An Eccentric Renegade Malaysian Weightlifter

Malaysia is a beautiful country, really it’s beautiful. Now shove aside the racial issues and political baloney for a few minutes and you’ll actually notice this country is really wonderful to live in, although the “leaders” are bickering among themselves like a pair of ferrets chasing after the last scorpion.

The recent few years, have seen a tremendous emergence of places I wouldn’t call gyms, but “Fitness Clubs”. Celebrity Fitness, Fitness First, California Fitness. Already they’re called fitness, you probably cannot expect much real knowledge. First let me say that I understand fitness. Fitness is a different field altogether from what I was involved in (Powerlifting) and currently involved in (Weightlifting). I know different people have different goals, and it’s their right to enjoy what they indulge themselves in.

Fitness Club For Chubbies. Service With A Smile

However, one of the biggest issues I have against such fitness clubs is their personal trainers and the layout and equipment of these places. I’ll talk about the layout and equipment first. Okay, usually, it’s upstairs machines and free weights, downstairs all cardio machine and drinks.

What’s messed up?

No Dropping Weights

Having the free weights upstairs, writes a restraining order on dropping weights. Not dropping weights in the game of weights, is utter nonsense. Complete! For those that think the “clink and clank and booms” of these weights are scary, noisy and disturbing, let me first say that your bloody presence annoys me then.

The dangers of holding to a weight that you’re unable to lift anymore and just trying to put it down silently, is beyond words. If you’re doing a bench press (I’m going with the easiest example that everybody understands), a barbell itself puts your body at a very disadvantageous position. Our human biomechanics aren’t exactly catered to suit the bench press perfect. Our rotator cuffs move in angels, 360 degrees, but a barbell restricts movement and disallows the body to find the most efficient path to complete the exercise.

Till today I’ve no idea what McDonalds is. A clown? Burger flipper? Badawi’s little brother?

However, with solid muscular strength, you can still hold to it, but there’s an issue when you get tired after a few repetitions. You HAVE to rack it back quickly when you’re done with the particular set to conserve energy for the next three or four sets if you’re a bodybuilder and up to ten sets for a powerlifter on his speed days. You also need to rack it quick before it puts any extra unnecessary tension on your shoulders and pecs. However, some stupid gyms have this idiotic; “If you can’t put it back silently, you’re probably not strong enough for it” policy.

That’s just promoting, playing in your comfort zone. Now ALL bodybuilders and weightlifters and powerlifters know this, being in your comfort zone, brings no progression. Your CNS has already adapted to the movement, its time to overload your muscle. You’re not learning a snatch, it doesn’t take 10 years to perfect.

Read Rippetoe’s studies if you don’t believe me, but I’m not lending you the book.

The pesky “know it all, actually know nothing” personal trainers.

Now don’t misunderstand my beef against personal trainers. I’ve none if they’re knowledgeable, patient, nice and non-obstructive. Sometimes, you get REALLY pesky trainers that’ll stare like you’ve just murdered their mother. I understand their job is to keep people safe, sell hours to people that require their help and assist people that need help in the exercises. I’m all for that. What spoils my image about them, is when they do NOT even do well training others.

First off some of them look like they need trainers to train them themselves.
Second off, they’ve not even teaching the proper way to train. I’m serious. You think the barbell row is easy to teach?

Ass sticking out, back arched, knees bent, depending on you, some deload, some do not. Those that deload take a 90 degree angle. Those that don’t, take 50 degrees

Trust me, it’s not.  It’s probably one of the most difficult exercises to teach. Yes, snatches and clean and jerks and squats are difficult as well, but this is pretty dammed difficult as well. BUT, these personal trainers can mistake the most important part of the movement. When their clients are ROUNDING their back instead of arching the lower back as shown in the picture above, they say;

 ”Good good, okay now row to your chest some more”

I walked past one guy and nearly spit my drink at his face.

Refer to this image while I give you free PT classes

Your lumbar spine (lower back) MUST either remain neutral or arched. This helps the muscles support the position. You can have your thoracic curve bend (upper back), but not the lower back. There’s 33 bones down there, screw one up, you’re in for trouble. Screw your lumbar area, say bye bye to leg functions. Screw the sacral curve (unlikely), your sexual and bowel functions go haywire. You’ll probably ejaculate when you intend to crap and crap when you want to ejaculate. Not a very pretty sight especially for your girlfriend or wife.

How can you put your sexual life to the hands of these fools that don’t know what a lumbar curve arch is! And their prescriptions to people that want to build muscle, I’ll tell you. I asked once just to see what they know;

“Okay, so you beginner right?”

“Oh em, yes…beginner, never touched weights in my life” (But my hands have callouses that just cut your skin when you shook my hand)

“Okay, so first, you want to have big chest and 6 packs?”

“Oh em, yes. Of course”

“Okay, so we do bench press, 3 sets, 10 reps. Then after that, we do bicep curls 3 set 10 reps. Then abs, 3 set 10 reps. After that must do cardio and drink protein. We sell them.

“Oh okay, so it’s a 3×10 system for everything?”

“Ah yes, no we call it 10 reps 3 sets, so usually I call it 10×3″ (Oh wow, 10 sets of triples, sounds like powerlifting)

“Oh. How do I lose this fat at the side of my stomach?”

“That one, we usually do twist. Like, you sit on the chair and twist left and right”

By now, I said to myself, one more comment from this clown and I’ll explode to laughter. So I got out of the places, and used the one day pass. Inside, I think I was doing squats, and I remember the look in his eyes. Hilarious! I’m all for personal trainers that mean well. However, sometimes when these people mean well…….they also give you a lot of nonsense which cannot be applied. This I feel is just not right.

And let me tell you, I went to all three, Celebrity Fitness in Subang Parade where the sales lady was extremely EXTREMELY rude. She was one of those that didn’t wear a uniform and was sorta plum. Obviously she knew nothing about exercising and only knew about selling. This was the one that referred me to her “Get results quick!” instructor which told me that. I nearly died.

California Fitness in Sunway Pyramid, I was attended by this angmoh and just nicely took his free pass and took a tour. He told me to do chin-ups……….on an ASSISTED machine. What an insult, but I just took it nicely.

Fitness First in The Curve. There wasn’t even a pull-up bar!! And no dip bars. What is wrong with this place?? I did enjoy the shower and steam room though. Ah, heavenly!

CANNOT CANNOT!! Mus repair the conditions of these gyms. I shall teach you what a real gym is.