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Matthew Paponetti
Professor Carlson
ENGL 2089
24 April 2015
The World of Weight Lifting
Since the time of the Greeks, men and women have pushed and tested their physical
limitations, motivated by a desire for self-improvement. Today, millions of people participate in
weight training to do to just that. United by an enthusiasm to enhance their physical potential,
these men and women have formed a community dedicated to helping each other succeed and
grow stronger. My interest in physical therapy and athletic training is what originally got me into
the gym. When starting out, I never would have guessed a community could be formed from
weight lifters who tend to keep to themselves, but I was wrong. Weight lifters congregate at a
variety of huge events and most importantly, they communicate online. Members of the
weightlifting community work on a private level to reach their goals as well as a public level that
extends far beyond the confines of the gym.
The millions of weight lifters in the world are connected by one overlying objective, to
improve themselves. In society, people believe they have little control over many aspects of life,
but one thing they can control is their own bodies. Weightlifting gives people the opportunity to
be healthier, stronger, or better looking, and the only requirement is dedication. In weight lifting,
success can be achieved often, like when a certain weight for a lift is reached. This constant
success is what encourages weight lifters to continue training for their ultimate goal.
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One of the greatest benefits of weightlifting is improved health. By working out regularly
one can improve heart health, increase bone density, reduce fatigue, and decrease fat percent and
increase muscle. Also, one’s strength and endurance will develop as well allowing everyday
activities to become easier (Livestrong.com). Weightlifting has also proven to be beneficial
mentally. Resistance training has proved to improve memory, cognition, and self-esteem and
reduce depression and anxiety (Ramirez and Kravitz). From my personal experience lifting
weights I can attest many of these benefits. By working out in the morning I am significantly
more aware and energetic in class later that day. I also feel emotionally better about myself after
lifting weights. Going to the gym and improving happens frequently and can really make a
difference each day. It is clear that lifting weights has several positive effects on one’s health;
however, many people lift for other reasons.
The other major reason people work out is for the vanity and appeal aspect it portrays.
Weight lifting is all about making “gains” or improving your workouts. Often people achieve
these gains quickly and as a result their confidence level sky rockets. Associated with this newly
acquired high confidence is a heightened sense of bodily image. As a result making weight lifters
care more about looking good than the actual health benefits. At the gym status can be attributed
to physical size and strength. Many weight lifters have a goal of being bigger and better looking.
Why? Many do this for either inner confidence or, more likely, for the sex appeal.
In today’s society being muscular and fit is associated with sexiness and who doesn’t want to be
sexy! For these reasons and more people are inspired to get to the gym and pump some iron,
causing a growing population in the weightlifting community.
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So what exactly happens at the gym? The majority of people at the gym are honed on
what they lift with the help of music blasting through headphones (Rec Experience). To no
surprise this often results in the gym being free of conversation. Typically the only sounds heard
are that of two plates slapping together, a bar slamming into the ground, and various grunts of
exhaustion. There are always a handful of people working out together but for the most part
individual weightlifting is fairly private, and can be appealing and more difficult for this reason.
In weightlifting there is no coach or teammates to push you or stay focused. Everything is an
inner battle at the gym. Just finding the motivation to get to the gym can be difficult for some
people. Then while at the gym, a war takes place between mind and body. The body wants to
stop but the mind says “Onward!” All of this can be a struggle for some weightlifters. That is
why there is so little chatting going on at the gym. Everyone present respects the individuals
around them and knows the struggle of staying concentrated on succeeding. No one would
attempt conversing at the risk of interrupting someone’s workout. People that take weightlifting
seriously usually keep track of time and sets, and starting a conversation could easily interrupt
their process. And the people that aren’t as serious would be afraid to approach someone who is
deadly serious about it. Approaching strangers is always uncomfortable, but at the gym the
standard of weightlifting has basically outlawed. The main reason people lift is not to socialize
but to reach a goal so the majority of weightlifters prefer to do what they need to achieve that
goal and that’s it. It would be easy to assume that a community of weight lifters does not exist
due to the lack of interaction between members at the gym, but outside the gym the world is
buzzing with discussion about everything concerning weightlifting.
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One website in particular is the pinnacle of fitness chatter, Bodybuilding.com.
Bodybuilding.com is “The World’s Largest Online Fitness Site!” and has “The largest selection
of Bodybuilding Articles, Exercises, Workouts, Supplements, & Fitness Friends.” This website
is the Mecca of everything related to weightlifting, and is where all the quiet people at the gym
(nearly everyone) come to learn and teach about workouts, supplements, and more.
