'We shirtless guys and girls in jogbras' (Guest post)

Phil from Rhode Island describes his "feeling of elation" at sustaining his conversion to shirtless running.

 

I wanted to share my story about embracing shirtless running.

Ever since I got married, I have been trying to be more active, for the sake of my wife and my future kids. One way I've been accomplishing that goal is through running. I've always enjoyed running and until recently have only done so fully clothed. But recently I decided to change all that.

I've been on shirtless runs before. Many years ago I used to run with a friend who was a track runner. One hot day on the trail he pulled ahead of me and in one swift motion pulled his shirt over his head and continued on. By the time I caught up the sweat was pouring down his chest. He looked over to me and suggested I did the same, telling me that I would be more comfortable. Without a second thought I did the same. The feeling was liberating; the cool breeze against my bare chest, the warmth of the shaded sun. Not to mention the charge of two shirtless guys on the trail encountering several girls in tank tops and jog bras.

Fast forward to now. With the long New England winter finally behind us I had been itching to get out and enjoy the weather. My first few morning runs this year have been chilly, still cool enough for a t-shirt. Now that the summer has arrived though, I've been out shirtless as much as possible. And I still get the same feeling of elation as I did back then. Seeing my fellow fitness buffs out on the road or along the beach helps to push me along. It has even inspired me to complete my first 5K since high school.

Now if only I could find a gym around here that would allow guys to lift shirtless. 

'One of the completely converted': First day sans safety shirt [guest post]

John D has just undergone that rite dubbed "full conversion" - heading out for a run barechested (or in sportsbra), without a safety shirt. This is his lively account, originally an email.

I've come a pretty long way from when I was a kid and had a very strange aversion to being shirtless around anyone, anywhere. Even when my fifth grade class went to the Y for a week of swimming, I insisted I keep my T-shirt on (this was completely my idea, by the way. I was a stubborn kid).  But over the years, I've gotten used to the freedom of being shirtless in various appropriate contexts, whether it is ninety minutes of hot yoga, hanging out at a gay pride festival or playing a shirts and skins pickup soccer game.

But actually jogging shirtless for some strange reason has always made me a bit nervous.  Like you [referring to the owner of this blog], I was once one of those guys that thought the men running around without shirts were - gasp! - exhibitionists, and I H*A*T*E drawing attention to myself!  But the first time I actually got the nerve to go running shirtless was last year, when I whipped my top off as I was jogging past Johns Hopkins University (lovely campus).  Despite the worries about my not terribly buffed upper body (I've lost a bit of weight but still have a pound or two that likes to show itself), my chest hair (there's more than a bit) or people maybe yelling "PUT YOUR SHIRT ON!" (no one has ever done that), I got more comfortable with taking my shirt off when it was overly hot.

But today, I became one of the completely converted. For the first time ever, I made myself take my shirt off in my apartment, leave it on the bed, and head outside completely bare chested.  My apartment is next to a small garage where some tenants have cars, so sneaking out the back was easy enough. But at least twice from the alley to the street, I told myself "Oh damn, I can't do this!" Still, as I got to the street, I just decided to forget about the others around me.  I now live closer to downtown Baltimore, but it's still easy enough to find not-so-well-traveled side streets that I can jog without too many people seeing me - that does make it easier. But I jogged for the better part of an hour in the warm sun, completely stripped to the waist.  

And I gotta say, man, it felt so much more natural, comfortable, freeing and even a bit empowering not having a shirt in hand.  To top it off, not a single person seemed to care, or if they did they didn't say anything.  On the downside, I forgot to bring water with me, so that made me miserable, but apart from that it just felt awesome.  Sir, you have indeed converted me to the brotherhood / sisterhood of jogging shirtless / sportsbra'd, without a shirt in hand as a crutch, and I am looking forward to doing it again the next time I go jogging.

And yes, I guess the next step is working up my nerve to go running in a more populated area than I did, but baby steps here, and no harm if I stick to the less travelled roads ;)

[Guest post] Running shirtless - 'the common sense thing to do'

How one man became 'completely comfortable in his own skin'

by Henry

I grew up in high school not the most athletic person and therefore was very, very insecure with going around shirtless.......even at the pool I would wear a shirt.  I had pale skin, skinny arms and legs, and a gut.  When I did go running it was always with a shirt and I remember the shirt sticking to my skin and a gross feeling when I was done.  Indiana summers can be very unpleasant in terms of heat and humidity.  When I was in college I made a choice to better myself in mind and body.  I remember going to the gym at 6am in the cold Indiana autumn mornings and frigid Indiana winters with no one to spot me or work out with, but I had a goal, and that was to build my self-esteem by building my body.  It took a lot of self-motivation, but being on science scholarship meant I had to maintain all As in science and math, and to have good grades I needed a good regimented program.  By going to the gym I was getting into a healthy routine.  As spring came I noticed that I had a little more definition to my arms and upper body.  In the wintertime I did cardio strictly by swimming, but now it was spring and I wanted to get fresh air.

