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"Unremarkable arms"? "Just a dude with low body fat"? Not sure what circles you're in, but I know exactly one person that looks even remotely as good as those

"Unremarkable arms"? "Just a dude with low body fat"? Not sure what circles you're in, but I know exactly one person that looks even remotely as good as those two guys. For about 95% of the world population, these are unachievable bodies.

chillacy 9y ago
I also take issue with the idea that these are "unachievable", as if it's physically impossible for all but 5% of the genetically gifted, and there's no point in the rest of us trying because we weren't born that way. The reality is that most could achieve these physiques if they wanted to, it's just that nobody wants to put in the effort of lifting at least 3x a week for at least 30 mins a day, strictly counting calories, (I would say taking anabolic steroids but those pics definitely look achievable naturally). So I'd say it's not an issue of "can't", it's an issue of "won't". And that's totally fine to not prioritize that, but don't discourage those who might otherwise want to. For anyone reading this who wants to try strength training, I can attest that it's worth it. Regardless of where you start, if you follow the process you will look better and be healthier than you began. Many see noticeable changes within as little as 3 months. Within the circles I know, people look better and get stronger every year, and building strength helps with so many other activities, so it'll give you a leg up when you're trying indoor climbing, or yoga, or paddleboarding, etc.
- pjc50 9y ago
  Concur that strength training is worth it, but it doesn't automatically give you anything like those appearances even if the amount you can lift goes up substantially. Calorie counting that strictly seems to be psychologically gruelling for most people. (This will start an argument in comments, but I'll just point out that telling someone that something they find extremely difficult is something you find easy has never in the history of education enabled anyone to do anything)
  - true_religion 9y ago
    The fact that it's not automatic doesn't mean that it is now unbelievable and unachievable. That's the point. Fitness is not magic or something only a precious few inherited from having good genes. Most people would naturally be fairly fit, were it not for the sedentary lives we live since childhood.
  - chillacy 9y ago
    I don't find it easy either though, it was a huge pain and I could only pull it off for a tow years because I obsessed over it: I lived and breathed fitness until I could find a new weight to maintain. I spent my free time reading fitness forums, watching fitness channels for fun, etc. With that same amount of time I could have put serious work into my other hobbies like electronics or made more career moves. I probably sacrificed that for fitness, but I don't regret it. These days I've dropped the obsession to work on other things. I still go to the gym twice a week for maintenance, and my weight fluctuates more around my new goal weight, but I've gotten used to my metabolism. All-in-all I'm very thankful to be healthier, and I hope others find a similar joy in strength training or physical exercise. It's a lot of work, but it's so worth it! No matter where you start, you can make progress.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
true_religion 9y ago
"Unachievable".... this is often the reaction I see to fitness. It's understandable; I think. By labelling someone's body perfect or unachievable, we can pay a complement, whilst shielding the body from casual nitpicking or disregard. No one wants to say "I like X", then have to defend their opinion about how good someone looks. As a side-benefit, you also don't have to strive to achieve the same yourself, nor defend why you aren't striving because it's "perfect". I don't think any of these bodies---male nor female are unachievable. Do I hang out only with models and professional athletes? Nope. Almost anyone who is a young moderately athletic adult has a similar body---identical? Nah, after all these are photographs of models, but it's close enough that it's not going to blow anyones mind to see it. For anyone who has ever been an athlete---highschool or college--they would recall seeing people who looked like this (or looking like this yourself). It's not an impossible dream; just a path you didn't follow. That's a far cry from "unachievable". /rant
- sincerely 9y ago
  I think the female images are a lot closer to "unachievable" than the male images because of how much narrower the acceptable range in hip width, fat distribution, etc (genetic factors) is and it isn't something that can be fixed by adjusting your caloric input or working out more as it often can be for men. For instance my high school and university swim teams were full of people who looked like the men in these images, but of the women almost none had similar bodies to these women (despite being extremely strong/fit/disciplined/etc). At the end of the day though I'm not surprised that a website that mainly caters to a group of people who traditionally spend a lot of time sitting down (at work and at home) and often didn't grow up participating in team sports would consider images of fit people unrealistic.
- always_good 9y ago
  It's absolutely unachievable once they factor in their willpower and discipline.
komali2 9y ago
The caption is "unachievable." The first body is achievable for anybody not morbidly obese within less than a year of gym training. The second body doesn't even require you to go to the gym, just monitor your calories. So both are probably unachievable to somebody that's already crossed maybe the 35%bf threshold, but step outside of America and that's not anywhere near the majority... What kind of crowd do you hang with? The only remarkable thing about the first guy's arms is he's pretty vascular.
- jm__87 9y ago
  I'm guessing you're young... once you hit 30, your mind is probably going to change on this.
  - komali2 9y ago
    You're going to gatekeep fitness to me, after seemingly demonstrating less fitness confidence? I'm three years from 30, it's already hitting me. It doesn't really change the basic calculus of calories in, calories out.
    - jm__87 9y ago
      Most people's metabolisms change as they age and most people generally have less time and energy as life commitments increase. Sure, if someone at 30+ had a lot of time and money and put all their effort in to fitness, I'm sure they could attain what you implied is achievable without too much effort. Why that body is unattainable for most is due to real life concerns like sitting at work for hours to earn a paycheck and raising a family.

