- 6 months ago
Many people are pointing out how superhero physiques from the early 2000s are no longer impressive. That fitness influencers today are more muscular.
But is the average person really getting more muscular, and is this a problem in the real world?
But is the average person really getting more muscular, and is this a problem in the real world?
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00:00For men, today's standards of muscularity are f***ing obscene.
00:05We used to aspire to be like Brad Pitt from Fight Club, and now, because of this incessant
00:09drive of consumer capitalism, this incessant permeation of our brains subconsciously with
00:14social media algorithms...
00:16Physique inflation is very real.
00:18And it seems to be happening at an accelerating rate.
00:22And fitness enthusiasts are concerned.
00:25We are led like sheep into the slaughter to ever more muscular and lean physiques.
00:30To the point where a great physique 10 years ago can be considered average or even bad by
00:34today's standards.
00:35Mike Chang, Scott Herman, Jeff Nippard.
00:38Their natural status used to be perceived as highly questionable, today, people are calling
00:43them average.
00:44I don't know the science-based guys.
00:45Why is it that you remain so mediocre, yet you know so much?
00:50A shift we can see in Baywatch, Marvel movies.
00:53Most modern superheroes, reality TV shows, and suspiciously muscular Netflix teenagers.
00:59Can you rate this guy's a teenager?
01:01Time.
01:02Can't see him.
01:03Oh.
01:04What is wrong with you?
01:05You think this is a dad bod?
01:07Have you seen what most dads actually look like in the real world?
01:11Experts are worried it's an issue that's trickling down from the bodybuilding world.
01:15An illusion driving many to shortcuts.
01:17Hard take, but I think guys being a little overweight like this is attractive.
01:21What?
01:22Female body dysmorphia is on track to overtake female body dysmorphia within about two decades.
01:27So why are experts worried?
01:28It's about to get a lot worse.
01:30And how did we end up in this position?
01:32Is that what a man looks like?
01:37Fight Club was a pivotal film on the turn of the century.
01:40People wanted to look like this.
01:42Impressive, but also realistic.
01:44Seriously?
01:45It's like you're photoshopped.
01:47Back then, performance enhancers carried a heavy stigma.
01:51Take steroids and eventually everyone will see you for what you really are.
01:55But in bodybuilding, they became essential.
02:01Each year, competitors pushed to get bigger and leaner, no matter the cost.
02:05From Steve Reeves to Jay Cutler, the look became more extreme.
02:08So everyday people turned to Hollywood physiques for inspiration.
02:13Hugh Jackman, Chris Evans, Henry Cavill.
02:15But the extreme standards of bodybuilding had already begun to trickle into the mainstream.
02:20There comes a day where being average, being mediocre is just sickening to you.
02:27Video blogs blew up, then Instagram, focusing the attention on the visual.
02:31Fitness wasn't just about health anymore.
02:33It's about aesthetics.
02:34And this marked the rise of the fitness influencer.
02:37And I just want to share my experiences and advice of what's worked for me, what hasn't worked for me.
02:42More and more influencers joined the scene.
02:44But it was ultimately the most impressive looking that rose to the top.
02:47Genetic outliers, with many suspected of taking shortcuts to get ahead.
02:52Guys like Mike O'Hearn and Simeon Ped, those guys are natural.
02:56But yet they claim they are, and so they also stand out.
03:00The demand for more impressive physiques was reflected in Hollywood.
03:03With the remaking of Baywatch and progression of Chris Hemsworth, Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman.
03:08But people began calling actors out for secretive steroid use.
03:12Reporter Greg here, reporting the news.
03:14The Rock's lying.
03:16Hello, wake up and smell the freaking coffee.
03:19This kindled the demand for humbleness, honesty and transparency.
03:23So a new type of influence emerged.
03:25I am sick of fake influencers.
03:27But some people started being a little too transparent.
03:31Yo, what's going on guys?
03:32Today I'm going to teach you some steroid maps.
03:35Perhaps normalizing and glorifying steroid usage.
03:38It became less taboo and more accessible, which led to a sharp rise in young users.
03:43That's why it went viral originally in short form, because nobody ever thought about posting
03:47videos of them injecting steroids and then working out.
03:51That is without a doubt the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
03:55Some influencers began to use photoshop and camera tricks to stand out.
03:59These aren't the only people in the industry doing this.
04:01Check your newsfeed.
04:02If you follow a lot of fitness people, I guarantee you will find more that are doing this now that you're made mentally aware of it.
04:09This became such a problem that Instagram vs reality subreddit gained over 1 million followers, exposing
04:16many people for using filters and tricks.
04:18Do I even need to draw the lines to show this is edited?
04:21But what people watched trained the algorithm, so social media learned exactly how to keep
04:26you scrolling.
04:27Now, if you ask ChatGPT for the average male that goes to the gym regularly, you're presented
04:32with this.
04:33There's nothing average about this body for a 35-40 year old male who goes to the gym regularly.
04:42It worked this out from the internet, where edited and optimized bodies aren't rare, they're
04:46the standard.
04:48Body dysmorphia is becoming a cultural aesthetic as opposed to a mental health issue.
04:52To many, natural doesn't even look normal anymore.
04:56As highlighted by the recent trend, showing long-time lifters revealing their physiques
05:01in natural light, only to face brutal criticism.
05:04This is what 8 years of training looks like, achievable in 1 year.
