[quote]Magarhe wrote:
This is a great thread. I haven’t been in a pubic gym in ages but from the other threads, I was getting the picture that they were all full of numbnuts.
I hope everyone takes note that the best things people are seeing, are other people doing their best, and being courteous and friendly … and I hope everyone goes out and is also courteous, friendly and helpful also.
If people want bodybuilding / weightlifting to get a good public image, that is the way to go about it.
[/quote]
I agree. I think that even the numbnuts in the gym mean well, otherwise they wouldn’t be in the gym at all. I feel as though I can’t give too much advice in the gym as I am only 21 and not that large, and the majority of people judge how much someone may know by their size and age. That being said; some of the best encouragement I have gotten come from the people in the gym that came up to me ask either asked for helped, asked if I took supplements, or just told me good form.
However if I see a guy doing curls in the squat rack I am happy to help me and tell him that thats not the place to do those exercises :).
There’s a 13 year old kid at the club I personal train at who comes in and does cleans, push presses and front squats on a regular basis. He’s actually a year too young to be unsupervised in the weight room, but we let it slide since he’s so respectful, low key and his training sessions are, well, cooler than 99.9% of the other members. Plus, by the time he’s my age (26), he will destroy me.
Another trainer and I have been utilizing the box squat quite a bit in our client’s programming, so we are slowly creating a nation of box squatters. How many times have you walked into a “family-oriented” commercial gym and seen two people box-squatting (not bicep curling) side by side in the power racks?
One of our most regular members, Roy, has a terminally ill wife he takes care of at home but makes it to the gym twice daily. Once in the morning to lift, once in the evening to do some cardio. He’s full of dirty jokes and positive energy, has excellent form, and always has an exercise or two he’s really trying to improve. Currently, it’s the trap bar deadlift. Oh, and he’s 78 but you’d never be able to tell.
Seeing young guys work their asses off while at the gym, ask questions and be humble about their accomplishments.
Seeing me and the big guys at my gym take the time to help newbies with their training without being total jackasses about it.
Seeing my clients enjoy the new emphasis on core training during their ab routines I implemented, as outlined in various T-Nation articles.
Seeing “old man Ken” come to the gym at least 5 days a week at 74 years of age and look better than 90% of the people there.
Having my client (255 slob to 182 diesel in 2.5 years) tell me he can do more reps on the squat with the weight I gave him after I just busted his ass on walking lunges.
Spotting my boy Joe on a 600 lb bench press without a shirt. He is 24 and competes strong man. First time I have ever seen that much weight put up right in front of me. This kid is over 300 all natural and has no clue of his potential.
Having this female figure competitor who has won just about every show she has entered in the last two years come up to me and ask me to train her for her next show.
I’d have to say I definitely admire the guy in his 60s at my gym who just looks incredible for his age. He rocks. Other than that, I guess I just feel lucky to be at a gym where a lot of different types of people (gay, straight, different ethnicities, etc) co-exist pretty happily and generally get along great.
Also, my boyfriend is a trainer there, and imho, by far the best trainer there (and most of the trainers there are fairly decent). But I love that I can always tell who his clients are by the exercises they’re doing when they’re training alone. Only Kmanley’s clients are doing heavy squats, oly lifts, etc. I’ve met some really cool people just because they’ve walked up to me and said “hey, how’s it going, you must train with Kevin!”
My gym has an atmosphere of helpfulness. I’m sure there are some egos occasionally, but for the most part, people who are more experienced are happy to answer questions. They don’t make a big deal of it. Trust me, I’ve asked plenty!
Also the guys are respectful and complimentary, as opposed to what I hear from other Vixens.
Another happy thought is an older couple who are there every day. They work out together, then he waits for her as she showers, and laughs at how long it takes her to get beautiful!
So darn cute!!
I met a 76 year old man about two weeks ago and witnessed him bench 225 for 3 reps and do 3 sets of 10 chins–I was pretty damn impressed. I also saw a guy squat, with good form, 315 for 30 reps.
lululemon pants (once almost broke my ankle looking at these)
At my current gym (my garage):
My buddy almost puking on my neighbors front lawn, nearby playground, my backyard etc.
shitty black iron plates going on my shitty oly bar.
The only handcapped person there is me, farting, which makes me laugh. screws up my whole work out. you just cant be serious when it smells of rotting meat and H2S.
We used to have this extremely hot woman work out at our gym. Just a natural beauty, not fake or all done-up. She could easily do 20+ dead-hang pullups. THAT was motivating.
