I have trouble understanding the basis for articles like these. As far as it goes, asking which exercises might provide the best real-world gains is a sensible question, but the question of why a 40 yr old man wants to be able to push 235 lbs away from his chest when lying reclined is never even asked.
Does he know why he wants this?
From a biological perspective, a specimen might want to be able to do this to signal to potential mates that he is worthy of reproduction (the reason why we do alot of the things we do that no one ever quite explains). But at age 40, this is a suspect answer... without knowing any details of his personal life it seems unlikely that he's finally looking to settle down and start a family. Besides, if he is a late bloomer, the success of his career and his paycheck matter much more than body fat percentage. A male's ability to provide benefit to a female just doesn't lean much towards the "fighting off sabertooth tigers" anymore, nor even in the western world towards "fighting off other males".
I'm continually surprised how much time, effort, and money people will waste on these activities that seem devised to attract mates when they want few or no children, when they already have mates, and at times even when they have mates superior to any they're likely to acquire in the future. It's almost as if even as the desire to reproduce erodes, their desire to attract reproductive mates increases.
Does he know why he wants this?
From a biological perspective, a specimen might want to be able to do this to signal to potential mates that he is worthy of reproduction (the reason why we do alot of the things we do that no one ever quite explains). But at age 40, this is a suspect answer... without knowing any details of his personal life it seems unlikely that he's finally looking to settle down and start a family. Besides, if he is a late bloomer, the success of his career and his paycheck matter much more than body fat percentage. A male's ability to provide benefit to a female just doesn't lean much towards the "fighting off sabertooth tigers" anymore, nor even in the western world towards "fighting off other males".
I'm continually surprised how much time, effort, and money people will waste on these activities that seem devised to attract mates when they want few or no children, when they already have mates, and at times even when they have mates superior to any they're likely to acquire in the future. It's almost as if even as the desire to reproduce erodes, their desire to attract reproductive mates increases.