I meant “average normal guys” in the physical fitness sense, nothing more. And sure, for those guys who don’t have as much flexibility and have more responsibilities, home workouts are much more feasible.
It has absolutely nothing to do with “appearance” or prioritizing pursuits of vanity over family and fatherly responsibilities. If anything, I’d say its exactly the opposite. It’s about doing the things necessary to be at your best so you can fufill your roles as a father and husband as fully and happily as possiblr.
I don’t work out, but I do walk/hike a lot. I’m not going to be on American Ninja any time soon, but I’m not out of shape. My legs are absolutely shredded, if I should say so myself.
But my upper body? If I was a dude, I’d have the prototypical “dad bod” look. And that’s me exercising ~two hours most days of the week.
Even when people have time and energy, they may not want to work out. The gym has never been my scene. But walking and yoga are things that I love to do. I’ve seen plenty of guys (and women) jogging past me on my walks who have a little extra around the waist. They are toned in some areas (legs) but not so much in others. They deserve props for doing what they can. Are they perfect specimens of fitness? No. But neither is the guy who only works out 3 times a week for thirty minutes. Very few people are perfectly fit. We just do what we can and hope for the best.
Forget i ever even mentioned being in “the gym”. That’s not the focus of my point. My point was about the positive benefits of a modest workout routine being in line with parental/spousal roles, not in opposition to them.
OK, but you seem to be saying that a dad bod is incompatible with a modest workout routine. A lot of us are saying that a person can have an adequate exercise regimen and still have a little softness in their midsections.
I feel line lines of thought may have inadvertently become a tiny bit tangled here. I don’t recall ever expressing the opinion that men who engage in (only?) modest workout routines would be those without a bit of softness or “dad bod”. In fact, i said the exact opposite (at least i intended it that way) when i said lots of “very average men” find the time to get to workout 3 or so times a week.
I guess my question is what population are you talking about when you speak of “very average men”? Are you talking about men with average physiques? Or are you talking about average fathers of young-ish children?
Because it seems to me that the average father of young-ish children isn’t working out at all due to the things that have been mentioned in this thread.
There is more of an overlap of the two than you may think. Even in context of going to the gym (as opposed to working out at home, which I’d have to assume even more overlap exists), i’ve always seen men with young children come to the gym, drop their kids off at the gym daycare and get a quick workout in (ive always been at gyms with childcare).
So i would assume that if i see this many fathers able to balance a moderate gym routine with all other responsibilities, the number of guys who use an at home rputine is probably greater.
What is this conversation about now? Is it still about your astonishment that people who don’t fit your idea of attractive can be seen as attractive by others?
So are you saying you think most middle-age men have “dad bods”? Because I don’t think this is the case at all. I think there are more Homer Simpson middle-aged bodies walking around than “dad bods”. :shrug:
I share Ascenray’s confusion about what we’re talking about now. You started the thread to express your confusion over the attractiveness of dad bods and how working out 3-4 times a week can prevent this “unhealthy” condition. And now you seem to be agreeing with us that dad bods are not incompatible with working out 3-4 times a week.
First of all I am definitely prioritizing my health over that of my wife and kids. I am a firm believer in the “airline safety walkthrough” philosophy of life in that unless my personal shit is squared away, I can’t be in a position to take care of other people.
Besides, how hard is it to get up a half hour earlier than your wife and go for a jog?
It can be incredibly hard if you’re already having to get up at 5:00 AM so you can commute an hour to work.
I don’t think devoting two hours a week to exercise is THAT much of a hardship, even with kids. But people need to find a way to squeeze that time in in a way that works for them and their families. Sacrificing precious sleep time isn’t going to be in the cards for most people. Lots of people are already sleep-deprived.
Fisrt off, my question, which was two-part, was about my confusion over what defines a dad bod. Which includes what makes it attractive. That’s it.
My intent was only a factor in my OP. I cant control the nature or substance of the conversation once I’ve posted the OP. This OP wad posted as a question. I was seeking information for a new-ish (to me, at least) cultural phenomenon that I wasn’t sure if I fully understood.
It was even ine OP title “what is a dad bod and why is it considered attractive” (i immediately wanted to edit out the “tf” as soon as i entered it. But i couldn’t and i was too lazy to pm a mod. So it probably comes off more combative than I’d like).
All that being said, I had my ignorance fought and my questions answered pretty early on in this thread (thank you Kimstu). Turns out, my understanding of “dad bod” was a bit extreme or outlandish and inaccurately influenced by a few personal anecdotes. The conversation simply evolved naturally after that.
Funny how Connery is easily the least muscular guy on stage in those competition shots. Even knowing that bodybuilding standards have changed, I always remained a bit flabbergasted that Very Average Connery used to be a bodybuilder. Well, he never was much of one.