11 Comments
User's avatar
Robert Cassidy's avatar

This was a fun read. It is so true how often ripped old guys are featured in ads targeting us old guys. Do I really think this could be me? I guess have should started lifting weights much earlier in life, like when I first came across body builders in comic books on the back page when I was 12.

Expand full comment
Paul von Zielbauer's avatar

Robert, I just edited the post to add yet another pandering WSJ ad — because now that I've seen all these dumb ads showing post-60 muscle heads, I can't ignore the new ones.

Expand full comment
Mark Globerson's avatar

The ad sthat I find the most strange are the ones that say you can get “jacked” doing tai chi. They show someone that is in great shape who is in their 60’s.

Well tai chi is one of the many forms of exercise I do regularly (sometimes I teach classes too so I am not new to this or other martial arts ) and I would never think of it as an exercise to build muscle mass. Tai chi can be good in many ways but not for building large muscle mass. I know you can do many exercises that will complement tai chi. The men in those pictures look like they had been lifting some pretty heavy weights for quite a while

Expand full comment
Paul von Zielbauer's avatar

Mark, I don't practice Tai Chi (but have always admired it) but even I know it's not a major muscle builder. The men in the images are, alas, entirely AI-generated, of course, but that someone paid to put them in the WSJ or ESPN says something.

Expand full comment
Mark Globerson's avatar

I never watched those ads for more than a few seconds because I found the whole idea to be absurd.. I went back and watched one of the videos all the way through. Besides the ridiculous dialog I totally missed that the ripped Tai Chi guy was A.I. generated. We need to add A.I. generated advertising to the list of dangerous things to consume. Since I follow a few Tai Chi groups on Facebook I think Facebook targeted me with these ads. This is so dangerous.

Expand full comment
Mary N Bell's avatar

Thanks 🤗 Reality checks are important...Blessings from My 1946 Boomer Self💃

Expand full comment
Paul von Zielbauer's avatar

Mary — thanks for reading. Keep going.

Expand full comment
Jkel's avatar
Nov 22Edited

I’m a new reader and appreciate the reality check. At 75 years I keep active and plan on running a 5K and a local turkey trot but resistance training isn’t fun. Is rucking with a 20lb weight sufficient?

Expand full comment
Paul von Zielbauer's avatar

J., welcome. And good question. The 20-lb ruck might be sufficient, or it might be too little or too much. What are you trying to achieve?

Expand full comment
Jkel's avatar

Just over fitness and good posture.

Expand full comment
TomD's avatar

If Bill Belichick at 73 and pretty much not jacked can have a hot 24 year old girl friend, imagine what I could get at whatever senior age with my jacked body!! These are probably the same guys I see driving around in their hot Corvettes, McLarens etc. kind of a midlife crisis a few years late

Expand full comment