Day 41

Calories burned at the gym today(yesterday): 610


I don't want to say something that has already been said by thousands of people for thousands of years, but, well, here we go.

Men and women are different.

Our minds do not think the same.

Duh.

http://www.examiner.com/obesity-in-chicago/obsessed-
over-weight-has-america-gone-too-far

This can be illustrated by our means of rating our bodies. I am yet to meet a guy who cares about the number on the scale when the girl he likes steps on it. They tend to be far more concerned with her face, chest, butt, and how the over-all "look" pulls together. However, most girls obsess over that number on the scale, or the one on the little tag inside their waist-band. To some degree, the majority of women tie their self-image to those two numbers, when the majority of guys couldn't care any less.

http://www.computerforum.com/62375-muscles-vein-gainer.html

Not hot. Silly. 

Guys have a similar glitch. They tie their self image to how big their muscles are and mow much they can make their veins pop out. I am yet to meet a girl who has told me, "You know, the type of man I really want is a body builder. I want him to have biceps the same diameter and density as a large oak tree. And he simply must have veins that pop out of those muscles, at least an inch."

No. Just . . . no. That is scary, not hot.

While, now more than ever, I am interested in a guy who seems decently healthy, I have at least several dozen items on my "list" ahead of bowling ball biceps, and veins that pop out is not even on the list. In fact, it might be a negative if he thinks it's a positive.

I bring this up, because Friday night I was reminded of an event in my life that I had all but forgotten. There was a time when my friend and I knew two roommates. I was going after one while she went after the other. We spent a lot of time over at their apartment during this time period. One night the subject of body builders somehow came up and they mentioned that one of their brothers is a professional body builder. They showed us some video of him ripping an apple in half with his bare hands and other impressive things. Seeing that the two of us were vaguely intrigued by this show of strength triggered something primal in these two young men. Suddenly, they were intent on showing us that they could flex their muscles, too. So they flexed for a few minutes while my friend and I gave the obligatory "ooo's" and "aaa's". Then when we ran out of things to say, one of us off-handedly mentioned that their veins popped out a bit when they flexed. The one I was interested in told us that he could make his veins really pop out. He disappeared into the other room and shut the door. We soon began to hear a sound that can only be likened unto this:

To this day, I'm not completely sure what was going on in there. When he finally came back out, after several very awkward minutes spent trying to make polite conversation over the elephant in the bathroom, his veins were sticking out a little bit further. My friend and I kept on trying to change the subject, but these guys were intent on proving their masculinity to us. They soon were both on the floor of the front room, in front of my friend and I, doing push-ups. It was right about then that I realized I could only hold myself together for a few more moments before I disintegrated into a ridiculous mess of full on belly laughter. I looked at my wrist and pulled an, "Oh, gee golly gosh, would ya look at the time! It sure has been swell, boys, but we must be going!" The door had barely shut when I started losing it. My friend quickly clapped a hand over my mouth and pointed at their open window. We then sprinted to our cars before nearly falling over in the street from laughter. Somehow, I do not think that is what these shining pillars of masculinity were going for. I felt as though I had witnessed the mating ritual of some strange, foreign animal. The male with the most plumage gets the mate.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonythemisfit/3318039521/

Impressive plumage of another species

So, males, by all means, hit the gym. Be healthy. But, the next time you are considering putting in an extra hour on your deltoids, choose to pick up an interesting hobby instead. It will help you more with the ladies. 

Trust me.