Annoyed in Mainstream Gyms

Training
181

I workout and train at a 24hr fitness supersport in midtown houston. It is hands down the best 24 Ive ever been in, although legend has it there is one opening up/already up nearby with an outdoor waterslide(!). It is spacious, fellow trainers know whats up; figure competitors, x-fitters, powerlifters, even a former doctor and a former olympic trainee.

It has certain toys like battle ropes, trx cables, decently heavy KB rack, and a sled that we cant figure out how to keep from tearing up the basketball court. Oh, also endless yoga pants and some of the most beautiful women ever. I know there are those that would never do without their garage setups, but I actually enjoy the ambiance of others, it can be motivating and you can learn things whether you choose to engage others or just watch. Of course there are the typical annoyances, the squat rack bicep curlers, unjustified egoists and the 6pm rush. Also a very large gay community which could be disconcerting if unaccustomed to. I was once asked to confront a man for eyeballing packages on those coming out the showers… Pretty awesome company though if you don’t get butt hurt over the necessary commercialism.

182

[quote]super saiyan wrote:
What’s so hard about lowering the dumbbells to your knees? No damage to the dumbbells and no strain on your biceps.

Our very own HolyMac demonstrates:

thats what i do when i still got gas in the tank but once the tri’s go its easier to drop especially on flat bench.

183

[quote]super saiyan wrote:
What’s so hard about lowering the dumbbells to your knees? No damage to the dumbbells and no strain on your biceps.

Our very own HolyMac demonstrates:

Not hard if you want to leave just that enough energy in the tank to bring the dbs to floor the way the guy in the video does. I don’t know the guy in the vid, but my guess is he wanted to show full control of the weights from start to finish.

However, if a lifter wants to go deeper into a set, where performing that one final eccentric is ALL that he can muster, it will be safer to do a controlled drop because there has been so much fatigue created.

Someone can make the argument that you should always leave just enough to safely bring the db’s back to the floor. Well, not everyone will agree. And these people should have access to a facility that accommodates them.

Also, I couldn’t help but notice the guy in the vid went into spinal flexion as he lowered 260 lbs onto the floor. Maybe he’s one of the lucky ones who can do this all his life without any problems.

What if you’re dealing with a guy who has a history of lumbar spine issues such as a herniated disc…? Why risk potential re-injury…?

What if you’re dealing with a guy who doesn’t have a prior injury but who could be at risk for injury due to his morphology or the type of training he’s been doing recently…?

When working with people from all walks of life, it help to see things in shades of gray. That’s why I stated in an earlier post that there is time and place for most things.

184

[quote]Quiet Warrior wrote:

[quote]mgbyrnc wrote:
they are not alpha like me because i am big and they are small by comparison and i am bigger so more alpha haha.
addendum: i just do not understand why these little girl-men act alpha when they are clearly not alpha because i am bigger. the natural law dictates that because i am in their proximity that i assume the alpha position in the workout-group until i leave in which case the next biggest person would assume the alpha role…[/quote]

I am not trying to sound pissed but I am one of those little 170 pound girl-men. Thanks for telling me where my place in society is you big strong Alpha Male.

Most of the guys in my Boxing and Jiu Jitsu Club are arround my weight as well and I bet they wouldnt hesitate beating the living crap out of you for a statement like that.

[/quote]

ill try to make the satire more obvious next time. dont “beat the living crap out of me” bro

185

Super Sayian, imagine how much more swole and huge you’d be, if you didn’t have to stop your sets short of compete absolute positively negative failure, cause in that case you’d be so wasted you’d have to throw the weights on the floor, but it would be worth it cause you’d be so much more mega ripped and huge man. Plus there’s the spinal overlosd compresion on the 36th vertibra that always happens when you set a weight on the floor, haha, I can’t believe you got as big as you are with all of this stacked against you man lol

186

[quote]AnytimeJake wrote:
Super Sayian, imagine how much more swole and huge you’d be, if you didn’t have to stop your sets short of compete absolute positively negative failure, cause in that case you’d be so wasted you’d have to throw the weights on the floor, but it would be worth it cause you’d be so much more mega ripped and huge man. Plus there’s the spinal overlosd compresion on the 36th vertibra that always happens when you set a weight on the floor, haha, I can’t believe you got as big as you are with all of this stacked against you man lol[/quote]

Now you’re just trolling. That’s okay - every forum has a few of those as it comes with the territory. If you want to be known as the member who posts nothing worth reading, then be my guest.

