Workout Fads That Drive You Insane

Training Bodybuilding
81

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
ElbowStrike wrote:
This is a fad that drives me insane: A lot of show bodybuilders getting their neon pink thongs in a bunch because T-Nation is catering to the wants and needs of MMA’ists

The “MMA’ists” were out in full force at the gym tonight. I think it was Karate Night or something.

I went to do dead lifts over at the dead lift station. Some 6’, 160 lb. guy was doing “shadow jump roping” and throwing kicks and punches all around the platform. Based on my educated guess, he couldn’t have been training for longer than 3-6 months. I was pretty annoyed, but figured I could go do my deads in the squat rack. It’s a public gym, so I can’t demand that people not do stupid shit. Then…

You cannot make this stuff up. There was some old guy doing Tae Kwon Do punches (those punches people do w/their arms starting at their hips) and doing those weird blocks you learn when doing your forms for your gold belt. He was right at the squat rack. Man, this shit is worse than squat-rack curls.

I literally started laughing. Don’t you “MMA’ist” have studios to train at? I don’t bring barbells to the jiu jitsu stupid I train at. Why do you bring your “martial arts” to my gym?

Pretty pissed off, I went back to the dead lift station, stood still and made eye contact with the Karate kid, and started laughing. He was too shameless to understand why anyone would laugh at him. The attention probably made him “focus” more.

Finally, the old man left the squat rack. (He kept coming back, though, and doing his “punches” and “blocks” about 3 feet from me.) So I was able to lift. At a gym. Finally. Go figure.

My wife told me I shouldn’t have laughed at the guy doing weird shit by the dead lift station, as he was just a little guy who likely needed attention.*** So I actually felt pretty bad about it.

Then I read your post and realized I was in the right. You guys are just so full of yourselves that you have to “showcase” you skills in the entire gym. (The guy was doing his beginner-level shadow boxing by the dumbbells, too.)

If you’re doing “MMA,” great. Really. It’s a good hobby. But keep that shit out of the weight room.

***At my gym, a world-cass thai boxer and a top jiu jitsu guy train there. Both are true bad asses and are jacked. I have never seen them do stupid shit in the gym. They just lift. Go figure… People actually lifting in a gym?[/quote]

Why someone would need to go to a weight room to shadow box is beyond me, couldn’t you do that at home? or um anywhere?

Do people just go to the gym to say they went to the gym?

82

Anyone else want to set up a strawman?

A strawman is where you misrepresent your opponent’s position, then knock it down and claim victory. At first glance it appears that you have a point, but you’re really just full of hot air.

http://www.fallacyfiles.org/strawman.html

My position is this: T-Nation is for people who like getting bigger and stronger for whatever reason.

If I misinterpreted the initial post, my apologies for any gross over-reactions I have contributed to.

However, there is an irritating fad of “hardcore bodybuilders” who put T-Nation members who train for reasons other than competitive posing or lifting in the same category as the “I wanna look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club” crowd.

According to their reasoning, T-Nation contributor Chad Waterbury belongs in that category, as would the client I trained to pass the wildland firefighter fitness test and boot camp. I strongly disagree with that notion.

– ElbowStrike

P.S. The “pink thong” comment was just a shot, nothing to get self-richeous over. Lighten up.

83

This thread is amongst one of the weaker pissing matches.

84

[quote]ElbowStrike wrote:

My position is this: T-Nation is for people who like getting bigger and stronger for whatever reason.
[/quote]
Agreed.

This I have not noticed.

85

Kettlebells a fad? Eugen Sandow used them and he died in 19 twenty something.

I can see that training with ‘only’ kettlebells or swiss balls or wobble boards, etc is faddish, but they all have a use.

What about awkward object lifting or strongman lifting? Fads, or just more tools in the tool box?

86

[quote]ElbowStrike wrote:
Anyone else want to set up a strawman?

A strawman is where you misrepresent your opponent’s position, then knock it down and claim victory. At first glance it appears that you have a point, but you’re really just full of hot air.

My position is this: T-Nation is for people who like getting bigger and stronger for whatever reason.[/quote]

I didn’t misquote you or misrepresent you. You are simply wrong. This last statement is correct, however.

[quote]

If I misinterpreted the initial post, my apologies for any gross over-reactions I have contributed to.[/quote]

Well, if you misinterpreted it, then it is possible that YOU are the one who presented a “strawman”.

Like the previous poster, I also have not seen this. Please provide some examples of this…or simply stop presenting “strawmen”.

87

[quote]Andrew Dixon wrote:
Kettlebells a fad? Eugen Sandow used them and he died in 19 twenty something.

I can see that training with ‘only’ kettlebells or swiss balls or wobble boards, etc is faddish, but they all have a use.

What about awkward object lifting or strongman lifting? Fads, or just more tools in the tool box?[/quote]

It’s not about what the actual product is, but how it is marketed. Kettlebells and all these balls are pitched like they’re gonna double your results or as if they’re the next revolution, making regular weights obsolete.

But it’s your effort that gets results, not equipment. Meanwhile people think that just by going through the motions with kettlebells they have the right to expect superior results(they don’t, of course, but that doesn’t stop them from feeling superior to everyone else).

88

[quote]StevenF wrote:
What exactly is wrong with training outside? [/quote]

It sucks when it is rainy and cold.

89

[quote]Andrew Dixon wrote:
Kettlebells a fad? Eugen Sandow used them and he died in 19 twenty something.
[/quote]

Good reason to avoid them. I want to live past the 1920s.

90

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Andrew Dixon wrote:
Kettlebells a fad? Eugen Sandow used them and he died in 19 twenty something.

