ASK MERLIN
BY ERIC “MERLIN” BROSER
SHUT UP!
DON’T FAKE BEING HARDCORE BY SCREAMING
YOUR HEAD OFF. TRY FOCUSING 100% ON THE
TASK AT HAND INSTEAD.
Coach M, what is
your opinion on loud
screaming during the
last few reps of a set? I ask
because I remain relatively
quiet no matter how hard I
am pushing, but my partner
yells and screams. He tells
me I am “not being intense
enough.”
42
FLEX | MARCH ’18
This is an amusing question
because every time I am in
the gym and hear someone
screaming at the top of his lungs
it is usually some skinny dude
leg pressing 20 plates but only
moving the weight a few inches—
or a novice lifter with no chest
doing his 10th set of cable
crossovers. There are only three
legitimate reasons for screaming
out loud while in the gym:
1. You are stuck under a bar weighing
350-plus pounds while bench pressing
with no spotter.
2. Someone accidentally drops a heavy
dumbbell on your foot.
3. You find out that you just won the
weekly Powerball lottery.
Other than that, I believe that
anyone who is yelling, screaming,
and carrying on so the entire gym
can hear is simply looking to draw
attention to himself in an attempt
to appear more “hardcore.” So,
unless your partner is Phil Heath
or Big Ramy, I can guarantee that
others are regarding him only as
being foolish and annoying.
1ST SET