Pencil neck wannabe in training

Like many young boys growing up, I spent a fair amount of time watching big time wrestling on television. My favorite wrestlers were the “good guys”, but there was one “bad guy” wrestler named Ray Stevens who I secretly admired. I always looked forward to his post-match interviews with the ringside announcer. Ray Stevens, who later in his career became known as Ray “The Crippler” Stevens, would go around calling everyone a pencil neck, a term he likely borrowed from Freddie Blassie, another wrestling legend.

I’m guessing that every skinny boy and man with a thin neck couldn’t help but be reminded of it whenever they listened to Ray’s television interviews. It was a strong image in my mind and is even to this day, much like Mac the 97-pound weakling immortalized by the classic Charles Atlas comic book ads.

Good news about being a pencil neck hit the newsstands this week with a health news article about a recent Framington Health Study research finding that neck circumference was associated with cardio metabolic risk factors. In other words, neck fat is closely associated with the known factors for heart trouble, such as cholesterol levels and diabetes, said a report using data on 3,320 offspring of the study's original participants.

So for us middle-age men fitness warriors who train hard for good fitness and health, maybe the image we should have of ourselves is that of a pencil neck wannabe in training.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum