Are Weightlifters "Fat?"

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Weightlifting Programs: patreon.com/zacktelander

[@bmstylee]

It's not fat. It's tactical girth.

[@CasaBonita1018]

Brb. Gonna go get tactically girthy

[@nataliee8032]

I love this 😂

[@beauchamphuberville1355]

special fat operation

[@BernhardKohli]

😂👏

[@1vootman]

Klokov is a case In point. There's no coincidence he's one of the most well known weightlifters...because he's good-looking and jacked, same with the ultra-jacked Chinese lifters as well for the same reason.

[@edwardelric717]

It's also easier to pronounce his name compared to Lasha.

[@Rizzerio1]

I thought that it was obvious that aesthetics was the more valuable trait in terms of marketing. Most cultures roots have high value in aesthetics. People will be triggered over anything that's not in their control.

[@marcstuart7478]

Yea Klokov was the 1st guy that came to my mind. He was probably the 1st weightlifter I heard of that opened the door to my interest in weightlifting

[@Cin9999]

They are also very very good still not like they are JUST jacked

[@keithbarbaro7590]

And he is Russian. Us Americans(and probably other countries) tend to be in awe of Russian. That gives a weightlifter more appeal.

[@thepeatboggy]

At the end of the day, Lasha’s weight probably has an adverse effect on his health, whenever he retires, any medical practitioner would advise him to lose weight Eddie hall is an example of this extreme, and has talked about how walking around at his peak performance was actively bad for his health, thats just part of strength sports and sport in general for that matter Calling these athletes fat and/or obese is perfectly ok, the relationship with how people view these terms is where problems arise

[@bmstylee]

You make a good point about Eddie. Just to keep the weight he was eating insane amounts of food. I mean he had to be on the verge of a heart attack. Plus since we just assume weightlifters are on steroids even if they haven't been popped due to the dirty nature of the sport, weight plus the nasty side effects of PEDs make a scary cocktail.

[@scottessery100]

And sumo wrestlers are as fit and healthy as possible but still 250 kg can’t be great

[@misztal2112]

Agreed. Being a competitive professional athlete is not to be construed with healthy.

[@csongorarpad4670]

@@scottessery100 ehrm... I wouldn't call sumo wrestlers healthy. fit, in the way of performance for their craft? Of course. They're masters at their craft. But I wouldn't call them fit for that and certainly not healthy. The average life expectancy of a sumo wrestler is 60-65 years old... 20 years YOUNGER than the average life expectancy for a Japanese person. Being a sumo wrestler is certainly not healthy considering their practice of adding mass. If it's just the technical practice and training of sumo wrestling then it may be perfetly healthy. But you won't get to the top level if you're not adding great mass (fat) to your bodyweight

[@Cin9999]

@@csongorarpad4670 You are massively ignorant here - Sumo-Wrestlers can throw each other…try throwing a 250kg man They train every single day and are incredibly explosive despite being so fat

[@coachcoopfitness]

No clue why that was controversial, what he said was spot on, in terms of the general public.

[@aditwani6562]

Because people don't want to admit they're shallow

[@G42X86]

Hard pill to swallow for some folk

[@gioabeleda3269]

@@aditwani6562 All things being equal, i dont think choosing the more attractive ~person/object/place/etc is more shallow. It just kinda makes sense.

[@aditwani6562]

@@gioabeleda3269 I mean yeah evolution wise, you'd want the "better genes"

[@trainershatehim]

@@gioabeleda3269 I think it only becomes shallow when more importance is placed on attractiveness vs character/achievement.

[@tylerkarlberg3473]

A couple years ago I showed a group of friends who had little knowledge of weightlifting some footage of Lasha doing Lasha things at some competition. One of them remarked "I love the power belly". I realized in that moment that I had never even considered it...I knew he was a big ass dude and who is strong beyond belief but never thought about his body composition as a factor. I knew that his body was built to do the snatch/C&J at the highest level possible. It seems to me that inside high levels of any sport, no one who is in it really cares what you look like if you can get the job done. I think because of sport being tangential to the fitness industry (weightlifting more so than many other sports) many of those who center their lives around achieving "health" through exercise struggle to accept or understand that an activity closely related to the one they have strong opinions about can exist while dismissing some of points they are most convicted about in the name of achieving a goal. I had a 10 year NBA veteran tell me once that being an elite athlete is an unhealthy pursuit. The more I think about it the more correct he is. Elite Weightlifting (in any weight class) is no different. Are they healthy? eh...? Could the incredible feats of strength we get to enjoy be accomplished without a relentless pursuit of improvement with little concern for the consequences? Unlikely

[@thepeatboggy]

Exactly Elite athletes are rarely healthy, across all sport

[@RagingRugbyst]

Nothing of value has ever been achieved without significant sacrifice.

[@ficklepickle6290]

@@thepeatboggy right. I would go as far to say to do anything at the highest possible level and be the best in the world at something has its sacrifices you’ll have to make which might effect your overall health maybe physically and or mentally. If you want to be at the cutting edge of technology and engineer something from the ground up and write computer codes and develop true A.I. if you’re gonna be apart of any next big achievement for mankind that is revolutionary where are you going to make sacrifices for this pursuit

[@sananton2821]

He's not getting more correct just because you're thinking harder, dude.

[@Kobe005]

Fat = Strong might be the only thing that Rippetoe and Telander agree on

[@BM-si2ei]

Being fat is so alluring as a strength trainee because almost everyone is stronger. But damnit I'm just happier when I can see even two of my abs, weakness be damned

[@Kobe005]

@@BM-si2ei I'm lucky that I'm just naturally skinny, I do WL for the strength benefits, but still want to stay "aesthetic"

[@PhiyackYuh]

If u want to be strong you need to be on a caloric surplus. Plain and simple. Caloric surplus = putting a bit of fatness.

[@getstrongby4038]

@@Kobe005 that's not lucky if you want to get strong though, that's a negative

[@al-imranadore1182]

You have to be strong to move around with all that dead weight, physics doesn’t care about general populations aesthetic preference.

[@sigmundbartosch3542]

Tapeworm eating the insides of my body while I watch this

[@phila9288]

Lasha lifted the most weight in weightlifting ever, that's why he gets a pass.

[@bmstylee]

Performance>looks

[@austin2150]

@@bmstylee I think most would disagree tbh

[@lukasdubb]

”Big strong dudes are being discriminated” - said no one ever

[@joalvarado8506]

Look to football. Every fan knows DK Metcalf even though he’s not that good. No one can name his starting left tackle though. Only in pure strength sports do fat guys get a pass.

[@bigchungus1848]

@@joalvarado8506 in football, Offensive Lineman are the strongest guys In the league

[@wellnessmedia8638]

We asked the members (3000+) at my gym their main reason for working out. 95 % said they train to look good.

[@victormutta1115]

Not surprising. I’m curious. What kind of gym? I wonder if this would differ between weightlifting, powerlifting, crossfit gyms, etc.

[@wellnessmedia8638]

@@victormutta1115 I am sure it would differ. This is a normal bodybuilding/fitness gym with very few professional athletes.

[@tvoyelitsoglupoye2326]

Yes Zach, give in to the fat. Let your feelings flow into binge eating then unleash the power of fat on the barbell. Give into the darkness Zach.

[@LucasDimoveo]

If we pull back a bit - look at how popular Natural Hypertrophy, Alpha Destiny, Jeff Nippard, Omar Isuf are compared to this channel. A part of it is obvious. Aesthetics! Just look at them. In a world where most people look like Lasha, regardless of what amazing lifts he can accomplish, bodybuilders and power builders will stand out

[@RyanGogginsTv]

You talk about people in more popular sport too if we are honest but you are right tho

[@CarlosCruz-mw4hp]

When I first started fitness I wanted to have an aesthetic look. I started to work for it. As I delved more into it I saw people like Eric Shaw and Thor Bjornson or Lasha (I saw his lifts recently). These guys are very strong. Yes they have a gut but looking at their bodies they have a lot of muscle as well. I know Thor changed his training to look more aesthetic, he looks great, but he can’t lift what he used to. My work partner is into looking as aesthetically as possible. He doesn’t see power lifters the same way I do. He sees them how I used to see them. Now I’m more impressed with what they can do and what they accomplished rather than how they look. I guess that came with age for me since I never competed. I do like your input as well ever since your channel came across my wall about a month ago. Keep up the good work.

[@simondehaas6460]

Exactly what I wanted to say, well put

[@Alejandro-te2nt]

most women like a big man with some girth who is very strong over a shredded guy who spends all his time in the gym and cant eat the food she cooks

[@harleyzeth]

@@Alejandro-te2nt false

[@Shawkster6]

People like you making videos like this, being real, and calling out the superficial bullshit for what it is has to be part of the solution. Thanks for making this video. I really appreciate your perspective.

[@domate5081]

Huge respect for your open hearted approach to all these topics you deeply care about. From Egolympics to video essays about the sport that keeps on adding to your life (I found myself thinking about that one a few times now) and these kinds of strucured, almost debate like, videos where you leave more than enough room for the viewers thoughts. Your arguments really stick with me sometimes and it feels like your content has a unique vibe that has been lost for some time on Social Media, where creators often go for a very incisive narrative. Zack, you and your editor are doing excellent work. kuss

[@houtexflex]

Ngl I wish I was Dimas 8 pack through the singlet ripped. I did however eat 10 Reece’s cups last night

[@Al.j.Vasquez]

Average Joe perspective: Being analitic, we tend to give fat male lifters a pass because we are used to see fat looking strong guys do pretty superhuman feats, think about NFL, Strongman, Wrestling, throwing events, etc. So the world is more used to see fat guys than fat females on sports. Second reason, from a lifter perspective, there are a ton more of male supers than female supers, so the level of competition isn't as exciting, the level of competition for Men lifters is very good across the weight divisions, not so much on the female side. Female lifters get overshadowed by their male counterparts, we know Li Wen Wen is more than twice the weight of Shi, but Shi can outlif her any day of the week, and we're talking about the best, the greatest female outlier in the supers. Now, a possible solution or workaround: Imagine if there was another step between 87kgs and supers, something like a 95kg division, i think more strong big women would preferibly choose to weigh under 95 kilos, than having to go all the way to 120kgs or more just to be competitive against other supers, i know that this would pretty much kill the supers division because it would take many of their potential lifters, but it would be more exciting because most women at 95kg are already chubby looking, but it would allow some very tall women to enter the sport without having to gain a ton of weight. For example, what if Valerie Adams had been a weightlifter? There is no category for very tall female lifters.

[@bmstylee]

Another average Joe perspective is the habit of guys objectification of women. As we know sex sells. Go to Arnold for example and see who are working at the booths. Spoiler alert it's generally not guys. So I've spent over half my life in a weight room and as a competitor so I'm definitely firmly in the athlete's camp. Don't judge me but what got me interested in weightlifting was seeing Lydia Valentin on some old ATG or HookGrip video. A very pretty and accomplished female weightlifter who was strong in a time where all you saw were the girls at the gym spending 847 minutes a week on the elliptical trying to be thin as a rail. That was my first dive into the sport that I really enjoy following both men's and women's.

[@Al.j.Vasquez]

@@bmstylee I agree in everything but i have a different take, it's not sex, but sex appeal, it's our instinct to be attracted to beautiful things and beautiful people, and you had a very good point, when you saw that she was strong as a horse but beautiful as a model, you felt attracted to her image and thought that she looked different, she looked better. I think that the most beautiful athletes are weightlifters (talking about women) because they work hard and their bodies grow where i feel most attracted, of course not every single female lifter is a 10, but they develop awesome silhouettes. I don't like the look of frail skinny women, i have been attracted to skinny women, but nature kicks in inside of me when i see someone like Kuo or Lydia.

[@Al.j.Vasquez]

@@bmstylee I forgot to add, men dominate sports both as athletes and as audience.

[@bmstylee]

@@Al.j.Vasquez you make a good point. I should have said sex appeal. A physically fit figure looks better to the eyes. It doesn't matter male or female. The fact that men generally dominate sports is also a valid point. What I dig the most is hearing people like Kuo talk. Brilliant people and not the shallow airheads that the "beautiful people" are.

[@joalvarado8506]

But the NFL only propagates this. The average fan can tell you about Aaron Donald’s abs or Saquon Barkley’s amazing combine, but they can’t name the best left tackle in the league. DK Metcalf broke the internet despite not actually being a good player. Linemen don’t really get any credit in football, while the lean freaks get promoted all over the NFL’s official social media pages.

[@usayeed727]

I’m actually surprised there are people who negatively comment on your physique not being jacked. If anything, it impresses me more how powerful you are despite that. Also, your physique looks decent and better than the average gym goer. I hope you’re able to fully ignore these haters bro.

[@rhinooningo2865]

When I was a fat guy competing in powerlifting and bench press meets in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the world was a much simpler place. The benefits of social media introducing more of the world at large to strength sports also carries all of the negatives that get amplified by the same new media. Back then, someone outside of the sport would be hesitant to offer irrelevant criticism and judgment about a lifter's appearance in person. Now that anyone and everyone can watch (and judge) a staggering amount and variety of video of lifters, it seems almost required for them to offer their opinions about every perceived deficiency observed, whether valid or not. I think it's part human nature and part modern social conditioning.

[@sananton2821]

Well said.

[@sakaue]

Eating an extra large deep dish pizza while watching this

[@bmstylee]

Did that last night. It was tasty.

[@florencescheepers9736]

Solid video. Things do need to change and they have been (slightly) over the past years. I do have to say that is some groups that I guess you could consider them "woke", use the word "fat" to describe themselves and others. More to take back some power after experiencing bullying and harassment and being called "fat". I totally agree that people focus way too much on aesthetics and not performance and it hurts many athletes and non athletes. Women especially are judged harshly by how they look and how sexually attractive they are above everything else, and it's why many develop disordered eating or quit sports completely.

[@JasonKim-ux7dq]

as much as powerlifting, weightlifting, and strongman are getting more attention in social media, the main focus of the population will always stay at aesthetics, or bodybuilding. lifting for the sake of lifting or lifting because it simply is fun is still a minority in fitness culture.

[@clarkkant5322]

Yeah, I agree. I think that to a certain extent most people are looking for the same fix in powerlifting and weightlifting that they used to get from bodybuilding, before bodybuilders became mass monsters that are difficult to relate to. A jacked physique to look up to, and one that looks somewhat attainable.

[@bigchungus1848]

Function > looks

[@clarkkant5322]

@@bigchungus1848 Hmmmm that's just what I'd expect you to say, Big Chungus...

[@samuelordonez4155]

Met you at the Arnold Zack! You're the man!!!

[@BjarkiWeightlifter]

Love your vids Zackie boi

[@vndy3717]

Man, I had to rewatch to listen to what you were saying at the 169 make, that energy was contagious man.

[@josuemorenocorral2349]

I love this guy's vocabulary, he can really get to his point and make what's his ideas/feelings are more understanding.

[@Karenshow]

Zack, I started lifting when I was in college as part of my training as a hammer and javelin thrower, that was on my twenties, then I graduated from college, went to grad school, had a family and naturally I sort of drift away from it. I am back at lifting, and I love it. I am 41 now, and I weightlift because is on my DNA, I do it for fun, I do have fat to lose after having three kids, but I think is amazing that I can still do all of those movements with good technique. I decided to document my progress on social media, and little people seems to be interested on my videos, maybe you are right, appearance is important to gain followers and views. On the other hand, I follow people just like me, people that keep showing up to the gym after a long frustrating day at work, after a long sleepless night (mothers), I follow real people.

[@jonphinguyen]

Are they fat? Technically yes. You're welcome

[@timshanks6729]

What impresses me about weight lifting is they don't usually look as strong or athletic as body builders but they are way more athletic than body builders and extremely powerful. I'm truly amazed at how much weight and how fast they move and especially the mobility is amazing to me.

[@howell90002003]

Aesthetics will dominate everything unless money is tied to wining. For example football is about money and money comes from winning not aesthetics. Once you tie the money to wining then the aesthetics don’t matter. If the KZbin algorithms and monetization were boosted by champions and wining aesthetics would become less relevant. Unfortunately KZbin lends it self to aesthetics. The better looking the product the better the views. From editing to presentation, attitude charisma people want to be entertained. The strong men do it best. Documentaries following their training. Crossover workouts with other celebrities in fitness. All it takes is a weight lifter blowing away a famous KZbin fitness personality in some other challenge and people would recognize the power of weightlifting for increased sports performance.

[@MrSamoannn]

well explained and only one that makes sense to me tbh

[@gburns9222]

Ive compared weightlifting with golf consistently since I started a couple years ago. I get where youre coming from. People like Tiger brought people to the sport.

[@trainershatehim]

Unfortunately I feel like the fitness industry (which bleeds into the weightlifting, powerlifting, & bodybuilding communities) is and always has been getting carried by the attractive influencers. In an industry where it is already very difficult to make good money, the achievers who just don't have "the look" are getting left to the wayside. Not only can it be demoralizing for the people who hear negative comments about their looks, but it can also be harsh on their pockets as they struggle to find sponsors and/or clients depending on their specific job. The solution? Stop over-validating people based on looks. We're living in the Kardashian era, giving praise and wealth to people who haven't really earned it. Stop adding fuel to the fire. Every follow, like, and "😍" comment on their posts just furthers the gap between them and the rest of the community. That definitely does not mean you should show them any disrespect. Just shift your praise to the people who have done something you meaningfully respect.

[@ClaudiaSilvestri03]

The issue with the initial podcast, for me, was that Hookgrip admitted he doesn't even post impressive record breaking lifts, e.g. from female Chinese Supers, because it doesn't get any reach on Instagram. That's troubling and hypocritical - how can we appreciate fat = strong when it's not being shown because it's not aesthetic?

[@trainershatehim]

@@ClaudiaSilvestri03 Agreed, and although it’s his business and his choice, I think it’s selfish to only focus on traction instead of promoting the range of elite athletes he captures.

[@sugoikage4240]

THIS. Also, a lot of nowadays fitness influencers are fake natty. Since like you mentioned before people will always going to be attracted with the looks first, they are the ones that will be getting a lot of attention from amateurs and people who have little to no knowledge of working out in general and will buy to their nonsense. And it causes a much distorted view of what's really possible achieving natty and what's not. Worst of all, it causes a lot of body dysmorphia to a lot of people that way. It's just sad to think how the fitness industry has become. Those are just my 2 cents though.

[@anonkhmer149]

Oh shit I didn’t even know you were there. My gf was competing in powerlifting at the Arnold and I got to meet so many cool people.

[@colemateko9445]

Love channel. I was wondering if you could make a video on weightlifting and recovering from devastating injuries. I would love to get your thoughts on training again after something like reconstructive surgery, motorcycle accident or major illness. Have you ever been able to work with anyone who has had to rebuild their body to a functional level? Can Oly lifting help? Is it something to stay away from or move on from after? Keep all the awesome videos coming. I learn a lot from your channel.

