Rusty@ Gold's....Or How I learned to stop worrying and Love the fake weights

[chaos]

I think all of us drew to bodybuilding for various insecurities. Not just training with weights sporadically, or for improved performance in a sport, but anyone that has seriously presued bodybuilding, has had some issues with needed to be vindicated on a deeper level. I can include myself in this list, and I'm sure if most of the people on this board were honest about it, they too would admit this.

I started working out to burn extra energy that would otherwise be used for mischief and destruction.

[Army of One]

Kubrick would be proud of your thread.

[Pollux]

Trained at Gold's Venice today...Mark Dugdale, Ahmad Haidar, and Rusty Jeffers were there doing photo shoots. I got a chance to meet Rusty, and speak with him for a bit. Told him that the Ironman was the 2nd time he was royally screwed by the IFBB, but that I hope he sticks around, because he is good for bodybuilding, and as far as I am concerned he is the "People's Champ." 

He was a pretty cool guy.....seemed quite humble about everything...mentioned that he thinks the problem is that the judges are looking for more extreme conditioning out of the atheletes these days...(I.E. siriations in the glutes). It was a pleasure getting a chance to meet him.

The tragedy didnt happen untill later....after my workout the camera crew starting loading up their equipment into some trucks. .....and there it was....the mythical 180 pound dumbell.... Yes, yes....we all hear about the stories of fake weights, but in the back of my mind, I always hoped that they would be nothing more than lies, and slander. Well they stepped back inside the building....when I decided that I just had to know the truth....

The mystique is shattered....that thing couldnt have been heavier then 20 pounds.... They also had some 45's on the back of their bed truck...that didnt weigh anything near 45....

So there you have it....chalk it up to another myth busted... Santa Claws, Jesus, O.J. Simpson's innocence, and stories of David Henry's 80 pound dumbell kickbacks.....

Perhaps it is better to buy the lie.....

M!

"Whe the populace becomes involved in thinking....All is lost!!"
Voltaire

Good work. 

[Pollux]

Yeah...im sorry about the lack of pictures guys....though It wouldnt have been that impressive as the dumbell looks just like the real thing....hmm...unless I balanced it on my head or something...or took a picture of me doing arm curls with it....

Now THAT would've been classic! 

[funk51]

is that why in 'pumping iron' it was SO HARD to finish a set of 315 on squats 

      iwas just kidding weights in the steve reeves are fake this is a pic from movie athena. just like the weights in stay hungry were for the most part fake. when billy graham aka wayne coleman went against ken patera in a wl contest on wrestling it looked like they were lifting a lot but only 2 of the 45's were real rest were wood.

[funk51]

You still don't get it do you?  
Bodybuilding is all an illusion designed to prey on your insecurities and sell you products (supplements, gym memberships, etc.) that will separate you from your money and enrich the vendor.  It is not about fitness, health, athleticism, strength, or anything else.  If you are interested in strength there is a sport for that; it's called powerlifting--not bodybuilding.

When I was a kid, they used to run this ad in comic books.  It’s called “antidote advertising.”  They convince you that you have a problem (you don't have big muscles and therefore are not a real man) and (surprise!) they have the solution (antidote) which you can purchase for three easy payments of blah blah blah!  Falling for this when you’re 10 makes sense… but by the time you reach 18 you should know better.  

            read above reply to spike.

[funk51]

.even paul anderson was said to carry some wood plates along when he wasn't feeling so good to substitute when he was giving exhibitions.

[stuntmovie]

These "fake weights" may be lighter than they claim but you gotta realize that some photo sessions run on for hours (four to eight is typical) and those light weights get pretty damn heavy by the middle of the shoot.

I don't think that they were first made in an effort to deceive anyone, but more than likely - just to make it easier to get through a long term photo session for the magazines or Hollywood movies.

Those "Hollywood" weight sets were made to look weak actors look much stronger than they actually were, but also to make it much easier to work with on the set where everything is fake anyway. I worked on a Merlin/Sir Galahad type movie and the set (Castle) was spectacular and looked more real than reality, but when I leaned up against that "insurmountable wall" - it fell over (actually just "out of place") and ruined that take for 40 minutes. And that's a lot of lost time on a major film costing many thousands per on-set hou

So anything that makes it easier or speeds up the process - saves time and money in the long run. (We even had a guy whose job  it was - to carry a box for one of the short star's kissing scenes or narratives while standing beside the taller actors.)

