Healthy masculinity
Archetypes, social roles, and instincts – in the service of health.
Archetypes, social roles, and instincts – in the service of health. Negative health beliefs often adversely affect men's health and life expectancy, as if there is no need to go to doctors, no need for tests, and one can simply endure. An experienced doctor does not fight stereotypes – he uses their power for persuasion. Here are several ideas you can use for yourself or for your husbands to reshape health motivation.
1. Your waist is your testosterone.
Visceral obesity is not a “solid belly,” it is a simple observation – waist circumference is inversely proportional to testosterone levels. Visceral fat turns testosterone into estrogen, strips away masculinity, and floods the internal organs with fat. Send him for a blood test – and the red-highlighted testosterone result will make more of an impression than all your words. The wider your waist on the outside – the weaker you are on the inside.
2. The body is the armor of courage.
How can you be a protector if you can barely get off the couch? Remember: somewhere in the world right now, someone is training hard to kill you and your family. And what are you doing during this time? Muscles are not about fashion – they are a signal of status. How can you be a leader and command others if you cannot control yourself? Thin arms and legs are a display of vulnerability, which only attracts predators. “You would not go into battle without armor. So why do you walk into the world with a body that looks like an unfinished warehouse? A toned body is not about aesthetics – it is about psychology. It demands discipline. And discipline is a signal to the world that you are not here to be food.”
3. A real knight maintains his armor.
High cholesterol is like rust – it does not hurt, but every minute it eats away at your blood vessels through inaction and renders you incapable of peak performance. “There is nothing manly about a heart attack before fifty.” “Manliness is having the courage to do unheroic things.” To take blood tests. To change habits. This is not heroic. It is not epic. But the foundation allows you to become heroic when the time comes. Manliness lies in the everyday, not in the drama.
4. Vascular health is your erection first.
Vascular health is not only about lowering the risk of hypertension or angina. Vascular health is your erection. Because the most sensitive blood vessels are your cavernous bodies. And if you do not take care of your vascular health, you will first lose your erection.
5. Take risks for what truly matters.
Testosterone is not only about sex. It is about ambition, risk, decisiveness, and leadership. Instead of childish risky behavior like car racing or jumping across rocks, take on a truly important risk for grown men – a civic stance, responsibility for your environment, public service – and challenge not mute mountains or asphalt, but the truly dangerous human predators. Or are you afraid?
6. Be able not only to command, but to obey.
Resistance to authority can hinder acceptance of professional help even when it is essential.“I am not under control. No one will tell me what to do.” “I know best what I need. Dietitians, coaches, doctors – all these people want to control me.” Such thoughts as “I am my own master. If I want to drink or eat harmful things – it is my right, my manhood” – this is nothing but self-destruction disguised as ‘free choice’ – a common illusion among those who cannot distinguish freedom from the lack of self-discipline.
7. Be a general, not a gladiator.
Manhood is not about earning a moment of the crowd’s attention in the Colosseum and dying for their amusement. You are not meant to burn out in the arena. You are meant to lead, build, and live long and with meaning. If you take care of your car and get it inspected, then you should pay even more attention to your own body. “And when you choose to take control of your health, you are not choosing fear – you are choosing strength that lasts.” Your task is to win the war, not just one battle.