Your Gym Quirks

Here are some of mine:

  • I always unrack the left hand dumbbell first
  • When getting into position for DB Bench or DB shoulder press, I always kick back the left one first
  • When racking the bench I always look to see only if the right side is racked
  • I’m normally a silent lifter, but I make a borderline roaring sound on front squats and front squats only
  • When unracking the back squat I rapidly nod my head, for some reason it helps bar placement for me
  • I have to roll the bar on conventional DL but not on sumo

Any of you guys got any?

Yeah.

I have to jerk off before every workout.

I have to take off all my clothes to lift properly in my garage in the summer months

I can’t workout without water

For some reason I always have to have some protein powder and a meal after a workout

When I squat I always grip the bar first with my right hand, then my left, then pull myself under the bar until I’m in a deep squat position, pull myself up to the bar, squeeze the shit out of it as hard as I can, unrack and fucking dominate it.

on deadlift, all the plates have to face inward. If I take over the bar from someone else after they are done lifting, I have to switch them.

I always up the volume (and often start a new song) on my iPod before a heavy set and reduce it while I rest.
I always have a really angry “I’m going to fucking kill someone” expression on my face when I do exercises with dumbbells in front of a mirror for some reason.
When using straps, I always start with my left hand.
I always start on the right side for DB bench or press.
I always clench my jaw horribly when I lift heavy. Working on changing that to biting my lip (or maybe getting a mouthguard because that’d be badass…)

I also have the habit of stalking around the front yard or in the street between sets, and for some reason I’m constantly looking down the street to see if the local college’s women’s track team is going to come running by, which they do almost every day at about 5 o’clock.

I raise my eyebrows on the ascent part of the squat.

the weight plates HAVE to be symmetrical. I see guys using unmatching plates (brand, not weight) and it makes me shiver

If the person in the squat rack next to mine doesn’t go to proper depth or does something else I think is wrong, I unrack my barbell in such a way that it is more likely to tip towards the offender. Semi-meditated murder attempt.

I blow kisses at the ceiling

I always make sure to fart before every set of squats and Deads.

And I don’t feel sorry for the guy next to me.

When I do single leg exercises, I HAVE to start with the opposite hand or leg each time, wouldn’t want an imbalance or anything.

When I do mixed grip deadlifts, I switch my hand everytime, either set to set or rep to rep.

Sometimes I’m afraid everybody is looking at me and or talking shit, or if I’m feeling alpha, then I think they are saying good things.

[quote]DBCooper wrote:

For some reason I always have to have some protein powder and a meal after a workout

[/quote]

There’s a very good scientific reason for that.

The up regulation of surface receptors upon glycogen depletion prime your muscles for nutrient uptake. Whey protein is the most bioavailable form, the various peptides breakdown into their individual amino acids in the high presence of H+ ions (like the low pH of the stomach). Whey protein also elicits a fairly strong insulin response, this along with the surface cell receptor up regulations primes the muscles for a large intake of amino acids (and other nutrients) fast tracking recovery.

I’m pretty proud of that fancy piece of literature i just wrote…

Now that I train at home (again), I find myself doing air guitar between sets as my stereo blasts out metal and heavy rock.

Between sets of calf raises, I often jump up and down with my knees locked, until the burn in my calves stops me.

Due to a long cycle of DC a while back, I still find myself taking deeeeep forced breaths between sets, even when not training DC-style.

[quote]Apoklyps wrote:

I always clench my jaw horribly when I lift heavy. Working on changing that to biting my lip (or maybe getting a mouthguard because that’d be badass…)[/quote]

Get a mouth guard. I’ve got hairline cracks in a couple of my molars from clenching but I still forget to wear the mouth guard.

I purse my lips when I set up to squat and flutter my fingers when I’m setting up for a max effort dead. I didn’t realize I did this until I started videoing.

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Yeah.

I have to jerk off before every workout.

[/quote]
I have to do that afterwards. Before is definitly NSFW and during has caused no end of problems with uptight Gym management. On the other hand it does cut down the need for chalk.

Do you swap grip?

[quote]Extremepain wrote:
on deadlift, all the plates have to face inward. If I take over the bar from someone else after they are done lifting, I have to switch them.[/quote]

That’s not a quirk. It’s the way God intended weights to be aligned.

It’s OK to stone people who have the numbers facing outwards — pretty sure I read that in my conversion class.

Note to self do not lift with DN

I seriously only ever heard of the in thing being to make the numbers face in a few months ago.

It doesn’t matter to me anyway as my gym has those damned hex plates that look the same on both sides.

I’ve been known to throw down a gut busting air drum solo between sets when a great song comes on.

-Looking like a complete dick. Not sure how I convey this in the gym and not in everyday life. People have commented that I’m way friendlier than I look when I’m working out…

-I always shower before I work out…not always after.

-I religiously use the same sweat towel. It looks like a rag that a common hobo might lance an abscess onto. It is torn, tattered and stained. I got it as a giveaway from a convenience store in Northern Japan. It says “Amino Value” in Hiragana.

[quote]PimpBot5000 wrote:

-I always shower before I work out…not always after.

[/quote]

You need to explain your thought process when you do this lol, I’m genuinely curious.