Same goes for those artificial weights used in photo sessions. In the movies, nothing is what it seems to be!

[Topskin69]

These "fake weights" may be lighter than they claim but you gotta realize that some photo sessions run on for hours (four to eight is typical) and those light weights get pretty damn heavy by the middle of the shoot.

I don't think that they were first made in an effort to deceive anyone, but more than likely - just to make it easier to get through a long term photo session.

Those "Hollywood" weight sets were made to look weak actors look much stronger than they actually were, but also to make it much easier to work with on the set where everything is fake anyway. I worked on a Merlin/Sir Galahad type movie and the set (Castle) was spectacular and looked more real than reality, but when I leaned up against that "insurmountable wall" - it fell over (actually just "out of place") and ruined that take for 40 minutes. And that's a lot of lost time on a major film costing many thousands per on-set hour.

So anything that makes it easier or speeds up the process - saves time and money in the long run.

Same goes for those artificial weights used in photo sessions.

Well...thats all well and good, but the problem is that the magazines try pushing the fake weights as superhero acts of legit strentgh by the bodybuilders that they pimp. For example, I remember one photo shoot that was going on at Gold's... MuscleMag was shooting Peter Putnam, (who by the way is a great guy, who I have nothing bad to say about), and he was rowing a "200 Pound" dumbell. A couple of months later he shows up in a musclemag article, quoted as saying, "I normally only row about 150, but for the photo shoot this day I was feeling extra strong and decided to push myself for the cameras and row 200!" (Paraphrase on my part).

That same 200pound dumbell only weighed about..30-40 pounds tops. And this isn't even the worst example... there are many obscene flex articles, in which absurd poundage claims are printed with the supposed photogenic "proof" accompanying them. To be fair this has lessend somewhat in recent times with the new change of direction in Flex, but you still see this kind of nonsense in the industry as a whole.

Point being is: Its all a lie! We don't like being lied to. Time for some transperency in this subculture/industry.

M!

[Palpatine Q]

Kubrick would be proud of your thread.

"There's no fighting in the war room!!!"

[funk51]

Well...thats all well and good, but the problem is that the magazines try pushing the fake weights as superhero acts of legit strentgh by the bodybuilders that they pimp. For example, I remember one photo shoot that was going on at Gold's... MuscleMag was shooting Peter Putnam, (who by the way is a great guy, who I have nothing bad to say about), and he was rowing a "200 Pound" dumbell. A couple of months later he shows up in a musclemag article, quoted as saying, "I normally only row about 150, but for the photo shoot this day I was feeling extra strong and decided to push myself for the cameras and row 200!" (Paraphrase on my part).

That same 200pound dumbell only weighed about..30-40 pounds tops. And this isn't even the worst example... there are many obscene flex articles, in which absurd poundage claims are printed with the supposed photogenic "proof" accompanying them. To be fair this has lessend somewhat in recent times with the new change of direction in Flex, but you still see this kind of nonsense in the industry as a whole.                             

Point being is: Its all a lie! We don't like being lied to. Time for some transperency in this subculture/industry.

M!

                               jean fux should have used fake weights when he wrecked himself in that flex shoot, when he was squatting.

[Topskin69]

So... Fake weights.. Good, or bad? Are they a necessary evil, or a shameful tool stifling the "Hardcore" spirit? 

[_bruce_]

I think all of us drew to bodybuilding for various insecurities. Not just training with weights sporadically, or for improved performance in a sport, but anyone that has seriously presued bodybuilding, has had some issues with needed to be vindicated on a deeper level. I can include myself in this list, and I'm sure if most of the people on this board were honest about it, they too would admit this.

Spot on - I'm still in the process of getting rid of various things.
Adding to this I only squat, bench, shoulder press and do chinups. It's just for fun, love and an overall feeling of physical performance.
Way better now

[Matt C]

The tragedy didnt happen untill later....after my workout the camera crew starting loading up their equipment into some trucks. .....and there it was....the mythical 180 pound dumbell.... Yes, yes....we all hear about the stories of fake weights, but in the back of my mind, I always hoped that they would be nothing more than lies, and slander. Well they stepped back inside the building....when I decided that I just had to know the truth....

The mystique is shattered....that thing couldnt have been heavier then 20 pounds.... They also had some 45's on the back of their bed truck...that didnt weigh anything near 45....

Is it possible that the dumbbell did weigh 180 pounds and you are just extremely strong?