Post: #1

I was wondering what the gym culture was like around the world? I know here in the United States, especially in the south, whenever you walk into a local gym, you see tons of jacked dudes.

Post: #2

Why all caps bro?

Post: #3

(03-07-2016 07:16 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  Why all caps bro?

haha my bad

Post: #4

You want to capitalize each important word anyway.
I got warn for writing a thread title in all lowercase, I think.

Post: #5

This is an interesting thread idea.

US, UK, Australia, Canada and Germany seem to have the highest rates of gym usage by men.

Japan, Vietnam, China, Taiwan: Virtually no gym usage
Thailand: Gym usage by boxers and gay men
Korea/Phils: Some of these guys lift

Post: #6

Quote:Japan, Vietnam, China, Taiwan: Virtually no gym usage

Have you even been to these countries?

Golds in Japan hastaying high % of ripped guys. However muscular bodies are stigmatized as possibly being homosexual. I've had girls assume I was gay when i would be out chillin in a bar and not aggressively trying to get into their panties due to my size alone.

Japan at least is a country where people take hobbies to the next level, but only a singular hobby. So the gym monkeys spent all their free time training. Dudes at my Shooto gym spent all their free time chillin in the Shooto gym.

Post: #7

Colombia -

Guys focus mainly on chest and do the stupidest work out routines I have ever seen. They will run around do 'super sets' of four different crazy exercises and hit nothing correctly. I have seen guys doing curls in the squat rack, flies on an incline bench (supports getting in the way) and using two benches at peak hours to do body weight dips with their knees hitting the ground. Of course some guys know what they are doing but many are all over the place. No one puts weights back where they come from and sometimes you can find just random pieces of equipment all over the gym. Also everyone loves to work out right in front of the weight rack so its impossible to get in without walking around 4 guys doing 10lbs curls.

Girls work out only ass and legs which is great. They love to wear tight colorful spandex work out gear. They look sexy as fuck so it makes up for all the other bullshit.

I have never seen chalk, proper Olympic lifting weights or a belt for doing weighted exercises - all bits of gear I love to use. All in not the worst but lots of little things that can drive you crazy.

Post: #8

Here in China, the men try to avoid real physical exertion as much as possible. There's a few guys (often westernized) who actually take their gym time seriously (I work out at a university's gym) but for the most part, the guys here are either fat nerd types, feminine nerd types, or feminine "cool kids".

Post: #9

Ecuador: not big on gym culture, mainly because it is pretty expensive I think. Also few steroid users. One thing I noticed is quite a lot of girls doing crossfit. I think the price is the main reason for the few gyms.

Western Europe: pretty big on gym culture, but not like US. In US you will see the biggest guys, in Europe you have them as well but very gym specific. Big difference between more female oriented/student type gyms and hardcore powerlifting gyms. Also the biggest monsters are always Eastern European: Albanians, Russians, Turkish,... they do the most steroids as well. Moroccans are frequent users as well but they do more stuff like kickboxing. Crossfit still up and coming.

Eastern Europe: gyms filled with huge men, who all look like they just came out of a war, steroids are popular.

Africa: few gyms because of poverty, few huge guys, people workout more to be fit and healthy.

Overall I´d say gyms are mainly an American and Eastern Europe thing, followed by Western Europe, then L.America and then the rest of the world. What plays a big role I imagine is very the technology and machinery comes from. Many countries need to import them from US most likely, making gyms a lot more expensive. Same goes for supplements.

Post: #10

^^
Your view is aimed towards bodybuilding. There's nothing wrong with that but the sheer amount of people going to the gym do it to get/remain fit and in shape. Most people attending the gym don't even think about creating powerlifter strenght or a bodybuilder physique.

This is one of the main reasons why stuff like zumba/crossfit/les mills got pretty popular very fast. Everyone wants a fit and healthy body, some want to have that athletic shape, less want to be huge/very strong. All of that boils down to one thing, laziness. Humans are lazy. Most of us lack a goal, more of us lack motivation, the majority lacks discipline.

What I think is that going to the gym is mostly influenced by the area we live in (Miami for example, your physique plays a huge roll there) and in some degree the media (example: video clips with all hot and fit/jacked people).

I thinks it's funny though, to my knowledge Americans are the most overweight people in the world but it's also leading the pack regarding gym culture and even steroid use. That contrast is so weird to me as an European.

