[briHass]

It is said enough to be a cliche at this point, but heavy weight lifting. Having a fit, well-muscled physique will dramatically improve how other men view/treat you. It seems silly, but the evolutionary hard wiring of size/strength=powerful is still present in social interactions.

I'm your age, and this becomes even more valuable and pronounced at a time when many other guys are letting themselves go. By being fit, you demonstrate that you have discipline and the ability to stick to something physically difficult.

Not to mention the internal, mental benefits of challenging yourself physically. My time under the bar has become my meditation...a way to get out of my head. Put more poetically by Henry Rollins:

"The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds."

http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/strength-articles/iron-henry...