I think tony was checking other men's arms, seeing who had the most muscle, etc... he was picking out his prey... and its true... sure this 20-something kid could bench press more than anyone, but fighting is a skill and has NOTHING to do with strength... i am actually wondering if they crew knew tony is feeling a bit insecure/insuperior and he had to prove something to himself, that kid was easy prey... even still, old age is catching up to all of them... i think that was the main point of the episode... especially since they have all been talking about their ailments, silvio with the asthma attack, paulie saying he cant do chinups, vito talking about losing weight and living longer...

As for the whole vito thing... it made no sense, why should he, being a capo, fear the 2 young soldiers (if they were even of that status), a man like that would not be, or should not be intimidated by them, and if they mouthed off, they would have surely learned their place quickly with a message... so i am not buying it, seems like the writers were lazy on that one... could have been something more interesting there..