Sick of the “bro”

When I walked into the gym yesterday, there was a group of guys in the squat rack doing upright rows and shrugs with less than 100 pounds. There was a lot of fist bumping. Next to them was a well-meaning kid doing half squats with weight most girls I know can squat to depth. Then I saw a guy exploring his 1RM nosebreaker without a spot (he barely survived). Later in the locker room I heard a guy who walks around like he’s impressive brag about his whey protein, “It’s got hydrolized and ionized whey in it. I can’t wait to have my two shakes every day.” I’m normally calm and under control, but these events made me want to flip out.

The to weak shruggers I’d shout, “YOU’RE NOT ACCOMPLISHING ANYTHING!”
To the nose breaker I’d shout, “WHY WOULD YOU HIT A 1 REP MAX IN THAT?”
To the protein braggart I’d shout, “DO YOU EVEN LIFT?”



I’m sick of rear flyes, upright rows, and Smith machines. I’m sick of 30 minute elliptical sessions, half squats, and triceps extensions. Most of all, I’m sick of seeing people misinformed. I wish I could help everyone, but not everyone believes they need help. Coercion is a simpleton’s game. What I can do instead is to make sure that you, the “well-informed reader” understand why you do what you do. In the event you’re asked about it, you can effectively share this information legitimately. That two minute conversation will make or break your friend’s acceptance of “training” instead of “fucking around”.

CONTINUE READING
Strength training is the best way to establish a fantastic base of musculature because it uses compound lifts that induce an effective systemic stress in order to give the greatest return on time and effort investment.

The above statement could also say “strength training is the best way to train” since being strong and the process of obtaining strength are the fundamental capacity for all physical endeavors. The process begins with an emphasis on compound barbell lifts. The barbell is preferable over dumbbells because it can provide a greater stimulus due to the greater load as well as balancing the load evenly across both sides of the body (instead of demanding contralateral stabilization). Compound lifts like the squat, press, row, and deadlift utilize a large amount of musculature through a full range of motion (ROM). Using a partial ROM accomplishes nothing, kills puppies, and is the work of Satan. These full ROM, fundamental movements are the definition of “functional” in that they train all of the muscles and joints that could be involved in any bodily action. Every muscle is used in synergy with it’s surrounding muscles to produce each movement efficiently. In contrast, isolation training isn’t “functional” because muscles don’t work solo when the body applies force to the ground or objects. When proper technique is used — and it’s not difficult to learn — compound lifts are safe and efficient. Most of all, since compound lifts use the greatest amount of musculature, the muscles get the most work to get the most strong and can get the most big without extremely high levels of work.

When musculature is used at the cusp of it’s capability, the fibers receive stress and are damaged. When large amounts of structures have just received a stress from compound movements, the neuroendocrine system is activated to heal and adapt. The hormonal response to compound lifting is much higher than both isolation exercises or a workout program to train a “body part” each day. This systemic response results in a heightened metabolism that, when compounded with a good diet, will effectively build muscle and lose fat. Aside from getting stronger, this systemic stress is strength training’s greatest effect. It allows for the “bro goal” of getting “swole”, the “strong goal” of getting stronger and more able, the “fat person goal” of dropping fat, and the “average goal” of getting the greatest return on time and effort investment.

Many fitness and physique programs include up to 30 sets for a given body part. A standard strength training program will have 9 to 12 work sets (not including warm-ups) in a whole training session. If the trainee caps their rest periods, this can easily be completed in 45 to 60 minutes. Compound barbell sessions will train the entire body, make it stronger, and apply a systemic stress that can’t be achieved with conventional fitness training. High intensity conditioning accomplishes the same thing if the trainee wanted to add it in for improved endurance or aesthetics. Conditioning done with intensity can last anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, and it’s resultant adaptation is better than if the trainee had performed standard cardio for 30 to 45 minutes. Metabolism is heightened significantly after intense conditioning; much more so than “regular cardio”. Strength training and high intensity conditioning provide the greatest return on the time and effort investment compared to conventional fitness or physique training.

The effect — the end result — that gym goers are going for can be achieved more quickly if they had an understanding of proper training and diet protocol. Unfortunately millions of people are fed the constant bullshit from the fitness industry and government. In the end, hard and consistent work will produce desired results, but effort would be better repaid if strength training became the foundation. Do not aim to travel the land in hopes of converting people to “the truth”. Instead, understand why what you do is better and amiably explain it if the opportunity arises. Pay close attention to your own training so that it results in optimum performance and health, and you’ll be an ambassador for smart, efficient training. Lead by example…and make sure your friends squat to depth.

