Overheard in the gym - Share!

[Artinum]

I don't get the internet's fascination with Zyzz.

 

Never heard of him, but I'm guessing the name is a big part of this. It's exotic, yet easy to spell and pronounce. Never doubt the ability of a good hook to catch people's attention.

[Cr33g]

I don't get the internet's fascination with Zyzz. No offense, but the dude died of organ failure in his early twenties amid allegations of substance abuse, yet if you look on Bodyspace people treat him like the patron saint of bicepticons. I'm not saying the guy wasn't influential in niche fitness communities, but he has kind of a James Dean/Marilyn Monroe thing going on.

 

Somebody is probably going to get upset, that's not my intent. I just think the whole "die young and leave a beautiful corpse" phenomenon is at play in his posthumous fame.

 

I wasn't really a fan of Zyzz. I had only heard of him after his passing, however I can certainly understand why so many people looked up to him... despite the fact that yes, Zyzz passed away at a very young age due to what was most likely substance abuse. 

 

The reason people looked up to him or had a "fascination" with him was not just because of his physique but it was because of his physical and mental change. He once described himself as a "sad c***" who was very thin, underweight and didn't have much confidence or self esteem. He started going to the gym, people apparently gave him crap for trying, but he kept going under the guidance of his older brother (who was also into body building). A few years later, Zyzz ended up with an extraordinary physique and was really looked up to at the gym. On top of that everything changed about him from body building - his confidence went through the roof, he started "getting girls" and he received opportunities in terms of fame and business - personal training, a YouTube following, modelling, his own protein label etc. His change of life style lead to all this.

 

I watched a few of his YouTube videos to learn more about him and by the looks of it, he was a bit of a troll, who tried to make comedy videos to entertain people, but he did have some gym videos, shared advice and tried to inspire others. He certainly did inspire a lot of young Australians to get off their arse and do something with themselves.

 

 

Never heard of him, but I'm guessing the name is a big part of this. It's exotic, yet easy to spell and pronounce. Never doubt the ability of a good hook to catch people's attention.

 

"Zyzz" was his nick name (stage name if you will I suppose), but his real name was "Aziz Shavershian", of Russian descent. 

[Machete]

I dunno, man. Body builders, power lifters, strong man competitors etc. have been doing squats and stuff for a long time now, way before the CrossFit craze. Look at Arnold Schwarznegger, there's heaps of old school photos of him smashing out some seriously heavy squats. I don't blame them either, squats are one of the best weight lifting exercises you can do in the gym, so long as you don't have any physical limitations that may prevent you from squatting. 

 

I think the whole "She squats" and "Do you even lift?" started with body building but in the youth of body building so to speak, people in late teens to early/mid twenties etc. I mean, Australian body builder Zyzz was a big influence on that one I reckon, in regards to the Internet mentality of lifting. 

 

As for CrossFit, I don't quite agree with its methods and to be honest I haven't tried it myself but I have seen it yield results in people who participate in CrossFit. Again I'm not gonna do it - but good on these people. At least they're doing something and they're getting something out of it, they're achieving something. 

 

I do agree with you, there is a sort of... arrogance about CrossFit. Note - I'm not saying ALL CrossFitter's are arrogant, no, only a small handful. That being said, you'll find people like this in any sport and activity, you've got body builders who make fun of CrossFitters and power lifters, you've got power lifters who make fun of CrossFitters and body builders, etc. These kind of people are everywhere, regardless of the sport/activity they participate in. 

 

But going back to squats quickly... personally when I squat, I try to squat as low as I can which is quite low. One time I had to train at a gym that I don't normally go to (I had to go to a different gym on my lunch break at work, because I couldn't go after work as I normally do). I was doings squats and this fella was just looking at me the entire time. Afterwards he approached me and I asked him "Is everything okay?", and he asks me, "Do you do CrossFit?" I said "No sorry, why do you ask?" and he answered "Because you squat really low, only CrossFitters do that." I kinda just laughed and said that I do judo, so the low squats benefit the judo. We had a bit of a chat and he left me resume my work. 

