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[Akuun]

Not everyone has to be super ripped. I think it's just that with the trend towards superhero movies, there's a much bigger demand for muscular actors these days because well, comic book characters tend to have comic book bodies.

There are still thin guys doing movies, but those movies just don't come by as often as they used to. Keanu Reeves for John Wick, for example. James Bond was also typically a thin dude (Pierce Brosnan was great for the part) until Daniel Craig took the part.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

You want to see what the human body looks like in peak form to deal with the outdoor natural human habitat and be capable of defending one's person:

 

[Pifje]

Not everyone has to be super ripped. I think it's just that with the trend towards superhero movies, there's a much bigger demand for muscular actors these days because well, comic book characters tend to have comic book bodies.

There are still thin guys doing movies, but those movies just don't come by as often as they used to. Keanu Reeves for John Wick, for example. James Bond was also typically a thin dude (Pierce Brosnan was great for the part) until Daniel Craig took the part.

You can be thin if you are tall. Reeves and Brosnan are both tall, Craig is not. Craig would look very flimsy if he was as thin.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

You want to see what the human body looks like in peak form to deal with the outdoor natural human habitat and be capable of defending one's person:

There is no such thing as a "peak form". Musculature is purely based around the task a person is performing, which is why top athletes in drastically different sports don't all have the same body size and muscle distribution

 

[Hoo-doo]

You want to see what the human body looks like in peak form to deal with the outdoor natural human habitat and be capable of defending one's person:

This means jack shit. Your body adapts to what you do with it. If you lift heavy stuff all day your body will reflect that. If you have to run miles every day, your body will reflect that too.

There's not just one body type that is 'peak' fitness.

 

[Escape Goat]

I watched a documentary on gays views on body image awhile back. The pressure to be an Adonis is immense. We are bombarded *everywhere* with images of muscle guys. Clubs, advertising, pride parades, Tv. It is the essence of masculinity. Guys work out to attract guys the culture says are attractive. Society says this body is attractive so i will get that body to attract others. It's superficial and so these guys work out to become hot and get invited to all the social events and hang out with other hot guys. But it's all based on that superficial vanity for some of these guys and so friendships are temporary and these guys are no more happy than before. It's the same insecure unfit guy just now with a body society values more.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Yes, but again, that's not really what this thread is about, or what the article the thread is based on is about. It's about media presenting images of male heroism in an increasingly skewed baseline ideal that isn't really about any of those confidence-building, mentally-and-physically healthy goals that improving the physique can help attain.

It's about actors being asked to undergo unhealthy routines and ingest a lot of drugs in order to achieve a physicality that until recently only regularly existed in artistic renditions of peak (unrealistic) performance.

Asking a bunch of actors to incorporate into their job an entire regimen that exists solely to adhere to the artistic depiction of fictional people as if they were historical figures is a strange pursuit. Of all the things for Hollywood to choose to FORCE upon its actors in the rise of the superhero film, an accuracy in physique is the one they adhere to the most? Not the storytelling, not the themes, not the characterizations - but ensuring that the actors look like Jim Lee illustrations?

And then convincing audiences that not only is that pursuit normal, but it's weird for people to even question it—despite the decades of damage it's done to half our population when equally unfair baseline ideals have been forced upon women?

Turning that conversation into "look, who are you to "shame" me for having a pull-up bar in my garage" or whatever doesn't make much sense.

No, you very much did that yourself. What you posted as the "topic" of discussion nothing to do with how uncomfortable looking at Zac Efron makes you feel, which you made sure to mention on numerous occasions throughout the thread.

 

[antibolo]

Uh yeah, so?

Those people earn tens of millions of dollars for their roles. I don't think it's unrealistic to expect them to have to work for it.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

No, you very much did that yourself.

I didn't do that at all and your persistence in choosing to take it that way despite the thousands of clarifying words that say otherwise isn't my failing.

