Obviously, especially to those who know what “Vanity Muscles” are, this is a joke. . . This is not an actual anatomy lesson, but rather, one of those warnings on how to not be “that guy.”
Have you ever seen someone in the gym training biceps, exclusively, for 45 minutes? Have you talked to someone who says all they work for lower body is calves? How about the guy who devotes 20 minutes to wrist curls and reverse wrist curls? These are examples of people who only work their vanity muscles. Vanity Muscles are comprised only of muscles that you can see while wearing a T-Shirt and Shorts: Forearms, Biceps, and Calves. Some people include Chest and Shoulders in the grouping, but your typical Vanity lifter won’t care about these muscle groups, and most people don’t include these muscles either.
So, why do people work only their vanity muscles? For the very reason that they are vanity muscles. . . It’s the mentality of, “Why work muscles that no one will see?”
Well, here’s why: If you only work those muscles, eventually, you’re going to come to a place where you look out of proportion.
On top of that, your gains will come a lot slower compared to a normal weight lifter / body builder. What most people don’t realize is that compound lifts do a lot for muscle growth all over your body– Dead Lifts, Squats, and other compound lifts release a lot of testosterone, which is necessary for muscle growth. If you spend all day doing Bicep Curls, you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to release some great, muscle building testosterone. This is the source of the old bodybuilding adage, “If you want bigger biceps, dead lift [and / or squat] more.”
Besides. . . Why would you spend a day working forearms when your Dead Lift will give you stronger forearms? Or, why spend a day doing Bicep Curls when your Bent Over Rows / Lat Pull Down / Pull Ups will work your Biceps?