We come 5 times a week and use alot of equipment, clog up the floor, look very intimidating, and make others feel bad about themselves.
But we pay the same monthly dues.
People that come once a week to bench and jog on a treadmill for a bit pay the same dues as we do.
And you cant fill a gym up if your not there.[/quote]
Dave Tate had an audio interview last week, and he made a great point about this
You hear about how serious lifters are intimidating, scary, etc, but who do you hear this from? the gym owners not the members. He used the example of family gatherings where everyone talks to you about the gym because they know that’s what you “do” and what do people say? “Oh, theres this one guy, at my gym, he’s so big, and he did this lift and there was all this weight on the bar, etc etc” nothing bad. just fascination. Yeah, some serious lifters are jerks, but no greater percentage than the general population.
as far as not making money. He used the phrase “lifetime value” in the interview, regarding the fact that once a serious lifter finds a gym he likes, he’s there forever, so it’s a continuous revenue stream coming in for however long the lifter lives in that area. This is in contrast to people who sign up for a year contract and then stop coming … but then the revenue stops coming as well once the contract runs up. Lots of gym have open-ended EFT contracts now, with no expiration date, but still, people wise up and those eventually get cancelled.
i train at a gold gym in mass; and thankfully they haven’t gotten that bad yet. there are about 4 powerlifters that lift there (me being one) and no one has said a thing when we have 500-700lbs on the bar for deading/squatting
i think it’s b/c the manager is young and is pretty large.
We come 5 times a week and use alot of equipment, clog up the floor, look very intimidating, and make others feel bad about themselves.
But we pay the same monthly dues.
People that come once a week to bench and jog on a treadmill for a bit pay the same dues as we do.
And you cant fill a gym up if your not there.[/quote]
Thats what it boils down to. Unfortunately some of us dont have a choice but to work out at gyms like these.{I go to Golds}. The nearest power lifting gym is an hour drive or more away. My schedule just dosnt allow me to do that.
Just another example of the pussification of America. Its just going to keep getting worse and worse. Men are a dying breed in this country.
dl_buffy,
Sorry to hear that. I work out at the Westport Gold’s and have noticed a bunch of new employees of late. That’s probably why there are more complaints. They are having trouble getting new members and it seems like they’re more interested in the business side of things than they used to be.
This kind of thing is a damn shame. You ought to wear a shirt that says “Too strong for Gold’s” and the back can say “Fuck Gold’s” or something like that.
This makes me nervous about my gym (Gold’s). They already don’t allow chalk (I sneak it in anyway). I think it’s about time to save my $ from my gym membership and start buying my own equipment.
[quote]dl_buffy wrote:
I am glad to hear there are some Golds where real lifting is allowed. I have had to be sneaking in one of those chalk balls to my gyms. It is good in that it really does limit the amount of chalk that gets out and I just use it over my bag.
[/quote]
HAH! That story is nothing. I started at a gym in the small town where I used to live (the only decent gym they had).
I specifically asked about deadlifts when I started and was told they were fine. A few months later the manager comes and tells me the owner doesn?t want me doing it anymore because I could damage the floor. I proceded to haggle with them and eventually offered to buy a deadlifting mat that I would take with me when I moved.
I was told they?d consider it. Continually inquired as to an answer and hadn?t gotten one after more than a month. So I started hauling mats, bars, and plates outside, to the parking lot to perform my deadlift workouts.
My second parking lot workout the owner came out and told me to stop before I damaged the concrete (I had 2 rubber mats under the weight). I?d also like to note that I do control the weight, it isn?t like I was dropping it.
I promptly told him I wasn?t paying for the remained of the contract (which had a termination fee) got in my car and left all the mats and weights where they were. They never charged me the termination fee.
I went home and started ordering a power rack and weights.
I?ve moved since them and found a gym that is actually pro-powerlifter. I have an o-platform, GHR, reverse hyper. They allow chalk, and even have boards to use.
By a strange coincidence, the people in this gym are on average a lot bigger and stronger than my former one. Hmm… makes you think.
[quote]KBCThird wrote:
Dave Tate had an audio interview last week, and he made a great point about this
You hear about how serious lifters are intimidating, scary, etc, but who do you hear this from? the gym owners not the members. He used the example of family gatherings where everyone talks to you about the gym because they know that’s what you “do” and what do people say? “Oh, theres this one guy, at my gym, he’s so big, and he did this lift and there was all this weight on the bar, etc etc” nothing bad. just fascination. Yeah, some serious lifters are jerks, but no greater percentage than the general population.
[/quote]
Good point… really. I don’t have a whole lot to add, but I find most of the time when a non-lifter or average gym-goer are discussing an elite (or even advanced) level bodybuilder or powerlifter, they’re typically in awe and just astonished at what they’re doing. Not only that, but I find the said BBers/PLers to be less obtrusive than the average member.
I know when I’m actually in the weight room I keep my head down and try to ignore just about everything to keep my intensity going, and I could see how that may transcend through my speech if I ask someone how many more sets they have left. I just have to make up for it by being kind and corteous to anyone that comes in contact with me… Ya know.
