So I’m at the gym and a couple guys start doing squats on the smith machine. One guy is giving his buddy a few pointers. I overhear the guy start talking about stance and getting under the bar… Then they throw on anywhere from 90 to 140 lbs and proceed to do some crappy smith machine squats – I should note these two are around 155 lbs.
I try to keep myself from blurting out anything when I see that kind of stuff going on, but I almost lost it when I hear one say, “Yeah, I used to squat 650.”
Maybe they were joking with that last comment… At least I hope so.
[quote]PureNsanity wrote:
“Yeah, I used to squat 650.”[/quote]
Grams?
[quote]pookie wrote:
PureNsanity wrote:
“Yeah, I used to squat 650.”
Grams?
[/quote]
Just what I thought too. Most of the time these guys look like they can’t deadlift the change in their own pockets
sigh when will people stop lying about their “best” numbers? Whenever people (the people that don’t work out a day in their life type of people) ask what my max bench press has ever been, they always “one up” me by claiming they benched 405 in high school.
And I always roll my eyes because I know they’re lying.
Squats are much the same way. I’ll admit it, I used to literally NOT train my legs, and since I started to a few years back, I don’t care about the “numbers game”. It’s about looks people. I admit wholeheartedly to people that I can’t squat heavy. I’ll slowly work up to it, but in the meantime, I’m aiming for form, flat out.
If you’ve got some swept out quads and can only go to 275 (because you have amazing form, that’s what’s important!) then who cares about numbers? Who NEEDS to care about numbers? That’s my newbie philosophy anyways.
On a similar note … I was doing 10x3 w. 300 (insignificant I know but I’m happy with it right now) and I had just finished my first set and this kid walks up to the squat rack and asks “How many sets do you have left?” I said, “Nine.”
The look on his face really made it worth it even more that just doing it regardless would. In his big wide eyes he repeats, “Nine?” So I said, “You can work in if you want.” So he did, and his form wasn’t half bad.
After he was done he hung around for a minute or two I think he wanted to start a conversation. I was in my own little world though, so he scampered off.
There are a bunch of younger (HIgh school age) kids in my gym. I get a lot of questions, and I’m always as helpful as I can be as long as it’s not ruining my own workout (I probably have a higher tolerance than most - teaching in a high school most of the year).
Last Monday my friend and I were training chest, and while warming up this one kid (who actually wants to learn) started hitting us with all these questions. So, I told him he should just train with us that day. We started with incline cables, then incline barbells (I got some great looks from the ‘peanut gallery’ when I was slowly repping 275 8x).
From there we supersetted squeeze presses with dumbells (stole it from one of Thib’s columns), straight into flat BB. Then some nonlockout declines to finish up.
Well, it’s been a week now and I havent seen the kid since. We’re debating whether he’s in the hospital, or actually dead.
Stu
Speaking of funny gym stories, I overheard a guy at my old gym telling another guy ‘I work out until I throw up. Whether it’s 20 minutes or 4 hours, doesn’t matter. Then afterwards, I go to Carl’s Jr. and eat a big cheeseburger.’
I only saw the guy a couple of times, and thankfully, I never saw him throw up.
Definitely an odd way of training.
[quote]polo77j wrote:
After he was done he hung around for a minute or two I think he wanted to start a conversation. I was in my own little world though, so he scampered off. [/quote]
I know the feeling. This is my personal problem with having a gym buddy. The social obligation to converse with acquaintances in the gym ruins my workout every time. During my sets, I have to focus on the lift and have my headphones power my lift.
Between sets, I have to rest, pay close attention to time and have my headphones build my power up to the next set. There is simply no room for conversation.
[quote]Mr. Clean & Jerk wrote:
polo77j wrote:
After he was done he hung around for a minute or two I think he wanted to start a conversation. I was in my own little world though, so he scampered off.
I know the feeling. This is my personal problem with having a gym buddy. The social obligation to converse with acquaintances in the gym ruins my workout every time. During my sets, I have to focus on the lift and have my headphones power my lift.
Between sets, I have to rest, pay close attention to time and have my headphones build my power up to the next set. There is simply no room for conversation.[/quote]
Nah, friends are easy: They should know better than treat the gym like social hour. But the high school kid is different. If the guy sticks around, talk to him. Hell, the kid did a bunch of decent squats. Why not be a positive influence on him?
We have far fewer chances in life to actually do anything on this Earth other than consume scarce resources. When you have the chance to help a worthy person out, you should seize that opportunity.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
We have far fewer chances in life to actually do anything on this Earth other than consume scarce resources. When you have the chance to help a worthy person out, you should seize that opportunity.[/quote]
This should be the next Strong Words on this site.
I trained at the base gym Monday instead of my command gym(on leave, didn’t want to get roped into doing something while I was off).
Was surprised to see that in addition to the requisite machines(don’t want to hurt anybody!), they had a squat rack, power rack, Ground Base circuit, and an Olympic platform. There was a guy actually using the platform…
to do curls. Couldn’t believe it. Stood there staring long enough that I made him uncomfortable.
