Thursday 28 Mar 2024

The 6-pack obsession

The six-pack craze may seem like a recent phenomenon, a byproduct of the fitness culture boom in the 1970s and 1980s when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rambo reigned. But history proves otherwise – Greek statues, the Napoleonic wars and the advent of photography all played a role

| JUNE 12, 2021, 11:52 PM IST
The 6-pack obsession

Conor Heffernan

The cultural obsession with six-pack abdominals shows no signs of abating. And if research into male body image is to be believed, it will likely only grow, thanks to social media.

Today, there’s an entire industry centered on obtaining – and maintaining – chiseled abs. They’re the subject of books and social media posts, while every action movie star seems to sport them. Pressure is also mounting on women to sport six-pack abs as body ideals for athletic women have evolved.

All of this raises the question, when did the six-pack craze start?

It may seem like a relatively recent phenomenon, a byproduct of the fitness culture boom in the 1970s and 1980s, when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rambo reigned, and men’s muscle mags and aerobics took off.

History proves otherwise. In fact, Western culture’s fascination with chiseled abdominals can be traced to the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when the ideal male body image in the West started to shift.

Greeks inspire envy

French historian George Vigarello has written about how the ideal male figure and male silhouette shifted in Western society. British and American cultures in the 17th, 18th and, to a certain degree, the 19th centuries valued large or rotund male bodies. The reasons for this were relatively straightforward: Rich men could afford to eat more, and a larger frame was indicative of success.

It was only during the early 19th century that lean and muscular physiques began to be highly coveted. 

Part of this transformation stemmed from a renewed European interest in ancient Greece. Kinesiologist Jan Todd and others have written about the impact that ancient Greek imagery and statuary had on body images. 

In much the same way that social media has distorted body image, artifacts like the Elgin Marbles – a group of sculptures brought to England in the early 1800s whose male figures sport lean and muscular physiques – helped spur interest in male muscularity.

This interest in muscularity deepened as the century progressed. In 1851, a grand commercial and cultural celebration known as the “Great Exhibition” was hosted in London. Outside the exhibit halls were Grecian statues. Writing in 1858 on the impact those statues had, British physical educationalist George Forrest complained that the British “are apparently devoid of that beautiful series of muscles that run round the entire waist, and show to such advantage in the ancient statues.”

Projections of military might

At the same time that ideal body types for men were changing, so, too, was European society.

As a result of the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century, several gymnastic programs were created to bolster and strengthen young men’s bodies around Europe. French soldiers were renowned for their physical fitness, both in terms of their ability to march for days on end and move quickly in battle. After many European states suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of Napoleon’s forces, they started to take the health of their troops much more seriously.

But soldiers weren’t the only ones participating in these programs. 

For example, Jahn’s Turner system – which promoted the use of parallel bars, rings and the high bar – became one of the most popular exercise programs of the century among members of the European public and went on to gain a following among Americans. 

The six-pack industry is born

So the seeds for modern six-pack mania were planted in two ways: First, men started eyeing Greek statues with envy. Then they developed the means to sculpt their bodies in those statues’ images. Meanwhile, writers from the 1830s and 1840s prodded men to aspire to svelte bodies, strong trunks and no excess body fat.

But the obsession with six-packs truly blossomed in the early 1900s. By then, strongmen like Eugen Sandow were able to build off the existing interest in Greek imagery and gymnastics by using photography, cheap mail postage and the new science of nutritional supplements to cash in on the longing for the perfect body.

Sandow himself sold books, exercise equipment, nutritional supplements, children’s toys, corsets, cigars and cocoa. Sandow, who was once hailed as the “world’s most perfectly developed specimen,” inspired countless men to shed excess “flesh” – the term given for body fat – to show off their abdominals. 

Six-pack abs and health

Take a look at the cover of any fitness magazine, and you're bound to see a model with enviable six-pack abs. The fitness industry flaunts toned stomachs and pitches workouts promising to get you a six pack, making you think it's the most desirable outcome of a dedicated fitness routine.

While six-pack abs are a benefit to some — especially those cover models who need to make their living posing on magazines and in calendars — they aren't a necessity to good health or core strength.

Having a six pack doesn't necessarily mean you're healthier or more athletically inclined than someone with a little padding around the middle. You can easily create a strong, functional core that powers you through most sports — including a soccer match or football game — without visibly cut muscles on your middle.

A six-pack isn't an indication of more muscle; it simply means you have less fat covering those muscles. If you've attained a six-pack only by dieting to extremes and doing hanging leg raises in the gym, it isn't going to improve your performance on the field.

The body fat levels required to achieve a six pack don't provide any clear health advantage, either. Decreasing your body fat to below 14 percent as a woman or eight percent as a man shows no evidence of improved vibrancy or well-being according to the University of Pennsylvania.

Sometimes, it's just the opposite: The behavior required to dip to the body fat levels required to achieve six-pack abs can be unhealthy. You may restrict your food intake so severely that you're irritable and hungry much of the time.

So, instead of measuring your health and achievements by the abdominal muscles you see in the mirror, adopt healthy habits that make you feel energized and vibrant. Quality foods, such as lean meats, whole grains and fresh produce, and a regular exercise routine that includes cardio, strength and flexibility support good health and optimal body weight. Also, aim to get seven to nine hours of quality sleep per night.


Share this