If a newbie to working out was looking for advice on how to improve they might stumble
upon an article found on Bodybuilding.com, “5 Chest Workouts for Mass - A Beginner's Guide!”
by Alex Stuart. This article goes over everything including chest anatomy, pointers, and a variety
of work outs. From my experience in weightlifting I know that this information would be
revolutionary to a newcomer and could significantly improve their gains. There are an incredible
number of articles not only on workouts, but also nutrition, motivation, and supplementation as
well. The purpose of these articles is to provide information that could help another weightlifter
reach their goal. That is one neat aspect about the weightlifting community. Online people are
very public about what they know and are willing to share their knowledge if it means someone
else could come closer reaching a goal.
A popular topic in weightlifting is supplementation, adding extra resources to one’s diet
to improve gains. Many bodybuilders want to know what supplements, like protein, are the best
and will provide increased results. Bodybuilding.com is where the majority of these people go to
learn about and purchase these supplements. To go along with supplements, Bodybuilding.com
sells a variety of fitness clothing, equipment, and additional accessories. One might not expect it
but the weightlifting community has a relatively large commerce aspect that stimulates a vast
amount of industries. One major reason for the commerce in the weight lifting community is that
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every member wants to improve and will do anything, within reason, to do so. Everything in
weightlifting is done to reach an ultimate goal, like better health or body image.
Although weightlifters are quiet at the gym there is always great deal of discussion going
on in the Community section of Bodybuilding.com. On this page you can view photos and read
success stories from various members, read about individual’s workouts, and join popular
discussions on an assortment of forums. For example, a member, VoxExMachina, posted in an
exercise forum many common questions beginners have. Many of the responses to this post were
either people being appreciative of VoxExMachina or adding additional information to the post.
On numerous different forums you could find posts like this one, where members are doing what
they can to help others reach their goals. Overall, Bodybuilding.com provides a very open and
public environment for discussion that may not be appropriate at the gym.
Fitness expos, like the Arnold Classic, are another major form of communication within
in the weightlifting community. The Arnold Classis is an exodus of weightlifters held every
March in Columbus, OH and is put on the man who is considered the best bodybuilder of all
time, Arnold Schwarzenegger. First off, Arnold is highly revered in the weightlifting world for
his seven Mr. Olympia titles, as well as his revolutionary tactics. Recently he teamed up with
Bodybuilding.com to create “Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Blueprint,” a training plan and
nutritional guide similar to the one he followed during his bodybuilding career. Since 1989
Arnold has drawn a massive crowd of competitors, supplement sponsors, and dedicated weight
lifters looking to interact with other enthusiasts of the sport. I was fortunate enough to be able to
attend the Arnold Classic this year and experience it for myself. The first thing I noticed was the
ridiculous amount of people of there. The entire time I felt like I was walking through Disney
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Land on their busiest day. The only difference was instead being caught between tourists and
children; I was jammed in with massive weightlifters, many of whom were double my size.
Everyone was desperately trying to visit the various supplement company booths to scavenge for
free samples. The most popular booth by far was the Bodybuilding.com one which required a
line that took over two hours to travel through just for a free t-shirt and a bag full of supplement
samples. There are also many competitions including bodybuilding and powerlifting scattered
throughout the Columbus Expo Center. It was a very cool experience being at the Arnold Classic
because everyone was there because they cared about weightlifting and could actually talk about
it in person with strangers, opposed to the silence at the gym. Although the lines were long there
was plenty of time to take in all the dialogue going one. The majority of talk was focused on
workout routines, supplements, various motivators, and several other weightlifting topics.
Overall, I would describe the dialogue as very masculine. The Arnold Classic has been a great
way for weightlifters to join their fellow fitness enthusiasts to share what they know about
weightlifting and learn about ways they reach their goals.
Another awesome aspect of the weightlifting community is how “stars” in the community
interact with other members. Stars of this group typically include people who have competed in
events, either powerlifting or bodybuilding, and won. One example is Ronnie Coleman, eighttime Mr. Olympia winner. Just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman posts all of his
workouts and diet information on YouTube and other sites where lifting enthusiasts can learn
from them (Bigroncoleman.com). Regular members of the weightlifting community look to
people like Ronnie Coleman not only for their workouts but also for motivation. Because most
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members don’t have coaches to push them, many people look elsewhere for inspiration to get to
the gym and succeed and eventually accomplish what they came for.