If you're honestly going to focus solely on the exaggerated notion that I'm honestly (and not comedically/facetiously) disturbed by Zac Efron's body to the point where legitimate distress has been incurred, then I don't think you're honestly paying attention to the conversation as it's spun out. And it's not like I was the one who forced you to use my posts, and my posts alone, as the basis for your argument, either.

 

[Spiritreaver]

I watched a documentary on gays views on body image awhile back. The pressure to be an Adonis is immense. We are bombarded *everywhere* with images of muscle guys. Clubs, advertising, pride parades, Tv. It is the essence of masculinity. Guys work out to attract guys the culture says are attractive. Society says this body is attractive so i will get that body to attract others. It's superficial and so these guys work out to become hot and get invited to all the social events and hang out with other hot guys. But it's all based on that superficial vanity for some of these guys and so friendships are temporary and these guys are no more happy than before. It's the same insecure unfit guy just now with a body society values more.

This is absolutely a thing, I think I've seen that same documentary. I fell into this trap myself. It took some harsh lessons and good therapy to realize personal happiness is not achieved solely through the way you look.

Hard not to be that way though when the moment you start to look good the entire world validates you for it.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

I didn't do that at all and your persistence in choosing to take it that way despite the thousands of clarifying words that say otherwise isn't my failing.

Well if I misquoted you, feel free to clarify how else calling someone's appearance/body "unsettling" can be taken. Granted I didn't include your entire posts, but the rest of posts I quoted don't make up for the comment in any way. I focused on your posts because you seem to adamant at denying how hypocritical you're being. You can't go on saying someone's appear makes you uncomfortable, then segue into a wholly unrelated, but admittedly valid, discussion on how certain Hollywood body types are causing body dismorphia among males. The former is uncalled for, even if the latter is up for discussion. That's my main issue. Not with the discussion at whole, but with the remarks that come alongside it that effectively shame these people for their bodies or make them out to be weirdos

 

[Akuun]

You can be thin if you are tall. Reeves and Brosnan are both tall, Craig is not. Craig would look very flimsy if he was as thin.

That could be part of it too, yeah. A shorter guy would look tiny if he wasn't muscular. I actually didn't realize that Reeves was tall. I always assumed he was average height. Maybe due to movie camera work making everyone look about a certain height unless the movie wanted to emphasize someone's height?

I don't think there's anything wrong with being a thin guy. I think they're just less popular in movies these days because there just aren't a lot of movies out there that star a thin guy. With the flood of superhero movies these days, you get a barrage of buff dudes, but that doesn't mean that you can't have a movie without one. If it's a good movie, I'll still watch it, regardless of whether the main character was buff or not.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Well if I misquoted you,

You didn't misquote me at all, nor did I say you had. The rest is addressed in my post above.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

There is no such thing as a "peak form". Musculature is purely based around the task a person is performing, which is why top athletes in drastically different sports don't all have the same body size and muscle distribution

There is a non-specialized form: one suited and shaped by the natural environment prior to the specialized needs of certain sports or aesthetic requirements for movies.

These bodies are what hunter-gatherers look like, which is how our bodies have adapted to deal with the challenges of the natural environment and fighting with other humans over the course of the vast majority of our evolutionary history.

Funny enough, only kids left to their own devices and MMA fighters have these bodies today for the most part.

 

[Astral]

Am I allowed to use this thread to post a pic and get an estimate on my body fat percentage since it's more active than FitGAF right now? I wanna be a male star.

 

[CSJ]

The one thing I'm jealous of, is the time people get to put at the gym.
Actors having private gyms, or secluded areas, meals planned for them, getting paid to do it; damnit There are regulars I see there for hours, no matter when I go and it's just next to my work.

There's the rest of us, after already being up for 12 hours and not being able to eat enough during the day to spread it out through the day and some how need to find the energy to do more, somehow it's in there but I know I could do so much better with more time.

I'm doing it because I want to be better prepared for future prospects that require a high level of fitness, then at least if I get that I can also get paid to be fit! Just about a zillion times less though!