64 thoughts on “Sick of the “bro”

  1. Should give this post to my Navy chain. They think running is the end-all-be-all form of training. AGH.

    Oh and only one utilization of the word utilize. I am impressed.

  2. Posts like this are why I have this site on google reader. I just can’t wait to read this shit. “…explain if the opportunity arises.” My thoughts exactly. I never try to convert anyone, but once I started squatting more than 3 plates deep and pulling more than 4 people started asking questions. Any idea where the concept of staring at the ceiing while squatting came from? My highschool throwing coach told me to do that and about 98% of guys in the gym do it. It’s absolutely baffling.

  3. I go to a YWCA, most of the time I am dealing with the grey-hair’s Silver Sneakers program. What’s Silver Sneakers you say? Well, I’ll tell you, http://www.silversneakers.com/TellMeEverything/WhatisSilverSneakers.aspx
    How about we start a Gold Ball or Brass Titty program so when we get to be in retirement, our best days are spent with white sneakers and jeans spending 15 minutes on a recumbent bike. I do love it when I get to a set of power cleans and the look of horror from the machine section.

  4. Justin – I know you touched on the frequency method yesterday in the pull-ups post, but I was just curious how you feel about guys doing frequency method push-ups during the week. Do you see any benefit in it, or is it better to just stick to the LP with a couple conditioning sessions during the week?

    It has UTILITY as long as it doesn’t interfere with strength training. I’ve been using push-ups lately and I think they have had a subtle effect on the size of my pecs and maybe arms.

    –Justin

  5. @Jmoye

    The Air Force loves the marathon runner but not the lifter. Their ideal vision is someone who can run and be thin. No joke. The PT test has the run portion weighted 60% and 20% is “body composition” or waist measurement. The other 20% is 10% of push ups for a minute and 10% of crunches for a minute. Is the Navy that bad?

    The Air Force PT test is more of a health test since I believe the Air Force doesn’t want to pay for health care for heart disease. The scores also show a risk category and I had read there is a strong correlation between waist size and heart disease.

    If I was a spear wielding Zulu warrior, I’d understand how I’d have to run 20 miles to my battle and fight. But now, we have vehicles and dragging someone with body armor takes strength.

  6. @Maslow

    I’ve probably seen like 1 person actually squat looking eye level or lower. Every person I’ve met also learned from a HS coach, and they seem to be in a mentality that looking up with help them visualize going up or some silly shit like that.

    Then, they wonder why they can’t tell that they’re half squatting, despite it being really fucking obvious if they looked at themselves. (my uni gym regrettably has bigass mirrors in all the squat racks, so you pretty much have to look into it to some degree).

    I was squatting 330 on sunday and had 2 baseball players half squatting 395 in basketball shoes giving me smirks the whole time because they had more weight.

    I really hate people at the gym. Fuck. Gotta turn that energy into squatting today. Gonna feel good.

    /rant.

  7. When I couldnt snatch and clean and jerk, and needed to train my torso, heavy back squat lockouts and heavy front squat lockouts were my go-to exercise (after doing the full back squat or front squat). They still have value in training.

    Which is completely unrelated to someone in the gym who doesn’t know what they are doing.

    –Justin

  8. Here’s the thing that always gets me about this argument. I was squatting 275 today, not heavy, not a PR for me, but more than anybody I’ve ever seen squat in my gym. Guy next to me is doing knee wrapped half squats with 185 then 225 for 3. In the smith machine.
    He looked like a beast.
    I look like, well, not a beast.
    Who’s method is superior? I felt good lifting next to him, he looked at me like I was a lightweight moron, which I probably am.
    Whats the best way too look like a beast AND lift like a beast?

  9. There’s a kid in his early 20s at my gym who seems very gifted, athletically. He is the only person other than me who squats and deadlifts often, even though he hangs out with the juiced-up curlers. He also spends a lot of time doing the usual bro-stuff.

    Problem is: a) he has horrible technique, specially on deadlifts, and b) he has no idea about programming, or linear progression. So he just seems to try random weights. He fails a 315lb 1/2 squat? Let’s try a 365lb 1/8th squat!

    I’d love to help him out and give him some pointers on form and introduce him to the wonderful world of linear progression, but I am a weakling who can barely squat 250lb. I mean, I’ve read a lot about lifting in the past year and I think I have a good theoretical understanding of how the lifts are supposed to work and why he should do them and the importance of programming and stuff, but then again why should he listen to a random skinny-fat dude like me?

