It has become almost a pain in the ass for me to talk about training around anyone. For example I was out with my friends and we were sitting around and they asked how I trained. We began talking about it and it was bad enough the shit coming out of there mouth. (shit because it is wrong) your classic overtraining, no concern for nutrition, flex magazine following, etc. You get the point. Well that was bad, but then my friends BITCH GIRLFRIEND (and believe me smart women with grace should never be called a bitch, but she did not fall into any of these categories) anyways she chimes in and starts telling me all this shit. Like just don’t eat to lose weight or workout every day to get big. I mean it is so bad I just sit there and take it, cuz it would take me over an hour or two just to correct all there thoughts. So I choose not to even bring it up around regular friends.
My friends that I respect their knowledge on training, diet, and drugs I listen to (of course most of these people are coaches, well educated personal trainers). Anyways I just want to here similiar experiences. Pllleeeaaasssseee no messages about how I should save everyone and correct them. You are not in my shoes. I do help people when I am at work (the gym), but when I leave work I usually am exhausted from explaining wrong myths on training. Anyways would love to here similiar experiences to help me feel better. Thanks for the support and keep lifting and reading.
There was this chubby guy who walked up and just started talking to me while I was working out. He asked me if I needed a spot when I haven’t even loaded any weight on the bar yet. How clueless is that? I asked him with some simple training questions and found out how shallow he was pretty quickly. The saddest part was when he said “My sport is bodybuilding and I’ve been training for three years!”
What made it worse was he also has a serious case of BO. Smells like he makes cheese in his armpits.
The reeking babbler yakked on and on and after a few minutes, I moved out of his sphere of staleness and ignored him. Blunt but effective. I’m trying to find some methods with more finesse. If you’ve got some, please post.
Well, in a word, it’ll never stop. Never offer advice, talk training as much as you talk about government, girls and God, and blow their progress out of the water.
bro i feel you. man i take that shit from my own girlfriend! (in fact i dont know if she will be my gf much longer for many reasons…) she’s always like “your depriving yourself of so much” (ie im on a cutting diet right now). oh yeah also my buddy tells me about his 6 hour workouts while he was in the marines. its everywhere you go
Even in this day and age, of the 21st Century, being a woman (a attractive strong woman), presents trouble in the gym. First of all, if you’re the above (attractive strong woman), you’re a target for newbie men in the gym. Favorite opening lines: “wow, you’re pretty strong…” or “here, let me help you with that (a 45-pound plate)…” - my favorite response “what happened to you, skip a decade…?” OR I just ignore. My boyfriend and I “put on the blinders” upon entering the gym - if someone truly desires help and knowledge and ask us, we will answer. Other than that, keep to yourself, train hard and with proper technique - and amaze everyone with spectacular gains!
Thats a pretty sad story Ouster. Next time he comes and talks to you, stop in the middle of the conversation, Walk over to your gym bag, and pull out a stick of deodorant and toss it his way. Wink at him and walk away. If I saw someone do that I would laugh my ass off. Yeah a couple of guys at my gym are musty as hell. The only time I offer preassistance is to certain friends who I know lifts heavy all the time. Just to let em know I am in the gym and to holler at me. Jay I agree with you all the way. It is like a sacred discussion. You best just talk with people who have same beliefs. Things can get rough if one reads muscle media or flex and the other reads t-mag. Of course t-mag readers out smart em every time;)
Additional Story: Few years ago was in my gym working out. I do not know how I started talking to this moron, but he ended up saying something that stopped me dead in my tracks. He said banannas are the best thing to eat after a workout. They are loaded with protein. I was like what the fuck dude. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. Oh another new one while we are venting. I am a trainer at a gym that has a ton of newbies and people who do not know a damn thing about anything. Well this teenager goes to this big black guy(friend of mine, but he isn’t the most intelligent people) kind of gets by on genetics type deals. Anyways the kid asks him what to eat. Holy shit the crap that came out of my friends mounth drove me crazy. The only good thing he said was eat protein. Then he tried getting scientific. Imagine a deep dumb voice going uhhh yeah man protein gets in dem cells and makes ya blow up and grow…and so on. I do understand to a point why teenagers want to listen to the bigger guys. But the truth of the matter is just because they are the biggest does not mean they are the smartest. Anyways its a up hill battle all the way. Looking forward to more vents. Peace
There was this one guy about 40 in the gym whom I asked for a bench press spot. I told him I was going to do about 8. Anyway, I lifted the bar, without lift off. He puts his hands under the bar at the top and as I slowly descend he slowly descends his hands as well as if he were spotting a negative. Then, when I get about 10 inches from my chest he abruptly grabs the bar, and starts pulling up. The weight is too much for him to pull up himself, so I go ahead and push the rest up without completing the rep (bar never hits chest). So the weight gets racked, and I asked him politely what he was doing? And he said that it was dangerous to go past parallel on the bench press. I then asked how long he had been working out, and he talked about how he used to be a bodybuilder and had been training all his life. Anyway, I asked him for another spot except this time I asked him to just help me if I asked for help, and not to stop my repetition. He said that he wouldn’t spot me that way. I just said thanks anyway, I’ll find someone else. I didn’t get angry with him; the situation actually amused me.
man, i know exactly where you’re coming from !! i found out it’s best not to even elaborate on the subjects of working out or dieting with people who don’t know. i dodge the questions as much as possible. some people just like to argue, trying to prove you wrong. if they persist, just tell them, "look at my body and look at your body… now tell me who’s wrong !! "… just hang in there with those people… i work in an engineering firm, now that’s a group of people that don’t have a clue, and i fight that battle more than i care to. vent all you need man.
my friends are just as bad dude. they’ve actually said things like: “fat turns into muscle”; “a lot of reps=long and lean/a few reps=big and bulky”; “who know, if you just had good genetics, you don’t need to worry about all this” (while holding my copy of ‘supertraining’); etc. all of my friends are in decent shape, and they are all involved in sports play and such. sadly though they don’t know shit about training, nutrition or anything of the like. i tried for a few years while i was in the service by writing very lengthy letters to several of them explaining this and that. no good. then i frickin’ just gave up. occassionally i’ll test the waters with a little gem of knowledge to see what they say in response. same thing so far though. none of them do any lower body work (and no, i am not counting extensions and curls). and from what they tell me, NONE of them are going to the gym to really get strong or big or anything (WTF!?!)…they just want to maintain what they have and maybe build some endurance by doing a lot of reps. it takes everything in me not to drive my frickin’ K-bar through their thick frickin’ skulls. i’ve decided to let 'em rot. when i’m benching 500lbs (and i only mention the bench because to them it is the only test of a man physical worth–that and the db curl) they’ll know. thanks for giving me the opportunity to rant.
just let 'em rot.
never talk about this stuff with them, ever.
they must discover this shit for themselves.
Just remembered two more. I always love the oh I don’t do weights for legs, I run or jog etc. I am like yeah and it shows lol.Oh the second one is I was telling my brother(who is out of shape and loves to argue) that our gym was having some 12 week transformation contest. He goes, “well hell if you want to win that just find a fat person and lock em up so they can’t eat” I just staired at him turned back around and kept reading my t-mag. Kay now to people who have responded. I love it, definitely helped me feel better. I hope there is more to come. JC I know man its hard with a girlfriend who doesn’t understand. My current one is cool and actually does what I tell her. One X girl would go oh gosh and sigh whenever I bought working out up, cuz I am passionate about it and about being knowledged. She was a classic skinny fat girl. I still wish I could have boned her though lol, but that would be about it. Its a major turn off if a girl is dumb. Patricia you are my hero. Your my superwoman. You come to save the day. lol. No I am glad there are women like you. There was one woman at my old gym. Damn she was thick and pretty lean, bodybuilder. She was cool too and very knowledged. I tried getting her turned on to t-mag, but it didnt happen. I still do not know why. Burrito man I hate it when people do that. I am like just give me a lift off gonna do so many reps and once I go to failure help me just barely get it up. Then from the get-go they are going down with me on all negatives. Additional Note: Those that can not do a weight without this assistance (lower the fucking weight) unless your doing eccentric training, even then the person should keep there damn hands off the bar except for the concentric movement. Podge I agree, except sometimes its the bigger guys telling me stupid things. These are guys usually living off the fumes of good genetics or drugs. Jason I remember the classic fat turns to muscle lol I have not heard that one in years. Damn I had forgotten about that one. Long live dumbasses I guess lol. Eddie sorry about it being in here. I thought I had posted it in off topic. Sorry about it bro. Peace.
Hey “everyones an expert” post your handle so I know who to address. Thanks for the idea! However I don’t think it’s necessary any more. When I worked out today, cheesepits guy was there as well but I suppose he was so upset/ humiliated/ angered by my previous treatment that he didn’t approach me. I am by no means an expert at weight training, but it seems that if you apply even 10% of the wonderful training info that is dispensed by Poliquin, King, Alessi et al. on T-mag you’re going to look like a freak or retard to the average gym goer. Some of them will want to talk to you (for whatever reason). This brings me to the next point: if you want to have a good workout, you have to manage your gym time aggressively . Some of us go into [1000 yard stare, efficient cyborg mode] whenever you hit the weights to block out distractions. And this is likely to tick others off. Can’t make omelets without breaking eggs eh?
Patricia, so how did you meet your boyfriend if you don't mind me asking. If both of you have blinders on at the gym, how do you make contact?
I know what you mean by “managing your gym time aggressively”. How I do this is by looking like a absolute bitch when I’m in the gym - except to my boyfriend kissy kissy. Oh, and my boyfriend and I have been together for nearly five years now. We were good friends before this, for like five years before we became an “item”. And we’re both into martial arts - he being a practitioner for 20+ years, and me just a wee newbie (since '97). So, we get our “game face” on in the gym…
rob-we need to start a church together or sumthin!
I work at my gym, so I hear a lot. A guy told me he wanted to lose weight by only eating fruit and fruit juices.
good luck
speak to me reverend rob!
the only comment that ever gets me is ‘doesnt all that muscle turn into fat later on’ Thats the only one that makes me mad. I just say can you turn straw into gold. i didnt think so. For everything else about my training and eating i just say i found or am finding out what works for me and leave it at that.
As the band Fuel sang “i had a bad day again. No, I don’t think you would understand.” Listen up people especially Steve and Ouster. You will get a big kick out of this. I am a trainer by the way/my specialization is in nutrition, since that is my degree. I do however follow t-mag and all authors (poliquin, etc.) Now at my gym we do a basic routine for newbies for free. We just show them a total body workout and set them free. Well I saw one of the people I had trained, she was doing close grip rows on a cable machine. Well she was going all the way down so her back looked like a rubber band about to snap. I approached (taking time from my training cuz I do care) and said you want some advice. I explained to her she should keep her back straight and upright and that doing it the other way put undo stress on her lowerback and spine. It also usually results in momentum coming up and cheating. Anyways she told me some trainer told her to do it that way. It is this black guy who is the biggest fucking moron in the world(sorry for the language, but he ruined my day) Next she goes over to pulldowns and does them behind her neck. I went crazy. I was like you want some more advice. I explained to her that I felt that put undo stress on her rotator cuff and she was more likely to injure herself. I also said doing it in the front (to chin) was more effective at working the lats. Well guess who told her to do that. That dumbshit trainer. Oh and it gets worse. My boss (who I adore, she is my buddy, pretty smart) tells me that he was upset that I took down all the trainers pictures and put up my own bulletin board with newsletter (t-mag inspired). He goes ape shit and bitchs about this. Then later on shows her a diet that includes FUCKING CHIPS. CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!!! That piece of shit lit a fire inside of me. He also told a girl that she was doing way to many leg exercises. This is what I had her doing. 2X15 leg press, 2X15 Leg Curl, 2X15 Inner Thigh machines. Now is it just me or really and truley is that not much. I mean she does this every other day, but she never pushes herself, so I do not think her legs are worked good enough. Anyways I had a bad day all cuz of that piece. The sad thing is that he is a trainer. I mean I let it go sometimes for the average person, but a trainer. COME ON. GIVE ME A BREAK. and I’m not talking about that damn tv show featuring the actress Nell lol…anyways tell me what yall think about this. I have a problem cuz all my life I have not applied my knowledge to myself. SO I can not use the expresion. I am bigger than you, so you listen to me. He is black, no offense to blacks, but he could scratch his head and have six pack and some guns. I am currently 5’8" 170 13% 15 1/2" arms nothing to brag about. Deadlift 3 X 6 with 270 currently. So nothing fantastic ya know. I am working on it. All this motivates me. So hopefully my end of year will be much thicker and stronger. Wish me luck. Sorry no preaching tonight, just bitching. I will try to get a sermon together for next evening HA…yeah steve it would be cool if we and other t-mag followers could all have a training facility(a cult if you will) and we would not have to hear shit like I wanna tone up. I am like what? Do you wanna drop your fucking bodyfat or increase your muscle mass or both. I just hate the word tone up. It pisses me off lol. That just a personal pet pieve though. Holla at me I had a rough day need some feedback on last story. Thanks for being there for me guys and gals. Hope I can be there for yall. Peace
Hey Rev. Rob, I’m sorry to hear about your woes, but I’m prolly the worse person to advise you about your situation. I have a really low tolerance threshold for fekwits and I don’t have the temperament to train anybody who’s unmotivated, spineless and whiney. The last time someone fitting that description asked me to train him, I pretty much shot him down point blank. I was reading the Forever War at the time so I paraphrased what the awesome Sergeant Cortes (hope I got the name right) said to some new recruits. Essentially what Cortes said was “You will obey me like a robot. Deviate from standard procedure and I will kill you where you stand”. Taking that approach will prolly make you lose all your clients!
I’m going to go off on a wacky tangent now. (Warning: nothing below this line has anything to do with T/N) I like the cult idea. Cults have really cool perks and bennies, especially when you’re in the cult leadership. My vision of the cult will incorporate qualities from three of the coolest cults I know: the Templars; the Shrike Cult; and the Seekers of Truth and Penitence. The organization will be known as the Cult of Holy Intensity Training (CHIT). New inductees will be Neophytes of HIT (NHIT). After years of training and acceptable progress, NHITs will advance to Preceptor level (PHIT). Further mass and functional strength gains will grant them Seeker status (SHIT). SHITs will leave the cult to walk the earth, seeking new converts and smiting BoFoLos (BFLers). The SHITs who manage to survive their arduous mission and return to the cult will become Adepts Par Excellence: Seigneurs of HIT (APESHIT).