There was no transition into running shirtless.  I just realized that my physique looked passable enough to run with no shirt on.  I simply drove to the track, stripped my shirt off, applied suntan lotion, and I was off.  After only a few days I had a very healthy tan and felt completely comfortable in my own skin.  Whenever I saw another shirtless runner in better shape than me, it only solidified my motivation to get to the shape he was in.  Now I feel a sense of pride whenever I see a guy, start off running with a shirt on in 90 degree muggy heat until he sees me with no shirt on, eventually stripping his own off.  It's sort of a brief bond that develops between too complete strangers.  Even when I run 5ks I will start with a shirt on with the bib number applied to my shorts knowing at the end I'll be bare chested.  In the summertime I don't strip off in 5ks because I am trying to show off, but it just becomes the common sense thing to do when I can feel the heat and sweat radiating in between my skin and the cloth.  And chafed skin from wearing a shirt is in no way fun.  This upcoming summer I am hoping to run my first 10k, and I'll for sure be shirtless by the end of it.  I love going around outside shirtless and getting a sweet sun tan.  Now I will even do yard work and house painting minus the shirt......it's the natural thing to do. 

Also, I sleep shirtless too now.  Again, I'm more comfortable in my own skin now and the shirt I've found is very uncomfortable to wear in a bed, even in the wintertime.

Becoming a shirtless runner IV: 'Psychic shock' in cementing your conversion

In Jamie's post, featured separately, we encounter a shirtless-runner-in-the-making: There is that familiar hankering-after of unconstricted freedom, counterbalanced by the fear of being judged. The example offered by already bare-chested or jogbraed trail runners, plus accumulated drippy-sweat discomfort, works its gradual magic in breaking down Jamie's inhibitions, and eventually there is that ur-moment of stripping aside of the upper garment, and that rush of sweet coolness.

What I find especially instructive is what happens after this happy moment: Jamie moves with dazzling speed to reinforce the breakthrough. For most of us, however delicious our first oh-my-god-I'm-doing-it experience of going bare, the safety shirt remains a necessary prop for quite a while. It certainly was in my own case. But Jamie busts through that barrier in his very next run, and even adds a special twist: He turns shirtless driver en route! He calls this "ripping the bandage off", and the metaphor is apt. He does not allow the inevitable gathering-together of fresh nerves and doubt to 'scab up' and slow his conversion. Instead, he decisively cuts off any prospect of such a regression.

Jamie says some interesting things about the 'psychic shock' (my term) he gives himself by taking his radical step. "I had major butterflies... Stomach was turning, but it was exciting too", he recounts. But soon, his confidence is surging dramatically: "I am passing people and not caring if they see me shirtless... Running shirtless is feeling great and I am getting more confident every step of the way." Something has happened, the gamble has paid off! He closes his account very positively, saying that "Hopefully soon, I will be converted completely".

Now, some might say that it would be surely best to spare oneself such psychic shock and take things more gradually. But having mulled over Jamie's testimony, I am now inclined to say that some such shock is inevitable if we mean to convert in earnest to shirtlessness. Something must rock us, to test our faith, so to speak: There must be a point of crossing the Rubicon, of some discernible and undeniable changing-over, that begins to cement our new identities as shirtless (or jogbraed) runners.

Jamie, I want to say, was wise to force the issue early - rather than endure a spell of to-and-froing, of the incessant self-doubt that many of us know, before we assay a safety-shirt-free run.

Exactly what form this critical psychic shock might take may differ from person to  person. What is central is a voluntary step taken to fully embrace one's shirtlessness-in-running. In Jamie's case, it was his courage in leaving his home bare-chested and with no safety shirt, to drive to his trail. As I review my own experience, I realise that my shock happened when I first encountered neighbours while stripped down to socks and shoes. I now recognise this moment - rather my first stripping off of my vest while loping along - as in some ways a more significant conversion nexus.

Why do I say this? Now as it happens,  because I have moved house a time or two since, I have had to endure the experience time and again - which has allows me now to clearly capture it. It begins as supreme awkwardness: For an extended second, I almost see my neighbour rearranging his or her impressions of me; once the neighbour actually blurts out, "Oh goodness". I feel an internal sucking gasp of involuntary embarrassment that squeezes at the pit of one's stomach (echoes of Jamie's "my stomach is turning"). But then I move beyond the crisis. I make normal normal conversation about exercise, or the weather, or some such. The neighbour inevitably responds - and suddenly, my exercise attire is no longer some sort of impediment or gap. And at that moment, a little bell sounds. It is like one has affirmed one's faith, and the paradigm shifts. It is now for others to acknowledge me for who I am - still the same chap they always knew, just shirt-free in an appropriate context - and not for me to somehow explain or excuse myself.

I don't know what sort of other 'psychic shocks' might have made a difference to other converts out there. Do share your stories, as many have in these virtual pages, to help others now at the crossroads. For those who have found themselves stuck for long with safety shirts in their waistbands, perhaps it is time you forced the issue and gave yourself a psychic shock. Let Jamie be an inspiration!

[Guest post] A shirtless convert grows in confidence

Jamie contributes this excellent account, chronicling how quickly he went from 'that first shirtless run' to actually heading out for his run (in his car!) barechested. There are many interesting elements here worth discussing, which I will take up in a companion post. For now, here's Jamie's testimony.