Then you got those who get a headstart/boost with steroids/test etc.
I'd do it, but I don't know who to speak to.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

My friends made fun of me for being skinny in high school. That made me want to take up weight training my senior year. After high school I took it more serious by joing a gym.

I finally started to gain muscle, while getting stronger. This gave me more confidence with myself and the women.

I'll be 35 next month. Now the jokes on my old high school friends who are all out of shape and gained weight. They see me and are amazed.

I'm 6'1" and average face. Getting bigger and more muscular helps with my image of being average looking.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

There is no such thing as a "peak form". Musculature is purely based around the task a person is performing, which is why top athletes in drastically different sports don't all have the same body size and muscle distribution

And what tasks are actors preforming that require such ripped bodies? Why do they have to look better than the above images?

 

[UnemployedVillain]

And what tasks are actors preforming that require such ripped bodies? Why do they have to look better than the above images?

You realize actors aren't the only people who have muscles, right? A gymnast doesn't have the same kind of body those guys have. A distance runner doesn't either. Neither does a rugby player. You're acting like I'm saying something crazy or controversial. My point is there is no one size fits all body type. It's not like every superhero has the same body type either. Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Christine Bale as Batman, Paul Rudd as Antman, they all have drastically different body types in their respective movies

 

[Fudgepuppy]

The best part about losing weight and gaining some definition and mass, is how fucking proud of yourself you feel, to the point where you're standing and looking at your 30% body in the mirror, going "yeah, that's it, looking good".

Be glad for what you have, and it will be so much easier to get what you want.

 

[MIMIC]

This the thread title (and the premise) immediately made me think of Zac Effron. Every time I see a Baywatch commercial, I just think, "Why?"

 

[Raguel]

You realize actors aren't the only people who have muscles, right? A gymnast doesn't have the same kind of body those guys have. A distance runner doesn't either. Neither does a rugby player. You're acting like I'm saying something crazy or controversial

It's hopeless. Just let it go. Instead of wasting your time, go get fit and know you're living a healthier life than probably half the people in this thread who are shitting on other people. Take joy in that. I know I do.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

You realize actors aren't the only people who have muscles, right? A gymnast doesn't have the same kind of body those guys have. A distance runner doesn't either. Neither does a rugby player. You're acting like I'm saying something crazy or controversial

You're ignoring my questions. I never questioned the idea of different muscle compositions. I questioned why you think it's ok for actors to have to have bodies that don't reflect the tasks they preform.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

You're ignoring my questions. I never questioned the idea of different muscle compositions. I questioned why you think it's ok for actors to have to have bodies that don't reflect the tasks they preform.

There is no singular body type actors are required to have, or do have, in these various roles. The mismatch of body type and role occurs, but all you're doing is advocating a different, similarly mismatched, body type.

to mention Muppet of a Man posted random dudes who don't all even necessarily have the same body type. They just have low bodyfat in common. The rock climber probably has more developed forearms compared to the other guys and the one lifting the rock (for some bizarre reason) has a more developed chest than the others.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

There is no singular body type actors are required to have, or do have, in these various roles. The mismatch of body type and role occurs, but all you're doing is advocating a different, similarly mismatched, body type

And where exactly did I do that?

Hahaha wtf is shit. Why do you have the body you have now? Is it efficient? Why do you think it's OK for you to have your body type? Fuck off with this.

You're reading comprehension needs some work.

As well as a chill pill.

 

[Raguel]

You're ignoring my questions. I never questioned the idea of different muscle compositions. I questioned why you think it's ok for actors to have to have bodies that don't reflect the tasks they preform.

Hahaha wtf is shit. Why do you have the body you have now? Is it efficient? Why do you think it's OK for you to have your body type? Fuck off with this.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

goat

Should've been Hawkeye.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

And where exactly did I do that?

These threads are infuriating. You said

Why do they have to look better than the above images?