[@bmstylee]

Lifting is generally helpful. I've had some pretty bad knee injuries and lifting helped in the rehab. Plus the muscle and strength I had probably helped limit the damage incurred. Just follow the Dirty Harry methodology. A man's got to know his limitations.

[@davidgantz9378]

Friend of mine was an Oly Junior's national champ and 3rd in senior nationals 4 yrs ago. Put him in street clothes and the average person would never guess he even lifted. But I've seen peoples eyes 👀 pop out stunned amazement seeing him do Oly things like > 6'ft box jump, squat 405 x 10, snatch balance reps at 315lbs, he looks skinny, small arms. I love telling people he is the strongest weightlifter in Chicago. He walks around at 155, but put a bar in front him and he becomes super human

[@ClarksvilleBarbellClub]

Good talk, brother!

[@theodoregray5715]

I don't think we can separate asthetics and "fitness" or "bodybuilding". It is possible with weightlifting because weightlifting is a performance sport. I dont know how the average joe can seperate his gyming from asthetics. I struggle myself.

[@Muhammad-ou9wh]

Looking big, zack!

[@johns783]

I think the cause of this dichotomy is the fact that everyone who's not a strength athlete thinks of lifting weight as something you do to make yourself look more muscular/beautiful. the extension of that is weightlifters/powerlifters who don't look good to them seem to defeat the purpose of the act of lifting weight. Why lift if you're just gonna be fat? Not even bothering to consider that the strength and sport of it all is what motivates them. perhaps it's just a reaction to their success in which they want to tear them down for their own ego, they see someone strong and to make themselves feel better they look for flaws, and the easiest flaws to find are physical.

[@ED8Y]

this is going to be very informative i just clicked on the video ive wondered this question my self

[@IgorMikeshin]

Man, you look great. I don't know what people want from you. Great shape

[@jeffwilliams7054]

You're a Star Zach. When do we all get to see you back in Jiu-Jitsu and/or in MMA fights!!!

[@Frostmenn]

to some extent you need to hold on to some mass to be able to lift heavier.A lot of people assume you can be 170 lean shredded and put up insane numbers.Gravity at that point comes into play

[@whodatboi2567]

You alluded to it but even the increased participation of women in weightlifting is largely attributed to aesthetics as the 2010s saw a shift of beauty standards from very slender to thick and curvaceous and many women found out that weightlifting better helps you achieve this physique.

[@peteyliftsnshxt4]

Pejorative: expressing contempt or disapproval. I had to look that up had no idea what it meant. Learned something new today :)

[@boluaygepong5920]

Dude we love you ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@HanLifts]

It is so deeply embedded into culture that better looking individuals will be and ‘should’ be more successful. Goes further back than we can imagine. I believe, that whilst better looking people are getting more attention, the attitudes and behaviours around those that are less attractive yet more successful athletes (or whatever it is they are) is changing. Less people are getting shunned and put down. We’re learning to accept different representations of success. Which is a step in the right direction.

[@blu4able360]

I have to admit, at first I was into this because it looked cool and I thought you can get jacked fast- after 2 years turns out all I care about for me and my friends is the number on the bar, nothing else matters. Obviously keep your life healthy, diet and so on.

[@Lwhosane]

I like the way you look. I like the stache too btw!

[@andrewgordon777]

Walking around, judging how people look is all I do! 😁

[@scottessery100]

0:31 it’s like watching a praying mantis do 140 kg snatches 😂😂

[@brotesser6485]

I watched the Arnold Strongman classic Record Breakers, wich was mostly female. Now, the people were definitely commenting on the competitors appearances but I think a lot of that was just Trolls. It would always be the same pattern: inbetween events the chat would be a bunch of apes people calling some women hot while other "looked like men" or some other vomit enducing not very tastefull things and as soon as the events started a whole lot more people started cheering on. There is also the general thing where it's harder for fat women than fat men but that more of a general thing and doesn't relate as much to these elite lifters because they have transcended humanity. It's also something that is going to take time and wich we should stress as much as we do to give it the time to develop properly instead of causing further divide. And honestly I see us moving along well.

[@littlethuggie]

I love how so many people (really, from America and Europe) talk about aesthetics, when the majority of non-athletes look like someone chewed shit and spit it out. They're perpetually stuck in high school.

[@joeyreups11]

You just said the key word non athletes

[@ac2395]

I don’t get what your point is. You don’t have to be aesthetic to “talk” it. Do we need degrees in computer science to use this device? You say high school yet it’s always persisted past that. Ugly people want someone better than them. Average people want someone better than them. Hot people want someone better than them if not the best.

[@littlethuggie]

@@ac2395 here, I'll go really slow: the point of bodybuilding is aesthetics. The point of *everything else* isn't. So, to say "(non-bodybuilder) is fat and unappealing" is asinine (that means dumb). No one goes to your computer programmer and says "that guy is fat", because it's irrelevant... And the phrase "perpetually stuck" means that haven't matured beyond that point... Hopefully that clears up all your problems.

