The New Face of Young Lifters

Disclaimer: I’ve noticed this in my gym, I understand that it might be an isolated case and I am not generalizing (which would be ridiculous since I am myself a young lifter).

There’s this group of people in my gym, about 4-6 guys, that have a pretty unique way to train. The more hardcore lifters like to call them the beach boys. They’re young, anywhere between 19 to 24, and they use steroids more or less regularly.

They’re easy to recognize because they always carry their cell phones, train with their caps and under armor shirts, have no leg development whatsoever and are fond of bench pressing.

Don’t get me wrong those guys train hard, despite following basically the same workout all year long and having poor diets (or no diets at all). They have good, ripped physiques that they carry throughout the year until summer, because then they stop training completely and party all summer long. You see pics of them on facebook in July/august and they barely have muscle anymore.

Then they migrate back into the gym when fall comes around the corner and all of a sudden, 3 weeks later they’re sporting huge chests once again.

I have nothing against those habits, to each his own and those guys are usually pretty sweat. I just think it’s very bad for the image of the sport. And with the availability of steroids, coupled with the fact that most teens want it ALL and want it NOW, it’s gonna become more and more common.

Do you have your own beach boys’ club in your gym? What do you think about this whole deal?

This is not a new fad. Those are called “douchebags.”

[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
This is not a new fad. Those are called “douchebags.”[/quote]

X 2

The new face of weightlifting:

its not just the younger guys either, theres probably 8-9 guys that only bench and do bench assisting exercises. focusing on increasing there bench numbers. BUT in all fairness a big time pro bencher lifts there so people follow suit.

[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
The new face of weightlifting:[/quote]

Haha :stuck_out_tongue: Those guys actually know how to score chicks in general.

I don’t know if they’ve been around for so long, an older lifter at my gym once said that 20 years ago such clowns would get kicked out of any gym.

[quote]Game_over wrote:
its not just the younger guys either, theres probably 8-9 guys that only bench and do bench assisting exercises. focusing on increasing there bench numbers. BUT in all fairness a big time pro bencher lifts there so people follow suit. [/quote]

Yeah I’d say 40% of the people in my gym are one-trick bench press ponies. Can press up to 315 but couldn’t squat their own bodyweight if their lives depended on it.

[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
The new face of weightlifting:[/quote]

LMFAO

well im talking more in the 600lb ranch but ya still applys. id have more respect for someone benching 315 and not looking like an upside down bowling pin than a bloated triangle shaped 5-600lb bencher

Makes me think back to this summer when I was lifting in my high school weight room.

Whole football team was in there, everyday (6 days a week) without fail. 135 benches and EZ bar curls every single day for the entire summer- none of their lifts went up in weight the entire summer.

Maybe once a week I’d see a quarter squat with 275 or 315 (padded of course), but these were literally the only lifts that I saw them do the entire summer.

A few weeks ago I went up to my old school to lift with the wrestling team (I’ll be coaching this fall). Keep in mind that our strength coach isn’t the best. Same workout, same reps, Monday through Thursday. Squats to just above parallel, bench, and power cleans. I’m by no means an advanced lifter.

Hell, I still consider myself to be working my way towards intermediate. But I have learned a lot since graduating and was appalled not only at what I saw, but the fact that it used to be ME!

When they squat, they slam the weight down on the safety catches to get a rebound off of them. Still not even a parallel squat mind you. Then on bench the spotter never takes their hands off the bar. How can you claim any kind of decent numbers when you’re getting a spot for the whole damn set.

When I ask about this, they say that a few fingers on the bar doesn’t take much weight off and that lifting that much with a spotter makes them stronger than lifting less by themselves. The saddest part of the story is that the coach condones and agrees with this activity.

If that’s all they care about and they’re not gettin’ in nobody else’s way I don’t pay attention or care. To each their own, best of luck “scorin’ hotties.”

I think that’s fine. If they have no interest in training other parts why would they? I assume they do well for themselves in the ladies department so what is the problem?

Those goals aren’t for me, but I can’t see any reason why I should expect them to conform to my goals or training techniques.

[quote]Game_over wrote:
well im talking more in the 600lb ranch but ya still applys. id have more respect for someone benching 315 and not looking like an upside down bowling pin than a bloated triangle shaped 5-600lb bencher[/quote]

You have 8 or 9 guys at your gym who are benching 5-600 raw? Where are you training… Big Iron Gym?

Abrams–

Up the Irons from the Midwest!

[quote]Bergman wrote:
Game_over wrote:
well im talking more in the 600lb ranch but ya still applys. id have more respect for someone benching 315 and not looking like an upside down bowling pin than a bloated triangle shaped 5-600lb bencher

You have 8 or 9 guys at your gym who are benching 5-600 raw? Where are you training… Big Iron Gym?[/quote]

lol. I think he meant they have 1 600 lb bencher and a bunch of “normals” that wannabe that guy, so all they do is bench.

[quote]Kataklysm wrote:
Disclaimer: I’ve noticed this in my gym, I understand that it might be an isolated case and I am not generalizing (which would be ridiculous since I am myself a young lifter).

There’s this group of people in my gym, about 4-6 guys, that have a pretty unique way to train. The more hardcore lifters like to call them the beach boys. They’re young, anywhere between 19 to 24, and they use steroids more or less regularly.

They’re easy to recognize because they always carry their cell phones, train with their caps and under armor shirts, have no leg development whatsoever and are fond of bench pressing.

Don’t get me wrong those guys train hard, despite following basically the same workout all year long and having poor diets (or no diets at all). They have good, ripped physiques that they carry throughout the year until summer, because then they stop training completely and party all summer long. You see pics of them on facebook in July/august and they barely have muscle anymore.

Then they migrate back into the gym when fall comes around the corner and all of a sudden, 3 weeks later they’re sporting huge chests once again.

I have nothing against those habits, to each his own and those guys are usually pretty sweat. I just think it’s very bad for the image of the sport. And with the availability of steroids, coupled with the fact that most teens want it ALL and want it NOW, it’s gonna become more and more common.

Do you have your own beach boys’ club in your gym? What do you think about this whole deal?
[/quote]

Lmao thanks formerfatboy that’s shockingly accurate.

[quote]I think that’s fine. If they have no interest in training other parts why would they? I assume they do well for themselves in the ladies department so what is the problem?

Those goals aren’t for me, but I can’t see any reason why I should expect them to conform to my goals or training techniques.
[/quote]

I agree. As I said, I’m more concerned about what it makes our sport look like. People already have a negative attitude (to say the least) towards steroids use, now we’re seeing more and more young users that actually use them to build a beach body for summer.

Formerfatboy.

That’s one funny avatar you’ve got. Very nice ;o)

[quote]Kataklysm wrote:
Lmao thanks formerfatboy that’s shockingly accurate.

I think that’s fine. If they have no interest in training other parts why would they? I assume they do well for themselves in the ladies department so what is the problem?

Those goals aren’t for me, but I can’t see any reason why I should expect them to conform to my goals or training techniques.

I agree. As I said, I’m more concerned about what it makes our sport look like. People already have a negative attitude (to say the least) towards steroids use, now we’re seeing more and more young users that actually use them to build a beach body for summer. [/quote]

If people want to use steroids to get a beach body I don’t mind. It’s if they use them in a stupid way, hurt themselves, then blame the harm on steroids rather than their ignorance. They also need to accept that there will be some side effects no matter how well they prepare.