History Main / MuscleAngst

** In Chapter 36 of the main story, Ash and co. are enjoying a beach day at the Seafoam Islands, and meets up with a boy named Midori (again) [[HeroWorshipper who is an admirer of Ash]] after seeing his battles on TV. Midori sees that Ash has put up quite a bit of muscle and feels a bit self-conscious about his own physique. Ash, however, assures him that if his own female companions don't mind about it, he shouldn't worry too much.

* ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons'' has an unusual example with Carl. He's a robot, but at the end it's all but stated that he's not very happy with being built with skinny arms and legs, and before sending his creator back to the past, he gives some suggestions that he builds him more muscular-looking.

* In ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'', Dr. Frank-N-Furter created Rocky because he wanted a man with muscles. Frank insults Brad's lean build, and Brad's fiancée Janet replies that she doesn't like a man with "[[ArtisticLicenseBiology too many muscles]]" ([[AudienceParticipation Just one big one!]]). [[SubvertedTrope She somehow quickly changes her mind by the end of the song, just about a minute later, singing, "I'm a muscle fan."]]

* In "Film/LetMeIn" Owen is an extremely scrawny child which is one of the factors thats results in him constantly being beaten up by bullies. In one scene where he notices a body builder in his apartment complex he looks down at his own scrawny chest ashamed.

* Peter Fox of ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'' sometimes stresses about not being able to gain any muscle due to his superhumanly high metabolism. One Sunday strip had him and his friend Steve cramming a huge work out session into one day to prepare for going to the pool the next day. Unfortunately, the next day they're barely able to move due to being so sore.

* ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'': Princess Candy feels insecure about her lack of muscles when her crush fawns over an AmazonianBeauty. So Candy gets help from Uncle Oswidge in the form of magic broccoli. She keeps eating more and more of the broccoli, getting bigger, uglier and dumber until she's basically Queen Kong.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_dysmorphia?wprov=sfla1 Muscle dysmorphia]] aka. "bigorexia" is a common disorder among men (and some women) who lift weights. They see themselves as scrawny weaklings and use strict dieting, hours in the gym and often steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs to build their bodies and are never satisfied with their progression, even if they are far more muscular than the average person.

* The main character in ''Webcomic/BrunoTheBandit'' is shown to suffer from this, despite being a muscular adventurer, due to comparing himself to the unrealistic proportions of fashion model adventurers, who's musculature reaches ridiculous levels (think Creator/RobLiefeld on his worst art day).

* ''Manga/IThinkOurSonIsGay'': In one scene, 15-year-old Hiroki compares his own physique unfavorably to the muscular men he finds attractive, so Tomoko gives him some weights in case he'd like to take up training. A CallBack twenty chapters later shows that he did, with appreciable results.

* ''Manga/IThinkOurSonIsGay'': In one scene, 15-year-old Hiroki compares his own physique unfavorably to the muscular men he finds attractive, so Tomoko gives him some weights in case he'd like to take up training.

A lot of body-image issues are [[AlwaysFemale related to/centered around femininity]]. Thus, we have tropes such as ACupAngst, DCupDistress, HollywoodHomely/[[HollywoodPudgy Pudgy]]/[[HollywoodThin Thin]], FatGirl, and so on. But the same way that thinness and breasts are associated with femininity, muscles are associated with masculinity. Thus, this trope, in which a character angsts about having not enough or too much muscle. There are two versions:

* [[Myth/NorseMythology The Valkyrie Þrúðr/Thrud]] in ''Manga/ShuumatsuNoWalkureRecordOfRagnarok'' is a muscular giant of a woman who [[BigEntrance smashes through a doorway]] in her first appearance (as one would expect of a daughter of Thor), before accusing Raiden of seeing her as a freak. When he [[AmazonChaser embraces her and says that he's fond of big girls]], she briefly looks as if she's about to cry tears of joy.

* ''Manga/UchiNoMusukoWaTabunGay'': In one scene, 15-year-old Hiroki compares his own physique unfavorably to the muscular men he finds attractive, so Tomoko gives him some weights in case he'd like to take up training.

* ''Manga/UchiNoMusukoWaTabunGay'': In one scene, 15-year-old Hiroki compares his own physique unfavourably to the muscular men he finds attractive, so Tomoko gives him some weights in case he'd like to take up training.

* AmazonianBeauty Maki Oze from ''Manga/FireForce'' is insecure about her muscular build, becoming jealous of her teammates' "flexible and girly bodies" and getting distraught when she mistakenly hears someone call her a "gorilla". But that being said, when said teammates actually complimenting her muscles, she still happily takes it.

* AmazonianBeauty Maki Oze from ''Manga/FireForce'' is insecure about her muscular build, becoming jealous of her teammates' "flexible and girly bodies" and getting distraught when she mistakenly hears someone call her a "gorilla".