chillacy 9y ago

I also take issue with the idea that these are "unachievable", as if it's physically impossible for all but 5% of the genetically gifted, and there's no point in the rest of us trying because we weren't born that way. The reality is that most could achieve these physiques if they wanted to, it's just that nobody wants to put in the effort of lifting at least 3x a week for at least 30 mins a day, strictly counting calories, (I would say taking anabolic steroids but those pics definitely look achievable naturally). So I'd say it's not an issue of "can't", it's an issue of "won't". And that's totally fine to not prioritize that, but don't discourage those who might otherwise want to. For anyone reading this who wants to try strength training, I can attest that it's worth it. Regardless of where you start, if you follow the process you will look better and be healthier than you began. Many see noticeable changes within as little as 3 months. Within the circles I know, people look better and get stronger every year, and building strength helps with so many other activities, so it'll give you a leg up when you're trying indoor climbing, or yoga, or paddleboarding, etc.

pjc50 9y ago
Concur that strength training is worth it, but it doesn't automatically give you anything like those appearances even if the amount you can lift goes up substantially. Calorie counting that strictly seems to be psychologically gruelling for most people. (This will start an argument in comments, but I'll just point out that telling someone that something they find extremely difficult is something you find easy has never in the history of education enabled anyone to do anything)
- true_religion 9y ago
  The fact that it's not automatic doesn't mean that it is now unbelievable and unachievable. That's the point. Fitness is not magic or something only a precious few inherited from having good genes. Most people would naturally be fairly fit, were it not for the sedentary lives we live since childhood.
- chillacy 9y ago
  I don't find it easy either though, it was a huge pain and I could only pull it off for a tow years because I obsessed over it: I lived and breathed fitness until I could find a new weight to maintain. I spent my free time reading fitness forums, watching fitness channels for fun, etc. With that same amount of time I could have put serious work into my other hobbies like electronics or made more career moves. I probably sacrificed that for fitness, but I don't regret it. These days I've dropped the obsession to work on other things. I still go to the gym twice a week for maintenance, and my weight fluctuates more around my new goal weight, but I've gotten used to my metabolism. All-in-all I'm very thankful to be healthier, and I hope others find a similar joy in strength training or physical exercise. It's a lot of work, but it's so worth it! No matter where you start, you can make progress.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

true_religion 9y ago

"Unachievable".... this is often the reaction I see to fitness. It's understandable; I think. By labelling someone's body perfect or unachievable, we can pay a complement, whilst shielding the body from casual nitpicking or disregard. No one wants to say "I like X", then have to defend their opinion about how good someone looks. As a side-benefit, you also don't have to strive to achieve the same yourself, nor defend why you aren't striving because it's "perfect". I don't think any of these bodies---male nor female are unachievable. Do I hang out only with models and professional athletes? Nope. Almost anyone who is a young moderately athletic adult has a similar body---identical? Nah, after all these are photographs of models, but it's close enough that it's not going to blow anyones mind to see it. For anyone who has ever been an athlete---highschool or college--they would recall seeing people who looked like this (or looking like this yourself). It's not an impossible dream; just a path you didn't follow. That's a far cry from "unachievable". /rant

sincerely 9y ago
I think the female images are a lot closer to "unachievable" than the male images because of how much narrower the acceptable range in hip width, fat distribution, etc (genetic factors) is and it isn't something that can be fixed by adjusting your caloric input or working out more as it often can be for men. For instance my high school and university swim teams were full of people who looked like the men in these images, but of the women almost none had similar bodies to these women (despite being extremely strong/fit/disciplined/etc). At the end of the day though I'm not surprised that a website that mainly caters to a group of people who traditionally spend a lot of time sitting down (at work and at home) and often didn't grow up participating in team sports would consider images of fit people unrealistic.
always_good 9y ago
It's absolutely unachievable once they factor in their willpower and discipline.

komali2 9y ago

The caption is "unachievable." The first body is achievable for anybody not morbidly obese within less than a year of gym training. The second body doesn't even require you to go to the gym, just monitor your calories. So both are probably unachievable to somebody that's already crossed maybe the 35%bf threshold, but step outside of America and that's not anywhere near the majority... What kind of crowd do you hang with? The only remarkable thing about the first guy's arms is he's pretty vascular.

jm__87 9y ago
I'm guessing you're young... once you hit 30, your mind is probably going to change on this.
- komali2 9y ago
  You're going to gatekeep fitness to me, after seemingly demonstrating less fitness confidence? I'm three years from 30, it's already hitting me. It doesn't really change the basic calculus of calories in, calories out.
  - jm__87 9y ago
    Most people's metabolisms change as they age and most people generally have less time and energy as life commitments increase. Sure, if someone at 30+ had a lot of time and money and put all their effort in to fitness, I'm sure they could attain what you implied is achievable without too much effort. Why that body is unattainable for most is due to real life concerns like sitting at work for hours to earn a paycheck and raising a family.