[@HScripturez]

I don’t care how aesthetic Klokov is, his lifts (especially his presses) and his training methodology are incredible and worthy to care about more than most other lifters

[@charliej7124]

I think the "popularity" of a lift really comes down to 4 things -aesthetic of the lift -aesthetic of the lifter -load -popularity of the lifter Unrelated: I think the situation is better than it used to be just because it has become trendy to lift and get stronger for men and women on most forms of social media. At least on tiktok (usually younger people), you can find lots of examples of female fitness influencers encouraging lifting heavy weights and I think the whole "I don't wanna lift heavy weights because I don't wanna get bulky" thing is starting to die out because of this. I don't think this really helps out the supers but I think it does help the sport of weightlifting and powerlifting just because the trend generates interest in heavy lifting.

[@dalehall-bowden1083]

I agree with your four points. The fifth that I feel also affects popularity is the lifter’s nationality. I know Australian lifters that aren’t household names because I am Australian. Plenty of lifters from the USA are more popular than they would be if they lifted for Portugal. Which is fair enough their is a lot of American weightlifting fans and they care about their lifters.

[@frysebox1]

I disagree. 10 years ago, you had a clear divide between the "normal" people trying to be fit and trendy in the gym and the different breeds of unscrupulous gym rats in worn out sweat pants. Only the latter would regularly do heavy compound lifts in a rack. In big commercial gyms the few racks they had would usually be available at all hours. Now everyone and their dog is doing high volume squat and deadlift programs while wearing neon coloured yoga pants, which means less racks available at prime time for me d:o)

[@TheTuita]

I'd equate it to music. That is, some genres have a lot of "aesthetically unpleasing" aspects to them. Like some examples could be djent metal with the unusual rhythmic passages, or jazz with notes that only "work" in context, etc. These are the genres where the general public says "it all just sounds like noise" because they have no understanding of it. It's only with knowledge that people will get passed the surface level aspects of any subject, and for niche genres (aka certain sports) that's just not likely to happen. I mean, it's understanding as I'm sure we're all guilty of appraising many things at a base level like this (e.g. I'm sure if I went to "art school" I'd start to understand that the genius behind some painting that just looks like nonsense to me at the moment).

[@MasculinityOnly]

Love watching these videos, just wanted you to know these are so entertaining and informing

[@flugrugger1benji585]

Man what a refreshing watch. I’m a personal trainer at a box gym. I play rugby outside of that and train and eat exclusively to be a very powerful tackler, ball carrier etc. I have what you’d classify as a “dad bod” 5”10 225 pounds @ like 25 percent fat…. I feel the most explosive and strong I’ve EVER FELT. But with all that said, in the very superficial and ignorant setting that is a commercial gym, I’m looked at as the “dad bod” trainer. It doesn’t matter i can outlift my steroid using counterparts (other trainers). It doesn’t matter that I know WAY more about training athletes and oly lifting. What matters to the average everyday gym goer is that their trainer “has a six pack.” They don’t know and DONT CARE how they got it (steroids, good genetics, etc) the only thing that matters to them is the look. Sadly this will never change

[@leek2serious]

"what is the a cure to this?" I think you made that point in the beginning of the video; no one gives a crap. Restaurant serves specific foods for a specific audience but it can't serve every food for everyone taste and so same with this category. We lift because we enjoy it and we enjoy for ourselves. Fred Rogers once said "you don't need to teach people to love something but love it yourself and that will teach."

[@seanashworth6750]

Slight point missed in the video, aesthetics are a part of sport in general, the reason it will always be the precedent in our industry... Is because of fans. When we see our favourite fighters, football players, basketball players etc. We are often left wanting to emulate their style and the way they look. Most people start their journey into fitness to look a certain way, it's once they understand the training protocols involved, the love for other nuances of the sport grow, such as weightlifting or other specifics within cardio

[@marcstuart7478]

Years ago Pete Rubbish talked about how powerlifters should be more aesthetic to bring more eyes to the sport

[@gettingoldisnotfortheweak9830]

Nice to see this. If more people were interested in what their body could DO, instead of what it LOOKED LIKE, they would be far happier.

[@blackreign673]

i slam cheetos to get more HIP DRAHVE

[@bmstylee]

While hitting your fahhhvvvveeesss.

[@maxr9775]

Great video

[@Sisyphus317]

Congrats on the pr.

[@achiyederi3622]

Just a perfect video.

[@karmasource]

I would love to have you get someone like Stefi Cohen (or any female with a social media personality) to see what their side of the world looks like. I definitely think there is amazing growth--any nonzero number of supporters is better than zero. I am personally excited to see the kind of work that these women are putting in because it's an entire population of the world that's just being forgotten. As for the pejorative, I personally don't understand the stigma around "fat" but that could just be my personal bias rather than some rational idea. I think the vast public should have a realistic perspective on the male and female physique, rather than putting terminology in the no-no word category we should have a medical approach to encourage healthy living (that includes the over-muscular and over-fat).

