Afghanistan's tough guys are learning a new alphabet. When young men get together in Kabul, they no longer talk about RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and AK-47 assault rifles.
Conversations are now peppered with acronyms such as GMM (Giant Mega Mass) or PNPW (Prolab Nutrition's Pure Whey), strawberry-flavoured, American-made dietary supplements for increasing muscle mass.
'These young men want to develop their bodies just to look good, like the actors they see in movies,' said bodybuilder Noorulhuda Sherzad, last year's Mr Kabul, speaking about the gymnasium craze sweeping Afghanistan. 'Nobody wants to fight any more.'
According to the Afghanistan National Body Building Federation Kabul has 70 gyms, five times more than under the Taleban. Gyms have also mushroomed in provincial towns such as Kandahar in the south, once the stronghold of Islamic fundamentalists.
'You can look in every street - you will find a gym,' said Bashir Salimi, a satellite TV technician working out in a Kabul gym. 'This is a time for learning, for studying. Men build bodies for fashion, for style - we want to put away the gun forever.'
Although the Taleban did not outlaw gyms, they enforced a strict dress code, insisting bodybuilders wear the traditional salwar baggy pants and grow full beards.