This one's a tangent episode in the truest sense — and we make no apologies for it.
Tom and Ben dig into something that doesn't get talked about honestly enough in the fitness world: the gap between what superhero physiques look like on screen and what it actually takes to get there. Not to be killjoys about it, but because understanding that gap matters more than most people realise.
From Hugh Jackman's Wolverine progression to Brad Pitt in Fight Club, from the bodybuilders who played the original Hollywood heroes to the machinery behind modern Marvel transformations, this one covers a lot of ground. There's also a story Ben has never told before involving a Zoom call, a fake Hollywood producer, and possibly Margot Robbie.
**In this episode:**
- Why superhero physiques are designed to be seen for one day, not lived in
- The difference between being inspired by a physique and being harmed by one
- Why comparison is a poison chalice and what to do with that instead
- How social media has changed what people think is normal or achievable
- The Rob McElhenney Fat Mac story and why his honesty about getting in shape matters
- Why bodybuilding in the seventies looked nothing like it does today — and what that tells us
- Ben's never-before-told story about a very suspicious Hollywood job offer
- Wakanda vs Asgard, Mjolnir vs the shield, and other important debates
**The would you rather:** Wakanda or Asgard? Mjolnir or Captain America's shield?
