Hi, I’m Chris Stiehl, and welcome to my site, “The Wide-Body”. On this site, you will find articles touching on the topics of Health, Fitness, and Food, focused on the needs of the everyday athlete. What is an “everyday athlete”? An everyday athlete is someone who does not receive compensation for their competition. If you are on this site it is likely that YOU are an everyday athlete. EVERYONE can be an athlete because everyone is blessed with that ability. For some folks, they just haven’t found the athletic pursuit that suits them, and I hope I can address that in my posts.
“Wide-Body”? What is that?
I started calling myself a “wide-body” 20+ years ago. I was watching an NBA game and the commentators were commenting on how Charles Barkley was quick and agile enough to move the ball up the court and yet he could still bang with the big guys in the paint. Those commentators said the reason for his success was because he was a “WIDE-BODY”. His wide-body was his strength!
That’s when it occurred to me; I too am a Wide-Body!
Do you guys remember “tough skin” jeans? Mine came in size “husky”. In high school, I lifted a lot of weights (football!), could squat 500lbs, and had 27inch thighs. I wore Wrangler “Cowboy Cut” jeans, made with more room in the thighs and butt, but wore a size two sizes too big in the waist. That was the only way to get pants over my thighs. I think you can get the picture of me: I have always been active in many sports, but the one thing I never have been is thin.
Today, I’m 5’11”, 220lbs. In runner’s lingo, I’m referred to as a “Clydesdale”, a moniker I wear with pride. In the world of running, men over 190lbs are “Clydesdales” and women over 160lbs are “Athenas”.
I embrace being a wide-body because that is how I was made and who I am. I enjoy the physical power that comes from this body type and don’t see the need to be embarrassed by my body. I will never be an underwear model, the idea of which truly makes me laugh out loud in my head, but I like my body type far better than the stylized image we all see in our culture.
And that stylized image gets to the heart of this site. At the end of the day, I want us all to embrace our body types. Each one of us has a power built into body type, so don’t let the culture tell you that your body type is unworthy. Show them your power! And secondly, we all have an athlete within us. I know this because we are human, and we have evolved to the point where each of us has an athlete within us. You may not have found the physical activity that suits you, but don’t stop looking. That activity out there looking for you too.
The Wide-Body: Health, Fitness, and Food, for the everyday athlete.
The Wide-Body 