All you're doing is posing another body type as being more ideal/better suited. What makes those body types more ideal or fit for what they're doing? And, as I elaborated on above, those aren't even a singular body type. That poster just grouped what he assumed were a bunch of generic "men of nature" together

 

[Paracelsus]

I've always assumed that female audience:

Male

Spoiler

(and female )

audience:

 

[Raguel]

And where exactly did I do that?

You're reading comprehension needs some work.

As well as a chill pill.

Please. Your analogy needs work. Don't attack me when your analogy is shit.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

This thread is really id going downhill. We need more pics of hot bods.

 

[nullset2]

Woman IRL like beer guts anyway.

Or at least I hope they do.

Protip: they don't

 

[Saucycarpdog]

These threads are infuriating. You said



All you're doing is posing another body type as being more ideal/better suited. What makes those body types more ideal or fit for what they're doing? And, as I elaborated on above, those aren't even a singular body type. That poster just grouped what he assumed were a bunch of generic "men of nature" together

You misinterpreted. I never said those bodies were the ideal type. I said why the actors had to look better than them when you just need at least some muscle to pull off a superhero look. They could have had less muscle than those images and I would be fine with them. The actors have already commented on how keeping bodies like that is a full time job. I questioned why they need to go to such extreme lengths to have those bodies when others would be just fine.

Please. Your analogy needs work. Don't attack me when your analogy is shit.

"Your analogy needs work."

Really? Just copying what I said? Are we in elementary school?

 

[Muppet of a Man]

This means jack shit. Your body adapts to what you do with it. If you lift heavy stuff all day your body will reflect that. If you have to run miles every day, your body will reflect that too.

There's not just one body type that is 'peak' fitness.

Our bodies do have the ability to adapt for specialized tasks, especially in the short run. Unfortunately, repetitive, specialized tasks are not what our bodies are best at handling over the duration of our lifespan. If you want to be healthy, live a long time, and be physically functional over the spectrum of many varied tasks, you wind up with a body similar to the ones I posted. That's how operating in our natural environment has shaped us, not a gym. We've existed the longest in the outdoor natural environment and have been shaped the most by it.

Fitness for a specific task was not what I was inferring. Fitness for survival in the natural outdoor human habitat was. "Peak overall health" might be better terminology here.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Our bodies do have the ability to adapt for specialized tasks, especially in the short run. Unfortunately, repetitive, specialized tasks are not what our bodies are best at handling over the duration of our lifespan. If you want to be healthy, live a long time, and be physically functional over the spectrum of many varied tasks, you wind up with a body similar to the ones I posted. That's how operating in our natural environment has shaped us, not a gym. We've existed the longest in the outdoor natural environment and have been shaped the most by it.

Fitness for a specific task was not what I was inferring. Fitness for survival in the natural outdoor human habitat was. "Peak overall health" might be better terminology here.

Hunting and gathering is a specialized task. There is no such thing as a generic ideal body. There is no, one size fits all, "Fitness for survival in the natural outdoor human habit" either. All you're doing is propping this body type over others.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

Hunting and gathering is a specialized task

Haha, no it's not...that describes their primary means of obtaining food but does not encompass the totality or breadth of their physical tasks, unless you want to call their entire lives a "specialized task".

 

[Raguel]

These threads are infuriating.

I know man. Hah. I'm done with this thread. Haha. Wasted too much time on it. I myself will be out enjoying getting disgusting and repulsive. People talk shit then when they need someone to help them move, train you, or be around you when shit goes down, then they shut the fuck up real quick.

 

[CrimsonSquall]

I mean, I lift partly to look better to women. But I would never starve myself for those beach abs. Doesn't seem to be worth the misery for me, and it would keep my strength gains from being what they could be

Strength is more important to me than being some Adonis

Why do people care about strength?

 

[starchild excalibur]

This means jack shit. Your body adapts to what you do with it. If you lift heavy stuff all day your body will reflect that. If you have to run miles every day, your body will reflect that too.

There's not just one body type that is 'peak' fitness.

