It's interesting how much of life for the younger generations has become a poor facsimile of what's come before: the human to and fro of dating replaced with swiping on apps, friendships and family replaced with clout and attention chasing on social media, pride of work replaced with quiet quitting. And now fitness: instead of getting out there and doing cool things like climbing mountains or other adventurous activities, the fitness itself has become the goal. All that effort, just to look good and again, seek attention.
Hopefully one day they wake up and wonder what it was all for, and finally start living.
You do know that McQueen and Newman were big smokers, right?
As for Craig, he had gone through immense physical training, with a personal trainer, chef and used some form of PED.
Not to mention every shirtless scene was scheduled months in advance (like every other Hollywood movie were the leads are portrayed to have a certain aesthetic).
Days loading up to those "random" looking shirtless (prescheduled) scenes were probably spent heavily dehydrating and right before those shots, carb loading, etc, miserable. Just to put those examples you had given in perspective.
The guys on instagram who are 21 claiming to be natural when they look eons better than Craig are just lying to impressionable young guys.
The point of the post was to chase attainable standards + the fact you can look the way McQueen and Newman do when they were chain smoking means guys with all the tech, bells, whistles and info should be able to quite comfortably if they put in enough work.
The most important domain in life the lethal physique prepares you for is old age, and before that arrives the ability to make life an epic adventure full of fun with your family.
I got bored out of my mind of the usual 6 days a week weightlifting where I just didn’t want to go to the gym with aches all around my body and every muscle feeling stiff. Decided to switch it up a but and joined boxing for sometime. Then also have into my mom’s suggestion and joined my gym’s yoga classes. Now I lift only 3 days a week, yoga and boxing other days feel 100x better. More mobility and energy. I actually want to go to gym now too. Everyone should try this.
Look at UFC fighters. They aren’t huge, some of the top ones actually look scrawny when compared to today’s movie stars; but they’re some of the most well rounded athletes today.
The pressure for normal people to use PED’s is immense, as a healthy man approaching middle age I’m constantly being steered toward taking TRT, and I don’t consume fitness or sports content.
Absolutely a balance. Nutrition, resistance training etc should all be done to maximize health span. More like training for life and longevity. It’s a marathon and not a sprint.
Modern fitness culture is a morbid dystopia of body dysmorphia. That takes elite genetics and ruins it with dangerous levels of gear and even plastic surgery.
Give me the bronze or silver era any day. Those fellas had a combination of strength & athletic ability that lasted well into old age and then some.
The body dysphoria issue among teens and young men has continued to grow along with the ubiquity of social media. The perfection achievable with AI is raising appearance standards to dangerous levels none can meet. Thanks for trying to reorient attention towards more natural and healthy physical fitness goals.
Tons of truth in this one and extremely relatable. I think we've lost what performance truly means. I see a lot of men who feel pressured to perform in endurances races and everyone's trying to impress with how many hours they spend on a bike and running miles. Which can have its own impact on physique, hormones, and the idea of performance.
Great reminder here of what our goals really should be.
39, turning 40 this year. I'm taking this back with a vengeance.
Salute
Go and get it champ!
Spot on. A Louisiana Purchase -era bison vs a 2026 feedlot steer.
It's interesting how much of life for the younger generations has become a poor facsimile of what's come before: the human to and fro of dating replaced with swiping on apps, friendships and family replaced with clout and attention chasing on social media, pride of work replaced with quiet quitting. And now fitness: instead of getting out there and doing cool things like climbing mountains or other adventurous activities, the fitness itself has become the goal. All that effort, just to look good and again, seek attention.
Hopefully one day they wake up and wonder what it was all for, and finally start living.
Nice article, I actually train for longevity, functionality and improved workload, along with how I eat that shows in my physique.
I think Scott Sonnon’s catch phrase was “go muscle, not show muscle”.
Go + Show is what we want
Ha! Hell yes we do!
You do know that McQueen and Newman were big smokers, right?
As for Craig, he had gone through immense physical training, with a personal trainer, chef and used some form of PED.
Not to mention every shirtless scene was scheduled months in advance (like every other Hollywood movie were the leads are portrayed to have a certain aesthetic).
Days loading up to those "random" looking shirtless (prescheduled) scenes were probably spent heavily dehydrating and right before those shots, carb loading, etc, miserable. Just to put those examples you had given in perspective.
Great article! Enjoyed the read! Thank you ☺️
Craig’s physique is attainable naturally,
The guys on instagram who are 21 claiming to be natural when they look eons better than Craig are just lying to impressionable young guys.
The point of the post was to chase attainable standards + the fact you can look the way McQueen and Newman do when they were chain smoking means guys with all the tech, bells, whistles and info should be able to quite comfortably if they put in enough work.
Fair enough, no argument there. But, smoking, especially, chain smoking, was the diet suppressant of its day😃. Yesteryear's Ozempic 😅.
Thanks for responding, good post and an issue that desperately needs to be talked about more☺️
The most important domain in life the lethal physique prepares you for is old age, and before that arrives the ability to make life an epic adventure full of fun with your family.
completely agree
Couldn't agree more! "Physique capable in all domains of life" ~ With a mind and spirit capable of mastering it.
this kind of masculinity🥹👌🏼
I got bored out of my mind of the usual 6 days a week weightlifting where I just didn’t want to go to the gym with aches all around my body and every muscle feeling stiff. Decided to switch it up a but and joined boxing for sometime. Then also have into my mom’s suggestion and joined my gym’s yoga classes. Now I lift only 3 days a week, yoga and boxing other days feel 100x better. More mobility and energy. I actually want to go to gym now too. Everyone should try this.
Look at UFC fighters. They aren’t huge, some of the top ones actually look scrawny when compared to today’s movie stars; but they’re some of the most well rounded athletes today.
The pressure for normal people to use PED’s is immense, as a healthy man approaching middle age I’m constantly being steered toward taking TRT, and I don’t consume fitness or sports content.
Absolutely a balance. Nutrition, resistance training etc should all be done to maximize health span. More like training for life and longevity. It’s a marathon and not a sprint.
Hollywood invented looksmaxxing. Good message but your examples aren’t.
Modern fitness culture is a morbid dystopia of body dysmorphia. That takes elite genetics and ruins it with dangerous levels of gear and even plastic surgery.
Give me the bronze or silver era any day. Those fellas had a combination of strength & athletic ability that lasted well into old age and then some.
The body dysphoria issue among teens and young men has continued to grow along with the ubiquity of social media. The perfection achievable with AI is raising appearance standards to dangerous levels none can meet. Thanks for trying to reorient attention towards more natural and healthy physical fitness goals.
Tons of truth in this one and extremely relatable. I think we've lost what performance truly means. I see a lot of men who feel pressured to perform in endurances races and everyone's trying to impress with how many hours they spend on a bike and running miles. Which can have its own impact on physique, hormones, and the idea of performance.
Great reminder here of what our goals really should be.