05:08This is 13 years of consistency, mid-13 years.
05:12You can easily achieve this in 2-3 years.
05:15We're talking about bodybuilders here.
05:17I personally don't think it's surprising that so many younger people are taking a metric
05:22fuckload of anabolic steroids.
05:25Yet, while some worry about physique inflation, others argue we're glorifying obesity.
05:30To understand what's really happening, we need to look at the data.
05:34Is the average man actually getting fitter?
05:39The average American is 5 foot 9, 200 pounds, with a 40.5 inch waist, putting body fat between
05:4620 and 30 percent.
05:49Obesity is on the rise.
05:51The average American eats around 3,500 calories a day, and takes just 4,800 steps.
05:57No wonder healthspan is falling.
05:58In fact, 1 in 4 people can't do a full squat, and 1 in 3 can't manage a single pushup, according
06:05to a UK fitness report.
06:07But the average fitness enthusiast is likely more muscular, thanks to better information,
06:11equipment, and resources.
06:13A good thing, since the fitness industry has made things easier.
06:16If we look to powerlifting data, the average bench is somewhere around 250 to 300 pounds,
06:23350 to 400 pounds, and deadlift, 425 to 475 pounds.
06:30But those are trained, competitive athletes.
06:32It's like comparing your reading speed to someone in a book club.
06:35The average 5k time for men, around 29 minutes, and that's only amongst those fit enough to
06:41sign up to a race.
06:42Here's what the average American man looked like in 2011.
06:45The truth is, the average person looks nothing like the physiques that we're constantly
06:50being shown online.
06:51However, it's becoming rarer for people to maintain a healthy weight.
06:54And it's this stark, widening contrast, that experts are worried about.
06:58How old are you?
07:0016.
07:0116?
07:02But are you natty or not, bro?
07:03Not natty.
07:04Wow, I respect that honesty, bro.
07:06Today, there's more teenagers doing steroids than ever before.
07:10People who have barely been training, jumping straight to enhancements.
07:13There's nothing respectable about taking gear at 16 years old.
07:17Period.
07:18For people using steroids while claiming they're natural, or just eat chicken, broccoli, and
07:22rice.
07:23It's fueling unrealistic expectations, leading many to give up on their fitness routines
07:27altogether.
07:28Reckless performance-enhancing drug use and poor mental health.
07:31Perhaps a greater issue is not physique inflation, but deflation.
07:34Where people think they need TRT, or steroids, to gain a bit of muscle and look good.
07:39Patience is a dying art on social media.
07:41For all the years up to this point, what people focused on was nutrition, workout routines.
07:47There is such a disturbing trend right now where those search terms and even those interests
07:52have been replaced by TRT, SARMs, Peptides, Ozempic.
07:57A recent study found that the fitness advice given by the most followed fitness influencers
08:02is often either harmful or lacks credibility.
08:05Hardly a surprise when the most extreme stuff rises to the top.
08:09Fitness is becoming less about health and more about performance art.
08:12A hyperreality crafted to maximise views.
08:15This is why people are suggesting that fitness influencers are a plague on getting fit.
08:20It's why what Martin Birkin coined f***around-itis is still such a problem.
08:24The tendency to avoid consistent effort and focus on unproductive activities, resulting
08:28in a lack of progress towards a goal.
08:30It's not one person's fault, but a deeper consequence of fitness social media.
08:34If you're not shredded, you have a dad bod.
08:36Bear in mind many of these people are Hollywood superheroes, some of which have probably taken
08:41steroids.
08:42And this is literally Superman.
08:44However, a large reason these sort of posts go viral is because they're such wild takes.
08:49Regardless, there's a clear rising pressure for men.
08:52A study found 22% of men aged 18 to 24 show signs of muscle-focused eating disorders.
08:58Even the godfather of American fitness grew concerned about the mental benefits of exercise
09:02being neglected as the television was first invented.
09:05Well, this is what I think.
09:08People have gotten so far away from the natural way they should be living that they have lost
09:13the ability to be happy anymore.
09:15Because you cannot separate the mind and the body.
09:17It's an impossibility.
09:18Exercise is not only to make you more beautiful and more glamorous, but the therapeutic value
09:23of exercise, how it relieves nervous tension, how it increases your pep, your energy and your
09:27vitality.
09:28That's the wonders of exercise.
09:29This is why for my own transformation, I limited the time I spent on social media, and it helped
09:34a ton.
09:35I didn't end up looking like Ashton Hall, perhaps because I didn't wake up at 3am.
09:38But I'm no longer built like ET, because I actually stuck to my routine.
09:44You only fail if you're stuck.
09:46Gym inflation might be a thing on social media and in comment sections, but in reality, things
09:52seem to be heading the other way.
09:53Most of the people mocking top-tier physiques or real fitness progress are just online too
09:58much.
09:59Caught up in an echo chamber, inflated by physique inflation.
10:02That's why curating your media diet is crucial.
10:06Show people who actually benefit you, not negatively warp your perspective.
10:10The term influence means to have an effect on the character or development of someone.
10:14Be mindful of who you follow and be careful of who you let influence you.
10:19Be proud of your own progress and remember that a vast industry profits off your insecurity.
10:24In other words, it's best to focus on your own habits because it's hard to worry
10:27about other people's grass being greener when you're more focused on watering your own.
10:36So is Queen?
10:37To Ashton, the 2019RO1 party installed on Titan.
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