A few weeks ago my poor roommate was seen in her car---absolutely positively stuck in the snow--- at FHE. Luckily, four very eager young fellows kindly "unstuck" her car in a very manly way. It was a very tough job to do, but witnesses (all females) believe the following study found in a blog is the explanation for the brute strength phenomenon. Aaron the blogger (http://aaronfairchild.blogspot.com) writes:
See the entry two posts down from this one regarding working out with hot girls around. Now this little blucrb from my January/February 2009 issue of Men's Health Magazine:
"It starts with boys showing off on the playground, and the performance never ends: When a woman is around, men work harder. In a new German study, men pushed themselves 12 percent harder and complained less about pain during a bicycle stress test when a female doctor supervised than when a man did. Study author Christian Jung, M.D., says the results could translate to your gym: "Working out with a woman may help you push harder, probably because men are evolutionarily programmed to impress woman," he says. Choose your treadmill wisely."
Now, I only thought I'd throw in Aaron the Blogger's previous post just for kicks, and then I'll get to my point.
You know what makes an otherwise grueling and painful workout much more bearable? A hot chick.
Let me explain. I don't know of anyone who enjoys the pain associated with lifting weights or working your body hard. That pain is just something you pit up with for later benefits, whether it's increased health, a good post-workout sensation, bigger muscles, flatter tummy, whatever. If you don't experience some measure of pain and discomfort while at the gym, then you're doing something wrong. So what better way to distract your mind from such pain than an attractive member of the opposite sex? This has several benefits. First, there's the mere eye candy aspect (but don't stare, you creep). Second, she serves as a distraction. Third, you might complete your sets with better form because you don't want to look like a dork. Forth, you complete all reps in your set because you don't want to look like a wimp. Fifth,it passes the time faster. I'm going to stop making a numbered list now because it's getting on my nerves. You might also decide to exercise a little longer than you normally would have, because of that person's presence.
Back in social psychology, they taught us that your performance will improve if you are being observed by others, provided that you are comfortable with the task at hand, or already proficient. (Conversely, if you are inexperienced with the particular task, or not confident in your abilities, your performance will worsen in the presence of observers.) I think this is kind of the principle at work here. Generally unpleasant experiences are made much more bearable with the presence of some positive association, whether it be a person, music, feeling, etc. This is also why sometimes I study more effectively when I'm with friends.
So in the end I don't think it's such a bad thing that gyms are "meat markets." That guy who has been following you from station to station for the past half-hour? He's not a creepy stalker. He's just using you to make his workout easer. There, don't you feel better now?
Wasn't that hilarious?! haha. Now my point...So, over the weekend I had to move some really heavy cement cinder blocks that I put under my bed to hoist it up so that I can shove copious amounts of junk underneath. I'm no weakling. In fact I'd say I have the strength of any girl my age if not ever so slightly more. However, I could definitely only lift one cinder block at a time. Two would have been darn near crazy impossible. Three would have been utterly unthinkable. However, some of my friends helped me moved these cinder blocks (thank goodness! :) ) including a guy in my ward. However, this gentlemen was able to carry THREE at a time (with what looked like relative ease)!!!!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? Sure, he's bigger than me, but not by THAT much!!! So, my question is "Was this extra strength due to the presence of several females at the time or are girls really that weak?!" Holy cow...I now think I'm going to have to take up martial arts or something to even the playing field :S
