The supplement boom: What’s behind the $69 billion wellness surge?

There is no shortage of examples of the male bicep becoming the driver of confidence in men and desire for women. Men have been fed this narrative since we were kids, from Popeye winning the love of Olive Oil when he eats spinach and is awarded with bulging biceps, allowing him to be the hero (I won’t go on a tangent about how this was also used to manipulate me into eating vegetables…which I have thankfully overcome as an adult) to Captain America displaying his hulking biceps by holding down a literal helicopter. The bro culture makes memes of men like Arnold Schwarzenegger locking hands with Carl Weathers and showing off the boulders under their tee sleeves, resulting in all of us men wanting to learn how to get the giant arms to show off our hard work.

Of course, that means one of the first things we reach for in the gym when we first get our membership is the dumbbell so we can start our journey towards attaining our own Olive-Oil-rescuing muscle. But, like anything, it is best to listen to experts. Liz Baker Plosser is a fitness and wellness expert who has spent two decades teaching others on the same journey to attain their fitness goals. From being the editor and chief at Women’s Health to appearing on national shows like Live with Kelly and Mark and The TODAY Show, she has become a staple in the fitness industry.

Movies lied to me when I was a kid. When I joined the Army, I had dreams of being an Army Ranger. Too many movies made me think I could be a special operator and maybe even get myself a great nickname like the GI Joes. Instead, I told one of the sergeants of my aspirations, and he flat out said I wouldn’t make it. Not that I couldn’t do it, but that they wouldn’t let me. I was too big. 6’5″ and 220 pounds was going to require too many calories. You see, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne Johnson made me think that the elite soldiers needed to be hulking giants. Or world-class martial artists like Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, or Jean-Claude Van Damme. And since I couldn’t do a roundhouse, I decided to follow the more practical path of the everyman like Bruce Willis, Nic Cage, and Tom Cruise.

You see, special operators need to be agile. They need mobility. That is why Chris Hemsworth adopted a workout with that goal to prepare for his third turn as Tyler Rake in his new Netflix film, Extraction 3.

For years, The Manual has told readers which products actually work. Not which ones arrived in the nicest box, and not which brand bought the most media. Which ones held up after weeks of real use, and were still worth reaching for at the end.

Now we’re bringing that same approach to health. Introducing The Manual Health & Wellness Awards 2026, our first awards program dedicated to the products that help men sleep, train, recover, and feel better. And it’s open to submissions.