So on social media I have seen Marc Lobliner (along with a few others) mentioning Brad Castleberry and the alleged use of fake weights, I am intrigued by this, Castleberry is a large, fit human (I used to follow some of his stuff, but his style and such is just over the top for me) and can obviously move weight. At the moment Lobliner is trying to reel him into a charity lift for Vets and I’m personally gettin a kick out of the jabs he is taking at Castleberry in an attempt to egg him into the competition.
I guess the questions I have are:
Do you think he uses “fake” weights?
If yes, how are they fake (because I have no idea how this would work…35s made to look like 45s?)
If they are certain plates that are made especially for him, how the hell does he get them in and out of the gym?
I have no inherent like or dislike for Castleberry, I just see this accusation of fake weights pop up pretty often and wanted some thoughts and discussion on Social Media Stars and how realistic their strength is.
Castleberry seems to break World Records every day in his daily workouts, and yet refuses to do so in any recognizable, or verifiable event… So ask yourself what possible reason someone could have for claiming ridiculous accomplishments on the daily, and yet adamantly refusing to let anyone verify. I’ve also heard that the weights you see in his videos are different from those you see other members at the same gym using in the background… (?)
I don’t deny the guy looks good, but he seems to rub accomplished PLers the wrong way for very obvious reasons.
Jason Blaha claims he used to Reverse Bench 500 lbs,… no one believes him either -lol
Is this the one where he unracks it like a bench press and then rows it to his chest really, really fast? Because that I believe
Yeah, I was just curious as to how it would work, and I had seen the same stuff with other folks using different weights (at least comments/observations from others to that effect) and I whole heartedly believe that something is fishy about him and his weights. I just want to know how haha[quote=“The_Mighty_Stu, post:84, topic:229623”] http://www.fakeweights.com/
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I just saw this link, holy lord in heaven! haha I genuinely thought it was a joke site at first
There was a vid of Blaahaa a while back where he was claiming to rep out on dead lifts with 405, and even with crappy camera angle and bad lighting, I’d swear he was using 25’s instead of 45’s.
He claimed they were special plates for pulling from a deficit, which I have no clue of or about. Maybe they do exist, and he has them.
I’ve read people who are pretty obsessive about others claiming ridiculous stuff state that Bloho would mix the lighter Crossfit plates (?) in between the regular Olympic ones hoping no one would notice in his videos. I believe the “big ones” are the same diameter but only Weigh about 20 lbs each.
Speaking of which…any particular preference? I’ve been leaning towards buying Rogue hi-temps, since they’re American made (USA!) and the crumb rubber has a great reputation for durability, but I’m curious what you think as a user of each…
(signed, a guy who has just bought a house and is currently spending the majority of his leisure time deciding what kind of bumper plates and barbell to buy)
I prefer the Rogue plates just because they are a little less noisy when dropped (iirc they’re cheaper too). Otherwise, they’re both great products. I haven’t had issues with either.
I heard MDUSA went out of business, though, so I’m not sure if you can still get the Pendley plates or not.
Nothing would surprise me with that guy. He has become an endless source amusement for me.
I was amazed with the fake plates link though! They actually cost more than real, regular plates. I guess it wouldn’t look too cool on instagram to get folded up under 9 or 10 real plates though.
I checked some of those Castleberry vids too. The guy is a phenom. Bone crushing weight and his only real concern is making sure he’s sportin the wicked obliques.
Even more strange- in a vid with Mike O’Hearn as he was being challenged to an NFL style drill challenge, the longer it went on, the further down his shorts got.
Awhile back, a guy named Andy Haman stirred up a terrific shitstorm when he bench pressed “600 pounds” for 4 reps with his 85-pound son spotting him and a whipped-cream mustache on his face (it was some sort of audition for a TV show).
A bunch of guys chimed in to say it was real, saying stuff like “Where would you even get fake plates?” and “Why would he fake this?”
By “Crossfit” plates, I assume they mean bumper plates, lol.
A 15-pound hi-temp crumb rubber bumper is about the same width as an iron 45, so you could go 45, 15, 45, 15, 45, 45 (you’d want at least two iron plates next to each other so you’d still get some metal plates clattering against one another) and to the untrained eye you’d appear to be deadlifting “585” (six 45’s on each side) with only 465 pounds of real weight on the bar.
Social media combined with 20 different “divisions” have enabled everyone to feel like a winner.
Now I certainly respect anyone who gets into great shape and is damn proud of their achievement,… BUT if you enter something that is supposed to raise the competitive element to a difficult and thereby more impressive level, you can’t have 30 different “winners” and still have it carry the same impressiveness.
And I know what you mean by that woman’s pic. I’ve judged plenty of shows where a female competitor walks out onstage and I immediately tinker “whoah!” But then according to the specific class criteria she ends up falling outside of the top five. Two very different things.
Yeah. The promoters/show runners are out to make money. More power to them, but when I did my “body buildling show” it was very much a Figure/Bikini show in terms of number of competitors. Literally HUNDREDS of them versus dozens of BBers. The night show was going to take HOURS just because of how many girls there were to come out 1 by 1.
The whole experience kind of soured me on doing a show again (maybe if I had won it would have been different ) … I have gotten close to contest shape since then, and likely will in the future because I actually like the process for the most part, but probably wont ever “do a show” again.
I am annoyed by not really the selfies but, the self recording of “online gurus” I understand that social media i.e youtube can be a great platform but, I could never record myself shopping for food, cooking meals, filming training sessions, along with every other outing on a daily basis.
I guess it is the “lifestyle” vlogs that fitness “coaches” are turning to.
What annoys me is the mindset of ‘it must be the fastest, most optimal way possible.’
Example 1: “oh I have been a fat, sedentary slob for the past 34 years but I have recently found out that I like going to the gym. Please tell me all the secrets so that I can lose 100lb in 2 months!”
Example 2 “I’m 18 yrs old and have been going to the gym for 3months. I have put on about 6lb of decent weight but I’m just not as big as I want. How can I get muscle faster?? OMG FML I’m too young to work hard.”
Is it because of our instant gratification lifestyle we live (likes, followers, shares etc) or have people always wanted to get the most amazing results in no time with no effort?
“Trainers” and “coaches” who can not themselves achieve the physique that they claim to be able to help you achieve. This CAN be acceptable if you are reaching an old age, and have had this kind of physique in the past, and have moved on to coaching, or other very similar situations. Other than that, there is no excuse for a 175lb 12% BF 25 year old to be training people who aim to be 200lb 10% or who aim to step on the stage.
) … I have gotten close to contest shape since then, and likely will in the future because I actually like the process for the most part, but probably wont ever “do a show” again.