A shirtless convert grows in confidence          by Jamie

I started running a few months ago and I am still working myself into better shape and building up endurance.   I know many guys run without their shirts and I have to admit, the idea appealed to me.  However, I am not the best looking guy without a shirt.  I have that same fear most guys do of “who is going to see me?”.  As the weather has gotten warmer, I have sweated through my shirts more and more, while seeing tons of guys running without a shirt, seemingly carefree.  The thought of taking my shirt off still seemed appealing, but, again, who would see me and would people make fun of me?

Well, the other night, it was 92 degrees and quite muggy when I hit the trail for a run.  I thought this may be the day I take mine off.  At first, I didn’t see any guys without shirts and figured I was the only crazy guy out here running in such weather.  Finally, about halfway through my run, I was passed by not one, but two guys with no shirts on.  I said, “OK, this is it”.  I pulled my shirt over my head and off it came.  The breeze (what there was of it) was blowing across my sweat covered skin.  How awesome is this I thought.  Felt a little self-conscious as I passed my first person and moved my shirt to cover my stomach and chest as people approached, but did not even think about putting the shirt back on.   I started to run into more bare-chested guys, including one pack of six.  This made me feel a bit better.  I made it back to my car and walked around the parking lot shirtless for a few minutes as I cooled off.  

So, this morning was my next run on the trail.  The other night, I had made the decision to run shirtless from the beginning my next time out.  No safety shirt to deal with this time.  The temperature was a warm 72. Like ripping a bandage off, I made the decision to not only run shirtless, but to drive over there shirtless, too.  I could not put a shirt on even if I wanted to.  Before leaving, I had major butterflies about it.  Stomach was turning, but it was exciting, too.  Finally, I made a mad dash from my front door to the car – hoping no neighbor saw me.  Got in the car and sped away! I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this!  I get to the parking lot and feel slightly self-conscious as I get out of the car topless.  I feel better when I see a young guy get out of his car shirtless with his jogbraed girlfriend.  I won’t be alone!  So, I start my first full shirtless run and the self-conscious feeling is wearing off. I am passing people and not really caring if they see me shirtless.  This is awesome! Running shirtless is feeling great and I am getting more confident every step of the way.  I make it back to the car in a record time for me.  Even better!  I towel off the sweat and cool off and then back in the car shirtless for the drive home.  

As of now, I am still a bit leery of running shirtless in my neighborhood.  I think the more comfortable I get running without a shirt on the trail, I will be more ready to bare it all in front of my neighbors.  Hopefully soon, I will be converted completely.  I think I have made a great first step.  Hope to keep up the momentum!

Why I am not a nude runner

It will be very clear from this blog that I am a confirmed proponent of running sans shirt, or in jogbra in the case of women. Many comments have come in either in support of this position (along with some pretty critical ones) - but every once in a while someone will suggest taking the next step: Why not run nude?

Now of course, in many parts of the world, there is a simple answer to the question: If you tried to in pretty much any precinct, you would soon be in the clink. But in some 'enlightened' places, and certainly in specific colonies, you could indeed choose to shed every last thread.

I have never ventured to do so and do not intend to. This is not because I have any lack of respect for those of the nudist persuasion. Indeed, perhaps some of us who have converted to shirtlessness are indeed travellers on a journey that - in the fulness of time - will lead to the embracing of nakedness as the ideal. But that path is not one I see my myself treading.

First of all, I do not see shirtless running as essentially some sort of 'half-way point'. The freedom that I feel when I go bare-chested on my runs will not, I don't think, be materially enhanced by the mere  discarding of yet more articles of clothing. I feel spiritually recharged when trotting along and have to my mind reached a prefect balance between comfort and modesty. To be in quest of yet 'more of a good thing' by looking to go yet barer seems pointless. Indeed, it seems to me that the realities of human biology mean that being totally 'freed of constraint' when running might be distinctly uncomfortable for many of us, as it becomes a case of being 'free of support'.

Secondly, I am precisely a proponent of shirtless running because to my mind it is something that anyone can embrace in almost all communities, and at any age - hence that 'caramaderie' that I have written of that unites all shirtless and jogbraed runners. Even in more conservative quarters, shirtlessness is seldom considered so outrageous a phenomenon as to provoke outright hostility (at most, it typically evokes a tut-tutting of disapproval); were more individuals to embrace a shirtless identity, we can imagine attitudes being further modified, though there would be no radical shift.  Such a degree of acceptance - actual or at least potential - would be very dramatically shattered if we were to now espouse nudism: A decided majority would part company from the minority.

Thirdly, the 'sensuous buzz' that many cite as a benefit of running shirtless - others have described it as 'feeling sexy' or sensual - is, to my mind, bound up with the fact that we are choosing to both simultaneously expose part of our anatomy and yet cover up another part. . We project the confidence of being willing to 'go this far', and the confidence to say 'this is just enough'. Art, someone once said, is all about knowing when to stop. I'm right where I want to be.

Young but shirtless: Your views?

       It has been reported in some parts of the world that people below the age of 20 are now less  willing to go shirtless when running or otherwise exercising. Perhaps casually stripping to the waist was something common in an earlier era, but these days - it is alleged - a more advanced conception of sartorial decency (among other things) has sparked generalised covering-up.

First of all, I invite folks to write in with their opinions on whether is true. As someone who only converted to running bare-chested when well into his 20s, it has been my hope that more would realise earlier that shirtlessness is a healthy and joyful cause. It pains me to think that cause may be failing with that very age group that should be spending the most hours getting healthy and fit.

