Losing the plot: Physique inflation and rampant gear use

Fitness in general, and bodybuilding in particular, has become almost entirely a genre promoting poor health and worse values. What started as a purusit of health and well-being is now an environment of rampant drug (ab)use, mental illness, and shallow desires. And we’re all worse off for it, because exercise is arguably the best thing you can do for your mental and physical health and performance.

I think a good way to see this problem is with two pictures of Hugh Jackman.

On the left is his physique playing Wolverine in 2000, when he was 32 years old. On the right is his Wolverine physique in 2013. His physique in 2013 is leaps and bounds better than his 2000 physique, despite being 13 years older and well past his peak bodybuilding years. His physique pales in comparison to more recent examples such as Chris Hemsworth.

An absolutely insane physique, and Chris was 39 in this film. Furthermore, these physiques are all purported to be achieved with gear use. But movies are the smaller part of the problem. Social media is far worse. The most egregious example I can think of is Mike O’Hearn, who claims lifetime natural looking like this at 55:

With physiques like these flooding every movie screen and social media feed, it’s no wonder young men and boys have unrealistic body standards. They feel their physiques are inadequate, leading many to cave in and hop on gear themselves.

But the dark side of gear use is not talked about nearly as often. With a simple google search you can find a long list of bodybuilders and fitness influencers who died way too young, likely due to their gear use: Boston Loyd, Zyzz, and Rich Piana to name a few. Many more suffer from serious health issues such as sleep apnea and enlarged organs. My point is that fitness influencers have perverted the pursuit of health into a pursuit of un-health.

I believe everyone should exercise as part of their regular routine. I encourage everyone skeptical about exercising to watch this video. To summarize it in one sentence, I’ll lift the quote from Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky in Time magazine: “If there were a drug that could do for human health everything that exercise can, it would likely be the most valuable pharmaceutical ever developed.” My strong belief in the benefits of exercise is why I think it is such a tragedy it has been perverted by modern fitness influencer culture.

But I won’t lie, seeing your physique improve is very rewarding. If that incrementally helps motivate you to keep exercising, that’s great, but don’t make it your only reason. Exercise to get a new PR, improve your fade away three-pointer, de-stress, improve your mood, or just enjoy moving your body. Do it for any of the plethora of more important reasons than getting supraphysiologically high muscle mass and unhealthily low body fat.