The Ripped Representative (GOP Rep goes shirtless for Mag cover)

Men's Health Magazine ^ | May 6, 2011 | Stephen Perrine

[Pan_Yan]

It's early spring in Washington, D.C., and the cherry blossoms lining the Tidal Basin are bursting like kernels of popcorn, lending a fairy-tale feel to the nation's bastion of power. But to catch a glimpse of the real Washington in action, you'd better arrive early. If you hit the street before 8 a.m., you may see the fittest man in Congress, U.S. Representative Aaron Schock of Illinois, clocking in for his 5-mile run—the conclusion of a morning fitness routine that starts in the House gym at 6:30 every weekday morning.

"It's got to happen early or it's not going to happen," says Schock, who on the cusp of his 30th birthday is the youngest member of the House of Representatives—and already in his second term. Schock, who represents Illinois's 18th congressional district (Abe Lincoln's old stomping grounds), is one of a dozen or so congressmen who make regular treks to the House gym for weight training and sessions of P90X, the video series created by Tony Horton.

...

That's not because of his policy positions—he's a party-line Republican with a middle-class, Rust Belt background. And it's not because of his controversial statements and stances—his biggest national showdown involved a chummy ride on Air Force One during which President Barack Obama lobbied him to vote for the stimulus bill. (Schock politely declined.) And given that he's at least half a decade too young to run for the presidency, nobody fears his entry into the race for the White House in 2012 (or 2016, for that matter). No, what makes Aaron Schock so different in the Washington world is that he's committed to helping his generation embrace health and fitness as a personal responsibility—and he's doing it not just with words, but actions.

[JudyinCanada]

I don’t know one normal heterosexual man who would dress like that. My gadar is going off....loudly.