187

[quote]AnytimeJake wrote:
Super Sayian, imagine how much more swole and huge you’d be, if you didn’t have to stop your sets short of compete absolute positively negative failure, cause in that case you’d be so wasted you’d have to throw the weights on the floor, but it would be worth it cause you’d be so much more mega ripped and huge man. Plus there’s the spinal overlosd compresion on the 36th vertibra that always happens when you set a weight on the floor, haha, I can’t believe you got as big as you are with all of this stacked against you man lol[/quote]

That’s a good point bro. That poor fella in the video is obviously suffering too.

188

[quote]super saiyan wrote:

[quote]AnytimeJake wrote:
Super Sayian, imagine how much more swole and huge you’d be, if you didn’t have to stop your sets short of compete absolute positively negative failure, cause in that case you’d be so wasted you’d have to throw the weights on the floor, but it would be worth it cause you’d be so much more mega ripped and huge man. Plus there’s the spinal overlosd compresion on the 36th vertibra that always happens when you set a weight on the floor, haha, I can’t believe you got as big as you are with all of this stacked against you man lol[/quote]

That’s a good point bro. That poor fella in the video is obviously suffering too. [/quote]

Let me take a wild guess. saiyan is a young lifter in his 20s without any significant injuries in his past.

And anytimejake perhaps owns or manages a gym (maybe Anytime Fitness if his user id is any indication) in which he abhors what he deems as abuse to his precious equipment.

saiyan, I sincerely hope you never suffer any type of injury. But if you do…after the surgery, the phys therapy, countless frustrating hours of getting back to a pre-injured state, don’t be too surprised if you find yourself seeing things a little differently.

189

dupe

190

[quote]56x11 wrote:

[quote]super saiyan wrote:

[quote]AnytimeJake wrote:
Super Sayian, imagine how much more swole and huge you’d be, if you didn’t have to stop your sets short of compete absolute positively negative failure, cause in that case you’d be so wasted you’d have to throw the weights on the floor, but it would be worth it cause you’d be so much more mega ripped and huge man. Plus there’s the spinal overlosd compresion on the 36th vertibra that always happens when you set a weight on the floor, haha, I can’t believe you got as big as you are with all of this stacked against you man lol[/quote]

That’s a good point bro. That poor fella in the video is obviously suffering too. [/quote]

Let me take a wild guess. saiyan is a young lifter in his 20s without any significant injuries in his past.

And anytimejake perhaps owns or manages a gym (maybe Anytime Fitness if his user id is any indication) in which he abhors what he deems as abuse to his precious equipment.

saiyan, I sincerely hope you never suffer any type of injury. But if you do…after the surgery, the phys theraphy, countless frustrating hours of getting back to a pre-injured state, don’t be too surprised if you find yourself seeing things a little differently.
[/quote]

I’ll be 34 in a month and have been lifting for 16 years. I’ve had various injuries over the years that I have had to rehab and work around.

191

[quote]super saiyan wrote:

[quote]56x11 wrote:

[quote]super saiyan wrote:

[quote]AnytimeJake wrote:
Super Sayian, imagine how much more swole and huge you’d be, if you didn’t have to stop your sets short of compete absolute positively negative failure, cause in that case you’d be so wasted you’d have to throw the weights on the floor, but it would be worth it cause you’d be so much more mega ripped and huge man. Plus there’s the spinal overlosd compresion on the 36th vertibra that always happens when you set a weight on the floor, haha, I can’t believe you got as big as you are with all of this stacked against you man lol[/quote]

That’s a good point bro. That poor fella in the video is obviously suffering too. [/quote]

Let me take a wild guess. saiyan is a young lifter in his 20s without any significant injuries in his past.