Post: #11

(03-08-2016 01:35 PM)Stimulus Wrote:  I thinks it's funny though, to my knowledge Americans are the most overweight people in the world but it's also leading the pack regarding gym culture and even steroid use. That contrast is so weird to me as an European.

America basically just has lots of people on either end of the fitness spectrum, and less in the middle. In the nicer parts you get maybe 10% of the population that are fitness fanatics, 20% that look average, and 70% that are awful fat blobs. In continental Europe its more like 2% fitness fanatics, 70% average, 30% awful fat blobs.

In Europe the lifestyle (lots of walking, healthier unprocessed food) tends to lend itself to people staying naturally relatively thin if they don't completely lose the run of themselves. In America its just way easier to put on shitloads of weight due to driving everywhere, huge portion sizes, fast food etc. But those people who do stay fit in the US tend to take it very seriously. I was shocked at how common people playing sports in their mid 20s was there when I moved to the US, way way more common than in Europe.

In my experience the average level of fitness amongst young people (under 35, middle class) goes:
Australia
U.S. (huge variance by region though. Miami is even more fitness obsessed than Oz, places like NYC less so)
Other Anglosphere (UK/S.Africa/Canada/NZ etc)
Eastern Europe (less overall training, but those who do are very into it. Lots of powerlifters)
Rest of Europe/S.America
Asia/Africa

As a relatively big guy (6ft / 220lbs) I felt on the smaller side of average in Miami/Australia - around 50% of the guys in the clubs were bigger than me. I feel significantly bigger than average in other Anglosphere countries - usually top 10% in a club. And I tend to have people reacting to me like I'm a monster in Africa/Asia - probably top 1% or higher.

Post: #12

(03-08-2016 10:00 AM)rottenapple Wrote:  Eastern Europe: gyms filled with huge men, who all look like they just came out of a war, steroids are popular.

Cosigned.

Post: #13

(03-08-2016 09:37 AM)cascadecombo Wrote:  

Quote:Japan, Vietnam, China, Taiwan: Virtually no gym usage

Have you even been to these countries?

Golds in Japan hastaying high % of ripped guys. However muscular bodies are stigmatized as possibly being homosexual. I've had girls assume I was gay when i would be out chillin in a bar and not aggressively trying to get into their panties due to my size alone.

Japan at least is a country where people take hobbies to the next level, but only a singular hobby. So the gym monkeys spent all their free time training. Dudes at my Shooto gym spent all their free time chillin in the Shooto gym.

Yes. Vietnam and Japan fairly extensively. I have seen fit guys but not anywhere near the level of the west. Of course no one is fat either. As a resident you'd know better... its just not seen on the surface like it is in LA or Sydney. Then again my experience is limited to Tokyo... I imagine Osaka may be a different story.

Middle East:
UAE, Qatar: "Whats a gym?"
Egypt: Average guy - doesn't exercise. Affluent youth in areas such as Heliopolis: many lift

Post: #14

(03-08-2016 02:05 PM)zatara Wrote:  

(03-08-2016 01:35 PM)Stimulus Wrote:  I thinks it's funny though, to my knowledge Americans are the most overweight people in the world but it's also leading the pack regarding gym culture and even steroid use. That contrast is so weird to me as an European.

America basically just has lots of people on either end of the fitness spectrum, and less in the middle. In the nicer parts you get maybe 10% of the population that are fitness fanatics, 20% that look average, and 70% that are awful fat blobs. In continental Europe its more like 2% fitness fanatics, 70% average, 30% awful fat blobs.

In Europe the lifestyle (lots of walking, healthier unprocessed food) tends to lend itself to people staying naturally relatively thin if they don't completely lose the run of themselves. In America its just way easier to put on shitloads of weight due to driving everywhere, huge portion sizes, fast food etc. But those people who do stay fit in the US tend to take it very seriously. I was shocked at how common people playing sports in their mid 20s was there when I moved to the US, way way more common than in Europe.

In my experience the average level of fitness amongst young people (under 35, middle class) goes:
Australia
U.S. (huge variance by region though. Miami is even more fitness obsessed than Oz, places like NYC less so)
Other Anglosphere (UK/S.Africa/Canada/NZ etc)
Eastern Europe (less overall training, but those who do are very into it. Lots of powerlifters)
Rest of Europe/S.America
Asia/Africa

As a relatively big guy (6ft / 220lbs) I felt on the smaller side of average in Miami/Australia - around 50% of the guys in the clubs were bigger than me. I feel significantly bigger than average in other Anglosphere countries - usually top 10% in a club. And I tend to have people reacting to me like I'm a monster in Africa/Asia - probably top 1% or higher.

