🚨 Welcome to this week’s issue of Generation Xcellent. I’m Stephen Perrine, New York Times bestselling author and former top editor at Men’s Health and Maxim. And like you, I’m doing all I can to survive the moshpit of midlife. Thanks for joining me on the journey! (And as always, our content is 100% Organic Intelligence—written by guys like us, for guys like us.)

📩 Thanks for joining the conversation!

- GEN X CULTURE -

10 Gen-X Women Who Keep Getting Hotter

Charlize, Salma, and 8 other icons of womanhood who’ve aged like rare vinyl

By Bob Larkin

Bob Larkin writes for Men’s Health, the New York Post, and other publications..

- MASCULINITY -

What Kind of Caddyshack Man Are You?

How a filthy little golf comedy taught Gen X guys how to grow up without selling out

By Bob Larkin

>I was ten when Caddyshack hit theaters in 1980, the perfect age for a movie that felt like it was made by your delinquent older brother. It wasn’t for kids, but it wasn’t exactly for adults either. It was rude, chaotic, and horny in a way you didn’t fully get but knew you wanted more of.

 This summer marks the movie’s 45th anniversary, and it remains one of the greatest “drop the remote” films of all time. Doesn’t matter which scene you stumble across—Murray in the flowers, Chase on the piano, Dangerfield in the pro shop—you’re staying until the credits. That’s in part because, in between the gopher gags and “Cinderella story” rants, Caddyshack handed a generation of guys a strange little starter kit for manhood, with four male archetypes to mix, match, and screw up in our own way. Which one did you turn out to be?

Related:  The Movies that Define Generation X

1. The Smooth Slacker. Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) was the Zen burnout every Gen X guy wanted to be: rich enough to not give a shit, stoned enough to float through life, and smooth enough to hit a perfect putt with his eyes closed. “Do you do drugs?” he asked the teenage Danny, mumbling his approval. A great sequence of dialog when you’re getting wasted with your college roommate and plotting to conquer the world; not a great sequence 30 years later when you’re confronting your own teenager while mumbling over the electric bill.
Gen Xers who grew up to be Ty Webb: Jack Dorsey, Matthew McConaughey, Keanu Reeves

2. The Rule Follower. Judge Smails (Ted Knight) was the human embodiment of every bullshit rule we wanted to ignore: dress codes, tradition, smug condescension. He was the kind of guy who’d tell you to tuck in your shirt—clinging to tired traditions in a fruitless effort to control the chaos around him. Caddyshack taught us that the establishment deserves mockery. But if you want their money, their jobs, or their turf, you’d better be good enough to beat them at their own game. Or at least wedge a Baby Ruth into their swimming pool first.
Gen Xers who grew up to be Judge Smails: Marco Rubio, Anderson Cooper, Ben Affleck

3. The Obnoxious Outsider. Rodney Dangerfield’s Al Czervik didn’t so much crash the party as bulldoze the front gate, spray-paint the clubhouse, and install a disco ball over the first tee. Loud, vulgar, wearing clothes that could be seen from space, he taught us that fitting in is optional—but if you’re gonna be the outsider, go VERY, VERY BIG. And if they hate it? All the better. One could argue that without Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack, there’s no Donald Trump in the White House. Discuss.
Gen Xers who grew up to be Al Czervik: John Fetterman, Deion Sanders, Eminem

3. The Eccentric. Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) was a filthy, rambling, possibly mentally deranged groundskeeper locked in mortal combat with a puppet gopher. But he was the only guy on the course who looked like he was having fun. Sometimes our battles are ridiculous—chasing varmints, arguing with teenagers, politicking the HOA—but there’s no rule that says you can’t keep yourself entertained during the fight. Strange hobbies? Talk to yourself much? You’re fine.
Gen Xers who grew up to be Carl Spackler: Joaquin Phoenix, Wes Anderson, Andre 3000

—Ben Larkin writes for Men’s Health, the New York Post, and other publications.

Ask Jen: The X-Rated Files
“Should I Snoop on My Wife’s Browser History?”

>Got a question about sex, marriage, dating, or whatever’s happening in your DMs? Ask Jen X. She’ll sort it out, no judgement. (Well, maybe a little.)

Q: My wife’s been acting a little off lately. I’ve been tempted to snoop on her Google search history just to see if anything weird is going on. Is that crazy? Would anything good come from it? —Matt S., Madison, WI

A: Would anything good come from it? No. Would something come from it? Absolutely. And that something is probably you spiraling through Reddit at 3am, whispering “What the hell is a ‘Regé-Jean Page Noshirt’?”

If you’re snooping, the trust is already cracked. And what’s worse? Finding nothing and still not feeling reassured? Or finding something vague and very Google-able like “emotional affairs married woman” and convincing yourself it’s all over?

If you’re truly worried, talk to her. Like, with words. No passive-aggressive sighing. No “Do you have anything to tell me?” nonsense. Just a direct “Hey, you’ve seemed off lately. What’s going on?” Trust me, that conversation will go better than anything you find on Chrome.

- HEALTH -

Your 3-Point Back Pain Response Plan

Not loving your lower lumbar? The real culprit might be lurking elsewhere in your body.

By Jordan Metzl, M.D.

>Does your back hate you? 

It feels that way sometimes. But chances are, if your lower back hurts, it’s not because you hurt your lower back. It’s because of something else. 

Back pain often results from muscle weakness or imbalances around the spine. Any issue with your glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, quads and abs can launch a bout of back pain. But if you can get strong in all of these areas, your lumbar will start to resolve–or at least you’ll cut down on the groaning when you get up out of a chair. Here are three moves that have consistently worked for my patients over the years.

Prone Cobra: Lie facedown on the floor with your legs straight and your arms next to your sides, palms down. Contract your glutes and the muscles of your lower back, then raise your head, chest, arms and legs off the floor. Simultaneously rotate your arms so that your thumbs point toward the ceiling. At this time your hips should be the only part of your body touching the floor. Hold this position for as long as you can, up to 30 seconds. If that’s too hard, hold the position for 5 to 10 seconds, rest for 5 seconds, then repeat until you hit a total of 30 seconds of elevation.

Swiss-Ball Pike: Assume a pushup position with your arms completely straight. Position your hands slightly wider than and in line with your shoulders. Rest your shins on a Swiss ball. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your ankles. Without bending your knees, roll the Swiss ball toward your body by raising your hips as high as you can (push them toward the ceiling). Pause, then return the ball to the starting position by lowering your hips and rolling the ball backward. 

Hip Raise: Lie face up on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Place your arms out to your sides at 45-degree angles, your palms facing up. Now squeeze your glutes and push down with your heels to raise your hips so your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Pause for 5 seconds in the up position, then lower your body back to the starting position. Repeat 12 times. 

—Jordan Metzl, M.D. is a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and the author of several books on the intersection of medicine, fitness and health, including The Athlete’s Book of Home Remedies.

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