  10. @Yosh

    Man I’ve worked with Air Force people so I’ve heard about the ridiculous tape standard where if you’re over 34 inches or something you automatically get deducted? So ridiculous. The Navy isn’t that bad. They do bodyfat% via tape measure, and you have to be under 22% which is understandable and not a big deal.

    But the Navy PT program itself at the commands I’ve been to (a total of 3) is always based around crappy bodyweight exercises that have no progression and just randomly thrown together, and/or jogging slow long distances.

    I want to try to change some of these things but if you’re a powerlifter and don’t give a shit about running and being super lean all the time, it’s harder to get credibility as a PT leader when everyone thinks that being shredded and running a sub-9 1.5 mile is the epitome of fitness. Plus I have less than 2 years in the Navy so my give-a-shit to really try to do this is dwindling when I could instead be getting real world experience and getting paid for it on the side.

    Can’t remember where I heard it but technically we’re not allowed to have people lift for PT. So PT always devolves to people doing pushup/situps/running/”sports pt”

    Stupid.

  11. Thanks for the info, Justin. I will need to play around with them and see how many days of the week I can do them, and how many sets to do on those days.

  12. @mikeinnola

    Think of it this way–Who is going to get bigger and stronger, a guy who can squat 405×5 and therefore if he wants to build mass he’ll go for 375 3×8, or the guy who can do 275×5 and has to do his mass/pump workouts with 215?

  13. I saw some douche doing Cuban Presses in the squat rack with 50lbs today. I tried to avoid looking but with the mirrors the only option was to do my Cuban Presses with my eyes closed, uncool.

  14. After my wife gave birth to our first born, I started going to a University rec center near my office during lunch hour so I could be home in the evenings. It’s baffling what I see there. I try to just set a good example by squatting deep, doing power cleans and snatches with good form, and only using the smith machine for pull-ups. Unfortunately, I’ve always been a skinny bastard (I’m still only 185# @ 6 ft tall) and even though I out-lift 95% of the people in there, I think they all aspire to be much larger than me one day, so clearly whatever I’m doing is wrong to them. After all, it’s all about being swole, not being a strong and useful member of society.

  15. This is precisely why I left the globogym environment and bought a fucking power cage and a decent bar. Too many trainers focused on exercising and rubbing their dicks against bosu balls and a conspicuous lack of anyone with a training mindset.

    Story time: kayso this one time, at the gym? I’m in the ONE power cage they have tucked between the cable v-squat and the Hammer Strength machines, squatting and DLing with shitty ROM since I’m a former fatty and this bro comes up to me. He’s a personal trainer at the gym. Buck twenty soaking wet, about 5’8″ not counting the hair gel or the shitty tribal arm band chest abortion tattoo. Starts hassling me because I’m doing the wrong exercises… exercises that will promote too much type II muscle growth, oh, and bro, you need to change that diet up too because if your calories are below your catabolic rate it’s like really bad for your catabolism. He keeps giving me shit and I eventually get tired of hearing it and tell him to leave because he’s pissing me off.

    I finish my godly set of 95x3x5 presses and see that he’s off shift and currently doing max sets of 35-pound triceps push-downs with the rope (apparently for time based on how loud the plates were slapping together). I politely asked him his name again, re-introduced myself, asked him about his credentials… bachelor’s? Master’s? Certificate program? He stutters and mumbles something about the american arthritis association. I let him know that the two-year subscription to Men’s Health hardly qualified him to work as a trainer and that he was an embarrassment to himself and his employer (who apparently terminated him several days later since my complaint was not the first against him)

    TL;DR: bro personal trainer spouts bullshit, called him on it, gets fired. If you work out in a gym and read this site, you have a moral obligation to call bullshit on people like this.

  16. @kaej to be fair, I remember that video saying that the minimum dose for health was 30 minutes with more benefits from more intense activities and anything is better than nothing. What Justin is talking about is being efficient and effective with your time, not breaking the bare minimum line.

  17. @mando I hear what you’re saying but the last thing I want to do is make any enemies in the one place I go to find peace and just do my own thing.

    TL;DR–I don’t want to get in trouble for using chalk.

  18. Also, the bro hate sort of reminds me of a Die Antwoord quote “May my enemies live long so they can see me progress.” Probably irrelevant though.

  19. There are more people in my gym who can bench three plates or more with good ROM than there are who can squat the same, which is a pretty bizarre state of affairs. Or maybe not, I guess.

