You hear it all the time, especially from phat phocks who coudn't hang on pull-up bars for more than quarter of a second to save their lives if they had to - and people globally that are fat and out of shape, yet get pissed at people "saying it like it is".
Back in the day, I sometimes did too.
Note this wasn't when I was "fat" or a phat phocker per se.
This was when I was in fairly decent shape, but eating and drinking way too much, and not working out enough (definitely NOT doing what I advocate in Eat More - Weigh Less) - and it showed.
A friend of mine once made the comment back in the day.
"I've never seen you like this, Rahul", he said, pointing at the core which at the time was admittedly flabby.
"You always had such a strong powerful aesthetic core - it was really nice!" (note, I didnt train for looks - but still - that was a welcome byproduct).
I was slightly surprised at the time.
"Me? Fat?", I grinned back.
"Oh, you're not fat", he replied. "But ... "
Upon reaching home, I introspected - and saw he was RIGHT.
And I made a promise myself to lose the extra (few, admittedly kgs - and I did within a couple of weeks - and how.
Or, a guy around 5 years ago when the podge was starting to pile on a bit (for a period I was not able to train normally due to extenuating circumstances).
At the beer store, he pointed to my gut - which to be honest, most wouldn't have noticed, "there was nothing there" - but there was, a little...
His trained eye caught it, and he asked WHY.
Now, most people would have got upset - offended - and me too in the past.
(I didnt - I just nodded, and next day, I was hitting it 2x as hard again, soon enough, whatever little was there WENT away).
Hell, if taken to an extreme, I probably still would too.
Not for me the idiots who touch Charles (a former friend of mine)'s stomach as he walks down the road apparently (admittedly he's obese, but shit, that sort of thing is not on!) - and ask his girlfriend "how they do it in bed.
Idiots incaranate, that pisses me off too.
But other hand, what the world needs more than anything else is a return to being tough - long overdue, along with a kick in the pants most people need.
To me, if someone says something like that, and they dont obviously NOW, its just a push to get in even better and even leaner - and stronger - or more flexible - condition.
If I see YOU contorting yourself in positions that would make an octopus envious, if I see you fighting in an arena, if I see you walking up stairs - on your hands - and then back down again - I dont just sit back, pat my tummy, cradle my beer, and marvel.
I want to be able to do that too, and I work on it, and pretty soon - I can.
Thats always how I've been
All around though, you keep hearing cries of "body shaming", and how it's supposedly a mean thng to do, bad for the person, and so forth.
My opinion?
Taken to extremes, yes, not on.
People need to be ultimately UPLIFTED - not brought down.
But there is a fine line between (molly) coddling, and giving it to folks straight.
Get down right now my friend, and give me 20 good pushups.
Or, 5 straight pull-ups.
Or, 75-100 straight squats.
Or, bridge back and forth a while.
We haven't even gone advanced as yet.
Hold a plank, do a dead hang. Whatever it is - if you can't do any of the above - then you're neither fit nor are you strong my friend.
(and, you need to get on the 0 Excuses Fitness System ASAP)!!
I hate to say it, but it's true.
That ain't body shaming either.
But if someone is a phat phocker, I've found the doers would rather be TOLD they're fat so they can work on it.
Sometimes, we all need that kick up the ass...
Enter "Iron" Mike Tyson, a legend for the ages.
From the man himself, before his bout in 2020 with Ray Junior ... (which ended in a draw I believe?) ...
"If somebody's with me, I find out he thought I was a fat motherf***er and didn't tell me, I wouldn't be his friend no more.
"You say body shaming hurts some people, it helps me. I never looked at it as fat shaming."
Tyson at the time was WAY fat and overweight - due to booze and coke use (according to him - Mike Tyson claims being fat shamed 'helped' him make incredible body transformation ahead of Roy Jones Jr fight (thesun.co.uk)).
And, along with the upcoming fight - that body shaming ultimately inspired him to drop almost 40 kgs!
Thats something, at his age.
Sure, 120-60 that I did is nothing to scoff at either. Took plenty of doing that!
But there is reason Tyson is featured on the sales pages for both Pushup Central and Jump Rope Mania, my friend - not just because the rope is an essential part of not just Iron Mike's, but ANY boxer's regimen (along with lots of pushups).
Fat Bozos like Glyn whose spindly arms couldn't support them for a nanosecond in a quarter plank troll it by saying "Rahul Tyson", while the doers BUY the book, and do - because they know very well the sales page is what it is for a damn good REASON.
Even if you look at Tyson's most recent workout when he was out of shape in 2020?
The ROPE features ... just take a look!
Not to mention, his mentality.
Iron Mike didnt sit around bitching about "I feel so bad that people are saying that!"
He took it like the man he is - and got into scorching hot shape shortly thereafter.
Now THAT, my friends, is the sign of a real man.
A man that doesn't back down from a challenge, and can hear the truth when it needs to be said!
And the workouts, the routines that will do it for YOU TOO, my friend, are in both Pushup Central - and Jump Rope Mania - and all my courses.
As we head into the New Year, if there are nigh two courses I'd recommend you to get, those are the ones.
Get them NOW, and start becoming a real man again, my friend.
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee