I always work out at home with a few friends considering none of us like dealing with the jackasses you normally encounter at a gym. Since I am on vacation for two weeks now though, I’ve been at a gym down the road from where I’m staying.
Anyway, Wednesday I was at the gym and headed over the squat rack. I got through my first set of front squats when some guy comes over and, get this, tells me that i’m “supposed to have the bar on my back”. I explained that this was a squatting variaiton and he said the back squats were still probably better, I just ignored him and kept doing my sets.
After this I did clean/jerks followed by some balls to the wall hanging leg raises and it literally seemed as though every person in this tiny pathetic gym was staring at me like I was glowing or something, as if the exercises I was doing were unheard of. Anybody else get odd looks and statements whilst doing a real workout?
[quote]MisterAmazing wrote:
Anybody else get odd looks and statements whilst doing a real workout?[/quote]
Lived in Seattle for a bit and lifted at various gyms. got looked at funny when i pulled over a movable bench and set it by the seat for lat pulldowns…kneeled on the seat, hooked my heels under the pad and did some natural GHR’s.
Had some funny looks from doing barbell bulgarians. But on one occasion in a Gold’s was told, “it’s nice to see something from back in the day…” I was doing floor presses.
“It’s supposed to be on your back…” that’s classic.
i lift at home now. better all around. built a platform. have a competition bench, squat stands, power rack, place for chins and dips. everything i need. only thing is that i’m too tall to jerk in my basement. so, when i’m gearing up for a meet, i hit the gym with my coach for about 12 weeks. i used to workout at this place exclusively. it’s a Y but it’s pretty well loaded with machines, etc. only place in town with a platform and bumper plates, though - other than my basement, that is.
in any event, the fun always starts when i hit the gym after a few months away. my coach doesn’t really do OL workouts anymore. so they don’t see much from him. but there is always a new guy or two there who end up giving me “advice”, etc. i’m always polite but sometimes - during a bad workout - i can get kinda shitty. the one that sticks out in my mind was when this tanned, shaved guy came over to me when i was warming up.
i always wear the same thing when i workout. sweat pants and a tee-shirt. nothing tight. my coach always told me that’s what ‘the russians wore’ so that’s what we should wear…whatever. anyway, he starts asking me about supplements, etc. tells me he works at GNC. asks me what i’m doing. i’m doing some light power snatches w/ 60kg. tells me that’s no way to build muscle. he asks if i am on the same quest that he is on, to weigh 200 pounds. i tell him that i weigh 228 right now. i know this because i just weighed-in. he calls me a liar,etc.
SO…we go weigh-in again so he can verify my weight. he then pats me down, to see if i have something in my clothes. now i’m starting to get pissed. he then tells me (and this is no shit) that when i am ready for real results to come see him. now, i don’t look like a bodybuider or anything like that. but i was a good sight bigger than this guy. just not tanned and shaved and wearing my little brother tank-top.
i went on to snatch about 120, clean and jerk around 160 and back squat 200 or so for reps. he didn’t bat an eye. i was under the impression that he still thought i needed his help.
Yeah, when I deadlift 275 with a overhand grip, someone’s usually watching. I very rarely see anyone deadlifting more than 150 pounds at 24 Hour Fitness.
I’m also OH Squatting 100+ lbs now, which attracts some attention.
It’s cool though. Only once have I been bothered with someone’s bullshit. Everyone else has compliments or sincere questions.
[quote]MisterAmazing wrote:
I always work out at home with a few friends considering none of us like dealing with the jackasses you normally encounter at a gym. Since I am on vacation for two weeks now though, I’ve been at a gym down the road from where I’m staying.
Anyway, Wednesday I was at the gym and headed over the squat rack. I got through my first set of front squats when some guy comes over and, get this, tells me that i’m “supposed to have the bar on my back”. I explained that this was a squatting variaiton and he said the back squats were still probably better, I just ignored him and kept doing my sets.
After this I did clean/jerks followed by some balls to the wall hanging leg raises and it literally seemed as though every person in this tiny pathetic gym was staring at me like I was glowing or something, as if the exercises I was doing were unheard of. Anybody else get odd looks and statements whilst doing a real workout?[/quote]
[quote]meddl wrote:
I was asked two weeks ago, when I was at a commercial gym, ehat I was doing when I did Military Presses…[/quote]
Good Lord… the world is definitely coming to an end.
I don’t go to commercial gyms… right now I work out at home. Usually its at my uni gym, and enough sports guys doing their stuff for none of my exercises to look weird (besides turkish getup and bent press =P).
However I went to Premier Fitness once here on a guest pass. My god… I got the weirdest looks for cleans and jerks… bwahaha as well as ATG squats… considering as there was only one ‘power rack’ in the whole gym. People must have thought I was walking on water or something.
[quote]BSims wrote:
i pulled over a movable bench and set it by the seat for lat pulldowns…kneeled on the seat, hooked my heels under the pad and did some natural GHR’s.
[/quote]
The lightbulb finally came on. Movable bench, now it makes sense. Thanks!
This one time, I was doing BB lunges and fell over. Boy did I get some weird looks then!
Lived in Seattle for a bit and lifted at various gyms. got looked at funny when i pulled over a movable bench and set it by the seat for lat pulldowns…kneeled on the seat, hooked my heels under the pad and did some natural GHR’s.
[quote]Hack Wilson wrote:
…he asks if i am on the same quest that he is on, to weigh 200 pounds. i tell him that i weigh 228 right now. i know this because i just weighed-in. he calls me a liar,etc.
SO…we go weigh-in again so he can verify my weight. he then pats me down, to see if i have something in my clothes…[/quote]
He called you a liar? He patted you down? And you didn’t jam a barbell up his ass?
I recently went on vacation and stayed in a hotel that had a gym that was decent considering (dumbells up 100 lbs and olympic plates) but only had a smith machine… luckily I found a olympic ez curl bar in the coroner so I threw 3 sets of 45s on it for deadlifts, talk about fucking up your shin!
anyway the guy that worked their asked me if I needed a spot! Classic
ans there was this kid in the gym that procedded to roll his wife beater up so he could see his abs and decided to do uhhh back assisted curls I guess you call them. For the entire hour it took me to get done with my full body work out…
I’m glad I work out at home
I can’t count the number of times I have gotten this particular comment from people: “That looks like too much work.” I want to reply, “Duh, that’s why I’m here.” Two different things usually prompt this remark.
Any type of exercise that seems to be out of the norm. E.g., recently, while doing 5x5 one-handed 80 lb dumbell snatches ala Dave Barr, I had someone say to me, “That looks too much like work.”
Any type of EDT set. I love EDT. Here is an example: I alternate bench press with a Hammer Strength rowing machine. I go at this like a madman racing from one station to the other and back again. I don’t know if people are appalled by the fact that I am using two stations at once or the fact that I’m wheezing like a dying animal (did I mention I hate EDT), but the comment is almost always the same, “That looks too much like work.”
“Yeah, that’s why you’re max bench is 155 and I am pumping 245 for continuous sets of 5 for 15 minutes. Shut up and train!”
[quote]LA wrote:
Hack Wilson wrote:
…he asks if i am on the same quest that he is on, to weigh 200 pounds. i tell him that i weigh 228 right now. i know this because i just weighed-in. he calls me a liar,etc.
SO…we go weigh-in again so he can verify my weight. he then pats me down, to see if i have something in my clothes…
He called you a liar? He patted you down? And you didn’t jam a barbell up his ass?
nope. i laughed. why knock the shit out of someone for being a moron? for being delusional? for working at GNC? nah. no need to ruin my day and my workout by taking someone like that seriously. i figure he has his reasons for being there and i have mine. no sense letting his thing ruin my thing.
[quote]Mikazuki wrote:
Yeah, when I deadlift 275 with a overhand grip, someone’s usually watching. I very rarely see anyone deadlifting more than 150 pounds at 24 Hour Fitness.
[/quote]
Oh, deadlifting @ the Infamous 24 Hour Fitness. Do they have the ever so wonderful plates that aren’t round? I hate those fucking things.
I remember training in a 24 Hour Fitness and doing pullups w/added weight…a guy says why don’t you just do lat pulldowns?
[quote]Hack Wilson wrote:
nope. i laughed. why knock the shit out of someone for being a moron? for being delusional? for working at GNC? nah. no need to ruin my day and my workout by taking someone like that seriously. i figure he has his reasons for being there and i have mine. no sense letting his thing ruin my thing. [/quote]
It seems to me that this guy was trying to ruin your thing with his thing, if you know what I mean. He patted you down, dude. That’s molestation.
[quote]BSims wrote:
Mikazuki wrote:
Yeah, when I deadlift 275 with a overhand grip, someone’s usually watching. I very rarely see anyone deadlifting more than 150 pounds at 24 Hour Fitness.
Oh, deadlifting @ the Infamous 24 Hour Fitness. Do they have the ever so wonderful plates that aren’t round? I hate those fucking things.
I remember training in a 24 Hour Fitness and doing pullups w/added weight…a guy says why don’t you just do lat pulldowns?
[/quote]
hehe, We lift at a couple of 24hr fitnesses over here on Oahu. You should see all the people wondering what the hell we’re doing when we were dumbbell snatching the 105s. We also got the, “I’ve never seen anyone deadlift over 405 in here.” And, I swear we are the only people in there with chalk.
