About

Physical fitness is the state on humans and other animals of being able to perform well in sports and other occupations^[1]. Followers of physical fitness have been described in showing pride in their achievements and progress and also for having a subculture of their own. The Internet has always being a hub for fitness enthusiasts, with several related memes being born and spread.

Online Presence

The pursue for physical fitness through body building has occupied humans for centuries, with stone-lifting traditions being practiced in ancient Greece and Egypt. Numerous forums and websites exist where followers of physical fitness can discuss issues and share their progress, such as the bodybuilding.com forums^[2] and reddit's /r/fitness^[3].

Social media sites have numerous pages dedicated to the fitness culture. On Facebook, as of 30th of March 2013, the page "The Gym" which frequently posts videos, tips and Advice Animal-style image macros (colloquially called "Gym Memes"), has over 675,000 likes^[4]. The page Gym Memes has over 1 million likes^[5].

Related Memes

I'm 18 Do I Have Potential? (BadBoy2)

I'm 18 Do I Have Potential? is a question posted by bodybuilding.com Forums member BadBoy2 on the 30th of October 2005. The post featured a man flexing in front of a window. The photo has become the subject of editing and image manipulation on the forums:

Do You Even Lift?

Do You Even Lift? is an expression used by the fitness community usually on a condescending tone, to question one's physical fitness expertise and weightlifting routine. The expression has been used as early as 2002 on the bodybuilding.com Forums.

The expression has been heavily associated with Steve Pulcinella, the co-founder of Iron Sport Gym in Glenolden (below).

Bro / Brah

Bro (or "Brah") is a colloquial term used heavily by the physical fitness community to mean a "fitness buddy" or any other member of the community.

Pseudoscience that has been associated with the fitness culture, has been jokingly called "Broscience", due to the association of "Bro" with a fitness enthousiast. Dom Mazzetti runs a popular YouTube channel called BroScienceLife with fitness-related videos:

Swole

Swole (short for "swollen") is a term used to describe a person who has developed a large, well-defined physique from weightlifting. The earliest instance of the word "swole" used in bodybuilding was in 1998, with the Online Slang Dictionary definition, defining "swole" as "muscular"^[6],

The word "swole" has also being used as a prefix such as "Swolemate" (a play on the word "soulmate") to mean a significant other who also engages in physical fitness.

Related People

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a fitness personality and former actor and Governor of California, Videos of his training sessions have been popular on YouTube:

Schwarzenegger is active on YouTube^[7], Facebook^[8], Twitter^[9], Instagram^[10] and Reddit^[11] where he frequently posts on the /r/fitness subreddit.

Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)

Dwayne Johnson, who also goes by his ringname The Rock, is a semi-retired professional wrestler "known for his time at WWE"^[12]. He is active on Twitter^[13] and Instagram^[14]

Aziz Shavershian (Zyzz)

Aziz Shavershian was a Moscow-born Australian bodybuilder^[15]. Before his demise at age 22, he frequented 4chan's /fit/ and bodybuilding.com's Forums under the online handle "Zyzz". Many fitness enthousiasts see Zyzz as an inspiration to follow a healthy lifestyle. Zyzz popularized expressions like "U mirin' bro?" and "u jelly?".

Lazar Angelov

Lazar Angelov is a Bulgarian bodybuilder^[16]. He is well-known online for his well-sculpted physique and "Shredded Abs"^[17]. His official Facebook page has over 1 million Likes^[18] and his YouTube channel has over 200,000 subscribers^[19]. His most popular video, titled "Lazar Angelov Chest Workout Video 2013" has almost reached 3,000,000 views as of 30th of March 2014.

External References