moobs is a by product of an estrogenic world: colognes lotions shampoos conditions and clothing soaps. plastics gmo corn and soy and it’s nasty ‘flavor enhancers’
estrogen is everywhere but we can reduce our exposure by the simple practice: if i cannot eat it i will not put it on my body.
I wrote a bit about this issue a few years ago as part of a review of the book Countdown. I absolutely agree that much of this is coming from industrial pollutants.
Great to hear you’re doing well, both privately and professionally. Looking forward to future releases of your work, especially the cult of the Raven king series ^^
The aesthetics that come from building muscle are a secondary effect, not the point. In fact, during a bulking period, one is hardly meeting anyone's aesthetic preferences unless they've a fat fetish.
Like any other sport, the pure bodily joy is in discovering and pushing the limits of movement and physical action. On the other hands, boob jobs and hair transplants are about covering over the limits of the body because of shame.
Well, first of all, to clarify, I'm not a body builder, though I've quite a lot of respect for them. It takes an insane amount of work and self-discipline to do what they do, and it's quite the opposite of those who'd turn to surgeries to alter their appearance.
Of course, for some of them the temptation to "cheat" through steroids (just as others try to "cheat" through cosmetic surgery) is there. But that's why they're banned -- there's a recognition that trying to get around the hard work makes you a shitty person.
Agree totally about the pushing limits being great, especially on return from injury. But the most important thing for me is being strong, fit and flexible, to prevent future injury and be able to dance, do yoga, hike, camp into old age, with ease.
I even have an affirmation i use during any physical activity or training. " I am, strong, fit and flexible." I visualise me being this now, and it pushes me further.
Rich people do it! Endlessly chasing the sun. Maybe it's because I like Winter, or maybe it's because I think it's important to be with where you are for better or worse, but I find the idea shocking and wrong ha ha
Congratulations on the pull-up! There is a significant satisfaction from mastering one's own bodyweight. I don't think people realise what an achievement it is to get a single pull-up for larger dudes, or for women. Sure you'll be on weighted dips too by the end of the year.
Ah mate, thank you. As you can imagine I was pretty fucking thrilled, especially after thinking that shoulder problem was harbinger of the decline of my gym gains!
Injuries are always an invitation to deepen physical practice. So much to learn from the body. Glad the shoulder is un-fucked, not a good joint to wreck.
It's a very, very long slog. One thing that helped me get here was strengthening my biceps and my forearms (for grip) independently. Often it's not just the primary muscles, but a supporting muscle that's slowing the progression.
If you go to a gym, also try doing lat pulldowns if you've access to a machine for it.
Yes I do lat pull-downs when I can get to the machine. It's.It's very popular. I go to a small, quite bloke gym. (Is blokes a non-Aussie term?? Oh, and I never thought of forearm strengthening, for the pull-ups, but that makes sense. I'm still on a long, slow comeback for a downhill fall on my face and whole body. Was even on a walking stick for a while, but it's amazing what determination can do. I've so related to your shoulder injury story, and have gradually recovered using Osteopathy, acupuncture and gentle yoga. I'm gradually getting back to starting at a gym again. I have been using free weights at home and this year back at the gym. Goals this year are to do 1 pull-up unassisted, and to sit in lotus position. Also want to do a 15 kilometre hike with no pain except the muscle pushing kind.
Why do you assume that trans men who seek out top surgery aren't doing it out of self-love and a desire to more fully become themselves? Have you not talked to any? You assume it's self-hatred or shame as opposed to your more enlightened attitude towards body modification, but that assumption seems more about you than about them, tbh.
Extra skin is a good parallel. It’s possible to have it surgically removed, but no one could truthfully say that I’d be doing it because I love my body. In fact, it would be hatred of the body and especially that part of the body (none of my transmen friends would say they loved their breasts— in fact, “hate” is the word they’d most likely use) and a misguided sense that I can only love myself with the help of a surgeon.
I was told by a specialist my ex-husband was seeing about his gynecomastia that it can be caused by excessive consumption of Soy products and chicken fed growth hormones. I wonder if this has something to do with why it's becoming so common, with the way diets have been going. I have a yard mate (i.e. we share the same yard but different dwellings) who is allergic to soy, and I had no idea just how many products contain soy. We're not just talking the obvious, Tofu, Tempeh, Soy Sauce and Soy milk. What is soy doing in bread? I'm sure it wasn't in the recipe I learned to make bread from. I have to check every baked good for her if we're sharing. Why do we need soy oil in mayonnaise? And soy sauce sneaks into a lot of flavourings. But the chicken is ridiculously common for anyone eating take-away chicken and not buying added-hormone free chickens to cook.
I can only imagine how this must feel for men to have to deal with it. I would hope that we just all get used to the look, but encourage these men to avoid soy where possible, as well as nasty, growth-hormone-fed chickens.
moobs is a by product of an estrogenic world: colognes lotions shampoos conditions and clothing soaps. plastics gmo corn and soy and it’s nasty ‘flavor enhancers’
estrogen is everywhere but we can reduce our exposure by the simple practice: if i cannot eat it i will not put it on my body.
I wrote a bit about this issue a few years ago as part of a review of the book Countdown. I absolutely agree that much of this is coming from industrial pollutants.
Great to hear you’re doing well, both privately and professionally. Looking forward to future releases of your work, especially the cult of the Raven king series ^^
Ah, thanks you! Long time! I'll text you if you've still got the same number. And thanks for inspiring a certain Tarot book... :)
That's great, isn't it.