  20. Fuck ’em all. How can you care? Do you care that these people smoke? Or have abortions? Or cheap on their SO? Or drive too fast? Or don’t send their Mom Mother’s Day cards? Or do a million other things that you (or I) think are bad, wrong or a waste of time? Of course not. Lifting is no different. So long as these fucks stay out of my way, we will all be fine. The more clowns who waste their time with ineffective gym work mean the more clowns I am stronger than and look better than.

    Sometimes I unhappily look around and think “everyone is wasting their time” and other times I look at people with contempt. Either way, they can be healthier and better if they knew what to do, and that means it matters. If anything, this post is reinforcement for what you do, but also in the event someone either questions your method or asks to know more.

    –Justin

  21. @beonick – i thought that was the epitome of functional?

    @ dave h – actually, that sounds about right. Anytime I ever lifted in a globo or the university rec it was the same way. Duders dont care about strength, they just want to be swole, and squats DONT make you swole.

  22. AMEN. The amount of silly bullshit I see every day is starting to make me think I’d be better off moving from my school gym to a local powerlifting gym. Front squats with a pad? Ab work on the platform? Plates under your feet while (1/4) squatting because you can’t keep your heels from coming up off the floor? SERIOUSLY?

    What makes me the ANGRIEST, perhaps, is when bros take plates from the rack that I’m using without asking.

    Justin: A few weeks ago, I saw a bro testing his nose breaker 1 RM *on an Olympic platform*. That’s right. He put a BENCH (scrrrrrape) on the fucking platform.

  23. @Maslow, I feel you there. The fact that it was an employee was what really got me. This aggression will not stand, etc. I didn’t expect them to can the kid but, shit, their minimum sign-up for PT is $1000 for just under two months of training. At some point broscience becomes more than just a moral fault, it becomes fraud.

  24. Posted this on the fb page thought it might get more attention over here…

    Justin, or anyone else who wants to chime in, do you have any experience with recovery from a disk issue. I’m not 100% sure there is any rupture or bulge (no MRI yet) but in the even that it is, I’m just curious what the chances are that ill be able to lift like i was prior to the injury. I’m not doing anything right now and am mentally prepared to take a good amount of time off to get things healed, I’m just worried that Ill just end up weak as shit and unable to lift.

    TL;DR – Is it possible to lift heavy again after a disk injury.

    Yep. I’ve worked with many people that were able to lift again, including a girl that had two disc issues who later squatted at least 225x5x3. Each injury is a bit different, but it’s most likely possible. In the mean time, mob your hips and back extremely well. I know a guy who thought he had disc issues and even had an MRI, yet everything was fine. His “disc issue” was just a soft tissue issue and undoubtedly arose from his horrible mobility and sitting down for 8 to 10 hours a day.

    –Justin

  25. nobodystops, I see you’re point, he does say essentially more is better, and mentions increasing intensity once.

    But he mentions walking half a dozen times and even ends the thing with the quote that “walking is a mans best friend.” Now is this wrong or bad advice? Of course not.

    However, I think a lot of sedentary people see this and think, “well shit, I walk from my car, I walk around the grocery store, I walk my dog. Maybe I should do a little more, but I’m ok.” And I think that feeling of complacency is bullshit, and I think Justin’s post is in stark contrast to that.

    But yes, fat dude in the office walks 3-4 miles a day and eats better, the benefits will be tremendous.

  26. I have to echo Justin’s sentiments about feeling a combination of contempt/wasting their time.

    I was testing my 1RM yesterday, which was only 365, but no one was playing with anything more than 225. This kid comes up, literally right next to the squat rack and starts doing like a gymnastics routine with a 25 lb plate. Literally two inches away from the bar.

    I was resting so I never said anything cause I would’ve blown up and he left. Wanna waste your time, great. But stay away from me because one misstep and I would’ve impaled you. I seriously wanted to take that plate and disc it across the gym.

  27. I legitimately would like to help people look better and feel better, because why not.

    I definitely agree with the sentiment of this post, as for every 7 douchebags that won’t listen to anything and/or don’t want to work hard, there is maybe 1 guy that legitimately doesn’t know any better and would really do what it takes to get results with the right knowledge.

    The problem is, like Justin says, how do you explain to someone that everything they know is wrong. Nobody explained it to me, I had to learn it over the span of years.

