Spotting a T-Nationer

Had a clueless trainer ask me if the intertwined T-Nation logo on the front of my T-shirt was “some kind of cult symbol.”

No shit…clueless. Absofrigginlutely clueless.

MicroSlash - “Enjoying annoyed glances in my Testosterone shirt since…I got it.”

There’s only 2 T-Nationers in my gym - I’m married to the other one.

But there is a guy who does olympic lifting. My mind is blown every time I see him lift. I’ve been known to stand there w/ my mouth open catching flies while I stare in awe. And when he is holding his little daughter (under 18 mos) it’s a hilarious sight. This big huge guy and a tiny little girl. (I work in the gym day care.)

My husband is the only one I’ve seen who does 10X3 and any kind of superset.

There’s a guy there that we DEFINITELY know is NOT a T-Nationer. He does cable crossoversl ike nobody I’ve ever seen. He leans so far forward (or backward as the mood strikes, I guess) that I will not be surprised when he falls on his face. It’s very bizarre. He’s definitely no T-Nationer.

My gym is full of people who seem to only work on their biceps and pecs. Almost nobody does their legs. Place is full of “light bulbs” guys with giant arms and spindly little thighs. Meanwhile I’m mostly in the rack doing squats of some kinds with a lot of weight, or I’m doing deadlifts and they’re all looking at me like I’m insane. I don’t use a belt and I go ass to the grass. I’ve had meatheads come up to me and tell me not to go all the way down on a squat because its bad for my knees. What a bunch of jackasses.

I can swear there’s a T-man in the apartment complex (now condo) where I live. I was taking out the trash one morning and I found several empty boxes of RED KAT and HOT-ROX on the ledge to the compactor by the enterance of the place.

The only gym I go to is at the house of the guy that recomended this site to me. That makes us easy to spot.

Once while at the gym, this dude came in, ripped open two raw steaks, swallowed them whole while growling and punching himself in the face. Then he ripped his shirt off, banged his head against the wall about ten times and proceeded to just throw all the weights in every direction. Then he left by walking through the wall and carried his truck home under his arm.

I didn’t get the chance to ask, but was he a T man?

While there are some cool guys at my gym, i am the only T-Nation member at my gym. I’ve attempted to convert a couple of guys, but no one has taken the offer yet.

la’
Redsol1

Wore my T-Nation tribal symbol shirt to my school gym and this guy mention T-Nation, we both nodded and then continued our workouts.

[quote]jdicken wrote:
Place is full of “light bulbs” guys with giant arms and spindly little thighs. [/quote]

Yep, plenty of those around my gym. There are maybe 4 guys that have reasonably developed legs (meaning they don’t look like they’ll snap like twigs if you kick them in the shins) but they do 1/4 leg presses 1/4 squats with the safety set above their waist. OH! Saw one this morning with however many 45’s it takes to completely load a leg press - and he was working in the 1/4 range AND FORCEFULLY LOCKING OUT HIS KNEES at every rep. I had an immediate mental image of one or both of his knees popping backward and the weight forcing his legs to collapse his feet to his chest…had to look away before I became ill.

I’ve only seen one kid (college age, maybe) doing squats any further than 1/4. But I’m the one getting odd looks with my ATG squats and deads.

[quote]~karma~ wrote:
I’ve only seen one kid (college age, maybe) doing squats any further than 1/4. But I’m the one getting odd looks with my ATG squats and deads.[/quote]

clap clap clap clap clap…

You should come teach the girls at my gym a lesson or two :slight_smile:

[quote]Miserere wrote:
I’m the only person I’ve seen that does both deadlifts and squats. Why would you do one and not the other? I don’t understand people…[/quote]

I’m about to admit something astonishing. I don’t squat any more.

Well, I do front squats with kettlebells sometimes, but I keep the overall volume (weight x reps) pretty low.

Why? My thighs at one point were up to 28 inches around. I had a roommate with a 28 inch waist not too long ago, and it was like trying to cram two of his TORSOS into my pants.

My legs are still pretty big. I stood up in a pair of shorts at a friend’s house the other day, and the guy gasped. “I thought that was fat… but then it all flexed!” Genetically, my whole family is this way. If I squatted hard, I would look like Tom Platz. All respect to the “Golden Eagle” but I don’t want to look like Tom Platz.

Add to this my build (long arms, medium legs, short torso) and you’ve got a deadlifting machine. My legs stay strong, my low back stays strong, and I stay happy without getting thighs that chafe together when I run or walk around.

Reading PTP was the final nail in this coffin.

Now, eventually, I will start squatting again, but I’m not going to squat for mass. I’ll probably keep it to something like 3x3 or 5x5 a couple of times a week, nothing huge. Box squat like a powerlifter.

That is all.

Dan “Heretic” McVicker

have yet to see someone else doing conventional deads(or good form RDL’s), no full squats, i have seen this kid and his skinny friend come in and do box squats so i was curious other than that its 1/4 squats all the way…oh yeah and you have to use that gay shoulder hugger thing to be cool

so all you aren’t just figments of my imagination?

sonofa!!!

Bastard

Actually, I did see a guy there once. He was like a f*cking maniac. Here’s how I KNEW.

He:

  • had this “log book” thangy that he kept scribbling in. WTF?!
  • had a gallon jug of water
  • had a shaker with some cake batter smelling stuff in it
  • was doing a bunch of low rep sets with seemingly no rest
  • was not talking to anyone
  • was not wearing a belt
  • was sweating like a pig
  • was squatting
  • did not leave the power rack alone
  • unknowingly had all of the girls checking him out

Here’s the weird part: each and every time I looked at him, he looked straight back at me in the EXACT same way.

Bastard

actually, nobody spots a T-Nationer, cuz we don’t train to failure … right?

Bastard

[quote]BFG wrote:
Here’s the weird part: each and every time I looked at him, he looked straight back at me in the EXACT same way.

Bastard[/quote]

Bastard, make sure that cake bake stuff you’re taking has not fermented or something.

Well for the most part-the serious guys are all together at someone’s garage or just their own garage. I think many T-magers train alone and enjoy it-at least some of the time. As for me-I train with partners at times and often times alone-or with my three kids in my garage-they play-i train. I do not have the time or interest to point out how pathetic most males are-it is rare when you see anyone who knows how to train.

Here in the DFW area there are a couple of hardcore powerlifting gyms and one commerical gym I belong to-Strouds where you will see people “giving it up” when they train. These people always get along and respect each other and soon know or at least recognize each other. Texas is far better than So California when it comes to serious training being spotted in commercial gyms-that is for sure. I think you are much more likely to find a T-vixen in a commercial gym because they don’t get invited or have the connections to the local hardcore garage/training site.

I always take the time to approach and interact with anyone who is busting their ass-and if they are alone-i let them know I am available to spot if they need it. Build up the T-Nation whenever and whereever you can.

0 T-man at my gym

[quote]BFG wrote:
Here’s the weird part: each and every time I looked at him, he looked straight back at me in the EXACT same way.

Bastard[/quote]

I think those are called mirrors. But I could be wrong.

[quote]rainjack wrote:
BFG wrote:
Here’s the weird part: each and every time I looked at him, he looked straight back at me in the EXACT same way.

Bastard

I think those are called mirrors. But I could be wrong.[/quote]

LMAO!!!