Isn't your bodybuilding motivated - in part at least - by the same aesthetic concerns that drive hair transplants and boob jobs?
Lol.
The aesthetics that come from building muscle are a secondary effect, not the point. In fact, during a bulking period, one is hardly meeting anyone's aesthetic preferences unless they've a fat fetish.
Like any other sport, the pure bodily joy is in discovering and pushing the limits of movement and physical action. On the other hands, boob jobs and hair transplants are about covering over the limits of the body because of shame.
Interesting. It's seems though a lot of bodybuilders are motivated by aesthetic concerns.
Well, first of all, to clarify, I'm not a body builder, though I've quite a lot of respect for them. It takes an insane amount of work and self-discipline to do what they do, and it's quite the opposite of those who'd turn to surgeries to alter their appearance.
Of course, for some of them the temptation to "cheat" through steroids (just as others try to "cheat" through cosmetic surgery) is there. But that's why they're banned -- there's a recognition that trying to get around the hard work makes you a shitty person.
Agree totally about the pushing limits being great, especially on return from injury. But the most important thing for me is being strong, fit and flexible, to prevent future injury and be able to dance, do yoga, hike, camp into old age, with ease.
I even have an affirmation i use during any physical activity or training. " I am, strong, fit and flexible." I visualise me being this now, and it pushes me further.
Happy New Year Rhyd! For a Summer New Year, you could always consider moving to the Southern Hemisphere...
True that. And chase the sun across the world ... :)
Rich people do it! Endlessly chasing the sun. Maybe it's because I like Winter, or maybe it's because I think it's important to be with where you are for better or worse, but I find the idea shocking and wrong ha ha
Yeah, it's like trying to chase one's own youth, I think, rather than understanding the years as they accumulate.
We're in the Autumn of our life Rhyd and we can never be Spring again. So be it
Congratulations on the pull-up! There is a significant satisfaction from mastering one's own bodyweight. I don't think people realise what an achievement it is to get a single pull-up for larger dudes, or for women. Sure you'll be on weighted dips too by the end of the year.
Ah mate, thank you. As you can imagine I was pretty fucking thrilled, especially after thinking that shoulder problem was harbinger of the decline of my gym gains!
Injuries are always an invitation to deepen physical practice. So much to learn from the body. Glad the shoulder is un-fucked, not a good joint to wreck.
I've tried assisted pull-ups, but I need heaps of assist. Sigh. One day.
It's a very, very long slog. One thing that helped me get here was strengthening my biceps and my forearms (for grip) independently. Often it's not just the primary muscles, but a supporting muscle that's slowing the progression.
If you go to a gym, also try doing lat pulldowns if you've access to a machine for it.
Yes I do lat pull-downs when I can get to the machine. It's.It's very popular. I go to a small, quite bloke gym. (Is blokes a non-Aussie term?? Oh, and I never thought of forearm strengthening, for the pull-ups, but that makes sense. I'm still on a long, slow comeback for a downhill fall on my face and whole body. Was even on a walking stick for a while, but it's amazing what determination can do. I've so related to your shoulder injury story, and have gradually recovered using Osteopathy, acupuncture and gentle yoga. I'm gradually getting back to starting at a gym again. I have been using free weights at home and this year back at the gym. Goals this year are to do 1 pull-up unassisted, and to sit in lotus position. Also want to do a 15 kilometre hike with no pain except the muscle pushing kind.
Work on the negative, the lowering under control will pay dividends. Great to have something to work towards!
Why do you assume that trans men who seek out top surgery aren't doing it out of self-love and a desire to more fully become themselves? Have you not talked to any? You assume it's self-hatred or shame as opposed to your more enlightened attitude towards body modification, but that assumption seems more about you than about them, tbh.
That’s definitely not love of the body.
Extra skin is a good parallel. It’s possible to have it surgically removed, but no one could truthfully say that I’d be doing it because I love my body. In fact, it would be hatred of the body and especially that part of the body (none of my transmen friends would say they loved their breasts— in fact, “hate” is the word they’d most likely use) and a misguided sense that I can only love myself with the help of a surgeon.
I was told by a specialist my ex-husband was seeing about his gynecomastia that it can be caused by excessive consumption of Soy products and chicken fed growth hormones. I wonder if this has something to do with why it's becoming so common, with the way diets have been going. I have a yard mate (i.e. we share the same yard but different dwellings) who is allergic to soy, and I had no idea just how many products contain soy. We're not just talking the obvious, Tofu, Tempeh, Soy Sauce and Soy milk. What is soy doing in bread? I'm sure it wasn't in the recipe I learned to make bread from. I have to check every baked good for her if we're sharing. Why do we need soy oil in mayonnaise? And soy sauce sneaks into a lot of flavourings. But the chicken is ridiculously common for anyone eating take-away chicken and not buying added-hormone free chickens to cook.
I can only imagine how this must feel for men to have to deal with it. I would hope that we just all get used to the look, but encourage these men to avoid soy where possible, as well as nasty, growth-hormone-fed chickens.
Yes, I stopped eating soy quite some time ago because I could tell it was changing both my body and mind (which are the same thing).
If I lived anywhere apart from the countryside, I just wouldn't eat chicken. Or any meat for that matter. Not just for the hormones.