  28. people do a lot of stupid shit in gyms…. i like lifting in my garage… you SHOULD SEEEE the stupid shit i do in there. Fuckin blast pecs all day baby.

    this orange gordon (bodybuilder) in one of my classes once said to me that he squats heavy and “i go to parellel, none of that high squatting bullshit”… yea buddy i bet you go to parellel. your tan is dripping by the way.

  29. I lift at home, but a few weeks ago a couple of friends asked me to join them at their globogym to show them how to press. It was my pressing day, so I went on over and trained with them. As we went along, I worked up to my work sets (some triples at 205). As the weights got higher, I noticed that all of the bros around us slowly moved to the other side of the gym.

    It is a pretty fucking sad day when the “strong” guy at the gym is a dude who is not even pressing bodyweight. A month later, I went to watch a strongman comp, and was standing next to Travis Ortmayer. I felt like a fucking small child.

  30. I want to approach these squat rack curlers and tell them, ” Hey, there’s some set weight bars over there that you could easily curl and not take up the SQUAT rack.” I feel like they’d feel their pride was hurt and not respond well. Has anyone ever done this?

  31. I lift in a small gym in a town of 8k ppl in BFE Colorado. I think it’s up to 75 gym members now, maybe more.
    There are two gyms in town, but picking this one was simple because it had a squat rack and cage and the other one only had a smith machine (though the owner there is swole while the owner at my gym is a smaller BBer guy-he also sells product at cost which is cool).

    So I see this on a small scale but I know once I return to the big city I have this to look forward to. Yuck. I had to deal with this for most of last year working out at the Rec Gym out of UCBerkeley.

    Fortunately, the gym I’m at is small enough that the weight room is often vacant when I go and I’ve got a good idea when it is vacant so I can snatch, clean&jerk.

  32. Great Post. Deal with this on a regular basis. Was asked to create a program for the football team @ the high school I work for as an athletic trainer. I told the coach I would start with a fundamentals/and GPP program and then transition them into a linear progression strength program w/ sports specific work. That lasted about six weeks until the coach had a fit cuz his kids weren’t lifting “big” weights and basically told me that form wasn’t important. Now they quarter squat and bench (mostly stand around the bench and upright row for hang cleans). It irks me to my core because they don’t track anything but I washed my hands of it and moved on to the athletes that want the instruction. The best part of it is when the kids come in on their “off” day to bench again.

  33. Pingback: Stength Training is THE BEST WAY TO TRAIN « EVOLUTIONARY FITNESS

  34. I get pissed at those guys – you know who they are – the want the type of spot on the bench which is more akin to me getting a light shrug workout while yelling “its all you bro”.

  35. My school rec center has been open for the last three weeks, so I’m experiencing my first real gym environment. I’m sure you all know, but the amount of silly bullshit is astounding. I have to just put the blinders on and do my thing. Perhaps, maybe, I can lead by example. But I don’t think that goes over too well because I’m a small guy. But whatever. I squatted next to a guy yesterday that was actually breaking parallel. In between one of his sets I told him that his depth was great, that I see too many people throwing plates on and half-squatting. We had a good, lamenting laugh. I can’t believe my school spent 72 million on the new rec center, and all we got were two lifting platforms.

  36. One of my mates at work saw a guy doing sit ups in the squat rack the other day when he wanted to squat. Yes, sit ups. ‘ can I have the squat rack mate?’ Annoyed tone, ‘ when I’m finished!’

  37. I would like to help people, but people are so fucking ignorant its not even funny..especially my generation, try to give some constructive critisism and they get all defense like “why you comin at me bro?”, and if you do different than them they talk shit. Like today I was squatting and this guy I went to Highschool with walked up to the fountain next to squat stand I was in, with his older friend. His friend looked at me and was impressed at my depth and weight. The kid I went to school was like “thats not a squat all hes doing is shoving his ass back and leaning over..” needless to say I was pretty fucking pissed at the ignorant statement, I mean I’m squatting low-bar, of course I’m going to fucking lean over.

    I really really would love to help people, but everyones just so touchy now a days, If they come up to me and ask me how to do a movement I’ll teach them the best I can, and offer advice on where to learn better if I can’t get it right for them. If not though fuck them, seriously fuck them all

  38. Some people blame magazines and the internet, but whenever I as a trainer ask people where they learned what they’re doing, it usually turns out they were copying some other gym member. “I saw a guy…”

    This works for good, too, though. No other trainer at my gym prescribes goblet squats and inverted rows, but most days I see someone doing a rough approximation of them, and it’s not someone I know. “I saw a guy…”

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