Shirts v Skins - and then Some Bicep Stuff

Does this picture bring back any memories? Was your school PE like this, or were you forced into shirts, socks and trainers the whole time however hot and sweaty you were?

There used to be a blog called 'Shirtless Freedom' - sadly long gone. As a boy, I can remember PE class where we were told to play team games 'shirts v skins'. Some boys (like us!) threw off their shirts straight away, anxious to be 'in their skin', while others shuffled behind others desperate to keep theirs on and not o be picked for 'skins' - and they were usually the non-sporting boys - aka 'nerds' I'm afraid - but often only anxious because they felt that their bodies were underdeveloped and would be 'laughed at'. Tey never seemed to learn that if they joined the shirtless pack, they would become part of that community...

The other class of boys seem to throw off their shirts at every opportunity: 'When the boys get together, the shirts come off!' And not just at those teen parties, where it seems to be a requirement!

Or there may be an element of "I will if you will"!

Moving on to 21st century sports, in a retrograde move we even see guys in tee shirts in swimming pools, and in commercial gyms often a sign instructing everyone to 'dress appropriately'. One of our gyms was rather different, for the sign said 'You want to watch your muscles develop and so do we! No need for shirts here!'

The ideal workout makes you sweaty...

...surely the last thing you need is a wet shirt clinging round your armpits? Definitely not as a boxer...

Of course, some people see a downside. In contact sport - like wrestling, for example - you're going to exchange sweat, spit, dead skin cells, skin mites and your personal bacteria colonies with your training partners along with any communicable disease as he breathes out in your face. In a workout, you'll probably need a towel to cover the benches in a public gym. But the feeling is so much better than wrapped up in unnecessary clothing.

Eastern Europeans / Russians / some Asians seem to take things further these days, wearing just their underwear in the gym and even for other sports, in public too...

...and there is no shortage of guys willing to post selfies on their social media...

By the way, you can check the 'sweaty Asians' (Philipinos in fact in this case) sharing their workout here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kg_rpryvsY

In the Philipines it is pretty hot and humid and they more or less live shirtless.

Some guys take shirtless working out very seriously indeed: if their workout space is outdoors, and it rains, so what? ... ...

We have to admit that this next one is a bit weird - but equally wet... but then Max is a lifeguard as well as a fitness devotee...

So, where are we this? Advocating shirtless training and sport for guys of all ages, obviously. Sweat with your mates, and get a great shower after! That's what we think, anyway.

We think that sticking with a shirt when others shuck theirs is due to a misplaced feeling of insecurity and inferiority. We can promise you that the other guys who see you get rid of it and start putting in the effort will give you every encouragement and support. Remember that it was David, not Goliath, who won the day - and probably put on an impressive double biceps pose afterwards!!

By the way, if you are a 'David', maybe not a good thing to take on a bull...

'Now show me yours...' Hopefully he can run fast...

The guy on the right doesn't look as though he needs a shirt...

A bit of well-deserved admiration going on there!

A trio of next-generation fit guys getting in on the biceps act next...

OK. Enough biceps. Let's finish with a few shirtless guys happily showing off in their gyms in other ways. Some definitely sweaty after their hard workout.