Do You Need to Be Strong?

For most of the past two million years, men and women needed strength for basically one reason: to not die. But as horse, machine and computer power slowly replaced man power, the meaning of strength began to evolve. Today you can survive—thrive, even—without lifting anything heavier than your briefcase. So what is strength good for? For the May issue of Men’s Health, I talked to 11 guys about what they’re using strength for. James Shaw Jr., for example, used his strength when a man entered an Atlanta Waffle House and began shooting people with an AR-15. Rhett Bolden, a border crossing officer, is using his to lift himself through stage-III colon cancer. KC Mitchell, a veteran amputee, used powerlifting to pull himself out of PTSD, and Ryan Donahoo, who is transgendered, used the gym to be more comfortable in his body. Read it here.