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Then and Now

Body Image Isn’t Just for Women Anymore

Men’s Journal recently did a piece on what Hollywood leading men need to go through to make the cut.

Brando never did crunches. Al Pacino didn’t slurp protein shakes. Cary Grant had never even heard of burpees, BOSU balls, or human growth hormone. But not one of today’s leading men can afford the luxury of a gym-free life. You simply don’t get your name on a movie poster these days unless you’ve got a superhero’s physique – primed for high-def close-ups and global market appeal. Getting there takes effort, vigilance, and the dedication of the elite athlete: high-intensity training, strict diets, supplements, and hormone replacement. If that fails, there are always drugs. Today’s actors spend more time in the gym than they do rehearsing, more time with their trainers than with their directors.

Since 5 percent body fat is nobody’s natural condition, fitness plans are geared to peak on the days of the sex scenes or shirtless moments. To prep for these days, trainers will dehydrate a client like a boxing manager sweats a fighter down to weight. They often switch him to a low- or no-sodium diet three or four days in advance, fade out the carbohydrates, brew up diuretics like herbal teas, and then push cardio to sweat out water – all to accentuate muscle definition for the key scenes.

No Pain No Gain

We all understand that if you want to achieve, you need to strive, but strive we often don’t. Why not? Isn’t it logical?

When you visit your doctor you will probably be told to eat less sugar and fat and exercise more. What do we call this? “sacrifice”.

Our bodies, and the world, are not what they “should” be and “sacrifice” is supposed to make up the difference.

Sacrifice, Then and Now

Isn’t it strange that this word has persisted as it has, or maybe it isn’t strange, but apt.

Various forms of sacrifice are nearly universal to human civilizations. In most cases there was a belief that humanity is somehow in debt to the gods, or in trouble with the gods and sacrifice will either placate the gods, pay our debt to the gods or keep the universe functioning.

There is a strange sort of parallel here. The ancients believed that sacrifice was necessary to keep the universe functioning, we believe that sacrifice is necessary to keep our bodies and our lives functioning.

“It is Good” Continue reading →