I hear ya bud. that’s why I cancelled both my gym memberships & before I bought my house started pecing things together. I can do what I want. when I want. swear and scream as loud as possiblem lift shirtless. screa. spit. blare static x as loud as I want and could give a F@@@@ if the equipment doesn’t get put back right away. listen to this S@@@. sat. I was spending afternoon with the ex. she wanted to go check out this new gym where she heard memberships where only $10/month. we go. of course take the tour(bad idea. just ask if u can walk around and browsae for yourself) she shows us all the stupid machines and goes on and on about how awsome the smith machine is if I ever bench or squat etc… then shows me the concept 2 erg. and asks if I’ve ever seen one.
I went along with it and said no (but truth be told have my own) etc… then vrings us to a desk and we know what’s next. try to get us to sign. we said not interested. we realy just wanted to check it out. well that $10/month shit was actuay $29.99 + $300 enrollment. anyway. we honestly r not interested and she’s bending over backwards trying to get us to join etc… she says “lemme go talk to the manager and see what we can do for you”… fuck I think to myself here we go. dudes tries for 45 mins to get ys to sign etc… worse then car salesmen!!!
then he starts going off on my ex “y don’t u sign what’s holding u back?” etc… then he started to get a lil mean and offensive towards her and she had enough. she was 2 seconds. from jumping table and punching him in the throat. she and I both told him every 15 seconds and 25 times at least not today!!! I shoulda challenged him to a bodyweight pullup contest. if he could beat me we would sign. if I beat him I’d consider it. but of course he 350+ lbs of body fat and u know has never worked out in his life. that shit pisses me off. u own or work n a gym and r trying to recruite/sign up members. get the fuck in shape!!!
I go to the shooting range maybe once a year at the VERY most, and fire MAYBE 100 rounds. There are guys there everyday that prolly use 1,000 rounds a day. They take it much more seriously than I do. Do I have no right to be at the range?
[/quote]
Of course you have a right.
But if the manager starts giving out to the regulars for using too loud a gun, or firing too many rounds, even tho that’s what you’d expect at a gun range, because you complained about it hurting your precious little ears, then there is a problem.
I go to the shooting range maybe once a year at the VERY most, and fire MAYBE 100 rounds. There are guys there everyday that prolly use 1,000 rounds a day. They take it much more seriously than I do. Do I have no right to be at the range?
Of course you have a right.
But if the manager starts giving out to the regulars for using too loud a gun, or firing too many rounds, even tho that’s what you’d expect at a gun range, because you complained about it hurting your precious little ears, then there is a problem.[/quote]
I am not arguing against the right of the serious lifter with my argument, merely stating that the idea that there is something “wrong” with someone not being a serious lifter is false.
It’s a hobby, and just like all hobbies, some people are more serious than others. This shouldn’t really be a problem, so long as those less serious don’t complain about those more serious, and vise versa.
Dave Tate had an audio interview last week, and he made a great point about this
as far as not making money. He used the phrase “lifetime value” in the interview,
[/quote]
Can you give a link? I’d like to send that to my friend.
My friend runs a gym, his current one is about 4400 members. He tells me the average loss for the industry is 25% per year, so he has to make 1100 sales each year just to break even. About 300 of these have to be in Jan and Feb or you’re already off your mark.
So I can imagine increasing retention will make that easier. Though there is always a cost/benefit: having to replace equipment vs just needing to get a new sale. Though even for sales you need new equipment to attract new members.
[quote]pushharder wrote:
Answer is home gym. It’s really not all that difficult or expensive to put together.[/quote]
Push,
Problem for some of us (myself included) is space. If I could just fit a power rack and an olympic bar, I’d pretty much be set, but alas I cannot.
If I had the room, I’d have a shitload of equipment… you see it cheap on Craigslist all the time.
Dave Tate had an audio interview last week, and he made a great point about this
as far as not making money. He used the phrase “lifetime value” in the interview,
Can you give a link? I’d like to send that to my friend.
My friend runs a gym, his current one is about 4400 members. He tells me the average loss for the industry is 25% per year, so he has to make 1100 sales each year just to break even. About 300 of these have to be in Jan and Feb or you’re already off your mark.
So I can imagine increasing retention will make that easier. Though there is always a cost/benefit: having to replace equipment vs just needing to get a new sale. Though even for sales you need new equipment to attract new members.[/quote]
It’s not a study or anything, just something he postulates, but it makes intuitive sense
[quote]UpChucker wrote:
VikingsAD28 wrote:
Are you going to be at offutt?
Yes, I am. I was stationed there from 99-05 and now going back…should be able to retire there. The garage gym I was referring to is in Council Bluffs.
[/quote]
Sweet, my uncle was stationed there a long ass time ago. I live in Omaha but unfortunately I have yet to go inside Big Iron Gym, although I did drive way out of my way one day just to see it…
Hopefully over the summer I will have the time to start driving the extra 15-20 minutes to do some training there, with school and work right now there is no way.
This pussified society is not for us anymore…I can’t stand anymore this kind of shit and I plan to buy a small farm in a remote location to grow my own things. But even this is on the verge of becoming illegal!