Good reason to avoid them. I want to live past the 1920s.[/quote]

LOL

91

Allow me to present you with…

Strawman #1: Since I was not FOR competitive bodybuilding on stage, you assumed I was FOR 150lbs Brad Pitt wannabes who wanna get “ripped”. Not only that, but without my knowledge I am also apparently equating these people with athletes.

You, sir, are guilty of the very thing you accused me of making up.

Strawman #2: Because I made a play on the term “get your panties in a bunch”, my position is to degrade everyone who is into competitive bodybuilding.

Strawman #3: Apparently I am an “MMAist” such as in his gym.

Strawman #4: Not only am I an “MMAist”, I literally bring my martial arts to his gym in particular.

Strawman #5: I am so full of myself that I must showcase my skills to everyone in the entire gym.

Nowhere did I state this. You made it up. I clearly stated that:

I see the issue as pretty much closed, but have fun ranting and raging some more if that’s your cup of tea.

Peace,

ElbowStrike

92

[quote]Majin wrote:
Andrew Dixon wrote:
Kettlebells a fad? Eugen Sandow used them and he died in 19 twenty something.

I can see that training with ‘only’ kettlebells or swiss balls or wobble boards, etc is faddish, but they all have a use.

What about awkward object lifting or strongman lifting? Fads, or just more tools in the tool box?

It’s not about what the actual product is, but how it is marketed. Kettlebells and all these balls are pitched like they’re gonna double your results or as if they’re the next revolution, making regular weights obsolete.

But it’s your effort that gets results, not equipment. Meanwhile people think that just by going through the motions with kettlebells they have the right to expect superior results(they don’t, of course, but that doesn’t stop them from feeling superior to everyone else).

[/quote]

I agree. People have used all kinds of off the wall objects as training implements and gotten results. That’s not the same as marketing them as a revolutionary tool to build a program around.

93

[quote]ElbowStrike wrote:
Like the previous poster, I also have not seen this. Please provide some examples of this…

Allow me to present you with…[/quote]

I actually read the rest of the crap you wrote which wasted a good 30 seconds.

You wrote:

[quote]However, there is an irritating fad of “hardcore bodybuilders” who put T-Nation members who train for reasons other than competitive posing or lifting in the same category as the “I wanna look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club” crowd.
[/quote]

…to which I asked you to provide examples of this. You haven’t done that. That means you ARE “strawmanning” even now.

94

[quote]ElbowStrike wrote:
My position is this: T-Nation is for people who like getting bigger and stronger for whatever reason.[/quote]

Yes, but what does “bigger and stronger” mean? There is an influx of people who think getting “bigger and stronger” means looking like Brad Pitt; or equate getting “bigger and stronger” with having abs at 135 lbs.

95

[quote]Professor X wrote:
to which I asked you to provide examples of this. You haven’t done that. That means you ARE “strawmanning” even now.[/quote]

The next time I come across an appropriate post I’ll be sure to PM you. I won’t waste my time searching through posts to justify a few lines of text in a minor internet-tough-guy pissing contest.

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
There is an influx of people who think getting “bigger and stronger” means looking like Brad Pitt; or equate getting “bigger and stronger” with having abs at 135 lbs.[/quote]

Yeah, something needs to be done about this… Maybe T-Nation could have a more specific mission statement other than “muscle with attitude” or “bodybuilding’s think-tank”. Hell, they could even take suggestions from the forums and have T-Nation’s mission created by its own “citizens”. Probably be the most effective way about it.

– ElbowStrike

96

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Andrew Dixon wrote:
Kettlebells a fad? Eugen Sandow used them and he died in 19 twenty something.

Good reason to avoid them. I want to live past the 1920s.[/quote]

haha someone took their smartass pills today!

97

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
StevenF wrote:
What exactly is wrong with training outside?

It sucks when it is rainy and cold.[/quote]

Or when it’s 85 degrees at 9:00 in the morning like it will be very soon here. Walking to my car in the summer in Dallas is exhausting in itself, much less doing anything remotely strenuous.

98

Today’s article couldn’t prove my point any better. It’s no wonder people get sucked in though when it includes the line “I’m here to tell you how to REALLY add lean body mass as fast as possible.” I swear I’ve heard that exact line used in a late night infomercial. As if NO ONE in the history of man had it really figured out before this article. The magic pill bullshit that gets peddled on this site just sometimes feels really irresponsible.

99

[quote]IfYouHateManUtd wrote:
Today’s article couldn’t prove my point any better. It’s no wonder people get sucked in though when it includes the line “I’m here to tell you how to REALLY add lean body mass as fast as possible.” I swear I’ve heard that exact line used in a late night infomercial. As if NO ONE in the history of man had it really figured out before this article. The magic pill bullshit that gets peddled on this site just sometimes feels really irresponsible. [/quote]

word

100

[quote]IfYouHateManUtd wrote:
Today’s article couldn’t prove my point any better. It’s no wonder people get sucked in though when it includes the line “I’m here to tell you how to REALLY add lean body mass as fast as possible.” I swear I’ve heard that exact line used in a late night infomercial. As if NO ONE in the history of man had it really figured out before this article. The magic pill bullshit that gets peddled on this site just sometimes feels really irresponsible. [/quote]

Now you see where much of the debate was coming from in the past. The thing is, this method of advertising works. There are at least a few hundred newbies right now acting like they just received a handwritten note from God who, despite all of the things they think they’ve learned, are still less developed than most of the people who wouldn’t even waste the time reading the article but who figured out the basics quickly.

You can’t really hate that method as much as the people so willing to fall in line behind it.