Men's Health

I've been reading Men's Health magazine for a long time - when I was a teenager I would steal my brother's copy, and then I started getting it for myself. I've always thought it was a good quality lifestyle mag with interesting articles, even though the likes of "Give Her Multiple Orgasms - TONIGHT" and "16 Ways to Turn Her On" weren't really my sort of thing!

The MH Cover Model was always a really good looking guy with a fantastic body - really inspirational/aspirational stuff. You'd see the cover and think "I want to be that guy!" and then buy the magazine hoping to find out how you could get there (which let's face it is kind of unrealistic, but hey).

However I have noticed in recent years a worrying trend towards the cover model becoming leaner and leaner. Much like the trend for Size Zero in women's modelling, is the traditional 'beefcake' male model now on the decline, making room for the lean version?

Each year for the past several, MH have run a reader's cover model competition where the 'average guy' can send in photos and get shortlisted to appear on the cover. In previous years, this comp was won by the likes of Graeme Peacock and Oliver Foster, guys who weren't bodybuilders by any means, but had strong, solid well built bodies. The kind that I want to achieve.



The latest winner however (and indeed the models they've used recently) is not what I'd consider aspirational.



Sure, he's in good shape, but he's just lean basically and not what I'd consider well-built. Perhaps I'm just being a bit harsh, or maybe I'm out of touch with what guys like to look like these days? Am I locked into a muscle mary mentality?

In comparison, MH's rival mag Men's Fitness still seems to be using cover models who have strong, solid and well-built physiques, so perhaps they are aiming more towards the guys who want that kind of physique. Maybe I should switch allegiance?