While awaiting responses, here are my views - which are underpinned by two relevant recent comments posted on this site.

Post 1:

 

Anonymous said... Just to say thanks for your site. For the last 2 months my eldest son (11) has started to come runnning without his top... Don't think he'd have done this without the positive remarks here.

What these words suggest is that, first of all, youngsters are not so much immunised against shirtless running as starved of positive role models. If they only hear of bare-chested folk in the context of poor dress sense, melanoma or thuggery - or for that matter see bare-chestedness on display only with ridiculously well-toned movie-universe denizens - it's no surprise that they begin to perhaps unconsciously shrink away from shirtlessness. 

This parent's post further suggests that when young folks are exposed to the truth that shirtless men (or jogbraed women) are no more bizarre, at-risk, lame or ostracised than their mums and dads, they feel freed to shed their upper-body attire in appropriate situations. Obviously, an obscure blog like this one will reach only a small fraction of our youth. It is the behaviour and example of people in the wider community that is more likely to make a difference.

 Post 2:

Hi,

My name is Austin and I am the captain of my cross-country team and I happened to stumble upon your blog today about shirtless running.  I go to a private, christian school who aren't letting us run with our shirts off anymore because they say that it is not the standard equipment for a cross country runner.  We completely hate this rule because right now we are having to run in upper 90 degree weather and we're almost getting to the point of heat exhaustion and its just ridiculous.  We are trying to do everything we can to fight it, so I was wondering if you had any research to go along with the benefits of shirtless running?  Thank you for taking the time to read this message and I hope to hear from you soon!

In digesting this second post, we arrive at a second truth: That at times it is the deliberate, constrictive standards-setting of adults that keeps tops mindlessly on when they need not be. In the present case, I had to write back to Austin to say that I was not aware of scientifically-valid research that validates shirtless running. I hope this did not deter him and his comrades, since I do not see why the onus needs to be on those of us who go shirtless to justify our preference in exercise attire. The larger point that needs making, however, is that many youngsters may take their lead on 'appropriate exercise attire' from what the 'experts' in school prescribe. If more schools are closing down their options, it is no surprise that such narrow-mindedness might spill over to when these budding sportsmen are outside school. Yet I would need to be convinced that most communities' implied sartorial codes are really so draconian as to dictate when (or whether) their young people can take off their shirts when exercising.

Overall, then, I think it is far from a given that young folks are really shying away from shirtlessness of their own accord. With Austin and the 11-year-old son, we see that there are still young converts out there who can fly our flag.


The battle is not yet lost.



 

 

How not running shirtless has affected me

These last few months, I've been unable to go for my usual shirtless runs. You know the usual reasons that will be adduced: The weather's not right, work demands too heavy. Bla bla bla. I've not even been able to update this blog.

How has my life changed? I feel myself increasingly constricted in my shirt. At home, I typically shuck it, but I miss the freedom of pounding down a trail in just shorts and shoes (and watch). I miss the perspiration on my back and chest, the friendly tickling of the breeze. I miss the tug of camaraderie when I pass a fellow convert to the bare-chested cause.

I am spiritually sustained, if I may put it that way, by the occasional email that still comes my way, by someone who has happened on this blog and found it strikes a chord with him (or her). When I can, I read the comments that are still posted. I am going shirtless vicariously, and am grateful.

In sum, I had not realised how being a shirtless runner had become an essential part of my being or identity, so that failing to live out this part of my soul has left me with a sense of void. Sometimes, if I may be trite, you really do need to miss something before you realise how much it matters. I've come so far from my days as a ever-shirted, over-clad self!

It's not a happy situation. For exercise, I could always join a gym near my new workplace, but gyms have their sartorial regulations (imposed, I must say, usually with the best of intentions and with some weight of logic on their side). It is not convenient for me to run at lunchtime. But I'm sure, with time, I'll carve out some part of the day and resume my runs. I shall not be denied forever.

For now, fellow converts, keep running shirtless and free. I am with you in spirit. Induct more people into our happy community. Write in and share.

My take on the Shirtless P.E. debate

One topic that pops up with some regularity online is the 'shirtless for physical education' issue. The starting point is typically that, at least in the U.K. and the U.S., it has become less common for boys to strip to the waist for P.E., whereas in the past it was common for the entire class to do gym, calisthenics or the like sans shirt. One camp in the debate will argue that requiring everyone to go shirtless can be harsh on plump or shy students, who may develop 'body issues'. An opposed faction responds that there are valid health benefits to going shirtless (not to mention safety concerns when it comes to getting entangled in gym equipment) and  that students are more attuned to staying fit if they have to be bare-chested among peers. It is also commonly claimed that, once boys are required to go shirtless a time or two, they find this so much more comfortable than exercising fully-clothed that many end up stripping down of their own volition.

My sympathies, with some qualification, are with the second camp. I think the 'body issue' matter could be overblown. Students are required to sit school tests that could be deflating to the ego of less-prepared or less-keen students, but that is no reason to say that tests should be banned. Why should 'body issues' be more serious? Indeed, they are surely less serious; by banning shirtless P.E. on their account, we are sending precisely the wrong message: That these matters are very important indeed. And why should we do that?