It is easy for people outside the community to believe that weightlifters and weightlifting
is very superficial. Most people think of weightlifting and picture “bros” curling so that their
arms look bigger at the next beach party. One example of this stereotype is Dom Mazzetti from
BroScienceLife on YouTube. In most of his videos Dom Mazzetti, the Brofessor, provides his
viewers with information on how to think and act like a true gym meathead (Mazzetti). Some of
his videos how to get a bigger chest, how to take of your shirt properly, what protein to take, and
so on. Although a portion of the weightlifting community is made up of people like this, the
majority of people are much more complex than that.
Most weightlifters have clearly defined goals and are very serious about doing what is
necessary to reach that goal. This includes planning a workout, deciding what supplements and if
any should be used, and then eventually getting to the gym and doing the work. And because
people are always trying to improve, forums and weightlifting websites are used to obtain more
information. Ultimately the stereotypes are wrong because weightlifting is a lifestyle that
requires more commitment than people expect. In my opinion weightlifters don’t receive the
credit they deserve, but then again, that is not why people lift.
To better understand people’s opinion on the weightlifting community I decided to
preform to interviews. The first person I interviewed, Scott, has been a part of the community for
the past five years. Robert on the other hand, has been exposed to the community but is not in it.
Most people might consider Scott a typical meathead, he is bigger and more muscular than most
people and he likes to party, but Scott says “there is so much more to weightlifting than just
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looking big.” Scott went on to explain how weightlifters aren’t just big, but “we are big because
lift weights and we work our butts off every day.” For Scott, weightlifting is more than just a
hobby or a sport. Weightlifting regulates what he eats and when he sleeps. “I am constantly
thinking about how I can improve and how far I am willing to push myself.” Like most people
Scott’s main reason to lift is to be healthier and stronger, but “looking good can’t hurt too.” Scott
said he doesn’t talk to people at the gym because he wouldn’t want to bother someone, but
wishes that this was different. Although the solitude of weightlifting can be nice, I too sometimes
wish it was a more social community at the gym. Bodybuilding.com and other sites have been
very helpful to Scott in his journey to be a better weightlifter. Scott is a perfect example of a
complex weightlifter is doing what he can to achieve his goals.
My second interviewee has a very different opinion on the weightlifting community than
Scott does. Robert has been to the gym a few times and understands that a community of
weightlifters is present. However, he does not understand the practically of weightlifting. In his
opinion “a major portion people at the gym are only there to look good.” Robert said that a
typical weightlifter in his mind was a meathead saying: “the end-all-be-all of their [meatheads]
existence seems to be getting swole.” When I mentioned supplements Robert simply laughed and
said “you mean those magic pills meatheads take?” Although this is funny, it is pretty clear that
he has no clue what supplements are, and is very skeptical of them. After interviewing Robert it
seems he is very skeptical of the entire community but because the purpose of an interview is to
learn about a person’s opinion and experience, I decided not to try to persuade him. After
completing both interviews, Scott’s experience in the community is enough to proof to show that
the weightlifting community is multifaceted, and has varying levels of communication.
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It is obvious that weightlifters prefer to not to connect while working out but would
rather go online or to conventions to discuss and learn about better ways to reach their goals.
Every unique aspect of this community is designed around reaching goals. From workouts and
supplements to motivation from the best bodybuilders in the world, weightlifters are dedicated to
doing what is necessary to reach their goals. That is why I enjoy being part of this community. I
love the challenges, and pushing myself. And I love how everyone wants each other to succeed.
It is a very positive group and I can see myself being part of it for a long time.
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Works Cited
"13 Benefits of Weightlifting That No One Tells You About." LIVESTRONG.COM.
LIVESTRONG.COM, 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
"Bodybuilding.com - 5 Chest Workouts For Mass - A Beginner's Guide!" Bodybuilding.com.
N.p., 16 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.
"Bodybuilding.com - Huge Online Supplement Store & Fitness Community!" Bodybuilding.com.
N.p., 08 May 1999. Web. 20 Mar. 2015. <http://www.bodybuilding.com/>.
"BroScienceLife." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/user/BroScienceLife>.
Coleman, Ronnie. "BIG RON Coleman." BIG RON Coleman. N.p., 16 June 2013. Web. 16 Apr.
2015.
Experience at the Arnold Classic. Arnold Classic. Columbus, OH March 7, 2015.
"Resistance Training Improves Mental Health." Resistance Training Improves Mental Health.
N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.
Robert. Personal Interview. April 20, 2015
Scott. Personal Interview. April 20, 2015
UC Recreation Center Experience. UC CRC. Cincinnati, OH March 27, 2015.
VoxExMachina. "Exercises." Bodybuildingcom Forums RSS. N.p., 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 12 Apr.
2015.