[bacon]

Gym culture is most common in the anglosphere and as Deluge alluded to its a reflection of the obesity among the women in those countries that drives men to put on muscle in order to attract the remaining thin chicks in the population. From my experience in latin america and asia its not common to see jacked guys and if you do see them there is a decent chance they are gay.

[Nascimento]

I'm from a first tier city in Brazil behind SP and Rio where it's very hard to find jacked guys. There is a small niche for sure, but most guys who workout are into the running culture. They see being lean in general is much more important than size as a whole. Girls also contribute to the running culture.

They do train with weights but don't really look to eat enough to put on size. And gym memberships are insanely expensive so many guys are only into it for a few months of the year.

Also, it's funny because the culture of the city is a bar and beer drinking culture, common in Brazil but BH is very well known for it. I remember when I asked my buddies there why they ran so much (3+ times a week) and they told me it's so they can drink more beer on the weekends and not get fat.

[zatara]

(10-09-2014 07:01 AM)Nascimento Wrote:  

I'm from a first tier city in Brazil behind SP and Rio where it's very hard to find jacked guys. There is a small niche for sure, but most guys who workout are into the running culture. They see being lean in general is much more important than size as a whole. Girls also contribute to the running culture.

They do train with weights but don't really look to eat enough to put on size. And gym memberships are insanely expensive so many guys are only into it for a few months of the year.

Also, it's funny because the culture of the city is a bar and beer drinking culture, common in Brazil but BH is very well known for it. I remember when I asked my buddies there why they ran so much (3+ times a week) and they told me it's so they can drink more beer on the weekends and not get fat.

I was actually really shocked at the lack of jacked guys in Brazil when I was there (even in Rio on the beach). I'd gone to Brazil expecting the 'beach body' culture and everyone to basically look like the Jersey Shore in the US. Instead its a lot closer to Southern Europe (which, with hindsight, makes a lot more sense I guess) with the lean 'soccer' player build being common.

[Adrenaline]

Do NOT come to Australia. I dare say we have the biggest 'lifting' culture in the world, especially since Zyzz came onto the scene. If you've never heard of him, look him up. He passed away a couple of years ago but blokes throughout the country idolize him now. We also have a lot of outdoor events, musical festivals and a beach culture which everyone like to get in shape for. Not only are the men here extremely buff but the younger generation are fucking tall too. The older generation drag the height averages down. I'm 6'0 and feel like a dwarf most of the time around men in their 20's.

Asian countries would be your best bet, although even they begin getting jacked when they become westernized lol.

[Sonsowey]

So the answer is: Basically everywhere in the world.

Why do men lift to begin with? Ultimately, it is a form of sexual competition, true peacocking. As the quality of women goes down, more men find themselves needing to lift to attract merely passable girls.

So anywhere that has good girls, save maybe Serbia, likely will not have a lifting culture because a skinny normal guy can still get an acceptable girl easily.

The average idiot from Colombia who does not lift and lives with his parents has a cuter girl than the average employed independent living guy who lifts in the U.S.

[TigerMandingo]

(10-09-2014 10:05 AM)Sonsowey Wrote:  

The average idiot from Colombia who does not lift and lives with his parents has a cuter girl than the average employed independent living guy who lifts in the U.S.

Aint that the muthafuckin truth, lol. Here in Montreal, I barely see any jacked guys either, though on the bright side there are virtually no fat dudes as well. A lot of dudes here are either skinny, skinnyfat, or average. Dudes here are also extremely effeminate.

[heavy]

Like Sonsowey said, in regards to mate choice, good bodies = peacocking. The bolded statement referenced below says it all.

The implications of the theories on peacocking and mate choice are pretty interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_ecology

Quote:

When males' only contribution to offspring is their sperm, females are particularly choosy. With this high level of female choice, sexual ornaments are seen in males, where the ornaments reflect the male's social status. Two hypotheses have been proposed to conceptualize the genetic benefits from female mate choice.[9]

Then this. The first paragraph...peacocking is a hazard, so the male's survival ability must suggest high genetic quality. (tho I think these two paragraphs wouldn't suggest being ripped = peacocking).

