WHY it’s HARDER than you think to squat heavy in a commercial gym 

Russ: * Literally owns a big ass world class equipped gym * Also Russ: * Goes to commercial gyms twice a week *

405 is def the head turning weight in a commercial gym

365-405 is for sure where heads start turning for squats. My buddy who was the first of our group to squat 405 back in the day had damn near everyone in the gym watching his attempt

Realistically, and I know some people will disagree because maybe they go to an abnormally strong gym, but 315 for reps on squats is pretty damn rare at a commercial gym. At that point you'll definitely have people checking you out. 405 for reps though you might get people straight up staring at you.

I think Russ overestimates the strength of the average person in a commercial gym. Even at 3 plates people look at you even if just a passing glance. If you really want to turn heads, go to a commercial and start doing Olympic lifts - people look at me every single time

I workout in a commercial gym and I recently hit a squat pr of 495😁 big milestone for me

i go to a regular commercial gym and it might be one of the strongest casual gyms i’ve ever been in, I’ve seen 405 squatted easily for reps, multiple 365-405 benches, 500 deadlift for 10+ reps from this 1 crazy dude and so much other insane shit, there’s definitely a mix of seniors, young kids and average people but the gym is pretty nice so it attracts some serious lifters, people rep 225 on bench, squat 315 and deadlift 405 without anyone batting an eye

perfect depth on over 2 plates is enough to look honestly. i used to do BS depth, now being able to hit depth with 315 plus makes me happy

Back in my day, I turned heads when I had 3 plates on the left and 5 plates on the right.

I get some looks when repping 3 plates (more so because I look skinny) but I’d say more towards 405.With that being said most people who squat that much in a commercial gym have terrible form and only goes down like 2 inches lol.

"back in my day i used to bench 700" "700??" "yee, my elbow just not the same no more man" LMAOOO

I’ve legit never seen someone squat 405 in person in a commercial gym. Watching a powerlifting meet absolutely, but never at a regular gym. In fairness, I have a home gym now and don’t really go to commercial gyms anymore, but I did go to them for years.

The head turn honestly depends on how “big” the person looks and their range of motion/form in the commercial gyms I’ve been to. It’s when no one thinks you can lift the weight and it happens that really freaks them tf out.

I was a graduate assistant strength coach at a D1 university and lifted in the weight room there. I squatted roughly 430-450 at that time weighing like 185. No one batted an eye considering there were football players in the room doing 600 +. Now that I’m back home in a normal gym I put 405 on and everyone is staring, it threw me off at first, because I didn’t understand why people were looking at me.

Honestly probably already at like 150kg, I got to a gym that has a powerlifting friendly area but the most I've seen there is someone working up to a 120kgx5. I'm now six months in and about to hit 100kg for a 5 for the first time in the next weeks, can't wait!

I've had similar experiences with gym OG's when I first started out, some even told me to stop deadlifting as it made too much noise. At best they give me the "I used to lift heavy" speech too and I'm like, alright that's great man good for ya. Fast forward many years to last month, and this old guy came up to me and started complimenting me on my sets of 300 lb bench for triples. I'm around 170 lbs and 5'7" so not that freaky looking in a shirt, not a PL competitor as my squats are a sub-405 embarrassment for the years I've put in. Old dude said he used to compete in bodybuilding. I'm like, ok that's cool I wish I was jacked too but I'd be pretty happy with just 4/3/5 plate SBD to start with. Was about to go back to my set until he hit me with "oh yeah, back in the 70's Arnold came to visit a gym my buddy opened and we got a picture together." And at this point I'm pretty skeptical he's talking out of his ass. Until he gets out his wallet and shows me a grainy beige photo of him and his buddy with Arnold himself at a gym down the street from the exact gym we were at. Mind fucking blown and I had to eat my prejudice. But anyway, at my commercial gym I'll do a double take if I see even a 315/275/315+ SBD if the squat is to depth. Not too many serious lifters come in the morning unfortunately 😢

Yeah I would agree. The first time I squatted 405 I had a couple heads turn. But then I squatted 500 and I felt the whole gym freeze lol.

I trained at my local Y and a commercial gym for about three years. I could count the amount of people who pulled four plates and squatted three on just my two hands. I distinctly remember a triple with 410 on deads and half the gym was looking

love this energy man. seeing your excitement talk about your past realizing where you are now is an inspiration to achieve these goals of ours \\m//

The same thing happened at my old gym were I used to work and train at and only occasionally visit now. I started training there from March 2017 until September 2019, then became a member of staff from October 2019 until August 2021. It sort of started in late 2019 that more and more kids would sign up for memberships with their parents present. Then Covid happened and we had 2 lockdowns here in Germany. But after the last lock down which ended in May 2021, the number of kids signing up increased even more dramatically.

@Russel Orhii I'm an experienced lifter who goes to a couple of commercial gyms and tbh bro, it's rare to see someone repping over 315 with good form at a commercial gym. So when I see that I usually turn my head because it's not common to see. When I go to the bodybuilding/powerlifting gym in my city, I feel like it's rare to see someone squatting LESS than 315. I rmr at my local world gym I would get complimented by randoms for just repping out 225 on the bench and 405 on the deadlift, while at my bodybuilding/powerlifitng gym nobody bates an eye if they see someone moving that weight.

