Why Did Bronze Era Lifters Have Flat Chests? (opens in new tab)

(youtube.com)

12 pointslots2learn3y ago14 comments

14 comments

This is interesting from a engineering side. At first they didn't care/want massive chests. Then they want chest but equipment was lacking. People tried different exercises and eventually the eureka moment happened that standardized the exercise. Talk about scratching an itch.

AlbertCory3y ago

I just came back from Planet Fitness, which has three benches for doing bench presses. All of them are always occupied.

Instead of asking, "what was wrong back then?" we could ask "what's wrong now? why are people so obsessed with their pectorals?"

xupybd3y ago

Bench is much less effort than other exercises and it produces quick results.

Most guys hate leg days. The effort is extreme, chest day is the easy day.

swatcoder3y ago

There’s no particular logic to it. It’s just fashion. Competitive bodybuilding favored certain styles of physique, and amateur bodybuilders developed a practice that pursued that style and adopted some folk beliefs/language that center around it.

Leg days are no “extreme effort” to dancers, cyclists, runners, gymnasts, etc

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throwntoday3y ago

Strange. I hate bench press (much prefer dumbbell press) but I have never considered leg day extreme. Legs contain the largest muscles, the effort to make them bigger seems less.

It was my understanding that the reason most guys avoid leg day is because they're not "show" muscles. It's rare that you're not wearing pants so most guys who lift purely to increase odds of finding a mate focus on the muscles women do see.

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hugozap3y ago

Looks like body builders were actually fit and healthy back then.

xupybd3y ago

Yeah they're a good example of the upper end of what you can achieve as a natural lifter. Today's steroid fueled gym buffs trick young guys into thinking they can get huge by natural means. That is simply not true for 99.999% of the population.

throwntoday3y ago

Sure it is, it just takes considerable effort and discipline. Steroids are like a massive shortcut but by no means the only realistic path to getting huge.

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14 comments

tmm843y ago

AlbertCory3y ago

I just came back from Planet Fitness, which has three benches for doing bench presses. All of them are always occupied.

Instead of asking, "what was wrong back then?" we could ask "what's wrong now? why are people so obsessed with their pectorals?"

xupybd3y ago

Bench is much less effort than other exercises and it produces quick results.

Most guys hate leg days. The effort is extreme, chest day is the easy day.

swatcoder3y ago

Leg days are no “extreme effort” to dancers, cyclists, runners, gymnasts, etc

1 more reply

throwntoday3y ago

Strange. I hate bench press (much prefer dumbbell press) but I have never considered leg day extreme. Legs contain the largest muscles, the effort to make them bigger seems less.

2 more replies

hugozap3y ago

Looks like body builders were actually fit and healthy back then.

xupybd3y ago

throwntoday3y ago

Sure it is, it just takes considerable effort and discipline. Steroids are like a massive shortcut but by no means the only realistic path to getting huge.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse