldquoYes Irsquod like to grow more and I will keep going on because my goal hasnrsquot been achievedrdquo says Patil Shah agrees that satisfaction is hard to come by And this stems from complete disassociation with the physical self Maitreya adds ldquoItrsquos almost as if I have won something My mind is always ticking towards a new goal I need a bigger chest to look good there are calculations with regard to the size of your abdomen arms that I must achieverdquoBehind the facade of bigger and muscularly perfect is an inherent weaknessmdashlack of strength Kudva has observed that most of them can barely move their shoulders and legs with agility and tend to move like robots ldquoThey think they can lift impossibly heavy weights in the gym but they mainly do exercises for show muscles Try telling them to shift something like a sofa or fridge and they wonrsquot manage Their range of movement is limited because they have built useless musclerdquo he saysMaitreya who is a performer thinks itrsquos doubly important for someone who is looking to build a following to look good And physical transformation has only led to more support for him After he started seeing the results of gymming his brother and mother followed He calls it a chain of people working out ldquoI need to look good to build my brand Transformation brings along exciting things Earlier it was all gloomyrdquoAccording to Shah the reasons behind the condition could vary from depression to anxiety even a troubled childhood ldquoThey couldrsquove faced bullying or their emotional needs may not have been met They are holding back some trauma and our culture doesnrsquot allow easy expression of weakness To turn attention away from the mental and emotional self they focus on the physical self They are usually wary of being judged What they need is to feel empowered and motivatedrdquo she saysThat most of India looks at Bollywood for its role models complicates matters Kudva suggests that parents instead discuss the virtues of being like Indiarsquos sportsmen and women the true epitome of fitnessWhat can parents doSunil and Madhuri KudvaSunil and Madhuri Kudva who have a 16yearold son and 15yearold daughter say that parents should do their best to make their children feel secure and have teenagers understand that they are much more than their physical self Itrsquos not about how the body looks but what they can do with it that matters They suggest that parents act as role models be physically active and discuss body image with their children They can point them to athletes and disciplined sports stars instead of fawning over Bollywood actors