Gym OGs truly are the best part of a commercial gym without a doubt

For the gym I go to and work at, the point where you start turning heads is 315 since I can count the number of people on one hand that can lift more than that. It's a really small gym and caters mostly to older people and like young professionals, people that aren't really serious about lifting but just want to stay in shape.

I tried explaining this to a friend where you'd rather lift the same plates with a "heavy" bar rather than a "regular" bar. It's night and day trying to lift a weight that's dancing around on your shoulders vs static.

The gym OG comments at the end are hilarious, new sub bro 😂🔥

315 you start looking a little bit, but 405 then you're like "okay is this guy gonna ass to grass this or ego rep tf out of this?" By 5 plates you're like "okay hang on I gotta watch this guy real quick".

U seem like a very chill guy to hang out with

Never had an old head tell me their lifts but there's one dude always in the sauna talking about politics and that its so nice to be young

Every time I watch your videos, it motivates tf outta me. You make it look sooo fkn easy. I step inside a gym thinking I can squat, bench, dead heavy until I touch the weights and realize I ain’t Russ lmao

Hey russ bro ur my biggest inspiration for powerlifting you push me to get better every time i train,

For me I think it’s 4 to 5 plates when heads start turning

The most accurate oldhead impression I've ever heard

14:45 Guy lying on the bench is deadass like me when I see an impressive lift in the making lmao

495 with great form and a low dip, good shit bro ur nuts

So fucken true with these OG’s 😂

Last week I had a couple of old guys watching me to 245lb Bulgarian split squats, but I think they were just more fascinated with the movement rather than strength lmfao

3+ plates respectable, 4 plates admiring and more is like holy shit

Never saw any of your videos before this. You seem dope and genuine. Big fan of the content.

Russ the way you explained how you in the hole and you shooting you and all that was insane 😂😂 love the video

Loving how you explain the details fr!

These commercial gyms always bring out the funny in Russ and I’m fucking here for it

I had a dude come fist bump me for doing a back off set at 315 lmao, commercial gyms are weird. Edit: now that I saw him move 585, what amazes me, is just how the bar never moves slowly. He's always got such power out of the hole, even when he's breaking 600 lmao. What a beast

I just want to say the gym og's will do the same thing to calisthenics guys. My warm-up is 5 sets of 20 pullups/20 dips/20 pushups using variations to target different muscle groups, and the og's will tell me they used to do 500 push-ups and 500 pullups a day. I also want to let you know your channel has motivated me to start adding some heavy lifting at least twice a week, seeing your strength makes me want to get stronger 💪.

His throwing up acting is pretty good, I literally thought he was gonna throw up too. Edit: the more I watch, I can't tell anymore.

405 turns heads. Four plates everyone starts to look.

appreciate the video, and we don't mind your long rants! it's interesting to hear a pro's perspective. anyways i'd say heads already start turning at the 3 plate mark. i'm at 190 kg, still working on that magic 200 kg squat. the most i have ever seen in person is 220, and the guy did it for 5 reps. 4 plates is very rare. the racks in my gym chain all have good adjustments, and i can fit in just fine as a 198 cm lifter. no need for a big walkout. i can also say the bars i'm using for squats don't bend in my gym (they have a piece of tape on them saying "for squats and deadlifts only") and they have great knurling as well. the clips are not very impressive, though... but they work. overall i'd say commercial gyms are all different, and mine is probably slightly above the average. the only massive downside in my cheap commercial gym is that bench pressing is extremely gimped thanks to hard, narrow and gripless benches. happily i have a good bench set up at home, so i'm good on that front.

14:49 you can see the lady in the back giving a nod of approval after that lift

I go to Gold's and I'd say squatting 3 plates people start looking, especially when you rep it. Most definitely people look after you go above 3 plates

My commercial gym has 7,000 memberships. It’s a massive facility. I do 225 pound dumbbell rows, 800-855 pulls, 945+ squat static holds, 145-165 lbs standing one arm dumbbell shoulder press, one arm 185lbs-200lbs dumbbell chest presses, and did a 981 rack pull month ago and there was probably close to 300 people in the gym at that time of night and girl I know texted me and said “you realize the whole gym is looking at you right. “. I know what I do is far far beyond normal gym goer and even very strong guys but I’d say 365-405 on squats gets peoples attention and 405-465 on deadlift gets peoples attention and 315 or more on bench turned heads. More people can deadlift heavier weight in my gym then can squat or bench in the 5 months it’s been open from my personal experience. Iv been told I’m a celebrity, many other nick names etc and I tell people the same thing all the time. “Don’t worship me worship God. I tell them i know I’m lifting a lot of weight but people need to stop worshiping these pros and fitness people they see on social media. You find your true identity in Jesus not from a needle or lifting weights. The gym should enhance your life NEVER take away from it. God bless you all ✝️

Even in the UK, 4 plates (180kg) seems to be the head Turner in commercials

It’s always the elbow or the knee that ain’t the same as it used to be for the old heads🤣

about 400lbs is when u start getting eyes on you here where I work out

You know Russ is in Houston when the guy in all red is wearing a “home-cut” sleeveless tall tee with baggy shorts! 😂 Hook my guy up with some GBT gear Russ!!!