[@brooke5863]

Fat isn’t a medical word. It’s a social word always meant to make someone feel inferior or bad about themselves

[@SomethingCool51]

@@brooke5863 and that's a good thing

[@LeoJGym]

Speaking of aesthetics, Zack channeling his outer CBum here with that dirty sanchez. All the respect.

[@karansingh1154]

I always wondered how much does being fat helps in olympic weightlifting. Lets just say if Lasha slimed down to a flat stomach, how much would he be able to snatch & cj.

[@scoobertmcduck2998]

Much much less. I am sure if you did a total body scan on Lasha now and if he slimmed down, you'd see a drastic loss in muscle.

[@PhiyackYuh]

If you want to be strong you need to be in a caloric surplus. If you want weight loss or fat loss then caloric deficit.

[@ClarksvilleBarbellClub]

You make a good point at the end. The extremes are growing more extreme, and the people in the middle are forced to choose a side or be shunned by those who chose. Sounds a lot like politics to me...

[@jordanguernsey7716]

I agree that that’s the way a lot of things are, attractive people get more attention, and you hit the nail on the head with saying women are looked down on more than men when they are fat, because women’s value for a lot of people is a lot more aesthetic based. Just because it’s common though doesn’t mean it’s ok or that it has to be accepted lying down. I think within your community/sphere of influence, you make an effort to recognize excellence especially in athletes who typically get less attention. It’s not a crime to not be attracted to everyone, but you can say “hey this is a great athelete” and showcase the less attractive ones intentionally. I think as far as what to do about people being unhealthy, the most difference will be made by making healthy food cheaper/more accessible and fitness options/daily activity are built in to daily life, and aesthetics are focused on less. Most people don’t really care if they look jacked or can lift a certain weight or do skills etc. Just shaking your head at the masses and saying “all you gotta do is buckle down and do it” is just willfully ignorant of how human beings are motivated. I think plenty of fit people talk about the obesity epidemic but really they get off on looking down on the rest of the population.

[@tylermitchell2799]

Zach always drops these Pulitzer prize think pieces on here.... lol

[@ethanhedden1874]

I'm 18 and a beginner weight lifter in GA and I'm tactically girthy aka fat. I went to my first real competition in February and got a 220 clean and 160 snatch which were both PRs for me but litteraly nothing compared to the other competitors but my God I could've sworn j just broke a world record when I got each weight on the platform. It doesn't matter on weight or anything because everyone starts out somewhere and everyone I've met is incredible

[@spankatron5133]

I have always been very lean. Over the past few months I have made a concerted effort to gain mass (including a lot of fat!). My strength has gone through the roof and I feel great. Body fat serves an important purpose, muscle is anatomically very ‘expensive’ to produce and maintain, and if a body doesn’t have energy reserves to rely on then it won’t respond in the same way to the stimuli that we work so hard to produce.

[@davidgantz9378]

Weight lifting is a visually tricky sport that will never inspire the masses. Many competitive lifters don't have 'Arnold' type perfect physiques. Many have thick legs but comparatively mediocre looking arms. But we know weightlifting athletes are the greatest in terms of power production/ strength.

[@Tianfan0927]

“It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible”

[@CreightonMiller]

Nothing anyone said was wrong and nothing anyone said was really even worth continuing to discuss in this context. Yes, people will continue to ignore strength training and strength sports. It won't do any of us any good to get bent out of shape about it.

[@cpskfgl220]

I agree with you that looks don't matter in competitive sports. But i think we should show some amount of love to Russian power bellies.

[@mcfarvo]

One must accept that someone can be extremely fit for the challenge of lifting weights while also being obese and unfit for many other athletic tasks (e.g. running) and predisposed to multiple comorbidities of obesity (e.g. sleep apnea, heart disease, etc.).

[@ltlocus]

Health comes first

[@evilflowx]

as a mediocre super heavy, i don't give a f*** what anyone thinks about me, my weight, or my performance. i only care about what i think of me, my weight, and my performance. the cure is for people to just live their life, and not care about what others think. we're here on this rock for a finite amount of time, and you just need to make the best of it with what you've got. learn to do that! but i know that's easier said than done for some people who are raised to care about such things.

[@spiritual_fitness]

i think we all can agree as brothers and sisters in the fraternity of lifting we should not put other lifters down. General public is ignorant but I'm seeing the same prejudice within our community.

[@edwardelric717]

Man I wanted a constrictive criticism and explanation on heavy weights being fat And how it affects them. Instead I got a lecture on something

[@albertosara416]

i mean within the niche we just know better because we're within it. we go past the surface and check out a lot of lifters doing things, we get a more whole view of everything. the regular person that in the off chance that sees anything related to lifting will always see guys like Larry Wheels or what have you because they have great aesthetics, and that's the only thing they can relate to. "he looks good, i wish i looked good like that". nobody thinks "damn, i wonder how much he lifts", because they just aren't into the sport, which is okay, but that's about as far as those thoughts go. the common denominator for everything is looks, while strength or endurance or other physical attributes are rarely important for people.

