Build

Favorite part of your body

I don't know that I have a favorite part of my body, but I do have an aspect of my physical appearance that I've not only come to peace with, but have I reached a point that I wouldn't trade it if I could.  That aspect is my build.

Skinny is an understatement. I have been severely underweight my entire life.  Even now, as I've begun to slowly put on pounds as I get older, now closing in on 140 lbs I'm still well underweight.  I'm about 15 lbs below my ideal weight according to a quick survey of several websites indicating the ideal weight for a 5'11" male.  This is not the result of a health condition.  I'm just really, really skinny. As a 43 year old man, in many ways I still feel physically kind of like a kid, and it's because of my size.  And I'm okay with that--in fact, I'm happy with it.

I didn't always feel this way.

Growing up I was keenly aware of being unusually thin, and I wanted to change that.  I went through several attempts at bulking up, starting when I was in middle school, when my brother and I would deadlift two cinderblocks hanging from a segment of rebar every day after school.

 In high school, we had a small weight set in the laundry room where I would pump small amounts of iron regularly in a unsuccessful attempt to add some mass.

 I never was desperate to be big--I never resorted to steroids or even protein powders--but I certainly wasn't satisfied.  My last serious attempt at building the body beautiful was in my late 20's in Saipan when I started doing the Body for Life program. It involves working out daily and eating like six meals a day.  That was the closest I came to success--gaining 13 lbs, going from 120 to 133.  But still, if you were to ask anyone they would probably still have said--he's really skinny.

Nowadays, especially as I suspect that the dad bod is soon to be upon me as my metabolism slows with age, I've come to feel quite happy with my build.  I realize that for most people the battle of the waistline is a serious reality--and it's one of I've been blithely ignorant of.   I know I'm lucky in that regard.  Indeed, one of the reasons I run regularly and try to keep exercise a  part of my life is to keep at bay for as long as possible the day when I will have to think about the pounds I'm adding.

This is my best friend from elementary school days.  He put in a phenomenal amount of work to look like this, and my hat is off to him for that.  I don't think it is possible for me to ever look like this with my build no matter how hard I work.

I still sometimes wonder what it must be like to be one of those big, hulking guys, with barrel chests and biceps like Virginia hams.  What is it like to be that tall?  To be that strong? To be that big?  But now, even though I know I'll never do well in a fight, I wonder just out of curiosity, and not out of envy.

I'm skinny, and I hope to stay that way.

Small arms at the gun show