Somebody Called Me A "Muscle Man" On Facebook...

"also, you need only look at the muscle-man picks atop your blog to know what perspective you speak from when food's concerned.

i remember how obsessed i was with fat and protein absorption when i was weightlifting, and it definitely puts you in such a place as bias can't escape."

The person who posted this, clearly, is not a regular reader of my blog, because they have no idea the kind of training that I do or the definition of fitness I strive to achieve. (Although, I will still take it as a compliment that somebody thinks I am muscular!)

I strive for a definition of fitness that is "broad, general, and inclusive." (Greg Glassman). My goal is to increase my "work capacity across broad times and modal domains." (Id.)

My goal is not to be a "muscle man" or a meat-head, but it just so happens that you can't be fit without being strong; at least according to the definition of fitness that I follow. My goal is to be a "fit man." And unfortunately, mother nature does not discriminate when it comes to fitness (you need to be well-rounded).

"i remember how obsessed i was with fat and protein absorption when i was weightlifting, and it definitely puts you in such a place as bias can't escape."

I happen to know the person, personally, who wrote this, and I must have missed this "era." I would love to know this person's PR's on real lifts (deadlift, squat, clean and jerk, snatch, etc...), as well as their 400m 20# sprint and Fran times, and maybe their 500m row just for diversity's sake. For that matter, I want to know this person's numbers in as broad an array of tasks as they can accomplish.

At a conservative estimate that I'm pulling out of the air, 9/10 times a person who eats a diet with solid animal and protein fat will be more "fit" according to the definition I use, which is complete and expansive, than somebody who doesn't. The remainder of the times, it will be good genetics, not diet, that is the deciding factor, and I argue that person would be even more "fit" if they ate differently.

The person who wrote this could just as easily say, "But, JO, you have no f*cking idea the kind of training that I do EITHER!!! So STFU already!"

I'd counter by saying that it only takes one look at the person to have a pretty good idea. I don't mean this in a disrespectful way, and I'm sure the person who wrote it would very quickly admit that their heavy lifts are not too high, and that their 400m 20# sprint time leaves a little to be desired. I imagine they will be proud of their 5k, however, and if that is how they choose to define fitness, so be it (or maybe they don't consider themselves fit, who knows!). If I am wrong, hopefully the person calls me out on it and shuts me up!

"also, you need only look at the muscle-man picks atop your blog to know what perspective you speak from when food's concerned."

This is precisely the point. Like I said, people come to this blog because they are interested in the way I workout and the way I eat. That's why it's called "JO's Blog of Pwnage." Clearly it works for me, and some people see what I do and want to emulate it.

I feel confident in posting the following, with regard to the person who made this comment, or anybody else who labels me as a "muscle man" and nothing else:

1. People would rather have me on their side in a fight than you (even without my martial arts background)

2. If we were to line up, school-yard style, and have picks for any sport not too technique-dominant, people would pick me before you

3. I can carry more bags of groceries into a house at once, and more quickly than you can

4. If you and I were ever similarly situated in a car accident, I would suffer less injuries than you

5. If someone were trapped inside of a burning building, they'd rather have me run in, pick them up, and pull them to safety than you.

5b. Or as my friend Dave put it, "what happens when you have kids and your kid chases a ball into a busy street? You're going to have to sprint as fast as you can, pick them up, and get them to safety." This isn't easy without strength and metabolic-conditioning, aka well-rounded fitness.

But these things don't happen on a regular enough basis to consider, right? If that's the attitude someone wants to have, then that's their choice.

But I guarantee that if another day like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina were to come around, when someone is trapped under a 300lb piece of debris or two, people would rather have me come to the rescue than you.