Winter Arc
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About
Winter Arc refers to a fitness challenge in which people spend their winters bulking and gaining muscle and then cutting the fat to look fit and shredded by summer. The challenge can be traced back to at least late 2022. However, the phrase "winter arc" only received meme attention in 2024 as internet users mocked those who treated the challenge like a "double XP event."
Origin
The term "winter arc" is likely derived from manga "arcs," with fitness enthusiasts highlighting the winter as a time for change and self-improvement and a time to make "moves in silence," before bearing the fruits of hard work in the following summertime. In fitness culture, the "winter arc" refers to the practice of bulking in the winter and cutting fat before summer, with the "arc" beginning on October 1st of every year.
According to a September 1st, 2022, entry on Urban Dictionary,[1] the "Winter Arc" refers to a "time where every man must face the mental and physical challenges of winter."
Twitter / X users @SoGrizzy[2] and @OvOBrezzzy[3] posted memes about entering their "winter arcs," on October 10th and October 16th, 2022, gathering over 4,000 and 3,000 likes, respectively, in two years.
TikToker[4] and YouTuber @nickpedersen__ posted one of the earliest notable videos using the phrase in 2022, with a December 1st, 2022, TikTok gathering over 3 million plays and 800,000 likes in two years.
@nickpedersen__ winter arc
Spread
More creators began to latch onto the idea of a "winter arc" in 2023, with YouTuber[5] Improving Afro posting a Short on September 28th, 2023, that gathered over 11 million views and 400,000 likes in a year.
On November 9th, YouTuber[6] DJ FKU posted a phonk track called "Winter Arc Funk," gathering over 3.6 million views in a year.
In 2024, several TikTokers posted videos of themselves shaving their heads in preparation for a "winter arc," including @noahlifts5,[7] whose September 29th, 2024, video gathered over 25 million plays and 2 million likes in five days.
On October 1st, 2024, TikToker[8] @sleven.kvn posted a similarly dramatic video of him shaving his head in preparation for his "winter arc," gathering over 800,000 plays and 60,000 likes in three days.
The top comment on both videos saw people joking about how the winter arc is "not a double XP event."
@noahlifts5 Time to turn calories into muscles and excuses into gains.💀🥶#gymtok #winterarc #buzzcut ♬ original sound – fairiesofthenight
@sleven.kvn Winter arc ready. #winterarc #darcsport #winterarcchallenge #motivation ♬ original sound – fairiesofthenight
More internet users posted jokes about the "winter arc" in October 2024, including @OvOBrezzzy,[9] who posted a photo of a sleeping monkey on October 2nd, 2024, writing, "'Winter arc' mfs in 2 days." The post gathered over 15,000 likes in two days.
Various Examples
@parkercant the vids got me laughing tho
@packyourstuf #fyp #fypシ #balkan #trollface #skibiditoilet #winterarc ♬ som original – 乃ㄥㄖㄖᗪㄚ ✦ 乇ㄚ乇丂
Search Interest
Unavailable.
External References
[1] Urban Dictionary – Winter Arc
[3] X – OvOBrezzzy
[4] TikTok – nickpedersen__
[5] YouTube – Improving Afro
[7] TikTok – noahlifts5
[8] TikTok – sleven.kvn
[9] X – OvOBrezzzy