We have another lady (a bigger lady) who comes in wearing spandex. The weird thing is that she wraps her legs down to her knees in plastic wrap. I’m talking about clear cellophane kitchen wrap. Then she gets on the treadmill and jacks the incline all the way up and holds on to the front handrail for dear life as she leans back and walks.
In 2001, I think, in Burbank, California, I watched a bodybuilder front squat 315 for reps. I told him directly that it was the most impressive thing I’d ever seen in a gym.
I’ve witnessed some near-record lifts. But this guy front squatting had a classic physique – there was nothing “powerlifter” about him. His form was so textbook, and those three wheels on either side were just jangling away while he went straight down, straight up, down, up, without the slightest hint of a lean.
Last week I was on the shrug machine doing my second drop set with 500 down to 270. I calmly walked over to the garbage can and hacked in it. Took a paper towel and wiped the corners of my mouth, and finished my set. It was around sauce o’clock in my gym at the time and not a single meathead blinked an eye, we all just kept lifting
I was doin some front squats in one of the racks and a guy, prolly around 30 with me being 19, slapped some weights on the rack next to me. I got ready to watch him and see him do some stupid ass crap. So he does lunges and good mornings with great form. Then I look down and all I see are two tree trunks and I’m like . . . dammmmmnnnnnnn!!! haha. So, I had my benching coming up and needed a spot. He was the only guy around who looked like he knew how to spot correctly so he came over and did great spotting (no lifting the bar for me when I’m slowly gettin it up).
So, after a couple sets, I’m done and he’s done his stuff and I thank him for his help. He then says, “No problem man. And if you need help with anythin else, I’ll be at the leg press.” As he walked away I just smiled and was sooo glad someone knew what he was doing. Note: This is in our LA-Fitness so hardly anyone knows what they are doing. It was a beautiful sight (tear). lol
When I first started lifting several years ago, I was about 210 and could bench 95# for a few reps. But in my gym was a gal that was probably 5’6" and maybe 150. Very lean. She always trained in a shirt that said “Go heavy or go home.” That shirt was absolutely drenched in sweat the first time I saw her. She was working legs. I remember her doing squats with 315!!! I remember because I was so new I had to stop and calculate the weight of 3-45s per side. I haven’t seen anything more impressive than this in all the years I have trained.
[quote]WideGuy wrote:
Last week I was on the shrug machine doing my second drop set with 500 down to 270. I calmly walked over to the garbage can and hacked in it. Took a paper towel and wiped the corners of my mouth, and finished my set. It was around sauce o’clock in my gym at the time and not a single meathead blinked an eye, we all just kept lifting [/quote]
I hear this dude. Everyone at my old college gets a little nervous when i go and drag the garbage can nearer to my squat rack.
“Eeee, that guy in the army pants is going to puke again! why does he squat and hold the bar over his head at the same time??”
No better way to keep people away from your station than to have you own little ice cream bucket of vomit right beside your training drink. Don’t worry I keep the lid on ;o)
Saw a guy rep 4 plates 5 times on the incline bench the other day. It was pretty awesome to watch.
Saw another guy, who I thought was just a fat, out of shape treadmill lover, bench 4 plates for 1 easy rep with no spotter. As soon as he setup for the bench I realized he wasn’t just your average gym goer. Great setup and made the lift look easy.
I still have yet to see anyone else use the GHR machine or the box for squats. In fact, I haven’t even seen anyone else in the power rack yet.
I always see this little old lady (must be over 80 years old and less than 5 feet tall) walking on the treadmill always wearing a big t-shirt that says “Go Hard or Go Home” on the back.
[quote]SprinterOne wrote:
Saw a guy rep 4 plates 5 times on the incline bench the other day. It was pretty awesome to watch.
Saw another guy, who I thought was just a fat, out of shape treadmill lover, bench 4 plates for 1 easy rep with no spotter. As soon as he setup for the bench I realized he wasn’t just your average gym goer. Great setup and made the lift look easy.
I still have yet to see anyone else use the GHR machine or the box for squats. In fact, I haven’t even seen anyone else in the power rack yet.[/quote]
Wow on the incline bench. 4 plates per side? I can’t even dL that! I suppose it brings to min the old saying:
“Somewhere out there, there is a chinese girl overhead squatting what you deadlift.”
OK. Since we’re talking about squats, here’s an earlier post of mine on another thread:
“Short squat story: Yesterday I was pretty pleased with myself after doing 315 for reps, when two guys half my age step into the rack next to me and proceed to squat 495 with perfect form. Humbling.”