[@kaga13]

There is no cure; I got into lifting in general looking at pictures of the pre-Liu Chinese Oly LIfters, the fact that they were athletic as hell & aesthetic and you could train to get like that was what sold it for me and I think something like that is pretty relatable to the general uneducated public than having a mediocre physique looks wise (which lots of hyper specialized lifters do) but can lift a hell of a lot. On the other hand, there's a difference between lifting for the purpose of a 1rm snatch/clean&jerk over head and lifting for bodybuilding and lifting for general strength. On the other other hand guys like Lasha are or Rezazadeh etc are obese, same with the strongmen like Brian Shaw and Eddie Hall; they're not obese like the people from my 600lb life or Boogie2998 but still. Hall said the amount of eating and pain he was in trying to fit near 200kg on a 6'3 frame he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy (well maybe he would on Thor these days), but he and other supers packed on that mass to do what their strength sports required them to do to win. That isn't always going to paint a pretty picture for the general public and it should make sense that it doesn't regardless of how cool we think the sport is.

[@user-ob4dv3ts2p]

It ain’t bad at all… and as a non olympic weightlifter, I enjoy ur channel a lot.

[@willheller3006]

people were lifting till 10pm. there were also only 6 platforms, people had to triple up in the warm up area. people paid $175 for that...

[@AIK.1891]

Could you do a video on Swedish lifter Patricia Strenius?

[@omeraytug8460]

Nat is right about the fact that more aesthetic looking lifters tend to be more popular. Not every person that is interested in weightlifting actually does the sport itself. Therefore ppl that don’t really practice the sport tend to like aesthetic looking athletes.

[@Luca-tw9fk]

"I'm not fat, I'm just super heavy"

[@liusam651]

Also we can’t assume everybody sees the same goals (looks vs performance), and I think it’s just a futile effort to Chang everyone’s perspectives on something like this

[@scottantczak9615]

Looks and attractiveness and athestics as this segment probably will never change with popularity.

[@dewaynemizzell7009]

How would a person approach a coach like yourself to do a class at my gym?

[@alexyoung755]

Probably email

[@dewaynemizzell7009]

@@alexyoung755 kinda figured, need one he wants to use for sure though

[@JeffO-]

Or through Instagram.

[@Fanaro]

8:00 On the flipside, if everything was 100% about performance, maybe only the winners would get everything. Maybe beauty can be viewed as a way for others to also remain relevant even if they can't achieve the highest level.

[@bkw6329]

I can see one way to do it. Introduce people of all kinds into the sport regardless of what people think. People should care less about whether they're fat, skinny, buff, trans, whatever. They should show that there is no such thing as looks for an athlete, there is only performance. I can only imagine the heat that can be made if some brand like Gymshark or YoungLA were to put someone like Julius Maddox or Ray Williams into their ads. Doing something like this can show that in any performance orientated sport, looks don't matter. We should simply flip the fitness industry on its head and see what goes on from there.

[@satanette8562]

U look great man. Fuck the haters, shamers and blamers 💪

[@HarrySKeith]

Is that Max in the BG?

[@FantusyFailure]

I think the issue isn't that people care about aesthetics. It's that what is sold to achieve those aesthetics are fake and unsustainable. If the fitness industry stopped pretending aesthetics didn't matter and focused on "this is what us achievable and how to do it, no bs" things will improve. My giving people the truth and focusing on clarity if what people can achieve aesthetically and the real costs, it paradoxically will reduce how much people hyper focus on it.

[@Aaaronicus]

the only way it gets detached from aesthetics is if it detached from the general health/fitness community. e.g. people look at the sport and don't think they're doing it for health, which is how most people start in the sport to begin with. so it will never happen

[@jessejustsick]

Very thought provoking video man. Would love to see a few people from the community talk about this topic. Personally I think there are always going to be a lot of opinions and comments out there around this but, the only valid ones come from people who understand what's going into the soup and how it's made. "Sure he's fat but the dude just put up 200kgs with near perfect form and you just watched him do it so... stfu."

[@KrahyzHD]

Men have been in the media for hundreds of years while being overweight and that really hasn’t prevented them from pushing for exposure but in the past in the media women have never been seen as overweight I feel this really has had an effect on what we consider more acceptable in this case seeing women on the TV screen and seeing they’re heavier it seems so much more wrong than a man who is heavier

[@zoidsfan12]

In before there is an edit of "people will just watch lifters that they are more attracted to" and it cuts to a grizzly hardstyle edit. I feel like there's gonna be a lot of comments about how our bloatlord has the ideal male physique.