Now, I rather think there is some truth to the proposition that students would make more of an effort to burn carbs and stay fit  if they knew they'd be shirtless regularly in front of peers. But I'm not sure this is something to be encouraged: After all, isn't this the flip side of the 'body issues' point? There's nothing wrong about wanting to be presentable - children ought to be turned-out decently for church, or class, for instance - but there is rather a whiff of objectification about saying they should become obsessed with their own bare-chested appearance.

On the other hand, the 'it's more comfortable' argument holds water, if you ask me, and I personally know of people who at the very least lost their uneasiness about being shirtless after having to go bare for shirts-vs-skins basketball or soccer. But for myself, at least, I am partly guided by my on-balance preference for school uniforms: There's something equalising about ruling out attire envy or whose-sneaker-is-the-coolest differentiation. Enforced shirtlessness is simply an extension of this democratisation, a further paring-back of inessential ornamentation.

Is this, ultimately, a major issue that might alter a child's schoolgoing life spectacularly? I wouldn't have thought so. But enforced shirtlessness, even if it's only for a term or a year, would broadens students' experience and allows them more of a choice, hopefully breaking down some unnecessary inhibitions. So why not?

The Creed of Shirtless Running

From time to time, there have been references on this blog to people 'converting' to shirtless running. This is just a figure of speech, mostly: In truth, of course, we happy converts hail - male and female - from every religion and belief system.

That said, in embracing our healthful practice, we can also see ourselves as standing up for certain 'higher' tenets that go beyond just 'Be Comfortable'. A brief summation of such a five-fold 'creed', entirely in keeping with most faiths, might run as follows:

(1) All Are Equal
When we run shirtless, or jogbraed, we voluntarily reject any need to clothe ourselves in fancy attire (though at night, reflective material should be part of our get-up). Our upper body is no longer an advertisement to our financial ability to afford special fabrics, or aesthetically pleasing clothing. We strip ourselves back to the essentials - we wear enough to protect our modesty, but that much anyone can afford.

(2) We Stay True To Our Beliefs
There is always the possibility that someone will demand we 'cover up', that unflattering comments may be directed our way. In ignoring such 'slings and arrows', we declare that we are people who strive not to compromise in doing what we believe is within our rights, where we do not impinge inappropriately on others' lives.

(3) We Declare Our Commonality
By stripping to the waist or jogbra, we dare to be jointly distinctive as a community, and effectively call out in solidarity to every other shirtless runner. This is the 'camaraderie' of being stripped-down together, a powerful oneness despite other differences.

(4) Our Bodies Are Temples
By committing to running and regular exercise, we respect our bodies and put health first (we could, after all, be the sort of 'comfortably shirtless' person who simply lounges about at home)

(5) We Are Unafraid To Set An Example
There is evidence that there are runners who feel constrained by being fully-shirted, yet feel too 'embarrassed' to reduce their attire-load. By presenting ourselves as exemplars, we may lead some to join us and overcome inhibition. Even people who never imagined there was freedom in running shirtless may be inspired by us.


* An important point missed, in your view? An element needs modifying? Just write in! *

Enjoying the sexy 'shirtless charge'

In the just-launched 'shirtlessrunning' group at Yahoo! Groups, moderated by Tommy, he writes:

"I (run shirtless) mainly for the freedom it gives me. It feels great to run with the sun, wind, and elements on my bare torso. It also gives me a bit of a sexual charge too which helps me to run a bit better. I didn't start running until a couple of years ago, so I'm relatively new to shirtless runnning. There are a lot of guys who run this way in southern California."

This invoking of a 'shirtless charge' set me thinking. It's probably not the same for each shirtless runner, newbie or veteran. A fellow shirtless runner once spoke of intoxicatingly 'feeling the girls' eyes on me'. Yet I'm not sure that it is necessarily absent even when one is pounding along by oneself (perhaps we imagine eyes on ourselves).

One guess is that the 'shirtless charge' is at heart a primal celebration of feeling 'unshackled' - literally, as we rid ourselves at least partially of constricting attire. In doing so, we dare the world to feast on our revealed bodies. I don't really know much about what constitutes 'exhibitionism' but this could be some domesticated variant. Speaking personally, I certainly feel what has been described as a 'sensuous buzz'. It is undoubtfully part of the pleasurable package that comes with running bare-chested. It appears that jogbraed runners feel something similar: See From The Net: The naked run and the reference there to 'feeling sexy'. I'm more aware of myself, of the 'sun, wind and elements' as Tommy puts it, and of a casting-away of encumbrances. When I'm stripped to the waist and trotting along, I feel more in touch with my true self.

If you haven't a clue what I'm talking about, but find it intriguing, perhaps it's time you gave shirtless running a try!

Are celebrities good role models?

There are a number of celebrities who are known for enjoying a shirtless run, both male and female. I'll skip the Hollywood name-dropping, since a Google search will reveal who they are. And I'm also in two minds regarding them, despite my own support of their cause.

On the one hand, they could be doing a lot of good, in that many people who read about their exploits may feel more inclined to give a shirtless trot a try. On the other hand, these stars are almost inevitably toned to a ridiculous pitch with the aid of personal trainers, hours in high-tech gyms and so on. They give a false image of what a shirtless runner ought to look like - and could even act as a disincentive, since most folks' bodies and body shapes are rather less ideal.