[quote]gatesoftanhauser wrote:
If you’ve got some swept out quads and can only go to 275 (because you have amazing form, that’s what’s important!) then who cares about numbers? Who NEEDS to care about numbers? That’s my newbie philosophy anyways.[/quote]
If all you’re after is looks, then that’s fine. Working hard is working hard. But for people addicted to the heavy iron (like me), it’s all about the numbers game. I just can’t lift “light”. And I don’t pay attention to tempo because of that.
[quote]gatesoftanhauser wrote:
sigh when will people stop lying about their “best” numbers? Whenever people (the people that don’t work out a day in their life type of people) ask what my max bench press has ever been, they always “one up” me by claiming they benched 405 in high school.
And I always roll my eyes because I know they’re lying.
Squats are much the same way. I’ll admit it, I used to literally NOT train my legs, and since I started to a few years back, I don’t care about the “numbers game”. It’s about looks people. I admit wholeheartedly to people that I can’t squat heavy. I’ll slowly work up to it, but in the meantime, I’m aiming for form, flat out.
If you’ve got some swept out quads and can only go to 275 (because you have amazing form, that’s what’s important!) then who cares about numbers? Who NEEDS to care about numbers? That’s my newbie philosophy anyways.[/quote]
Dude, you’re supposed to have the curl jockeys work in with you when they brag about that shit. Thats why its about numbers. So you can watch them get turned into a bench press taco.
[quote]tveddy wrote:
gatesoftanhauser wrote:
sigh when will people stop lying about their “best” numbers? Whenever people (the people that don’t work out a day in their life type of people) ask what my max bench press has ever been, they always “one up” me by claiming they benched 405 in high school.
And I always roll my eyes because I know they’re lying.
Squats are much the same way. I’ll admit it, I used to literally NOT train my legs, and since I started to a few years back, I don’t care about the “numbers game”. It’s about looks people. I admit wholeheartedly to people that I can’t squat heavy. I’ll slowly work up to it, but in the meantime, I’m aiming for form, flat out.
If you’ve got some swept out quads and can only go to 275 (because you have amazing form, that’s what’s important!) then who cares about numbers? Who NEEDS to care about numbers? That’s my newbie philosophy anyways.
Dude, you’re supposed to have the curl jockeys work in with you when they brag about that shit. Thats why its about numbers. So you can watch them get turned into a bench press taco.[/quote]
I’ve never heard this expression. Explain, please?
[quote]Mr. Clean & Jerk wrote:
tveddy wrote:
gatesoftanhauser wrote:
sigh when will people stop lying about their “best” numbers? Whenever people (the people that don’t work out a day in their life type of people) ask what my max bench press has ever been, they always “one up” me by claiming they benched 405 in high school.
And I always roll my eyes because I know they’re lying.
Squats are much the same way. I’ll admit it, I used to literally NOT train my legs, and since I started to a few years back, I don’t care about the “numbers game”. It’s about looks people. I admit wholeheartedly to people that I can’t squat heavy. I’ll slowly work up to it, but in the meantime, I’m aiming for form, flat out.
If you’ve got some swept out quads and can only go to 275 (because you have amazing form, that’s what’s important!) then who cares about numbers? Who NEEDS to care about numbers? That’s my newbie philosophy anyways.
Dude, you’re supposed to have the curl jockeys work in with you when they brag about that shit. Thats why its about numbers. So you can watch them get turned into a bench press taco.
I’ve never heard this expression. Explain, please?[/quote]
when someone piles too much weight on a bench press it hits their chest and folds them up like a taco
People love to bullshit to inflate their egos.
It’s not normally worth it to call them on it.
i got a gooood gym story:
its 11:00 at night, and a flimsy short asian guy about 19 years old walks in. he has a huge afro and a bright yellow sweatband on, along with very large lifting gloves and straps…
he grabs a bench, and wheels it over and puts it in the squat rack which is right in front of a wall of mirrors. he then puts his water bottle on the bench, and starts…
he is doing some kind of whole-body jitterbug dance, while boxing the air in front of him. he is switching back and forth between jumping jacks, something that looks like he is trying to flap his arms to fly, and trying to box an imaginary person in front of him. He swings his arms and torso around as if he as a dead cat and a little girl was shaking him to try and get him to wake up.
this goes on for 45 minutes, and he leaves the water bottle and bench sittign right in the squat rack, and then just walks out fo the gym and doesnt come back.
biggest goon i have ever seen in the gym, maybe he was mentally handicapped, and i just couldnt tell, but it was funny as shit
[quote]tveddy wrote:
Mr. Clean & Jerk wrote:
.
Dude, you’re supposed to have the curl jockeys work in with you when they brag about that shit. Thats why its about numbers. So you can watch them get turned into a bench press taco.
I’ve never heard this expression. Explain, please?
when someone piles too much weight on a bench press it hits their chest and folds them up like a taco[/quote]
Touche on that one, lol. “Bench press taco”, it literally made me almost spit water out my nose I laughed so hard.