After Face and Height, the third most important metric for attraction is your body. Neither men nor women like looking at untrained naked people, so let’s fix that shall we? In this post I will discuss how a body of steel is built and maintained.
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What kind of exercise should you do? – The first 6 months
There are generally 2 type of beginners when it comes to exercise: The underweight/skinnyfat and the overweight. Your first 6 months should be focused on getting both these issues under control by choosing the right kind of exercise. As a newbie, you’ll be able to build muscles no matter what you do, but if your bodyfat is very high, you won’t get very far with just strength training. If you belong in the category of either overweight or skinny fat, try to incorporate a good amount of cardio into your workout. Cardio is training that requires continuous muscle movements over a longer amount of time and doesn’t cross the lactate threshold (if you’re experienced, you’ll even be able to feel when you’re about to cross it!). The most known and easiest cardio sports are running or swimming. Both have their pros and cons, but I believe that running is much easier to pick up for multiple reasons: It’s free, can be done by just opening your door and has the advantage of giving you solace. If overcrowded baths are for you though, don’t listen to me. If you start running, it’s important that you choose the right running shoes. They should be a tight fit and for a beginner give lots of cushioning support to your feet. Do NOT start running barefooted or with barely cushioned shoes or you’ll be in a world of pain and injury. Walking on the asphalt isn’t so bad as it’s made out to be and there is no serious scientific research that indicates higher injury rate from walking on concrete ground.
My first run was miserable and I hated it the first 2 months. I could barely run 5 minutes without heavily catching breath. Slowly but surely it grew on me though and has since been a staple for my mental well being. It’s especially nice if you live on the countryside and have a nice view.
If you’re skinny I would still advise you to start cardio as it has a lot of health benefits you don’t want to miss out on. Especially if you’re getting bigger and you need a well-oiled heart to support all the muscle you gained.
The second to consider is strength training, which is where you’re going to build your looks. Go weightlifting and focus on compound exercises like deadlifts and squats. Combining this with a bit of calisthenics is never a bad idea since you’ll not just want pretty, but functional muscles that can aid you with daily activities or other sports you might be doing. If you’re already doing cardio you’ll be able to lift a lot longer because you’re not getting tired quickly. It’s very important not to overdo the weights in the beginning (I teared my back once so trust me on this). Go for slow and steady weight raises and stop immediately when you feel your muscles are being jammed or pinched. That’s what happened before my injury.
To summarise, you need both cardio and strength training to maximize your body but should put your focus on one of them depending on your body type.
How often do you need to exercise in a week?
People often claim that there is no evidence that suggests working out more than 30 minutes 3-5 days a week is beneficial and that it’s even harmful. However, this kind of data comes from unreliable surveys. If you ask somebody what they do for exercie, you don’t really get the ins and outs of what they’re doing, just a general impression of what they did. When you look at the hard data though (V02max, muscle strength and mass) you’ll find that the higher the metrics, the better. Imagine you’d ask someone in the gym how much cardio they are doing in a week: One guy says he’s doing 30 minutes of cardio a day, all while comfortably watching the news on a treadwheel. On the other hand you might see a woman absolutely exhausting herself on the same equipment and saying the same: 30 minutes of cardio a day. Measurements like V02max are objectice measurements and can’t be “remembered wrongly”. So all depends on the quality of exercise when asking how often someone needs to workout per week, which is why there sadly is no clear answer. If you do need a number though: The WHO recommends at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week (or the equivalent vigorous activity) for health and wellbeing. For muscle building, which we are more interested in, 2-3 days of strength training 3 times a week for 20-30 minutes each should be enough.
What body parts should you focus on for attractiveness?
While women go to the gym mostly for their glutes, men should never do this, except if their legs are comically small compared to their upper body. What men should instead go for is the V-Shape, which targets shoulders, (most important), chest and lats. Broad shoulders will give you the most results and should therefore be heavily targeted. But what about a sixpack? Suprisingly, 75% of women say the prefer a man with a so-called Dad Bod1. What is meant by a deadbod though is not the average guy with an overlay pronounced beer belly, but more of a husky bearlike one. Of course, the face still needs to be attractive. Here’s a rough example of what I mean by this:
There is a big caveat to the study however: The average female age in the study was pretty high, which is logical considering how the general demographic looks. Underaged women were also excluded. This means that if you’re a young guy, you should probably still strive for a fit and ripped body while if you are older, more bodyfat is the way to go. A sixpack doesn’t seems to be necessary but some women, especially younger ones, like one – it all depends.
The social status gained from doing sports
What’s often forgotten is the view of the general public on certain kinds of sports. If you’re an avid gym goer it might be best not to say so: People that go to the gym are often thought to be self-absorbed and narcicisstic. If possible, try doing a team sport like Soccer or Basketball. People generally have a favourable view on these kinds of sports. It shows that you are cooperative but also competitive and have functional athleticism. All of these are traits that a man needs to stand out. There is a reason why popular highschool jocks in movies (we would call them Chads nowdays) are always in a Football club. So in summary, sports can enhance but also downgrade your social status. Choose wisely what you do and what you tell whom.
Should you take supplements or PED’s to boost your exercise?
There are lots of safe and effective compounds that can boost your progress. Most famous (and rightfully so) is creatine, which increases muscle mass by being stored in your muscle cells. For aerobic exercise I would strongly recommend Cordyceps-supplements as they have been proven to enhance V02max in runners. Other than that, protein powder is vastly overhyped, but can be a good addition if you struggle to get a daily intake of 1.5g/kg of bodyweight. I won’t reprimand you for considering steroids, but they are very risky for your general health. If you subscribe to the “live hard, die young” philosophy, then they seem like the obvious choice. For most people though who prefer to live over the age of 40, they should be an absolute no-go. The best supplement for exercise is not some miracle drug though, but a good diet.
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