Quite a few big dudes can put up 365/405 at my 24 hour fitness, but it's much more impressive when I see a smaller dude put up clean reps of 315.

Russ you turning into that og man time for you to take the torch

definitely 405 on squats. I used to do that at a crunch fitness and do 4 sets of 3 or 4 and would turn heads with just 4 plates. in a commercial gym 365 to 405 is usually max on deads. I turned heads when I pulled 475 with ease.

Love the vids hoping one day to come workout at corrupted🙏🏻🙏🏻

Bro that was insane. Props

I turn heads at over 4 plates. When I attempted my 488 X 2 pr the entire gym was yelling at me and cheering me, at a university gym. 315 for volume does something too but 405 for sure

I would like to see Russell attempt to break Tom Platz record of 525 lbs for 23 reps

I’d be turning my head at Russ squatting the bar because of how explosive he is and his form.

I just hit a new PR at 440 pounds and whole gym was watching, felt like the time stopped and felt great. Anyways, love your videos man, I’m really inspired by your videos.💪🏻🫡

the ez-bar phone stand is big brain lmao

for my weight people mirin me even at 315lbs but I personaly I look at every squat I see just to see the form and giving advice if I can

So you know how to "Rhythm the bar"? Meaning (for anyone who doesn't know that phrase) you understand how to stay in the hole for the half second it takes for the bar to flex back out then push with the rythm of the bar load. Very very cool!!!

I'm 150 lbs and every lift I do I ahead ppl watching(240 bench, 415 deadlift, 340 squat)

In South Africa, 4 plates for a squat stars turning heads at the gym I go to. Thanks for the content

Ain’t no OGs because Russ is officially the OG

ngl russ squatting 585 no music is crackhead energy enough

saw a vid of you squatting low bar (270kg) without wraps! thought you were a mad man!

🤞🏼 getting better advice on this one video to share content at the gym. Thanks for visiting the LA Fitness!

even 3 plates turns some heads, but yea prolly 4 plates for the most part

Must be an amazing feeling to be able to say, “2x World Champion & 5x National Champion”.

When I hit 3 plates, I became "one of the big guys" at my commercial gym. Ha! We've only got a handful I've seen that go beyond that. Several 4- or 5-plate deadlifters, but few that seem to squat that heavy.

Bruh the growth of little kids working out is real! I remember the good days before the sarm goblins were around lol

Ppl claim they hate going to commercial gyms because its not hardcore but they still go there to try to show off and hope everyone is noticing them 😂

love the guy half repping squats in the background while he explains having to walk out. That's how you know it's a commercial gym

Guy in red at 4:20 is terrifying. Those proportions are out of this world

Theres a power lifting gym RIGHT next to my gym so all the strong people go there making my 3 plates look savage as hell lmaooooooo

315 was definitely a head turner at my gym only because I was at a 155lbs bw

Yep, 405 squat turns heads in a commercial gym. 315 bench. 495 deadlift. They turn heads in powerlifting/strongman gyms too, but not as much.

The bar whip will certainly make things tougher! But there's nothing quite like filling up a bar in a commercial gym and everyone staring in disbelief.

The walkout along is impressive affff

I go to a commercial gym and we have only power bars here. Never knew that commercial gyms had bending bars.

I 100% agree with the squatting with bent bars are commercial gyms... sometimes other gym goers look at me weird when Im squatting with different empty bars and switching them.. but its because Im trying to find a bar thats not going to start rolling and fk up with my technique as the weights start to get heavy.

14:48 That nod of appreciation from the woman in the back hahahah

“Appreciate yo youff young buck” 😭

Me tryna force my meals in feeling sick. Russ: *gags* “I bet that’s crazy with the mic” *continues to gag with him*

seems like a chill dude :)

Russ got a zesty ah walk🤣🤣

The freaking “old head” impersonation is KILLING me lol

405 for sure, every time I do it people think I’m making out lmaoo

405 is for sure a head turner

If there's any consolation, Russ can work with pin squats as an accessory lift.

To answer your question, at my local commercial gym, it's rare to see more than 2 plates on the squat. The average person there is at the novice level. I'm at the intermediate level. So when I do 3 plates for reps, it definitely gets attention.

His uncle impression was on point! Those old heads aren't wrong though... appreciate your joints and take care of them now! Put the work in for mobility and build up slow - your original knees are better than the metal ones. I personally have had a hip tear repair and it was 4 months before I even looked at a weight room. Even now (3 years later) I know I'm done lifting heavy on squats.

Please keep doing commercial gym videos they're the best

If your gym has the thick red bumper plates then 315 will get heads to turn

3 plates turns heads in commercial gyms

14:49 that blonde girl: *Nod of approval*