Indeed, there is a long established literature on the Mental Malaise of Muscledom.
Sigmund Freud, for example, noted this infirmity in his early work, Bitte Liebe Meinen Bizeps, Oh Bitte (Please Love My Biceps, Oh Please). Before publishing his now famous theory of the "Unconscious," Freud initially modeled his early structural theory of mind on the image of a contracted biceps, arguing that all the vital activity which screams, "Boom! Take a look at this hunk of man," has its origins within the mysterious depths of what he first called "The Sub-cutaneous" (das Unterkutan), i.e., the inner realm of feeling which seeks its expression in the outer world of behavior. The Sub-cutaneous is a hotbed of impulses that lie under the skin, as it were, which are fundamentally irrational and violent, often surfacing in the bellicose language of going to 'battle,' or to 'war' with the 'iron' or other imagined enemies – a kind of fantasy for those too weak to accept their natural and social inadequacies.
Erik Erikson, who was deeply influenced by Freud’s early work on the flexed or 'crooked' and 'bent' symbol of strength, picked up on these troubled delusions and identified eight crisis moments in human development, specifically classifying the beginnings of the bodybuilder in Stage 4: Industry v. Inferiority. Self-esteem has its origins at this stage insofar as human beings feel the need to win approval by demonstrating specific competencies that are valued by society. However, bodybuilding is not valued by society, but is in the main ridiculed as odd and extremely weird. Erikson showed how bodybuilders are individuals who failed to overcome this moment of crisis because they lack true self-esteem, often resorting to the company of other misfits to feel accepted, to be respected, to be taken seriously. Also noting the inherent violence of sub-cutaneous feelings, Erikson puzzled to answer why it is that the flexing and contracting of limbs is often accompanied by facial expressions of snarls, growls, and the baring of teeth. Is hitting a double-biceps, lat spread, or most muscular pose some kind of victorious combat over vanquished foes? Sadly, Erikson reasoned that bodybuilders, most especially mature ones with flat, blocky heads looking to do "damage" in their thongs, are stuck or "fixated" at this stage.
Ultimately, if all of these shortcomings obtain, what manifests is what C.J. Jung identified as a "Schmoeversion," typified by a schmoevert, in the passive sense, or, if active, as Dementia Burneikada, especially around swimming pools.
