Changing gym trends

[Tabris]

Those of us who've been lifting for more than a few years ever noticed the change in trends at your gyms or the fitness industry in general?

For example. A decade ago, powerlifting was all the rage and lots of fitness YouTubers had some kind of powerlifting background/focus. That transitioned into Strongman becoming popular for a short time while when Brian Shaw, Thor, and Eddie Hall were at their peak, moving to bodybuilding for the last 5-6 years becoming the thing. Bodybuilding is still king, but there's been a shift into hybrid athletes in some niches.

Or how we went from everyone saying 3x5/5x5 routines were kind, then full body, to upper/lower, back to bro split in recent years, which is again transitioning into full body in some circles. Smith machines, and macines in general were looked down on massively years ago and people tried to emphasise barbell work especially. Now it feels like machines are more popular than ever

Steroids. Even half a decade ago, steroids were still something people kept on the downlow. Now kids think you have to start on the juice within a year of starting to lift to progress, or how injectable peptides and SARMs still count as natty.

In the gym I go to, I've noticed that a lot of the younger guys are following a lot of fitness TikTokers by always having lifting straps on them. The exact opposite to years ago where people would have thought you were on that phaggytime for using straps unless you were maxing out.

[radrd]

Seems like everyone thinks PPL is where it's at now. I'm sticking with upper/lower as natty.

[proudmanlet]

brb zoomers setting up tripods to film all their lifts

[SpeakethTruth]

Some changes I've noticed over the last few years.

Far fewer people focus on the barbell movements. There's now a lot of emphasis on using bish weight on machines because it's 'optimal' in the sense that a greater percentage of the work is done by the targeted muscle group. The problem with this thinking is not realising that for example, 95% of $1 is still a lot smaller than 70% of $10. A traditional flat barbell bench still has a far longer runway for progressive overload over the long term than seated cable flyes as an example.

When it comes to machines their quality is inherently limited by friction - relatively harder concentric and easier eccentric vs free weights, creating the opposite resistance profile to what you want for strength and muscle. Moreover, many machines are also made with poor design choices such as setting up levers that make the bottom portion of the lift easy and the top part hard, which compounds the friction-based shortcoming.

In my observation there's actually been less juicers, at least by appearance and demonstrated strength. Maybe that's just where I've been training.

As for routines I honestly don't spend enough time observing what other people are doing to know what their full routine is. But people seem to mainly use a bro split or PPL.

Another thing is trash talking. People generally used to be able to back up the crap they were talking with strength. These days you have zoomers calling out people for having no legs when they struggle to squat 1 plate JFL.

[RetiredBrah]

I’ve noticed a few new trends

-Cameras and tripods everywhere. Everyone seems to film every lift in their workout

-Everyone sumo deadlifts, no one conventional deadlifts anymore

-Sloots dressing slootier

-Every week there’s some new obscure lift/movement that catches on like wildfire. Last week it was a dumbbell lateral raise holding onto the cable station for balance or whatever. This week it’s been guys dragging a bench to sit down on and doing cable hammer curls. Literally have seen like 7 people do it

-People talking very loudly in between sets on their phone

-Everyone has these customer like bodybuilding backpacks

-People using light weight and going super slow and literally not going anywhere close to failure

[Drop40lbs]

i've stayed away from big chain commercial gyms and barely see any of these trends now

[InsideMane]

That powerlifting phase was lit, back when there were people like brett gibbs, john haack was on the come up etc

[GaryRidgway]

That powerlifting phase was lit, back when there were people like brett gibbs, john haack was on the come up etc

That haack vs gibbs meet was probably the only exciting moment in powerlifting history. Brett gibbs never really came back from that one.

[InsideMane]

That haack vs gibbs meet was probably the only exciting moment in powerlifting history. Brett gibbs never really came back from that one.

John haack mogged Brett so hard he ended his career. brutal

There was barbell brigade, candito training, Omar isuf etc. thought those guys were geeks back then but I’d take them back over todays influencers

[MajorTendonitis]

This sums it up

[naich]

Last decades powerlifting trend/social media has greatly increased normie squat form. I've been to 4-5 commercial gyms over the last 15 years and can count the amount of 315 squats done to USAPL standards by a sub 200lb lifter on one hand. That changed around 2020. Normie leg development has skyrocketed and every month there is a new guy in the rack throwing up respectable weight and form. It's very rare to see atrocious form, however it's still out there. Almost always a beginner who doesn't want to start with less than 135 or 225 on the bar and compromises heavily to achieve that. I think the 1/4 squat shaming went mainstream enough to wake people up.