Personally, as far as role-modelling goes, it was the example of persons far closer to my own day-to-day life that helped me overcome my own inhibitions. Two sets of persons come to mind.

With the first, I knew a cousin who always removed his shirt before playing racquet sports, and another who always did so when jogging. Both signalled that my own incipient sense of being uncomfortable when exercising fully clothed was not a bizarre anomaly but something that could be acted on. They were completely comfortable being seen shirtless, without ever seeming to be exhibitionistic or - as is always a suspicion with celebrities - preening for the camera. I knew them both to be 'normal' people with 'normal' physiques, so emulating them was not an insane notion.

As for the second set of people, there was a Rangers troop at school that required its members to strip to the waist for certain activities, including group exercise, foot drills and some games. I never did join up, but I came to notice that some of my pals who did so became, after a time, much more comfortable about being barechested - and indeed began opting to shed their shirts for gym class or PT. Again, they hadn't become show-offs anxious to display bulked-up muscles and draw girls' attentions. They had simply shrugged off their inhibitions, and were the happier for it.

This blog, then, will ignore the Olympians, professional sportsmen and superstars (even a certain President), however inspiring their shirtless exploits might be to some. It will showcase the thoughts, example and struggles of ordinary folks - even as I am myself as ordinary as any Joe could be - and hopefully show these to be more than enough reason to embark on shirtless runs.

Someone I converted to shirtlessness

Having embraced shirtless running, I must confess to have become rather evangelical about it, in that I nurse the hope that others will join our 'stripped-down' community - even as I want to stress that, in doing so, one is simply adopting a healthful and mind-opening pursuit.

I was therefore pleased to learn a day or two ago that I had, unbeknownst to me, converted someone fully to the cause. He is, as it happens, an old neighbour - my family has since moved - who had indeed been one of those who had registered evident astonishment years ago when I first began venturing out of my digs clad only in shorts, running shoes and socks. I was rather nervous about it then, and I fancy I can still remember his slightly forced smile. During the rest of my time living in that neighbourhood, I never saw him head out bare-chested to run - or indeed to go running at all - though we remained overall on the most cordial terms.

Still, so friendly had we remained that, the other day, we dropped by at his place when we chanced to be in the vicinity. It was his wife who mentioned that he was somewhat less of a couch potato than he used to be - and that he would come home from work in the evening, change into shirtless running attire and then trot out. Clearly, the wife had no issues with this conversion, and gave the strongest signs that she was thankful I had given him an example to follow. The man himself acknowledged that he felt the better for picking up a healthy habit and we discussed his hope that his rather slothful children would join him less infrequently. Perhaps there will be good news on the 'younger generation' when next we meet.

I can't really say why I should feel fulfilled at having increased the shirtless running community by at least one (I don't think the tardy children quite count yet). But I do know there are many out there who feel the same sense of pride at shedding the shirt (or running in jogbra), and I hope that more will offer up their views or experiences. Do write in!

The difference shirtlessness can confer

What follows isn't strictly about running (shirtless or otherwise), but the moral I would draw therefrom is what justifies its inclusion here.

I was on my way to lunch the other day, the sun burning high in the sky, when I passed three or four boys - they couldn't have been more than fourth-graders - just concluding a game of basketball. They had all stripped to the waist and seemed in the highest of spirits as they ceded the court to a female foursome.

Perhaps 30 minutes later, I was retracing my steps after my meal when I saw that three different boys were now playing. Their shirts were still on, but plastered with perspiration - and the expressions were grim as the ball was passed and shot. In sum, the trio seemed less to be enjoying some healthful exercise as trying to complete an onerous assignment from school.

Now, it may seem like a stretch for me to say this, but I'd go as far as to say that had the troika eased up a bit and peeled off their upper-body attire, they would have enjoyed their workout a lot more. The sun would have warmed them less aggressively and perhaps that indefinable camaraderie that animates shared shirtlessness would have taken hold, making for a spring in step and lightness in heart. And this thought, at least, is easily transposed to running or jogging: Many a time, I've seen a plodder soldiering along bathed in sweat, his shirt literally a-swimming - and pitied him for his refusal to embrace shirtless freedom (I'll admit that, as a man, such sentiments pretty much never strike me when passing a similarly-suffering woman - though intellectually, I hold jogbra-ness to be equally liberating).

The vignette is not quite exhausted. The happier boys I had earlier encountered, as it happened, had still been in evidence as I strolled by after lunch. They were still shirtless and now lounging about in a nearby hut, chatting up a storm with the girls who had taken their place after their game. Now, one can sometimes read screeds online by women who insist that shirtlessness is rude, inconsiderate and lower than robbing the blind. But these schoolgirls must have missed that lecture. The interaction of these youngsters seemed completely natural; the girls themselves were in shorts and T-shirts, but the boys' bare-chestedness was not being held against them. And it leads me to suspect that the great mass of people are similarly free of such prejudices - and so understand that someone shirtless in the name of exercise (whether that be running or some other form) is likely as decent and approachable as the next person.

When too long shirted...

It's been a month now since I've hit my route in just shorts and shoes: I've just been too busy. As a result, I've noticed a peculiar mental phenomenon.

