The deleted one was a double-post of the one you replied to. Why NOW? Because of Tinder and things like it. A small subset of heterosexual dudes is having a really good and easy time in the casual sex department. The biggest thing that subset has in common is a low body fat percentage. You want to join that club, get shredded. In fact, with how fat 'average' is these days, just don't be fat and you're already above average. People work out for all sorts of reasons. Some people want to be big venous powerlifters, some want to win the crossfit olympics. Some may be genuinely into fitness as a hobby and want to share their progress and techniques with the world (Or social media, amounts to the same) Others enjoy the process, the endorphins that much, and others are just in it for girls. With the examples described in the article, specifically abdominal definition and social media presence used to advertise such, and no indication that your average 'spornosexual' is a fitness coach, professional athlete, etc, I don't see a reasonable conclusion outside of the Brosif parable. * Or the 'Lots of dudes are broke and polishing up the 'ol meatwagon can be fun and rewarding' bit that you mentioned. But my money is more on the former than latter.