Men's vs. Women's fitness media

[LynnyLee]

I just stumbled across this article about why women should read men's fitness magazines and visa versa. (Found here.)

 

Women's magazines in general, but especially fitness magazines, have always kind of bothered me for a lot of the reasons mentioned (too much fluff, too much fear mongering about getting bulky, silly workout names, shallow reasons for working out, etc.). I've never really looked too much at men's fitness stuff though.

 

Do any of the guys here peruse women's mags, ezines, books, blogs, etc.? If so, thoughts on them?

 

Any women out there jump ship to the XY aimed media? If so, why? 

 

Other thoughts on the subject from the peanut gallery?

[JediJem]

My ex had a subscription to Men's Health so I used to read it every month. Apart from the fact that it's about the only media (outside of gay porn) where you get to see men objectified and sexualised as much as you normally see women being, I enjoyed it because the diet and workout advice was more straightforward and sensible (mostly) than the average women's fitness mag. The main benefit though I found was getting confirmation that men are just as insecure and concerned about their bodies and other issues as women are, and I do recommend it to female friends to get a more balanced view of the sexes (women who have never had any platonic male friends often have some very strange ideas about men I find...)

Having said that, I would definitely welcome good women-focused blogs or similar as they can be very inspiring, and I've mostly given up on the women's mags for the precise reasons you mention.

[I-Jo]

meh- they are both kind of wishy washy.

 

I do like the men's onces- because they focus more on actual work- instead of pink weights. but there is some good stuff in the women's articles too.

 

And there is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with

 shallow reasons for working out, etc

 why are they shallow? what's wrong with wanting to look better?   who says it's shallow?

 

I personally like being told I'm hot- or good looking or I have a sexy back.  I really dislike the "vain shaming" that goes on sometimes- there is ZERO crime in wanting to be good looking.

[LynnyLee]

Sorry, probably should have clarified what I meant there. It's not just the looks aspect that I think of as shallow, it's the temporary aspect that I think of as shallow. i.e. swimsuit season workout, so you stop working out during winter? Or wedding dress workout, so you stop working out after the wedding? And usually it's the same workout in every case. Guess it's kind of just reiterating the silly name complaint, or specifically what it is that makes the names silly.

That's part of what strikes me as shallow. If you want to look good, that's totally valid. I guess the titles aren't so much shallow as just short sighted and frankly, kind of cheesy in my opinion. Although one could argue that only having short term goals without a thought for the long term is shallow. Then again I guess they have to repackage that same workout to keep selling magazines.

There's also the aspect that it seems to be the only thing they appeal to. It's like they can't acknowledge that maybe some women have other reasons for working out. That lack of acknowledgement strikes me as shallow.

[I-Jo]

oh yeah.

 

I tell people swim suit season never goes away- you best be training for that shit all winter long.

 

I ate the people that show up in Febuary and say I want to be ready for May. Get The Fuck Out.

 

I feel like they are vapid- I'm all about looking good and working hard- but I fucking WERK for that shit.... not bounce about hoping by summer it's going to happen!  lol

[LynnyLee]

Exactly. And it always seems like the swimsuit workouts are in a spring issue as some 30 day plan. It's too late by then. I wonder, is men's fitness stuff is similarly short sighted?

[I-Jo]

I don't read enough of them to know. it's so silly. I agree. 

[Elder]

Exactly. And it always seems like the swimsuit workouts are in a spring issue as some 30 day plan. It's too late by then. I wonder, is men's fitness stuff is similarly short sighted?

 

I don't read a lot of fitness magazines but when I do they are usually men's fitness magazines because they are more direct and to the point.  I have noticed that the majority of men's magazines that I have read do the same thing as women's in respect to getting that beach body in 30 days etc, etc, etc.  It all changes with the seasons. Both types of magazines have their pros and cons.  I usually read them more for entertainment, but I do find some good tidbits of information.  I like ogling the ripped guys in the men's issues and I love ogling all clothes and gear in the women's issues that make their butts look fantastic!  Sometimes I tend to dress like I am going to be in a Zumba video when I workout....there's just something fun about wearing 34 different neon colors all at the same time!

[Guest]

So here's a question - what's the food advice like in men's magazines?  I think women get the worst of the body image issues, but that's not to say there aren't any for men.  However, the biggest turn-ff for me reading Women's Health, etc is the angle it takes about food.  Everything is about cutting calories, "feeling full" and losing weight.  Now I know there are a lot of people with weight loss goals, but if you are shooting for gitness goals TOO, then what you eat needs to take that into account.  If I ate 1200 calories a day (as is recommended by said magazines for someone my size), I would fall over.  In part I think this is about marketing, but I think it goes a long way to keep women focused on calorie deprevation, which really isn't good.  If you are going to eat at a deficit you have to be super super careful to get all your nutrients.  A few salad recipes aren't going to cut it.

 

If I guessed, I would guess the men's magazines are running the same low fat, lean protein line that the women's magazines are, with more focus on supplements and protein powder for bulk.

 

I eat way too much butter to follow that advice

 

That said, I think both classes of media can be damaging, but women are really screwed when it comes to looking to the media for sound advice without the head games.

[MariahSnow]

I don't know where it came from, but somehow a Cosmo arrived in my household and my boyfriend was totally fascinated by it. For all I know, it's probably still running around somewhere in the house. I don't know what he loved about it, but maybe just because it was a glimpse into the psychotic shit they sell to women, like "How to tell if your man is cheating!" And the answer was a 3 page article on how to stalk without it actually being illegal stalking instead of just confronting the problem like an adult.

