On men lifting weights: “Very strange generation gap, it’s just a fashion, it’s a fad.” – Economist David McWilliams in the Irishman Abroad Podcast November 2015

The above quote I think paints an interesting modern picture. It is quite evident that many young men are now, much more than ever before, concerned with how they look, and bulking up in terms of muscle mass is becoming an attractive option for many. Only back in 2013, RTÉ ran a documentary as part of its highly successful Reality Bites series titled ‘The Gym’, which followed the exploits of four gyms across Ireland and this brought up many issues including men wanting to ‘bulk up’.

It illustrated how some men lacked confidence with women and so working out was an approach they cultivated to overcome this. It also told the story of men who got into modelling or bodybuilding to show off their body’s aesthetics or to fulfil the ‘strong man’ stereotype of ‘the bigger the weights I can lift, the better’.

When I was in school/college this was never really an issue. I was as thin as a rake and unless you were playing a sport like rugby why would you need to be big and muscly? Why has this cultural change appeared? Let’s look at some of the modern factors.

One obvious influence applies to what I call ‘Jersey Shore Syndrome’, the media’s portrayal of young men on TV. These types of shows blatantly celebrate celebrities with big muscles. This has over the past five years become ingrained in modern culture, and in the visual psyche of young men. Men with big muscles and chests are now aspired to, and that is the lifestyle young men want to adhere to.

Also take into account the recent sales of men’s magazines such as the ‘Men’s Health’ magazine which publishes articles on workout plans, foods for muscle building and lifestyle articles. In 2014 this circulated more (200,156) copies than the other most popular men’s magazines GQ and Loaded magazines combined (155,600) in the UK and Ireland.

Another factor is the widespread availability of protein supplements with the added attraction of these supplements being endorsed by elite athletes. You can walk into most sports retailers and even supermarkets and purchase them straight off the shelf. Within this supplement culture, taking things like creatine is widespread and commercially available, results in rapid muscle growth creating ‘size’ very quickly. However, there are many side effects and especially if it is overused. A recent University of Florida study found that overuse may trigger muscle cramps and kidney problems.

Another relatively new element is the seemingly increase of young men’s vanity and narcissistic behaviour. Taking selfies was originally the preserve of women predominately but it is now normal and acceptable for young men with apps like Snapchat to show off their physique for instant judgement/approval. Young men think nothing of taking a photo of themselves in front of the mirror in a gym now.

I have also heard anecdotally from a former colleague in college that young guys are now coming into the first year of degrees with completely different body shapes and muscularity than just five years previously.

What interests me on a deeper level training as a Sports Psychologist is what the potential pitfalls could be. I believe the increased sense of vanity and narcissistic behaviour in young men could create a wave of young people who are only focussed on themselves (how they feel and look), which could potentially cut themselves off from connecting with others in more meaningful ways.

They are also hurting themselves by becoming so ‘externally’ focused in terms of how they are viewed or perceived, that they believe they must change their outward physical appearance to be accepted, due to perhaps a lack of self-awareness and self-worth. Needing consistent external validation or the ‘like’ phenomenon on Facebook/Instagram leads to a belief that ‘the number of likes I get is going to measure my self-worth’, which connects with the negative social media phenomenon I have discussed before here on A Lust for Life.

From meeting and talking to athletes/young men the perception element is a huge aspect. How they are viewed by their peers and society is massively important to them. There is a belief that they have to keep up with their peers and whereas once sitting down to play the Xbox/PlayStation or kick a football around was acceptable, it is now normal for young men to go to the gym many times a week, lift the heaviest weights possible and take supplements. Ultimately, I believe this phenomenon is happening now because we live in an image based, validation-based, materialistic society.

Women for many years have had to deal with this outward view, being consistently judged on their appearance by society, but it is now a phenomenon that is very much developing and continues to grow for young men. If this goes unchecked, we will see an increase in young men presenting with eating disorders, body issues and anxiety about how they look. David McWilliams may be right about a passing fad, but this fad might not leave them with a dodgy pair of runners which they thought were the business once, it might severely damage young athletes/men’s health and self-esteem for the future.