Weights & Plates Podcast

[Robert Santana]

#82 - Testosterone, TRT, and Y - Weights and Plates Podcast - Apple Podcasts

[Robert Santana]

#83 - The Risks of Weight Gain - Weights and Plates Podcast - Apple Podcasts

[tiny&mighty]

I am a bit late to the game but I thoroughly enjoyed your #88 podcast this morning (It's time to rethink body fat).

I wholeheartedly agree with what you guys said about abs. I cannot speak on behalf of womankind, but men who care about their abs come across as very feminine, and they remind me of the the girls who were obsessed with their "thigh gap" 10 years ago.

When answering questions about my strength training from family members who do not get it whatsoever, I recently came to the realization that I train to be physically competent. And competence is something that us women tend to value a lot in men. I believe that physical strength signals competence, both socially and in terms of sexual attraction.

On the other hand, visible abs signal insecurity, self-absorption, OCD-like tendencies, and a serious lack of judgement. The very few women I have met who find visible abs attractive are not women I would consider dating if I were a man or a lesbian.

Brad Pitt in Fight Club? He looks like a teenage boy. Why a man would want to look like that is beyond me. Ew.

Anyway, great episode again! Can't wait to listen to the next one.

[Robert Santana]

Glad you liked it and thanks for sharing your thoughts. I kid you not, in the early 00s that movie fucked up a lot of young men. Your thoughts echo what I've heard from many women of all ages, shapes, and sizes. You should see the stupidity I get on my IG feed. All dudes getting defensive.

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who coaches weightlifters. He is a 40 year old 73 kg master's II lifter who walks around at 9-11% body fat. Abs, veins, the works. Guess what? He has to eat 3000+ calories to maintain that and for him to gain weight is an absolute nightmare of eating. He acknowledges that he is a genetic outlier and advises against men chasing his level of leanness because most of us have to starve to get there, are unable to maintain it long-term, and develop body image issues as a result of it.

That being said, it has been my experience that when I cut weight after a long strength training cycle, it doesn't take much for me to show abs like it did when i was younger because of the years of training and muscle building. I won't try to hit PRs that lean though, I usually get there when I burn out on training and/or get a tweak and the extra size and heavy eating is not necessary.