As an European living in the US I definitely agree with this, there are more people in the middle in Europe and more people in the extremes in the US. I live in Miami and here big guys are everywhere, roids are so widespread that it's actually hard to find natural guys.

Post: #15

(03-08-2016 09:42 PM)RIslander Wrote:  

(03-08-2016 09:37 AM)cascadecombo Wrote:  

Quote:Japan, Vietnam, China, Taiwan: Virtually no gym usage

Have you even been to these countries?

Golds in Japan hastaying high % of ripped guys. However muscular bodies are stigmatized as possibly being homosexual. I've had girls assume I was gay when i would be out chillin in a bar and not aggressively trying to get into their panties due to my size alone.

Japan at least is a country where people take hobbies to the next level, but only a singular hobby. So the gym monkeys spent all their free time training. Dudes at my Shooto gym spent all their free time chillin in the Shooto gym.

Yes. Vietnam and Japan fairly extensively. I have seen fit guys but not anywhere near the level of the west. Of course no one is fat either. As a resident you'd know better... its just not seen on the surface like it is in LA or Sydney. Then again my experience is limited to Tokyo... I imagine Osaka may be a different story.

Middle East:
UAE, Qatar: "Whats a gym?"
Egypt: Average guy - doesn't exercise. Affluent youth in areas such as Heliopolis: many lift

That was my experience in Egypt as well, it's more of a social club for the wealthy in Egypt. With reason the gyms were expensive, I was only there for a few months but I was dropping 200us per month. In the gyms themselves tho there is a big boy culture, lots of really ill informed aas users and guys who will drop loads of cash for any shitty supp they can get but for the most part the average gym guy just likes to be seen there and dreams of abs. I got stopped 3 to 5 times a day with people who wanted to take pictures with me, I got called hulk more times than my real name.

Post: #16

(03-08-2016 02:05 PM)zatara Wrote:  

(03-08-2016 01:35 PM)Stimulus Wrote:  I thinks it's funny though, to my knowledge Americans are the most overweight people in the world but it's also leading the pack regarding gym culture and even steroid use. That contrast is so weird to me as an European.

America basically just has lots of people on either end of the fitness spectrum, and less in the middle. In the nicer parts you get maybe 10% of the population that are fitness fanatics, 20% that look average, and 70% that are awful fat blobs. In continental Europe its more like 2% fitness fanatics, 70% average, 30% awful fat blobs.

In Europe the lifestyle (lots of walking, healthier unprocessed food) tends to lend itself to people staying naturally relatively thin if they don't completely lose the run of themselves. In America its just way easier to put on shitloads of weight due to driving everywhere, huge portion sizes, fast food etc. But those people who do stay fit in the US tend to take it very seriously. I was shocked at how common people playing sports in their mid 20s was there when I moved to the US, way way more common than in Europe.

In my experience the average level of fitness amongst young people (under 35, middle class) goes:
Australia
U.S. (huge variance by region though. Miami is even more fitness obsessed than Oz, places like NYC less so)
Other Anglosphere (UK/S.Africa/Canada/NZ etc)
Eastern Europe (less overall training, but those who do are very into it. Lots of powerlifters)
Rest of Europe/S.America
Asia/Africa

As a relatively big guy (6ft / 220lbs) I felt on the smaller side of average in Miami/Australia - around 50% of the guys in the clubs were bigger than me. I feel significantly bigger than average in other Anglosphere countries - usually top 10% in a club. And I tend to have people reacting to me like I'm a monster in Africa/Asia - probably top 1% or higher.

Never actually thought of it that way. Makes sense though. Also there's less of a trigger to go and workout when your physique is average or a bit better than most people around you.

Post: #17

(03-09-2016 04:07 AM)mikeymike Wrote:  That was my experience in Egypt as well, it's more of a social club for the wealthy in Egypt. With reason the gyms were expensive, I was only there for a few months but I was dropping 200us per month. In the gyms themselves tho there is a big boy culture, lots of really ill informed aas users and guys who will drop loads of cash for any shitty supp they can get but for the most part the average gym guy just likes to be seen there and dreams of abs. I got stopped 3 to 5 times a day with people who wanted to take pictures with me, I got called hulk more times than my real name.

Very similar in Lebanon and Jordan - lots of guys resting 10 minutes between sets using ultra light weights, mostly talking and laughing with other guys or fucking on Facebook/Instagram/whatever. Also a significantly larger number of very obviously gay dudes in the gym than in other countries. There was also a small number of seriously jacked dudes that either took the lifestyle very seriously, juiced, or both.

France (Paris, specifically): most the gyms within the city itself are bullshit 'health clubs' with dozens of treadmills and cable machines, but barely any dumbells or barbells and no power racks (Smith machines only, several gyms told me they got rid of their squat racks because they're too 'dangerous'). The only gyms with the proper hardware are in the outskirts of the city and surrounding areas, and 90% of the clients there are Arabs and Africans - today I saw a North African dude dressed like a jihadist, could have come out of an ISIS video. Very, very few white French people lifting, and the ones who are seem to be a bit 'rougher', either working class or from the countryside. I've noticed that most people lifting here do not go for as much weight as they probably could; of the few guys who I've seen deadlift here, most are twice my size overall but pull 1/3 of the weight I do. One time I had a local guy tell me that the mentality in the gym here isn't to lift a lot, but just to kind of do the exercises just to do them. I also see 99% of people wearing gloves for every exercise, and lot of guys who wear a belt the entire workout as well.

I've been told more than a few times that lifting weights is frowned upon here, it's seen as either dangerous because it cultivates aggression, or as narcissistic because people are only aware of the aesthetic bodybuilding dimension of the sport, not the side that focuses on strength or power. Crossfit seems to have recently caught on though (mostly with yuppies), so it will be interesting to see if power/Oly lifting gains more of an audience, too.

Post: #18

I remember at two of the bodytechs I went to in Medellin the floor was at a slight slant, not a big deal till you are maxing on deadlift or squat and that slight slant throws you off. I was the only one doing heavy deadlifts and squats that I saw.

Post: #19

I can compare Estonia vs Norway.
In Norway first thing I notice (and miss) there are no saunas in gym. Most people are doing bicep curls but there are few people also doing squats and deadlifts. Mostly chain gyms similar to Planet Fitness. I haven't seen any real hardcore gym with big guys yet but probably there must be some around. So far I have not seen anybody squatting more then me and I do squats with only 140kg. Gyms are very cheap though, 20-30 euros per month.

In Estonia its mostly independent gyms, all gyms have saunas. More hardcore big guys but also normal people. You can go to gym every evening and there are guys squatting 250-300kg. Gyms are expensive, average 50-60 euros a month.

Post: #20

^ I went to a nice gym in Oslo, a few years back. They had a huge dry sauna room and a wet sauna room. I was amazed to enter the dry sauna and see girls chilling inside, yes they are unisex.

Isn't Scandinavia known for it's saunas?

This you would never see in the West, not in Canada, America or the UK.

The gym was mostly girls doing light workouts or walking on a treadmills.

They were impressed with me lifting "two plates".

Post: #21

(03-09-2016 05:58 AM)Stimulus Wrote:  Never actually thought of it that way. Makes sense though. Also there's less of a trigger to go and workout when your physique is average or a bit better than most people around you.

It is extremely true.

If you want to get in shape and put on muscle I would move to Sydney, Pacific Beach in San Diego (tons of dudes that lift with their shirts off all the time & military guys mixed in) Miami Beach. Guessing Rio would be another contender.

Out of instinctual competition just to try and fit in will be more motivated because every time you go to the juice bar you notice of the 5 guys in there you may very well have least the least attractive physique and body posture.

Be right back gonna go snort some creatine.

Post: #22

(03-10-2016 08:44 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  ^ I went to a nice gym in Oslo, a few years back. They had a huge dry sauna room and a wet sauna room. I was amazed to enter the dry sauna and see girls chilling inside, yes they are unisex.

Isn't Scandinavia known for it's saunas?

This you would never see in the West, not in Canada, America or the UK.

The gym was mostly girls doing light workouts or walking on a treadmills.

They were impressed with me lifting "two plates".

Actually in Norway the sauna culture is no existent. In one year I have lived here I have been to sauna once and that was very weak electric sauna in a skiresort, maximum 60 C. I don't really know why Norwegians don't like saunas, they have all those mountain hutts but non of them have saunas. To me it seems quite strange, to build a small house to the mountains but without sauna.