When I consider the prospect of heading out again, shirtless, there is an increasing sense of apprehension. From this, I have to conclude that those of us who want to go barechested need to keep up the practice, in order to keep away the cobwebs of 'shyness' or embarrassment. Some of it has a certain basis in logic: If we cease to exercise for too long, our bodies become flabbier. But this is multiplied in the mind, until we become paralysed with uncertainty.

I'll be squeezing out time for a shirtless run by next week, before I'm unable even to strip to the waist without being overwhelmed by doubts.

Being accepted by neighbours

For those runners who are thinking of going shirtless on a more regular basis, one thing that may hold them back is the nagging suspicion that their neighbours might think they had gone a little potty. My experience should help keep such fears at bay.

When I began leaving my T-shirt behind for my runs, it was not long before I would encounter my neighbours on the way to, or back from, my route. Oddly enough, it felt less intimidating if it was the latter, when I was bathed in honest-earned perspiration. Either way, if I didn't say anything, most of my neighbours seemed to think the best thing to do was to pretend they hadn't noticed me. They would literally stroll right past intently focusing on tree branches and the like. This didn't seem quite right: I hadn't somehow morphed into some other creature just because I had embraced shirtless running. So I began to deliberately greet them with cheery 'Good mornings'.

That had a remarkable effect. My neighbours would respond in kind, maintain eye contact and even offer observations like, 'Had an intense bit of exercise, then?'. It was almost as though we had to break the social ice all over again, forgetting that we had known each other for years: Going bare-chested had disrupted their 'stored profile' of me. But once I adopted the practice of 'making the first friendly gesture', the old 'ignore the man' phenomenon went away, never to return. There were occasional hiccoughs (one couple's year-old-son asked them loudly, 'Why is that man so underdressed?', which distressed me greatly at the time) but overall I had reconnected with my neighbourhood. Not that anyone I know ever followed in my footsteps.

So it isn't really all that difficult, is it? Folks are pretty much the same everywhere, I would have thought, so what works for me should work for most...

Just because I'm shirtless doesn't mean...

This may come across as an extended rant, but I've been storing up my frustration over some of the more common misconceptions about shirtless runners, and I'm about ready to lash out - if only in writing.

1) 'I'm an exhibitionist': No I'm not. I'm a 'comfortist', if you like, and going shirtless is more comfortable (apart from sundry other benefits, which you might weigh by clicking here). The fact that I judge the sight of my upper body to be not so abominable that I keep it under total wraps is neither here or there.

2) 'I'm a lout': For some reason, whenever disaffected youth decide to riot and smash stuff, there is a tendency for them to first strip off their shirts. This then tars all other bare-chested folk as potentially aggressive, criminal-minded and dangerous. Which is preposterous... though there may be some sort of psychological link, in some people, between baring more skin and 'acting out'. Maybe it gets the testosterone flowing (notice how soccer stars like to remove their shirts when exhilarating after scoring a goal). But I'm as law-abiding and meekly conformist as the next person, most of the time.

3) 'I'm inconsiderate': How does that work, again? It's the people who would insist runners 'cover up' that are being rather selfish, since shirtless runners are not intruding into their personal space, demanding on being viewed or calling attention to themselves. Now, obviously, there are certain other boundaries to be respected - I wouldn't barge into someone's garden shirtless, for instance - but then again, I'm not likely to do so fully-clothed either, unless I had a very good reason.

4) 'I'm an eyesore': At least this criticism is a forthright one: He (or she) who levels it is upfront about considering a person's upper torso as being offensive in and of itself. But since I doubt that there is any societal consensus on this, I feel quite justified in ignoring your position, so long as I don't go out of your my way to annoy you.

5) 'I'm trying to impress girls/boys': As it happens, this accusation may be true with some shirtless runners. But again, I see no reason to extend it as a blanket condemnation. Running sans shirt is hugely enjoyable once one gets past any hang-ups, and can be savoured without reference to any 'pulling' potential. I for one have certainly never considered my shirtless running in this light (but then I'm married).

6) 'I'm a nudist': Some readers may find this to be an allegation that I've just made up, but there really are folks out there who think that to go shirtless is somehow to go 'semi-naked', which is an unnecessarily provocative choice of words. I have a relative who also goes in for shirtless running (what can I say, maybe it runs in the bloodline), and his family call it 'naked jogging'. That's just misleading. As it happens, I'm personally too conservative for naturism, though within limits I can see why it might be a healthy mental exercise, if occasionally practised. But the demarcation between that and bare-chested (or jogbraed) running is clear.

7) 'I'm a radical': If by taking stand in favour of shirtless running, and assorted related positions, makes me a 'radical', then perhaps I can't shrug off this label. But I don't really find it a particularly radical position to hold: I'm not saying shirtlessness should be made compulsory in any endeavour or be supported by state money. I do think runners should give it a try and I would be happy to see the ranks of the 'shirtless brigade' strengthened by voluntary conversions - to bare-chested and jogbraed running alike. But perhaps it's just so I can feel just like 'one of the crowd' when I'm out pounding a pavement. And that'd be about as unradical a sentiment as it gets.

Voice of a distinct minority

When I set out on my regular route, I'm always hoping to encounter another shirtless (or jogbraed) runner. The reasons for this have nothing to do with ogling.