* '''Not Enough Muscle''': The AlwaysMale version. A weak or skinny male character angsts about not being muscular. The focus may be on how this affects his [[WomenPreferStrongMen success with women]], his usefulness in sports/combat, or his attractiveness. If the focus is on his success with women, WeaknessTurnsHerOn may come into play as a solution/counterpoint. Unlike breast size, [[ACupAngst which is mostly unchangeable]] without surgery, it is possible to build muscle, so whether this trope is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] or not depends on there being a health reason for the male being incapable of doing so. Alternatively it could be a case of them lamenting how high the price for them to gain muscle would be (if, for example, they wouldn't have time for it without giving up parts of their lives very precious to them, or fundamentally changing who they are).

* The ad for Charles Atlas where a bully (inadvertently) kicks sand in the face of Mac and his gal. Allegedly this actually happened to the real Charles Atlas before he started doing dynamic tension. A side note: according to several sources, Atlas built his physique with conventional weightlifting, and then devised dynamic tension because he figured it would be easier to sell to young boys with plenty of Muscle Angst but without the resources to buy barbell sets or go to a gym regularly. The failure of dynamic tension to actually work wasn't a sales problem in the days before internet forums.

* ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' has Undine, who always looks like an amazon warrior ready to rip your arms off if you so much as glance at her wrong. [[spoiler: She is actually just as lithe as the rest of the Claymores, but she lost a friend long ago, and channels her Yoki into her muscles to keep up a strong appearance for the other Claymores.]]

* AmazonianBeauty Maki Oze from ''Manga/FireForce'' is insecure about her muscular build, becoming jealous of her teammates "flexible and girly bodies" and getting distraught when she mistakenly hears someone call her a "gorilla".

** In Chapter 36 of the main story, Ash and co. are enjoying a beach day at the Seafoam Islands, and meets up with a boy named Midori (again) [[HeroWorshipper who is an admirer of Ash]] after seeing his battles on TV. Midori sees that Ash has put up quite a bit of muscle and feels a bit self-conscious about his own physique. Ash however assures him that if his own female companions don't mind about it, he shouldn't worry too much.

* Hiccup of ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' is physically the weakest of all the characters, to his chagrin. It doesn't help that his father is practically a tank, and Hiccup believes that his lack of muscle is the reason behind his father's disappointment in him; in reality, as Gobber stated, it's more about "what's inside [Hiccup] that [Stoick] can't stand", which also doesn't help. Hiccup's strength lies in his smarts, but Vikings don't understand that as well as brute force. The [[WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk show]] explores this further in the episode were Stoick has Hiccup drawn very muscular on a shield painting, in which Stoick doesn't catch on how this hurts his son's feelings and only worsens his already ingrained insecurities. And while Hiccup does remain leaner than most as he grows up, he ''does'' get stronger (i.e., being able punch the brawnier Snotlout so hard he lost a couple of teeth and fainted) and many other Vikings (including the Twins and Snotlout) still point out his scrawniness in an unflattering manner (which can be used either for [[PlayedForLaughs laughs]] or [[PlayedForDrama drama]]).

* Steve Rogers, whose health problems and weak build keep him from joining the army and getting girls, before he becomes Film/{{Captain America|TheFirstAvenger}}.

* Mentioned in ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' fluff as a source of self-image issues for half-orcs. Half-orc boys raised among orcs feel like ninety pound weaklings and half-orc girls raised among humans feel like {{Brawn Hilda}}s.

** [[spoiler:Fujisaki]] has serious issues with his lack of muscle because of other boys bullying him for his weak body. Not soon after the Killing School Life has started, he desires to improve himself and build some muscle to overcome his weakness. [[spoiler:It's that determination that gets him killed by Oowada, whose inferiority complex, SurvivorGuilt and stress from the Killing School Life causes the him to snap and kill Fujisaki in a moment of uncontrolled rage.]]

** In ''IF'', [[spoiler:Enoshima]] teases her twin sister [[spoiler:Ikusaba]] to be too muscular, although that is rather an InformedDeformity. But since it's [[spoiler:Enoshima]] we are talking about, she may just trolling her.

* A ''Music/{{Vocaloid}}'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSQZ4_LsPUs fan video]] by Kagome-P had Gakupo depressed over his lack of muscle mass, and his story of emulating figures such as [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Alex Armstrong]], [[Anime/UltimateMuscle Mantaro Muscle]] and an assortment of anonymous, heavily muscled figures in order to woo the girl of his dreams. [[spoiler: This backfires at the end of the video, when he discovers that she's now into skinny guys and his struggle to get a toned body was for nothing.]]