I'm not sure about Sweden, whats the sauna situation there but in Finland there's definitely saunas everywhere and same in Estonia. In Finland and Estonia you will not find a cottage or a gym without sauna.

Post: #23

Brazil is very similar to Colombia, guys doing chest and arms everyday. In 8 years of training in the same gym, I can count on my fingers how many guys I saw training legs properly. Deadlift? Only me and my friend.

The only thing that pisses me off is the lack of basic equipment. You can't find heavy dumbells in most gyms, even the expensive ones, sometimes not even squat racks. Crossfit seems to be growing a lot though.

Post: #24

Japan:
I just went to one gym, it was a public sport club. I had to pay 300 Yen for each training. They had a Rack, Benches and you could lift heavy. Mostly there had be old people but also some older bigger Japanese guys, some Western people and then many young guys with no idea what they are doing. They have Golds gym and other gyms but they are more expensive and can give you trouble when you have Tattoos. So I never went inside. In general Japanese guys don't work out. They are slim but thats all what I could spot. Buff guys are either Sumo ones, Ringers or that kind of stuff.

India:
I went to a few small local gyms. As a German I was a curiosity there. They have no idea what they are doing, mostly biceps and chest. Did not encounter any serious training there. But those small basement gyms are all over the place. Sometimes it seems like they just did collect all stuff from different places. So far you could train your basics.

Brazil:
They have those high priced gyms that are really expensive. I went to a local boxing club / gym. It was about 40 € if I remember right. They had a rack, incline bench, you could do squats. Weights where limited so if you are on the stronger side you will reach your level quite fast there. Most guys there did to the boxing, many beginners with no plan and a few buff guys. Mostly they train chest and arms.

Peru:
I went to two gyms. One was kind of a basement gym but well equipped. A rack, benches and weights. So you could lift heavy. When I was there in the morning time it was mostly empty. Second one was a more expensive one, but they had a rack as well, deadlifts also possible. About the people there I can't say anything, its some years ago.

Germany:
You have those high priced wellness gyms, the big and cheap chains, sport clubs and the ones in the middle. The cheap ones have everything you need but are full with jerks at the hot times between 16 - 20 o'clock. Higher priced ones have mostly the worst equipment to train proper. The middle ones have either a good equipment, even hardcore and allow you train good or they are more a wellness temple. Best are the sport clubs, they focus on powerlifting or weightlifting and have the best equipment. They are very cheap but the times where you can go are often bad because its a sport club and not a commercial gym. If you have one in your area, you should go there.

Austria:
I was just in two gyms in Vienna. One was a hardcore gym in the basement. One training was 5 €. The other was a big one with hammer strength machines and many possibilities to train heavy.

By the mentality Austria and Germany are kind of similar. You have a few people that take it serious, many that do it so stay in shape and the young jerks. Lower class in the cheap chains. All in all young guys go more and more to the gym, also girls. The last years we get a big fitness boost because of youtubers, instagram and stuff like that. The really big bodybuilder type is less common, even my gym has a focus on it. In general the people try to look fit, not buff.

Post: #25

(03-08-2016 09:46 AM)Atlantic Wrote:  Colombia -

Guys focus mainly on chest and do the stupidest work out routines I have ever seen. They will run around do 'super sets' of four different crazy exercises and hit nothing correctly. I have seen guys doing curls in the squat rack, flies on an incline bench (supports getting in the way) and using two benches at peak hours to do body weight dips with their knees hitting the ground. Of course some guys know what they are doing but many are all over the place. No one puts weights back where they come from and sometimes you can find just random pieces of equipment all over the gym. Also everyone loves to work out right in front of the weight rack so its impossible to get in without walking around 4 guys doing 10lbs curls.

Girls work out only ass and legs which is great. They love to wear tight colorful spandex work out gear. They look sexy as fuck so it makes up for all the other bullshit.

I have never seen chalk, proper Olympic lifting weights or a belt for doing weighted exercises - all bits of gear I love to use. All in not the worst but lots of little things that can drive you crazy.

This word for word describes Lima gym culture as well.

(03-08-2016 09:46 AM)Atlantic Wrote:  No one puts weights back where they come from and sometimes you can find just random pieces of equipment all over the gym. Also everyone loves to work out right in front of the weight rack so its impossible to get in without walking around 4 guys doing 10lbs curls.

Particularly this point... Live from my gym in Lima