From Muscle Beach to Gymnastics to Tony Horton: One man’s journey from lean to mean and back again, by Rob Cowell.
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What do you see when you look at this picture?
Now suppose you had your picture taken today, working out with your shirt off (we’ll assume good lighting and a favorable pose, but no photoshop.) What would you notice about your picture? Your answers may give you insight, because if you are like the majority of men today, body image has a huge impact on your view of health and fitness. Images affect how you choose to take care of your body, from workout choices to the meals and supplements you may take.
How did this all come about? Commercial and entertainment media have certainly been playing a role. Some would say that men drive themselves toward ‘unrealistic body goals’ simply because they’ve seen so many photos of models and pro athletes edited and in perfect lighting. On top of that, we live in a wealthy society where we don’t need to move to survive and where food is advertised and in easy access. With these conditions, it seems as though many people are set up for failure. This ‘failure’ gets rubbed in their faces every time they see a billboard, movie, or a fit friend who has time to work out for hours every day.
I got up close and personal with this ‘ideal male’ cultural standard several years ago when I became interested in high intensity strength training. At the time, I was working with a fitness company as a physical therapist. My background was in competitive long distance running and Pilates core strengthening. I was lean and generally fit, but I was lacking in upper body strength. I could see the advantages of getting stronger, and I was about 25-30 pounds short of what would be considered an ‘ideal male’ physique.
As I began exploring this new world of strength training, a friend introduced me to a method that would become my favorite hobby: gymnastics and calisthenics training. One day, while some friends and I were doing pull ups, dips and other basic calisthenic exercises at Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, California, a well known fitness personality came walking up to us, talking smack about our exercises (in a good natured way). He showed us some more advanced moves and invited us to join his workout group. The man behind the moves (and the good natured smack talk) was Tony Horton. I started working out at the beach with Tony’s group every Sunday. It was tough but I enjoyed the challenge.
I was drawn to the idea of making progress through learning new skills and using my own body weight rather than by lifting progressively heavier weights. I also liked the sense of developing more control over my body movements. There was room for creativity too. The more I improved, the more possibilities there were for new moves and combinations of moves. I was getting stronger and enjoying the process.
As I continued to train, my body was changing and friends were noticing. At the beach workouts, Tony would say, “Look, it’s the new Rob!” Other friends commented on my physique and asked what kind of workouts I was doing. Workout buddies and colleagues with larger builds were encouraging me to eat more. “Women will start coming out of the woodwork!”, one told me. Other friends and family members thought more weight gain would be good for my career. I had a hard time consistently eating more food, so my strength and skill kept improving but my physical growth hit a plateau.
A couple of years later, I had an unusually stressful period in my life. As a result, I lost a lot of weight. Then I got severe food poisoning, which knocked my weight down even further. When I showed up for my next workout with the guys, they were concerned. “What happened to you?” they asked. I told them, and then I decided to go back on a high calorie diet as I continued training. I used a scale, took measurements and tracked my progress daily until, several months later, I got my weight back to where it had been before.
Since I had gotten this far, I figured, why not go for more? I continued eating extra meals and tracking my measurements, and gained a few more pounds as a result. After a while, I didn’t like how it felt to eat so much, so I took a break from it for a few months. But when I tried to get back into it, I realized that I had grown tired of all the extra work and focus on my physique. To me, it wasn’t worth the social or personal benefits I might get from getting bigger. It didn’t seem healthy to eat that way over the long term, nor did my motivation seem healthy.
I was getting too focused on my body’s appearance. I would worry that my arms were too small, or that I wasn’t fitting in a shirt as well as I thought I could. I felt like my motivation was better when I could keep my focus mostly on becoming stronger and more skilled rather than on getting bigger and bulkier. As I continued to train, I would still, of course, be happy if I noticed more muscular growth. However, from that point on, my top goals were to develop my athletic ability and to improve my health in general.
All of this is to ask the question: What, then, is a healthy, balanced view of the male body image? From my experiences, here are several takeaway points:
• When you think of your body image, think of your body in motion first. What are you able to do physically?
• What would you like to be able to do? Develop and expand on your physical abilities (strength, speed, sports skills, flexibility, endurance, etc…) in any ways that interest you.
• Always challenge yourself so that you keep making progress.
• Improve your areas of weakness and try new exercises and activities.
• Workout with friends.
• Eat for your health first.
Develop a consistent, active lifestyle that you enjoy based on these points, and with some time, you’re almost guaranteed to be happy with what you see in the mirror too. This way you can enjoy the journey, become more fit, and feel healthy, with the added bonus of a better looking body.
Going back to that picture from the beginning of this article, you know, the one with the guy holding himself up on the parallel bars? You may have guessed this already, but that’s me. With my ongoing calisthenic strength training along with track workouts, plyometric lower body exercises, sports from time to time, and a consistently healthy diet, I’m very happy with my body and my physique today. You won’t see me winning any bodybuilding competitions, but I am much stronger today than I was a few years ago. I also continue to enjoy meeting my friends twice a week for our Muscle Beach workouts.
Consider the way you view your body and your health in general. Don’t let your mirror hold too much sway in your decisions about diet and exercise. When you look at your body, think of what it can do for you at the same time. Aim for long term health and quality of life, develop your athletic ability, and feel free to follow workouts you truly enjoy.
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Rob Cowell is the author of whyiexercise.com and the new eBook Progressive Core Strengthening. Rob is a physical therapist and a P90X3 cast member.
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Photo credit: RobbieGrubbs/flckr
Second photo provided with permission from the author
“Workout with friends.” Amen!!!
“… I’m very happy with my body and my physique today. You won’t see me winning any bodybuilding competitions”
I would expect that a “P90X3 cast member” would be a better gauge of the “‘ideal male’ cultural standard” than winners of bodybuilding competitions. And furthermore I submit that the low body fat percentage on exhibit therein consistently eludes a significant portion of the population.
I think if you look at his bullet points, you’ll see that he’s not talking just about himself.
As someone who has battled eating disorders, I can tell you that a balanced approach like Rob’s bullet points lay out is one of the keys to a healthy life.