Yeah, but I think the larger point is (may be?) that there's no reason for a lifeguard to look like The Rock. Compared to how humans have naturally developed over time to suit physiological necessities (hunting, gathering, home building, carrying, etc), humans wouldn't just naturally have some of the body times we see on action stars. It's very much an ideal that's rooted in aesthetics and not necessity.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

Hunting and gathering is a specialized task. There is no such thing as a generic ideal body. There is no, one size fits all, "Fitness for survival in the natural outdoor human habit" either. All you're doing is propping this body type over others.

The people in the black and while photos are tribesmen who've never "worked out" a day in their lives and have lived physically demanding lifestyles to secure their survival. That is the definition of unspecialized and the "reason" we've evolved these bodies we have.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I know man. Hah. I'm done with this thread. Haha. Wasted too much time on it. I myself will be out enjoying getting disgusting and repulsive.

Aaaaand this is why people are saying "why is gymbro-gaf so defensive/insecure". Because of posts like these completely misunderstanding everything and refusing to listen to multiple clarifications... oh well.

No one is saying you're repulsive for working out at the gym, lol. Relax

 

[CrimsonSquall]

I watched a documentary on gays views on body image awhile back. The pressure to be an Adonis is immense. We are bombarded *everywhere* with images of muscle guys. Clubs, advertising, pride parades, Tv. It is the essence of masculinity. Guys work out to attract guys the culture says are attractive. Society says this body is attractive so i will get that body to attract others. It's superficial and so these guys work out to become hot and get invited to all the social events and hang out with other hot guys. But it's all based on that superficial vanity for some of these guys and so friendships are temporary and these guys are no more happy than before. It's the same insecure unfit guy just now with a body society values more.

That's oversimplistic af

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

Why do people care about strength?

For when you save people from a burning building

 

[UnemployedVillain]

The people in the black and while photos are tribesmen who've never "worked out" a day in their lives and have lived physically demanding lifestyles to secure their survival. That is the definition of unspecialized and the "reason" we've evolved these bodies we have.

You realize "working out" doesn't simply mean going to the gym, right? All forms of physical activity are included in working out. These tribesmen's bodies have adapted to what they primarily do, physically, during their day to day. That's it. Does it enable them to swim as fast as a swimmer? No. Because that isn't required of them. Does it enable them to run as fast as a sprinter? No.

My point is, there is no all around body type. Bodies adapt to whatever task is required of them, and these guys have adapted to the variety of task they do. Specialized doesn't mean it only fits a singular, specific task. It simply means it doesn't fit everything, ideally.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Why do people care about strength?

I don't know, same with people who care about being able to run really fast or jump really high.

I think conditioning your body in such a way that you could face any physical challenge is a great feeling. Feeling strong is part of that.

 

[Jombie]

This just in: Movie stars are beautiful.

 

[supernormal]

A lot of what you see on movie screens doesn't really translate well to real life. Without having any context or stats you can't really give an accurate description of their physique and size. The thing is people see some who is "lean" without a shirt on screen and they think "huge" because you could see all their muscle definition. Efron is 5' 9" and around 160lbs that is absolutely in no way "huge." The same goes for most hollywood actors (aside from The Rock) and basically all natural bodybuilders. What I'm saying is, these guys look absolutely normal under regular clothes walking around in the world.

For example, this is a friend of mine who has won a few fitness competitions and makes his living out of bodybuilding. This is in line with what the peak of natural bodybuilder could achieve through years of training...he wears a medium size shirt.

Noel-Rua- by Samuel Vasquez, on Flickr

 

[family_guy]

Why do people care about strength?

You want the Rock or Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory dragging you out of a burning building?

 

[UnemployedVillain]

You want the Rock or Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory dragging you out of a burning building?

I think I'd be wondering how The Rock even fit inside the burning building

 

[.JayZii]

You want the Rock or Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory dragging you out of a burning building?

I want to be so ripped that I'm impervious to the fire.