 

It was kinda flattering but at the same time, kind of strange? 

 

Arnold, when he was a weight lifting icon, was not known for his squat though. He was known for the so-called Arnold Press. (And maybe his barefoot deadlifting.)

 

Before CrossFit became popular and all those "boxes" started popping up, nearly every commercial gym was the same. And people who knew about strength training then complained about the same thing--too many machines and bicep apparatuses, not enough squat racks.That is why the notion of curling on the squat rack was such a big thing back then. And you still see those machine-filled gyms today, with three flat benches, two incline benches, a decline bench, and one squat rack. Before it became cool to squat and to do "functional strength training", gym bros were all about bicep curls and the bench press. And do you remember all those studies "proving" that squats are bad for your knees? We still feel the effects of the [misunderstood] bodybuilding era.

 

I'm not a Hipster or anything, but when something becomes popular, there is an increased chance of it being ruined. The increasing popularity of the squat is an example of a good thing ruined by too many people wanting to get in on the action. Heavy squats involve very complex interactions between muscles. It takes a lot of neuromuscular coordination, mobility, and motor control (on top of strength) to execute one properly. Of course you don't expect everyone at the gym to be well-informed in regards to proper technique, so people come in there, wanting to squat like everyone else does, and butcher it, performing them with cringeworthy technique. There are people who are either too preoccupied with how many plates are on the bar that they do their quarter-squats (the common bro that functional strength enthusiasts like to make fun of), or you have the ones who are too preoccupied with how deep they are going that they just end up with disgusting lumbar flexion. (If you can't handle the weight, decrease it. In the same way, if you can't handle the ROM, decrease it. Work on your mobility.)

 

[Cr33g]

Arnold, when he was a weight lifting icon, was not known for his squat though. He was known for the so-called Arnold Press. (And maybe his barefoot deadlifting.)

 

Before CrossFit became popular and all those "boxes" started popping up, nearly every commercial gym was the same. And people who knew about strength training then complained about the same thing--too many machines and bicep apparatuses, not enough squat racks.That is why the notion of curling on the squat rack was such a big thing back then. And you still see those machine-filled gyms today, with three flat benches, two incline benches, a decline bench, and one squat rack. Before it became cool to squat and to do "functional strength training", gym bros were all about bicep curls and the bench press. And do you remember all those studies "proving" that squats are bad for your knees? We still feel the effects of the [misunderstood] bodybuilding era.

 

I'm not a Hipster or anything, but when something becomes popular, there is an increased chance of it being ruined. The increasing popularity of the squat is an example of a good thing ruined by too many people wanting to get in on the action. Heavy squats involve very complex interactions between muscles. It takes a lot of neuromuscular coordination, mobility, and motor control (on top of strength) to execute one properly. Of course you don't expect everyone at the gym to be well-informed in regards to proper technique, so people come in there, wanting to squat like everyone else does, and butcher it, performing them with cringeworthy technique. There are people who are either too preoccupied with how many plates are on the bar that they do their quarter-squats (the common bro that functional strength enthusiasts like to make fun of), or you have the ones who are too preoccupied with how deep they are going that they just end up with disgusting lumbar flexion. (If you can't handle the weight, decrease it. In the same way, if you can't handle the ROM, decrease it. Work on your mobility.)

 

 

You are a hipster, Machete. Don't lie.

 

I'm kidding.

 

I think you're right though, Machete. When I first started going to the gym, I never did any squats or dead lifts, I was just following what my friends did because I didn't know any better and I was told not to worry about leg work as it'll affect my judo. Well, it certainly did affect my judo all right... I tore my right ACL during a randori (sparring) session and was put out for six months or so after receiving LARS ACL surgery. As part of my rehabilitation, I was eventually tasked to do squats by the physiotherapist which at first, was so Goddamn awkward. 

 

The reason I started squatting (and dead lifting too) is because I was eventually advised that these exercises were good for sports/martial arts and I wanted to try something new instead of "bro training" so to speak... because "bro training" was not helping me at all in what I wanted. So I invested the help in one of the guys at the gym (who's a personal trainer, power lifting competitor and power lifting coach) and he got me into it. I've been better off for it ever since.