And anytimejake perhaps owns or manages a gym (maybe Anytime Fitness if his user id is any indication) in which he abhors what he deems as abuse to his precious equipment.

saiyan, I sincerely hope you never suffer any type of injury. But if you do…after the surgery, the phys theraphy, countless frustrating hours of getting back to a pre-injured state, don’t be too surprised if you find yourself seeing things a little differently.
[/quote]

I’ll be 34 in a month and have been lifting for 16 years. I’ve had various injuries over the years that I have had to rehab and work around.
[/quote]

Then I stand corrected in my initial assessment. I am curious as to the nature of your injuries. The reason I ask is that, unless you’ve specifically worked with many people with a diverse range of injuries, it’s difficult to see the ramifications - good and bad - of any actions. So when the debate came up yesterday regarding the dropping of dbs, I gave my point of view garnered from working with people who tore their bicipital tendons or had L-spine herniations. I see no need to obey the rules of what some consider good etiquette if it means having a re-injury. And re-injuries are even more difficult to bounce back from.

A horrendous thing you can do to anyone is take away what they love to do. If someone comes to me and wants to continue to lift, I will do everything I can to make the necessary modifications. Of course, if these modifications go against gym policies, we simply go elsewhere. This is what I meant by “time and place for most things” as well the comment that there should always be some gyms that accommodate how experienced lifters handle weights.

192

Trolling, sitting in agym I own, between clients, giveing and receving information on a subject I have a passion for, on a sight I’ve belonged to for 5yrs. I was simply useing hummor to make a point, that I guess went over your head, and at the same time supporting super sayian for an awesome vid, thats how it should be done, he took the set to the point where he could not get one more rep, than calmly set weights down.

193

[quote]AnytimeJake wrote:
Trolling, sitting in agym I own, between clients, giveing and receving information on a subject I have a passion for, on a sight I’ve belonged to for 5yrs. I was simply useing hummor to make a point, that I guess went over your head, and at the same time supporting super sayian for an awesome vid, thats how it should be done, he took the set to the point where he could not get one more rep, than calmly set weights down.[/quote]

So I was right about you being a gym owner. And I was also right about your stance on what you deem to be equipment abuse.

Just so you know, there are other gym owners who would much rather replace equipment from time to time if it means the members, who’ve collected their share of injuries over the years, do not risk re-injury. So keep that in mind the next time you’re counting pennies.

And if you’re a trainer, you should also know my comments about that vid in regards to repeat spinal flexion is true. If not, then my opinion of you is solidified.

As for your 5-year tenure at this site. Well, I’ve read worse garbage from those who’ve been here just as long, if not longer. So 5 years, 5 months, it means nothing.

And I recognize the difference between passive/aggressive stabs and genuine humor. So don’t waste your time patronizing me.

194

[quote]56x11 wrote:

[quote]super saiyan wrote:

[quote]56x11 wrote:

[quote]super saiyan wrote:

[quote]AnytimeJake wrote:
Super Sayian, imagine how much more swole and huge you’d be, if you didn’t have to stop your sets short of compete absolute positively negative failure, cause in that case you’d be so wasted you’d have to throw the weights on the floor, but it would be worth it cause you’d be so much more mega ripped and huge man. Plus there’s the spinal overlosd compresion on the 36th vertibra that always happens when you set a weight on the floor, haha, I can’t believe you got as big as you are with all of this stacked against you man lol[/quote]

That’s a good point bro. That poor fella in the video is obviously suffering too. [/quote]

Let me take a wild guess. saiyan is a young lifter in his 20s without any significant injuries in his past.

And anytimejake perhaps owns or manages a gym (maybe Anytime Fitness if his user id is any indication) in which he abhors what he deems as abuse to his precious equipment.

saiyan, I sincerely hope you never suffer any type of injury. But if you do…after the surgery, the phys theraphy, countless frustrating hours of getting back to a pre-injured state, don’t be too surprised if you find yourself seeing things a little differently.
[/quote]

I’ll be 34 in a month and have been lifting for 16 years. I’ve had various injuries over the years that I have had to rehab and work around.
[/quote]

Then I stand corrected in my initial assessment. I am curious as to the nature of your injuries. The reason I ask is that, unless you’ve specifically worked with many people with a diverse range of injuries, it’s difficult to see the ramifications - good and bad - of any actions. So when the debate came up yesterday regarding the dropping of dbs, I gave my point of view garnered from working with people who tore their bicipital tendons or had L-spine herniations. I see no need to obey the rules of what some consider good etiquette if it means having a re-injury. And re-injuries are even more difficult to bounce back from.

