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.
This sentence says it all. “And then there is the cost nobody talks about. The life cost.”
I’ve been preaching this for a bit now. Everyone is about maxxing and optimizing that they forget to live. What’s the point of looking good when you’re worried about a macro split or not having the ideal gym setup.
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.
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☺️
Some people train to look good instead of training to kick ass
Does it involve deca and test ha ha.
This sentence says it all. “And then there is the cost nobody talks about. The life cost.”
I’ve been preaching this for a bit now. Everyone is about maxxing and optimizing that they forget to live. What’s the point of looking good when you’re worried about a macro split or not having the ideal gym setup.
Great piece of writing!
I see you mention “jacked mobility” movements here and there. Do you have any examples of what those movements are?
Two years of strength training and one HARD cut and you get this. Wasn’t that hard but my god, I love this physique.
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.