 

Regarding Arnold Schwarznegger, despite the fact he did do massive squats and dead lifts, you're right again... I forget he was known for his chest and the "Arnold Press". 

 

Now that I think about it, squats have probably become more popular due to CrossFit. Like that time at the gym, I was doing squats and then I was asked by someone if I do CrossFit. Maybe I am just being biased, but CrossFit seems to demonstrate dangerous habits and alternative exercises regarding the squat. 

 

Technique is absolutely important with squatting as an incorrect squat can lead to harmful results. I think though this goes to everyone on here, myself included - if you see someone attempting to do a specific exercise and you know for a fact it's incorrect and you know how it should be done, then instead of privately criticising them to your friends, it wouldn't hurt for you to try and help 'em out. Ask them if they're okay, if they would like some help and if they do, you could explain the technique and how it should be performed. In all honesty, nine times out of ten the person will probably reject your advice, but at the end of the day you at least tried to help and that's what's important... as long as the way you try to deliver your advice isn't rude or obnoxious. 

 

Not to go too far off topic but sometimes you just gotta let people go and find out for themselves... for example, one fella asked me to spot him on bench press. He did his reps and set, and I said "If you don't mind me saying, I noticed the bar wasn't touching your chest. Maybe next time you could try and bring the bar down a bit lower?" and he responds "I have sore shoulders, old injuries." So I said "Oh okay. Well maybe we could lower the weight and try?" and he persisted, "I want to lift this." - I didn't argue, I said okay and helped him with his next two sets. 

[Machete]

You are a hipster, Machete. Don't lie.

 

I'm kidding.

 

I think you're right though, Machete. When I first started going to the gym, I never did any squats or dead lifts, I was just following what my friends did because I didn't know any better and I was told not to worry about leg work as it'll affect my judo. Well, it certainly did affect my judo all right... I tore my right ACL during a randori (sparring) session and was put out for six months or so after receiving LARS ACL surgery. As part of my rehabilitation, I was eventually tasked to do squats by the physiotherapist which at first, was so Goddamn awkward. 

 

The reason I started squatting (and dead lifting too) is because I was eventually advised that these exercises were good for sports/martial arts and I wanted to try something new instead of "bro training" so to speak... because "bro training" was not helping me at all in what I wanted. So I invested the help in one of the guys at the gym (who's a personal trainer, power lifting competitor and power lifting coach) and he got me into it. I've been better off for it ever since.

 

Regarding Arnold Schwarznegger, despite the fact he did do massive squats and dead lifts, you're right again... I forget he was known for his chest and the "Arnold Press". 

 

Now that I think about it, squats have probably become more popular due to CrossFit. Like that time at the gym, I was doing squats and then I was asked by someone if I do CrossFit. Maybe I am just being biased, but CrossFit seems to demonstrate dangerous habits and alternative exercises regarding the squat. 

 

Technique is absolutely important with squatting as an incorrect squat can lead to harmful results. I think though this goes to everyone on here, myself included - if you see someone attempting to do a specific exercise and you know for a fact it's incorrect and you know how it should be done, then instead of privately criticising them to your friends, it wouldn't hurt for you to try and help 'em out. Ask them if they're okay, if they would like some help and if they do, you could explain the technique and how it should be performed. In all honesty, nine times out of ten the person will probably reject your advice, but at the end of the day you at least tried to help and that's what's important... as long as the way you try to deliver your advice isn't rude or obnoxious. 

 

Not to go too far off topic but sometimes you just gotta let people go and find out for themselves... for example, one fella asked me to spot him on bench press. He did his reps and set, and I said "If you don't mind me saying, I noticed the bar wasn't touching your chest. Maybe next time you could try and bring the bar down a bit lower?" and he responds "I have sore shoulders, old injuries." So I said "Oh okay. Well maybe we could lower the weight and try?" and he persisted, "I want to lift this." - I didn't argue, I said okay and helped him with his next two sets. 