To start with, shirtless runners are simply a bit of a rarity in my sub-neighbourhood. Just a couple of miles north, or so I've been told on an online forum, they are fairly common; at a park a bus ride away, there's a clique of almost-year-round shirtless regulars. Where I live, however - a fairly dense tract of housing, friendly enough environs, solidly suburban - the bare-chested are not exactly thick on the ground. So - I'll admit it - it gets a little lonely pounding along and passing T-shirted person after T-shirted person. Folks don't quite turn up their noses, but for all their apparent indifference I get the feeling I'm the novelty of the day. There's really no reason that I can discern why we're by-and-large so modest.

The few times I've encountered fellow shirtless folk (male and female) along my route, there has typically been something of an immediate connection. The sense of being an unprosecuted minority drew us together in spirit; just a nod or brief smile was enough to establish the sort of shirtless camaraderie that I've fleetingly referred to elsewhere. Some of these runners were obviously only occasionally bare-chested, perhaps driven to it by a particularly hot day: They carried their shirts in their hands or had a rather uncomfortable look about them, as though caught doing something a little outre. One or two, however, are obviously 'full converts' more settled in their shirtless ways - they are easily marked out by how they have dispensed with a 'safety shirt' about their person.

Down the years and through one change in address, the pattern has been retained. Occasionally, one reads about places where the great majority of runners go shirtless. But perhaps in such locales a backlash by the more conservative residents is more pronounced, with 'damnit, cover up'-type vituperation that spills over into the local newspaper and so online. So my little-noticed existence may after all be the best...

The man who didn't dare bare

Top runners (like sportsmen in many fields) typically have no compunction about swanning about shirtless or in jogbras. But this blog isn't really for such superior athletic beings. I suspect that the kind of thoughts that afflict the minds of many ordinary joggers who can't bring themselves to follow suit could be summarised in my encounter the other day.

I was on my usual route when this unfamiliar fellow chugged past me at an impressive clip. However, he couldn't sustain the pace and soon slowed - before doing a very odd thing. He pulled his tank-top half-way up, exposing perhaps half of his torso... then left it there. He walked on for many yards in this manner - and when I passed him, he was still playing suspend-the-shirt.

Now, in my unscientific reconstruction, he had probably been trundling along happily when he noticed an ordinary-looking fellow jogger stripped to the waist (yours truly). And so he quite possibly thought: 'It's a rather warm day, my tan could do with some work and the folks here aren't going to be offended, surely - after all, there's that fellow there!' Accordingly, on my retelling, he pulled his shirt up - before failing to remove it as a new set of thoughts intervened.

'Well, hang on now, do I really want to show so much of myself?', he wondered. 'I don't look anything like the models from the running magazines. What if Neighbour X or Mrs Y saw me? What would they think?' It should be pointed out that, from what I could see of the man, he shouldn't have had major self-esteem issues. Further, it was likely that he - like surely a majority of joggers - had no burning objections to the simple thought of running sans shirt: After all, there he was, halfway there. But what stayed his hand, or so I suspect, was the sort of fleeting doubts that probably could not have stood up to careful examination. Why should it matter, for instance, that he mightn't have made the grade as a Runner's World model? Yet such spiderwebs of concern are enough to provoke a sort of resigned, 'Oh, never mind', surrender - arresting a momentum to shirtlessness, all in a few footsteps' worth of time.

Of course, one is moved to say, if these sorts of garden-variety worries can be met head-on beforehand, and dispelled (perhaps even on this blog), more folks might venture down the path to shirtless running. Folks who simply don't like the thought are perfectly entitled to their view, and are indeed welcome to write in to argue it. But for those who could do with a gentle nudge of encouragement, they are entitled to that too.

'Shirtless beats holey-shirts any time'

At one point, I was pretty het up over whether (as it is sometimes alleged in online screeds) most women take offense at the sight of shirtless runners. My wife, for one, thinks most shirtless runners - and shirtless sportsmen in general - should stay fully clothed to ward off potentially 'terrifying elderly folk'. Seeking to canvass a broader spectrum of opinion, I broached the topic to a good friend of mine: A woman who does not exercise regularly, wouldn't be seen dead in a jogbra and is fairly conservative overall. Three interesting points emerged:

First, she admitted to being surprised to learn that I had 'turned shirtless runner on her'. She had felt that most men who chose to go shirtless, and to a lesser extent the jogbra crowd among women, were mostly trying to show off their physiques. Yet she knew that I did not fall into the 'exhibitionist maniac' category, so she was interested to know 'what boxes it ticked for me'.

Second, she said that going shirtless was not the worst sin in her book. Worse were men who 'wore mesh shirts with loads of little holes'. If you felt the weather was stifling - or if you felt your body could really bring joy to millions, she said, it was more honest to simply go without a shirt than to opt for 'those things'.

Third, regardless of her personal preferences (hopefully modified by our little chat), she did not think that going shirtless in contexts like exercising or even strolling down the street was to commit some sort of social faux pas. But she knew of friends who thought otherwise.

My friend's observations solidified my sense that to to convert to shirtless running is to accept a certain responsibility: That of potentially affecting the views of the multitudes who simply don't have many friends who admit to being of the shirtless persuasion. Most folks, in other words, simply form their impressions based on those of us they encounter fleetingly in the streets, in the parks or at sports stadiums. There are no doubt out-and-out poseurs among us, but I've no reason to think that the majority of us fall into that category.