A horrendous thing you can do to anyone is take away what they love to do. If someone comes to me and wants to continue to lift, I will do everything I can to make the necessary modifications. Of course, if these modifications go against gym policies, we simply go elsewhere. This is what I meant by “time and place for most things” as well the comment that there should always be some gyms that accommodate how experienced lifters handle weights.
[/quote]

My recommendation is a general one of etiquette. There are exceptions to everything. If it’s absolutely necessary to drop the weight because of an injury, so be it. However, I think those circumstances occur pretty infrequently.

195

If you are injury-prone that you cannot safely set a pair of dumbells down reasonably, and I will give you a drop of a couple feet, then you need lighten up or back off by a rep so that you are not at absolute total body failure. I would venture to say that most guys incorporate incline db curls into their training. Pressing does not totally fatigue the biceps to the point they cannot slow the weight down in a controlled drop from an incline press.

Also if the gym staff tells you to stop dropping the weights, go somewhere else. If there isnt anywhere else, by your own $5000 set of dumbells and drop away. It should only be about $250 a pop to replace the big ones.

Or maybe just put a premium on dropping weights. Every drop is a penalty assessed to your memebership. That way, it is just as profitable for the gym to meet your needs as the 45 year old woman that just walks on the treadmill.

196

My wife’s uncle owns a non franchise gym that he just put together for himself and decided to start using it as an extra source of income. A pro style DB will not last long dropped from 4 ft in the air by some moron trying to look hardcore on the inline bench.

197

[quote]bpick86 wrote:
If you are injury-prone that you cannot safely set a pair of dumbells down reasonably, and I will give you a drop of a couple feet, then you need lighten up or back off by a rep so that you are not at absolute total body failure. I would venture to say that most guys incorporate incline db curls into their training. Pressing does not totally fatigue the biceps to the point they cannot slow the weight down in a controlled drop from an incline press. [/quote]

The interesting thing about being injury prone is that many often do not realize when they’ve crossed the line - until it’s too late. And I disagree on how potential labral tears or bicipital tendon tears can happen on any given lift.

[quote]bpick86 wrote:
Also if the gym staff tells you to stop dropping the weights, go somewhere else. If there isnt anywhere else, by your own $5000 set of dumbells and drop away. It should only be about $250 a pop to replace the big ones. [/quote]

That’s been my contention all along. If the place you train at have a no-drop policy, take your business elsewhere. And thank god there are still gyms and gym owners who know the difference between wreckless behavior and necessity.

[quote]bpick86 wrote:

Or maybe just put a premium on dropping weights. Every drop is a penalty assessed to your memebership. That way, it is just as profitable for the gym to meet your needs as the 45 year old woman that just walks on the treadmill. [/quote]

Now this is unrealistic and you know it. What…? A decibel meter on the weight room and penalties based on noise level of a dropped weight…?

198

Personally, I don’t resist heavy dbs at the end because, for one long-limbed and the torque on the downward phase of presses; Also, I don’t wanna 130lbs hammer curl my weights back down on to my knees. Better to organize a control fall than blow up my rotor cuff period.

199

Personally, I don’t resist heavy dbs at the end because, for one long-limbed and the torque on the downward phase of presses; Also, I don’t wanna 130lbs hammer curl my weights back down on to my knees. Better to organize a control fall than blow up my rotor cuff period.

200

[quote]bpick86 wrote:
My wife’s uncle owns a non franchise gym that he just put together for himself and decided to start using it as an extra source of income. A pro style DB will not last long dropped from 4 ft in the air by some moron trying to look hardcore on the inline bench.[/quote]

Interesting how those who own/manage gyms or are close those who do tend to stay on the conservative side of this subject. And I can empathize the need to keep overhead to a bare minimum. And I NEVER advocated dropping dbs or anything else from 4 feet. I was referring to controlled guiding of the weights, primarily using gravity, when and ONLY when necessaryto stay healthy. If someone is dropping weights on their warm up sets, that’s an issue. If someone is dropping weights in close proximity to others, that’s an issue.

There are gym owners who understand this fine line. Your uncle and any other gym owners out there can enforce whatever rules they choose. I just hope these rules are clearly explained to anyone before money changes hands.