 

I was squatting before it was cool. Haha.

 

Personally, I believe I started actually squatting heavy because of Rippetoe. I'd been doing only bodyweight and light squats only prior, and was mostly preoccupied with the deadlift (I was reading Pavel). This probably explains my weak squat right now.

 

I try not to correct people at the gym (I believe there's a thread about it.) For guys it's usually one big monkey dance where everyone tries to demonstrate dominance and offering unsolicited knowledge is taken as a challenge, and for girls it's usually getting into the middle of one big monkey dance and offering unsolicited knowledge is taken as sexual harassment. Haha. I've tried a few times. Once there was this guy flailing around with ugly shadowboxing technique. I tried to help him out and he proceeded to talk about how he trains with pro UFC fighters.

[I-Jo]

Before CrossFit became popular and all those "boxes" started popping up, nearly every commercial gym was the same. And people who knew about strength training then complained about the same thing--too many machines and bicep apparatuses, not enough squat racks.That is why the notion of curling on the squat rack was such a big thing back then. And you still see those machine-filled gyms today, with three flat benches, two incline benches, a decline bench, and one squat rack. Before it became cool to squat and to do "functional strength training", gym bros were all about bicep curls and the bench press. And do you remember all those studies "proving" that squats are bad for your knees? We still feel the effects of the [misunderstood] bodybuilding era.  

 

I'm not a Hipster or anything, but when something becomes popular, there is an increased chance of it being ruined. The increasing popularity of the squat is an example of a good thing ruined by too many people wanting to get in on the action.

 

that has always been- and will always be.

Cross fit has made power/oly lifting popular- but the people who want to do that- will do it.  The people who are educated  or get educated about lifting- and start having more specific goals- will do a more comprehensive lifting program. 

 

There have always been- and will always be guys who want to work their mirror muscles. There is nothing new here about this. 
 

 

People aren't ruining squatting because they are doing it more. I get what you are saying to an extent- but you can't ruin lifting with trendy people jumping on. The people that are like that will either figure it out- or get bored and move on.   

The squat isn't ruined- power lifting and oly lifting isn't ruined.  It got pupular- and people who like trends will do it and they will either get good because they learn to actually care- and if not- so what.   It doesn't ruin it for me.  It doesn't ruin the squat- I don't understand.  It's just a thing- that's like saying punks ruined the civic- sure it's a name- and people have leanred to associate it with tools who put on big open pipes and drive around like dingleberries- but guess what- my several of my friends drive civics- their car isn't 'ruined'  No one thinks they are racing anyone at the light. 

 

yeah it's insipid- but it's not ruining anything.

[Obitim]

I was squatting before it was cool. Haha.

 

 

 

The Hipster Squat!

[Cr33g]

I was squatting before it was cool. Haha.

 

Personally, I believe I started actually squatting heavy because of Rippetoe. I'd been doing only bodyweight and light squats only prior, and was mostly preoccupied with the deadlift (I was reading Pavel). This probably explains my weak squat right now.

 

I try not to correct people at the gym (I believe there's a thread about it.) For guys it's usually one big monkey dance where everyone tries to demonstrate dominance and offering unsolicited knowledge is taken as a challenge, and for girls it's usually getting into the middle of one big monkey dance and offering unsolicited knowledge is taken as sexual harassment. Haha. I've tried a few times. Once there was this guy flailing around with ugly shadowboxing technique. I tried to help him out and he proceeded to talk about how he trains with pro UFC fighters.

 

That's fair enough, aye man. I used to only do body weight squats too and that was only at judo, so yeah... I've found that doing heavy squats (or as heavy as I can) as well as dead lifts has really helped my legs, especially in the rehabilitation and protection of my right knee. What's Rippetoe, sorry? 