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'' has the duo trying to gain a protein shake in hopes that it'll make them more attractive to chicks. After failing to order the actual thing (since they don't have any money) the two go over to Stuart's house and make their own drink using random food from his kitchen. The drink is thoroughly disgusting, but doesn't actually make any difference. The two try exercising for awhile (by which we mean badly copying the protein shakes spokesmans crappy exersize program, then jogging about 50 feet), but quit because it's too hard. When they return home, they catch a news story that the spokesman they were trying to imitate has just died of a heart attack (not in the least bit surprising considering the mans psychotically energetic behavior).
* The first ever CutAwayGag in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' followed a comment about how a poor self-body-image has created lots of problems, cut away to... a skinny and weak UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler in a gym, called Das Gym, struggling with a small set of barbells and glaring angrily at a [[MatzoFever musclebound Jewish man surrounded by beautiful women]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Happens in the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E9StrongArmsOfTheMa Strong Arms Of The Ma]]" episode, where Marge goes into bodybuilding, had her obsessed with gaining muscle, despite being very muscular even for a man, due to her run-in with a mugger at the beginning of the episode. The muscle gain becomes a way for her to get rid of her feeling of helplessness, until it becomes a goal in itself.
* A very early episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' features [[FatBastard Cartman]] winning an essay contest and getting to be on TV. It's PlayedForLaughs when he sees a commercial advertising a weight gain supplement, and worries that he's too thin when the commercial asks the viewer if they're tired of being a 90-pound weakling (with Cartman estimating that he weighs about 90 pounds - in a third-grader's frame). He gets a supply of the supplement, and bulks up to Jabba the Hutt-like levels. He thinks he looks awesome, but anyone else who sees him just says "Goddamn, that's a big fat ass!"

* Creator/RondaRousey has gone on record saying she's not a fan of the way her body looks when she's in fighting shape (and thus at her most muscular), and feels unfeminine like that.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Happens in the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E9StrongArmsOfTheMaThe Strong Arms Of The Ma]]" episode, where Marge goes into bodybuilding, had her obsessed with gaining muscle, despite being very muscular even for a man, due to her run-in with a mugger at the beginning of the episode. The muscle gain becomes a way for her to get rid of her feeling of helplessness, until it becomes a goal in itself.

* Guan Yinping in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 8'' thinks that she doesn't have enough muscles, despite the fact that [[GlacierWaif she doesn't need them]] [[SuperStrength to hoist a weapon bigger than she is with one hand]].

* Inverted by Guan Yinping in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 8''; she thinks that she doesn't have ''enough'' muscles, despite the fact that [[GlacierWaif she doesn't need them]] [[SuperStrength to hoist a weapon bigger than she is with one hand]]. Also, she's RareFemaleExample when this type of angst is mostly AlwaysMale.

* ''Series/RupaulsDragRace'' contestant Courtney Act, aka Shane Janek, talks about feeling the worst of both worlds with this trope. As Shane, he feels skinny compared to the {{Gym Bunn|y}}ies of [[{{Gayborhood}} West Hollywood]], but he worries that bulking up would hurt his image as Courtney, who's famous for her ability to pass as a [[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/courtney-act-attends-the-rupauls-drag-race-season-6-party-news-photo/470551315 modelesque woman]].

* DragQueen and ''Series/RupaulsDragRace'' finalist Courtney Act, aka Shane Janek, talks about feeling the worst of both worlds with this trope. As Shane, he feels too skinny compared to the {{Gym Bunn|y}}ies of [[{{Gayborhood}} West Hollywood]], but he worries that bulking up would hurt his image as Courtney, who's known for passing as a [[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/courtney-act-attends-the-rupauls-drag-race-season-6-party-news-photo/470551315 modelesque woman]].

* DragQueen and ''Series/RupaulsDragRace'' finalist Courtney Act, aka Shane Janek, talks about feeling the worst of both worlds with this trope. As Shane, he feels too skinny compared to the {{Gym Bunn|y}}ies of [[{{Gayborhood}} West Hollywood]], but he worries that bulking up would hurt his image as Courtney, who's known for looking like a [[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/courtney-act-attends-the-rupauls-drag-race-season-6-party-news-photo/470551315 natural modelesque woman]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' Batgirl develops a case of this in the episode "Brawn" when she is easily taken down by Joker on Bane's Venom. She even starts lifting weights. She eventually loses this when her small stature allowed her to disconnect the Venom supply when Batman couldn't because Joker couldn't reach her to pull her off his back like he did when Batman tried.

* The 2005 Creator/{{TLC}} documentary ''The Man Whose Arms Exploded'' looks at an extreme degree of male MuscleAngst leading to [[PsychoSerum steroid abuse]] and (in the case of bodybuilder Gregg Valentino) ''injecting oil'' into the biceps. Can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZb-2srkbvM here]] (warning: some NauseaFuel and a fair bit of bad language).