Quote:

First, the good genes hypothesis suggests that female choice is for higher genetic quality and that this preference is favored because it increases fitness of the offspring.[12] This includes Zahavi's handicap hypothesis and Hamilton and Zuk's host and parasite arms race. Zahavi's handicap hypothesis was proposed within the context of looking at elaborate male sexual displays. He suggested that females favor ornamented traits because they are handicaps and are indicators of the male's genetic quality. Since these ornamented traits are hazards, the male's survival must be indicative of his high genetic quality in other areas. In this way, the degree that a male expresses his sexual display indicates to the female his genetic quality.[9] Zuk and Hamilton proposed a hypothesis after observing disease as a powerful selective pressure on a rabbit population. They suggested that sexual displays were indicators of resistance of disease on a genetic level.[9]

Fisher's hypothesis of runaway sexual selection suggests that female preference is genetically correlated with male traits and that the preference co-evolves with the evolution of that trait, thus the preference is under indirect selection.[12] Fisher suggests that female preference began because the trait indicated the male’s quality. The female preference spread, so that the females’ offspring now benefitted from the higher quality from specific trait but also greater attractiveness to mates. Eventually, the trait will only represent attractiveness to mates and no longer represent increased survival.[9]

[rudebwoy]

I was wondering where the OP was going with this thread.

Sonsowey nailed it.

[Gopnik]

(10-08-2014 06:11 AM)zatara Wrote:  

In more westernised countries, Spain, Italy and France don't really have the gym rat culture in my experience. The guys there play football, if they do any exercise. They see going to the gym 3+ days a week to lift weights by yourself as 'pointless', in my conversations with them. As a result if you're in decent shape you'll get lots of attention from curious local girls, as long as you're in local bars where you'll stand out.

Definitely not true for Spain, where there's a very big gym culture. The Arnold Classic Europe is celebrated in Madrid for a good reason. Keep in mind that big parts of Spain enjoy good weather all year round. Also, the summer is usualy long and the beach season can last for 4 or 5 months. Many guys get jacked to look good at the beach and you see many dudes that would fall into the "guido" or "gym douchebag" category.

[Zyzz]

I think an easier questions would be to answer, "which countries is gym culture big?". I would say U.S. and Australia. In England, I am told its predominantly only gays that lift. I was in Spain in June 2014 and the only jacked up guys I saw were bouncers. Additionally, while in Spain, I did not see one gym the entire time or any Spainards that were jacked up.

[britchard]

^Wrong, it's massive in England too. Pretty much all Anglo countries.

[Gosh900]

(10-08-2014 06:11 AM)zatara Wrote:  

Gym culture has become so ingrained in large parts of the Anglosphere for guys I feel you now have to lift a lot to just remain average, nevermind get ahead. If youre in bars with middle class people who're mostly under 30 it seems like at least 50% of guys look like they lift decently these days. More in certain parts of Australia or the UK. Go to a beach party location like Cancun or Ibiza and I'd say closer to 80-90% of guys are in very good shape.

I've gotten lots of muscle related attention in Asia (China / Japan / Thailand) but you can get similar attention from just being white in these places, so they don't really fit the bill. In more westernised countries, Spain, Italy and France don't really have the gym rat culture in my experience. The guys there play football, if they do any exercise. They see going to the gym 3+ days a week to lift weights by yourself as 'pointless', in my conversations with them. As a result if you're in decent shape you'll get lots of attention from curious local girls, as long as you're in local bars where you'll stand out.

Yeah in Italy there isn't a big gym culture.
Many people don't give a fuck and don't waste money in gym memberships partly because having an overly beefy body don't make you stand out over here.

In Italy is almost all about social circle and connections and people spend their time trying to extend their social circle as much as possible.

[Gosh900]

Anyway, apart the Scandinavian countries where people are really well built (but I don't know if it's genetics of something related to gym) I didn't see that much of a gym culture anywhere in Europe.

Of course there are some jacked up guys here and there but the vast majority of guys are normal which mean that they are in shape but not muscular.

After reading some replies I wonder if I live in the same Europe as someone else lol

The US have a much bigger gym culture than anywhere in Europe....when I was there I was struck by how many guys were jacked up, even though they also had many more fat guys (and girls).

[TripleG]

Another country which unfortunately has a huge gym culture is Lithuania. Having the World's strongest guy in Zydrunas Savickas does not help. The guy's here are naturally big (tall, big-boned), reminds me of blonder Serbia. Even the teenagers who can't go to gyms due to age or lack of income go crazy in the playgrounds.

As a guy who is 5-9", 180 pounds and lifts I feel very small. Also, issue is that even if you are fit unless you are jacked girls don't notice it.

[Lemmo]

They gym offerings there were very limited compared to the US but I saw more guys with the bodybuilder's physique in Poland and Ukraine than anywhere else I've been.

[MikeS]

(11-01-2014 02:33 PM)Gosh900 Wrote:  

Anyway, apart the Scandinavian countries where people are really well built (but I don't know if it's genetics of something related to gym) I didn't see that much of a gym culture anywhere in Europe.

Of course there are some jacked up guys here and there but the vast majority of guys are normal which mean that they are in shape but not muscular.

After reading some replies I wonder if I live in the same Europe as someone else lol

The US have a much bigger gym culture than anywhere in Europe....when I was there I was struck by how many guys were jacked up, even though they also had many more fat guys (and girls).