 

I don't try to correct people very often when it comes to the gym. In judo, that's a different story e.g. correcting lower grades regarding technique and whatnot but the gym? Not so much. Like I said before, I once corrected that fella because he asked me to spot him and I just couldn't help but notice. Another time, I corrected two young fella's (teenagers) when they were bench pressing... they were benching with their shoulders on the bench (good) but their hips and butt were completely off the bench and up in the air. They were doing this while they were near a safety poster, telling people NOT to do that when benching. So... I just pointed them to the poster and lucky for me, they listened. To be fair, they probably wouldn't have listened if there was no poster. 

 

That guy sounds funny, who you tried to assist regarding the shadow boxing stuff... but hey, at the very least you tried. Personally when it comes to striking stuff, I just leave people alone and assume they know what they're doing (because I have little knowledge and experience in striking). When it comes to grappling though, especially judo, then I'll say something - unless it's higher grades, then I only offer input if they ask. 

[MidknytOwl]

Before CrossFit became popular and all those "boxes" started popping up, nearly every commercial gym was the same. And people who knew about strength training then complained about the same thing--too many machines and bicep apparatuses, not enough squat racks.That is why the notion of curling on the squat rack was such a big thing back then. And you still see those machine-filled gyms today, with three flat benches, two incline benches, a decline bench, and one squat rack. 

 

This is a little freaky for me because you totally described my gym (which apparently is standard issue, but I'm a newbie, so I had no idea) - three flat benches, two incline benches, a decline bench, but instead of one squat rack we have two.  Ooh, la la!  However, I don't think we have a bar for each one of these, since I've had to take the bar with me from squats to bench and vice versa.

 

Don't worry though, my gym has five leg curl machines, which is much more important than a bar at each of the other ones mentioned.

[Obitim]

That's fair enough, aye man. I used to only do body weight squats too and that was only at judo, so yeah... I've found that doing heavy squats (or as heavy as I can) as well as dead lifts has really helped my legs, especially in the rehabilitation and protection of my right knee. What's Rippetoe, sorry? 

 

 

 

It;s a guy called Mark Rippetoe, he's a strength coach!

[Dleffe]

Heh, that reminds me of something awkward at the gym last week. We have these fairly narrow stairs going up to the changing rooms. As I was going up 2 other guys came down and on passing I looked up to make sure we didn't run eachother of the stairs. Now the embarassing part (for someone else) was that at the exact moment I looked up a girl in yoga pants started down the stairs. I don't think she was wearing underwear as I was staring right at a very nice cameltoe. I managed to keep a straight face up untill I got to the changing rooms, but damnit it was difficult not having my mouth fall open and stare.

 

PS: yes she was very attractive so I didn't really mind

[Noname123]

Heh, that reminds me of something awkward at the gym last week. We have these fairly narrow stairs going up to the changing rooms. As I was going up 2 other guys came down and on passing I looked up to make sure we didn't run eachother of the stairs. Now the embarassing part (for someone else) was that at the exact moment I looked up a girl in yoga pants started down the stairs. I don't think she was wearing underwear as I was staring right at a very nice cameltoe. I managed to keep a straight face up untill I got to the changing rooms, but damnit it was difficult not having my mouth fall open and stare.

 

PS: yes she was very attractive so I didn't really mind

 

 

Sorry if it's TMI for some of the guys on here but as a frequent gym goer who wears yoga/compression pants to work out, even if you're wearing undies cameltoe will happen It's such a common thing that there's a kickstarter up for a pair of anti-cameltoe yoga pants that have more rigid fabric/padding in the area (Or wear biking shorts/pants- but the trade off is you walk around with a bike pad down your pants). 

[Phytomancer]

Some girls wear running shorts on top of yoga pants for this reason. 

[Kevin Mack]

Hey, you want that yoga pants butt you gotta deal with that yoga pants toe. It's a package deal, so to speak.

[Dleffe]

Sorry if it's TMI for some of the guys on here but as a frequent gym goer who wears yoga/compression pants to work out, even if you're wearing undies cameltoe will happen It's such a common thing that there's a kickstarter up for a pair of anti-cameltoe yoga pants that have more rigid fabric/padding in the area (Or wear biking shorts/pants- but the trade off is you walk around with a bike pad down your pants). 

 

I did not know that.

