[MrFish]

I'm starting to feel less masculine the past couple of years. My peak was during my time in the army. Nothing made me feel more like a man than being part of an elite military unit. This was mostly due to the challenging activities that I had to endure on a regular basis.

Nowadays I work in an office, surrounded by beta's who complain it's too cold when I open a window and generally don't physically challenge themselves in any way or form. I lift weights and run regularly, but those activities are quite comfortable.

I need some challenging activities back in my life! I need to conquer extreme discomfort to feel more masculine again. I want to be able to do these on a regular basis and therein lies the problem. One of the obvious contenders is rock/mountain climbing, but there are no mountains in my country to speak of. Climbing walls would be an option, but I'm afraid these won't pose a challenge for very long.

What other activities would be a good fit? They would need to be challenging, frightening or uncomfortable and I need to be able to practice them on a regular basis.

[pitt]

Your thread was truly inspiring!

I have not done any type of outdoor exercise for the last 4 weeks, I read your thread, I thought ''fuck it, I am going to the park right now''. I did some jogging and I feel better.

Thank you.

[Engineer]

Swim in the ocean - open water swims freak the fuck out of me, it's a challenge to maintain focus and perform.

Kiteboarding - maintain speed/direction/altitude on the water or snow, try not to crash

Martial arts, hunting, paintball, backcountry camping, adventure travel - obviously challenging and connected tangentially to the military service you enjoyed

Lastly, consider getting your T level checked, if you have any physical symptoms. "feeling less masculine" is a yellow flag.

[vinman]

When some people ask what I do for fun I say "I shoot guns motherfucker". And I'm doing Jeet Kun Do three nights a week. A man must have masculine pursuits.

[Isaac Jordan]

Buy a motorcycle.

[H1N1]

Learn to sail, then learn to sail something fast. There are very few things that can compare to the sense of power, speed, and of being on the edge of control and total disaster that you get from being up on foils, out on the trapese, on a sport cat.

There are no words to adequately describe how exciting being on something like this is, or just how intense the adrenaline rush is:

[samsamsam]

I like to pretend I am frogger and run around in traffic.

[MrFish]

(11-02-2015 09:22 AM)pitt Wrote:  

Your thread was truly inspiring!

I have not done any type of outdoor exercise for the last 4 weeks, I read your thread, I thought ''fuck it, I am going to the park right now''. I did some jogging and I feel better.

Good to hear my post got your lazy ass moving again!

(11-02-2015 10:30 AM)Engineer Wrote:  

Swim in the ocean - open water swims freak the fuck out of me, it's a challenge to maintain focus and perform.

This is pure gold! Long distance swimming in open water, excellent idea! I'd have to do some research to see if it's feasible during these autumn/winter months, but I'll definitely pick it up come spring/summer!

(11-02-2015 10:30 AM)Engineer Wrote:  

Martial arts, hunting, paintball, backcountry camping, adventure travel - obviously challenging and connected tangentially to the military service you enjoyed

(11-02-2015 12:54 PM)vinman Wrote:  

When some people ask what I do for fun I say "I shoot guns motherfucker". And I'm doing Jeet Kun Do three nights a week. A man must have masculine pursuits.

I don't necessarily agree with hunting for sport, but it would probably feel quite manly to have a wild boar for dinner that I shot that day. I'll have a look to see what the options are. If there is some kind of population control needed, I might lend a hand in that.

Martial arts and shooting guns are both activities I have actively pursued. Both are enjoyable to me and indeed resonate with my military history, but I don't get this sense of achievement I'm looking for.

Alas, the options for backcountry camping and adventure travel are very limited in The Netherlands. I'd have to travel to the south end of Belgium. Hence, I won't be able to partake regularly.

(11-02-2015 10:30 AM)Engineer Wrote:  

Lastly, consider getting your T level checked, if you have any physical symptoms. "feeling less masculine" is a yellow flag.

I do have some physical symptoms indicative of low T levels. I've attributed these to the fact that I've recently started the Paleo diet and haven't been consuming enough carbs. Indeed, upping my carb intake seems to help, but I'll keep an eye out. Thanks for the heads up!

[RichieP]

Dunno about "extreme discomfort to feel masculine"... you sure it's that, not "extreme accomplishment / excellence" ?

Quick few things that do it for me:

Martial arts
Weight lifting and high-intensity interval training
Reading awesome books - I'm really digging epic, complex works of fiction at the moment
Learning something challenging - e.g. language or new skill

What about something involving 1-on-1 competition. Physically: mma or jiu jitsu, or mentally: chess. Sounds like you need a direct head-on challenge perhaps, where there's the chance for the thrill of victory but always someone 10x better to thrash you and inspire you to new heights.

[the Thing]

(11-02-2015 08:39 AM)MrFish Wrote:  

I'm starting to feel less masculine the past couple of years. My peak was during my time in the army. Nothing made me feel more like a man than being part of an elite military unit. This was mostly due to the challenging activities that I had to endure on a regular basis.

Nowadays I work in an office, surrounded by beta's who complain it's too cold when I open a window and generally don't physically challenge themselves in any way or form. I lift weights and run regularly, but those activities are quite comfortable.

I need some challenging activities back in my life! I need to conquer extreme discomfort to feel more masculine again. I want to be able to do these on a regular basis and therein lies the problem. One of the obvious contenders is rock/mountain climbing, but there are no mountains in my country to speak of. Climbing walls would be an option, but I'm afraid these won't pose a challenge for very long.

What other activities would be a good fit? They would need to be challenging, frightening or uncomfortable and I need to be able to practice them on a regular basis.

Snowboarding. You're probably a few hours drive away to French or Swiss ski resorts. You can also use it to pick up girls, get a mate and a go pro, shoot some videos and put them on Youtube and your cell phone.

Snowboarding and working on cars are what give me the feeling of accomplishment. I follow the Stronglifts 5x5 program and I became a lot stronger in the last few months. I'm also looking for an MMA or thai boxing club to join so I can put the extra test to good use.

I used to golf as well. It's not the manliest of activities but it's more challenging than it looks from the outside. Requires a great amount of dedication, and the satisfaction you get right after you finish an 18 hole is amazing. It might be a better suited activity to the Netherlands than snowboarding.

I also used to hunt but I guess European hunting laws are pretty strict. You can come up here, it's much more common.

Edit: Barrier to entry for snowboarding is also pretty low. You can start by renting out gear from the resort, and I bought all my gear for under 800 Euro. Not shitty gear either, all Burton, pretty baller.

Trick is buying gear from local shops (not online) and off season so you can negotiate. I remember talking a $300 pair of bindings down to $80.

You need the board, bindings and boots as a minimum. The board should end at your chin when you hold it upright in front of you. You need a wide board if you have large feet. Bring thick socks to wear when you're testing out boots for a good fit. The less bling on bindings the better.

Get a pair of goggles as well, any pair that suits you. No helmet, ride like a man.