I haven't been to the US, but most gyms I've been to here in Europe (Scandinavia plus Bulgaria where I currently live, and a few gym visits in a couple other countries on vacations) have plenty of members but only a pretty small percentage of them are heavily muscular, and fewer still very muscular and ripped (I don't know what the criteria for being "jacked" is? But I assume it's looking at least almost amateur bodybuilding competition worthy?).

Personally I'd say I fit into the large intermediate group (that's after around 19-20 years of regularly working out over the last 23 years) in the gyms I've frequented - muscular enough that I definitely feel, and sometimes hear, it's obvious I work out when I'm wearing a fitted t-shirt, but certainly nowhere near the image my mind conjures up when I hear the word "jacked".

[jimukr104]

(11-01-2014 03:13 PM)TripleG Wrote:  

Another country which unfortunately has a huge gym culture is Lithuania. Having the World's strongest guy in Zydrunas Savickas does not help. The guy's here are naturally big (tall, big-boned), reminds me of blonder Serbia. Even the teenagers who can't go to gyms due to age or lack of income go crazy in the playgrounds.

As a guy who is 5-9", 180 pounds and lifts I feel very small. Also, issue is that even if you are fit unless you are jacked girls don't notice it.

All those guys look tall and slim...though fit. Not big boned from what I can see.
I am 6ft 175 so imagine how I feel. Natural ectomorph. Chest and back grows but limbs don't.

[Vaun]

(11-01-2014 02:14 PM)Gosh900 Wrote:  

Yeah in Italy there isn't a big gym culture.
Many people don't give a fuck and don't waste money in gym memberships partly because having an overly beefy body don't make you stand out over here.

In Italy is almost all about social circle and connections and people spend their time trying to extend their social circle as much as possible.

I have spent considerable time in Rome and basically gave up working out because there was one "gym" for upscale professional and gov't types, but no where else in the city. I noticed going out people were always celebrating, almost every night. Like it was all about socializing. I would guess in the north gym culture is more prevalent around Turin.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Having been to China, Thailand, Taiwan and Japan, the workout culture seems to be divided by urban/rural areas in Asia. In a two month trip, I've only been able to find serviceable gyms in Hong Kong, Beijing, KaoShung (Taiwan) and Tokyo. Once you move in agricultural areas, women either swarm towards huge men in amazement or address you with as a "all brawn, no brains" type of person. At the time, I was 5' 7", and about 220 lb. at ~15% BF? (Dirty winter bulk).

Three Observations:

1. Men and women care a lot about fitness in Asian cultural centers, such as HK and Tokyo most likely due to Anglospheric influence, specifically the U.S.
2. U.S. and Asian celebrity culture in urban areas expose people to be more worldly, but also more narcissistic, therefore "appearance > substance".
3. Muscular bodybuilding physiques aren't an athletic emphasis in Asia. Soccer/Football reigns supreme in China/Taiwan while Japan really loves baseball. Japan also combines this international embrace with some xenophobia, so there are cult followings to Sumo and karate. Most men I've talked to at the gyms say they want to look like Ronaldo, even Kobe physique was too much for them.

To bridge this to gaming, we have talked about how building muscle diminishes in returns eventually. It diminishes even faster in Asia. When traveling to Asia, use your muscular physique to intimidate locals and peacock to start the tingles. Then run a blend of beta provider/alpha indifference. I've found have a U.S./EU passport does wonders in attracting Asian women. Good hunting.

[Green-On-GO]

Jeez dudes were getting jacked up in Sydney when I got there in 1991..you couldn't go to a dance party where dudes had shirts on.This was mainly due to all the gays on easy to get steroids at the time.The straight guys then followed because the chicks where idolizing the gay bodies..it had nothing to do with the beach or outdoors..its was an arms race with the gay community..Places in Australia like Melbourne were woeful in comparison at the time...
When I hit Europe in 95 I kept getting compliments over my body from Euro women but I don't think I was jacked.I was Airborne infantry fit.
Going back to Europe now I can't believe how cramped and out of date the gyms are.
In Australia it's the bouncers that get laid a lot in Europe it's the barman...I mean I've seen women in tears over barmen in Spain.

[rudebwoy]

In Toronto, we have many gyms and a gym culture.

However, most guys are not in shape or jacked.

Jacked steroid freaks tend to be insecure and rely on biceps to get chicks, granted they tend to get nice chicks.

Europe seems to lack gyms and a gym culture.

[spalex]

Scandinavia they all go to the gym... But they aren't jacked. They just maintain a slim and slender look.
The city i am in in Poland you either have these roided up guys, which will be less than 1% or you have fat dudes or skinny bitches.