Women's pants has changed their ass design from last decades classic yoga pants look, to a more invasive between the cheeks look. Every pair of pants now vacuum seals to the women's ass cheeks as well as separates them by creating an artificial seam that must be touching their anus hole. In fact I have a theory that they tuck it in to their Angus hole to keep it that saran wrap tight. Some brands will add stretching to the top part near the waist to reinforce this mechanism. Other brands will add lines at the glue-hamstring matrix so the eye is fooled into thinking there is cleavage there. I think the next advancement in this will be to make the ass cheeks fabric semi see through while keeping the pant as is. This will give the illusion that the glutes are simply too developed and oversized that the pant can barely hold them and at any second will tear.

Gone are the days of the constant bombardment of low level bro science anytime you talk nutrition, programming, ect with a gym random. Enough advancement has been made with the internet and science based lifting culture that most guys who have a physique are quite educated in the surrounding science. Rare to find someone who looks the part and doesn't know all the acronyms, studies and big time industry names.

Bodybuilding died with the Kai Green Phil Health rivalry imo. Maybe I just stopped watching clips on YouTube, but it seems no one with any personality filled that void. People are hyped up on CBUM and classic physique. I think this is much better in terms of things to aspire too, however just look at mens physique winner from the first few years they did it to last years winners. There is a frame/look specific to it yes, but every year they get bigger. Classic will follow the same trend and by 2030 classic will basically be open bodybuilding, but your GH gut is still manageable.

More well rounded physiques. Unless you are 15, no one is doing curls and bench everyday. It's becoming more and more common to see well rounded natty physiques with no weak points, just conditioning and size to be tweaked. I don't think a single kid in my high school knew what a rear delt was LMAO.

People are more well behaved in the gym. People film, speaker phone in the locker room, playing their own music, ect. All these things are rare and the person doing it has usually gone out of their way to not intrude on others or is at least thinking about it and hyper aware and ready to change to not make a scene. Have never seen a real confrontation in the gym over any of the above. people usually get the hint with everyone's eye on you. Speaking of eye, the women love catching you staring in the mirror. They don't get all dolled up in make up and a $200 outfit to do tricep extensions alone. They want you to want them, don't ignore biology, but don't be a creep. Those call out videos are fake and gay.

[SmithMachineGuy]

People taking off their shoes to lift in socks.
Tiny weak sloots taking up barbells for like an hour to do those stupid hip thrusts.
People bringing portable filming studios to film themselves lifting with 25lbs on the bar.
People take forever in between sets because using phone.

[Drop40lbs]

Speaking of eye, the women love catching you staring in the mirror.

feels like I can't even peek over for 0.350 seconds without getting caught anymore

back in da day, I could look over for at least 3.50 seconds at a time by being stealthy

[Gesten]

You’re about 2 years 2 late

lifting hit it’s peak in 2022 with the Tiktokkers

[SpeakethTruth]

feels like I can't even peek over for 0.350 seconds without getting caught anymore

back in da day, I could look over for at least 3.50 seconds at a time by being stealthy

Did you ever use the mirror check out trick shot where you bounce your gaze off multiple mirrors?

[Big Bllrrrd]

less ppl overall in gym and less big dudes on gear. nobody lift heavy anymore just normies going thru the motions doing full body n upper/lower splits

never seen this shit ppl complain bout online like ppl filming n women bein bitchy srs

started liftin mid 2000s n tha most ppl i ever seen regularly LIFTIN at da gym was like 2014ish when first big social media fitness trend took off wit crossfit n all dat

before that was even more ppl but was split between fitness classes like cardio n zumba n swimming n shit. aint seent a group fitness class in like a decade them shits used to make up half tha gym population wit all them soccer moms n old ppl.

[Drop40lbs]

Did you ever use the mirror check out trick shot where you bounce your gaze off multiple mirrors?

these sloots know all da tricks now srs

the only option is to look when they are staring at their phone