 

Ive got biking shorts to ride my bike to work, so I can attest you don't want that pad bewteen your legs unless you need it. Especially when you know you're gonna sweat

[Artinum]

Hmmm. Would some sort of plug work...?

 

I'm a gay man. I have very little understanding of lady bits.

[Maledictus]

Hmmm. Would some sort of plug work...?

I'm a gay man. I have very little understanding of lady bits.

Nor do I according to my wife

[StillWaters]

Hmmm. Would some sort of plug work...?

 

I'm a gay man. I have very little understanding of lady bits.

Regardless of if it works or not, I don't think a plug would be comfortable at all...

[MalleusMaleficarum]

Today I saw somebody barf hard, twice. It looked like pure water. I am wondering still if he was nauseous from his workout or legitimately sick. I got out of dodge.

[Silo]

If it's just a visual issue for the pants wearer, I would think that a longer top would solve things. But if it is a comfort issue, yeah, specially designed pants or a pad of some sort seems more likely to be the solution.

 

I bought a pair of biking shorts to use for general exercise, not really paying attention to the fact that they are biking shorts. I tried wearing them once for pilates and the seam on the backside of the padded area hit me wrong and made things very uncomfortable.

[Machete]

that has always been- and will always be.

Cross fit has made power/oly lifting popular- but the people who want to do that- will do it. The people who are educated or get educated about lifting- and start having more specific goals- will do a more comprehensive lifting program.

There have always been- and will always be guys who want to work their mirror muscles. There is nothing new here about this.

People aren't ruining squatting because they are doing it more. I get what you are saying to an extent- but you can't ruin lifting with trendy people jumping on. The people that are like that will either figure it out- or get bored and move on.

The squat isn't ruined- power lifting and oly lifting isn't ruined. It got pupular- and people who like trends will do it and they will either get good because they learn to actually care- and if not- so what. It doesn't ruin it for me. It doesn't ruin the squat- I don't understand. It's just a thing- that's like saying punks ruined the civic- sure it's a name- and people have leanred to associate it with tools who put on big open pipes and drive around like dingleberries- but guess what- my several of my friends drive civics- their car isn't 'ruined' No one thinks they are racing anyone at the light.

yeah it's insipid- but it's not ruining anything.

It didn't ruin the exercise, it ruined training. I now have to wait 45 minutes for these boners doing their ugly squats with their girlfriends as opposed to just waiting for a guy bicep curling on the cage for 15 minutes. Besides taking longer, they now have a stronger claim to lollygag around the rack so you can't really shoo them away. The popularity increased, but the number of power racks in my area did not.

P.S. And whomever said that Civics are ruined obviously doesn't live his life a quarter-mile at a time.

[Oramac]

P.S. And whomever said that Civics are ruined obviously doesn't live his life a quarter-mile at a time.

 

Oddly enough, the guy who said that never drove a civic in a race....

[Larkin]

The last gym I was in was the gym of a mental hospital. It was quiet most days, but I would occasionally overhear nurses, there to observe us, complaining about their other patients to one another!

[Dleffe]

2 days ago me and my younger brother doing deadlifts, packing a decent amount of weight (150kg/300 pounds and improving *small victory dance*). 2 girls and 2 guys standing close, 1 of the girls saying "Wow I could never do that". To which her boyfriend (or I think at least) says "You don't have to it's a useless excercise". So I just carried on happy with my new max thinking "Yeah after all who needs a stronger back, totally pointless"

 

PS: thanks to deadlifting I can now stand up for 4 days at a festival and not even feel a small stitch in my back

[Phytomancer]

2 days ago me and my younger brother doing deadlifts, packing a decent amount of weight (150kg/300 pounds and improving *small victory dance*). 2 girls and 2 guys standing close, 1 of the girls saying "Wow I could never do that". To which her boyfriend (or I think at least) says "You don't have to it's a useless excercise". So I just carried on happy with my new max thinking "Yeah after all who needs a stronger back, totally pointless"

 

 

*sniff* I smell sweat, gym socks, deodorant, and just a little bit of envy.