 

That being said, I recently read Arnold's "old" autobiography - The Education of a Bodybuilder (I think), and it was great. And he had some workout and diet tips in the back and it was like... 10 pages max. And it said, more or less, "eat unprocessed food. build your base on protein and vegetables. avoid sweets and candy." Wow, that's it?

 

Seems to me like women's mags are all about losing weight, looking toned. It cracks me up to see shit on pinterest like, "get rid of those love handles" and some girl is doing side planks. I like men's mags because they're more focused on muscles, getting strong, and new skills.

 

That being said, magazines make their money on selling copies, and if you look at a June 2010 issue of Men's Health and a June 2013 issue, it's the same shit. Why? Because if you followed those programs and "got shredded" in 30 days, you'd never have to buy another magazine. They purposely give bad advice to keep you coming back. And they use that "crunches are pointless and stupid" and "you must confuse your muscles" shit to their advantage.

[I-Jo]

 

And they use that "crunches are pointless and stupid"

 

 

well... at least they got that right- because well- crunches are pointless and stupid!!!!

[MariahSnow]

well... at least they got that right- because well- crunches are pointless and stupid!!!!

 

This is true, but if they're like "crunches are pointless and stupid, all you have to do is wear this band around your body and you'll drop the weight off and get shredded!!" then crunches are really the lesser of two evils. 

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Any mainstream magazine is full of bullshit because everything is paid for by a supplement company or someone preaching the next big thing and trying to make cash. No one should read any of them IMO.

[This is Seth]

I read them all. And by "read", I mean "oggle the photos". 

[andygates]

Men's Health is awful.  It's Cosmo For Boys, basically.  

 

Ultrafit used to be good, back in the day.   

 

Are magazines still a thing?

[weirdquark]

I was in a different break room than usual today and there was a women's fitness-ish magazine there; I flipped through it because I was curious. It had the usual exercises to be lean and toned and avoiding gaining weight stuff but it also had an ad for a Warrior Dash. So that was unexpected.

[Guest Dirty Deads]

I've always read Muscular Development for the studies. I've read a few women's mags and the thing I can't stand is this idea that if you eat this low fat apple strudel on the cover, and do this 4 minute butt blasting workout that will have your ass bikini ready in 3 weeks, you'll look like the bitch showing the exercises.

That girl is a model and her trainer probably has her doing way more hardcore shit.

Men's health is close to the same. Some of the meals are actually pretty good even though they like to pimp the low fat crap still. They do the same 3 ab shredding moves that will have you ready for that beach vacation.

 

Great marketing really, but that's all they are.

[Elder]

I also believe that most, if not all, of the pictures in magazines are photo-shopped and they can do some pretty amazing things with the right computer programs.  

[Cruella T'Kill]

I watched "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" a couple weeks ago, basically a documentary about steroid use.  But there was one part where the guy was at a fitness model photo shoot and the model admitted that a lot of times they do the before and after shots in the same day.  It's just creative lighting, makeup, body positioning and photoshop.

 

I would rather read the Home and Garden mags when I'm in a waiting room than the so called fitness mags.

[I-Jo]

I've always read Muscular Development for the studies. I've read a few women's mags and the thing I can't stand is this idea that if you eat this low fat apple strudel on the cover, and do this 4 minute butt blasting workout that will have your ass bikini ready in 3 weeks, you'll look like the bitch showing the exercises.

That girl is a model and her trainer probably has her doing way more hardcore shit.

Men's health is close to the same. Some of the meals are actually pretty good even though they like to pimp the low fat crap still. They do the same 3 ab shredding moves that will have you ready for that beach vacation.

 

Great marketing really, but that's all they are.

 

 

I also believe that most, if not all, of the pictures in magazines are photo-shopped and they can do some pretty amazing things with the right computer programs.  

^^^ precisely.

 

it isn't hard core shit- it's hard core photoshoppage!

[Alectau]

It is an interesting idea for sure. I looked through some men's health magazines and I found some similar problems approached from different ways: namely, there are a lot of nutrition myths touted as being the path to health and inconsistencies/contradictions in approach. I honestly hate fitness magazines because I feel like I am spending 4 bucks on wishy washy information when I would rather read a scientific study that doesn't bombard me with a bunch of irrelevant product placement and forced gender roles. :-\ I wonder how helpful those magazines are to people. Women's health/fitness magazines are usually geared toward weight loss and calorie obession (as others have mentioned) but I wonder how much negative it is doing for women that are looking to these magazines as weight loss inspirition. Several studies have shown that by using images of thinner people as inspiration or guidance actually slows weight loss progress (sometimes even halting it). I don't have the links currently, but I will look for them if anyone is interested. Anyway, I am rambling at this point. haha

[LynnyLee]

I wonder how helpful those magazines are to people. Women's health/fitness magazines are usually geared toward weight loss and calorie obession (as others have mentioned) but I wonder how much negative it is doing for women that are looking to these magazines as weight loss inspirition. Several studies have shown that by using images of thinner people as inspiration or guidance actually slows weight loss progress (sometimes even halting it). I don't have the links currently, but I will look for them if anyone is interested.

 

I can see that. I've looked at models in magazines/on TV/in advertisements etc. before and thought "Even if I did lose weight I wouldn't look like that." I can see how that sort of thinking can lead to a "Why bother, pass the cheetos" scenario. It's probably different for everyone though. There might be people who are inspired by those images. I am not one of them though.