No it isn’t just you. Lots of good posts here. I am 44 and have been lifting since 16, steadily since 19. I remember at 22 going into the old Spartan Gym in Merrifield, VA in early 1985. It was my first exposure to a hardcore gym. At 6’3" and 195, I thought I had some decent size, until I walked into this place. For weeks, I would get a knot in my stomach just going in there. There were guys 80, even 100 pounds more than me. I didn’t step out of line and just tried to figure out what people were doing. I met a few guys there, but mostly everybody was dead serious and there was no messing around. It was a fear and respect thing.
Flash forward 20 years. Actually, I have been seeing this trend for about 10 years now. For many under 25, it seems that there is a tremendous sense of confidence, false I suspect in many instances. I think the whole esteem based education thing has much to do with it. If you never experience failure, you do not believe it possible. Plus, adolescent males seem to have no fear of anybody bigger than they are. Kind of like a miniature Doberman that doesn’t know. And, nobody else knows anything. I stopped offering advice years ago. If somebody wants to f themselves up, go for it. If I get asked, I might offer, but that almost never happens.
We have had a high school co-op student in my office for the last several months. He is 17 and not a bad kid, but comes from a borderline noveau rich family with just a touch of the attitude. The BS he spouts sometimes just makes me smirk. I don’t know why he tells us this crap. Wednesday, he was bragging about how he and his buddies will cut in lift lines, movies lines, what have you, because he knows most older people won’t say anything. This kid is about 5’10", 160. He claims that everyone in his school is afraid of him, partly because he is a hockey player. He brags that he doesn’t respect his teachers. I was taught that you were polite and respectful to teachers even if they were idiots. Smarting off to a teacher had consequences. This doesn’t appear to be case in one of the wealthier high schools in the Denver metro area.
Anyway, in the gym, I see this attitude all the time. They know everything. But it isn’t just young guys. There is no camaraderie. My gym has changed dramatically from a medium sized place to a super gym in order to compete with 24 Hour and Better Bodies. With this size increase has come a legion of scowlers and posers of all ages. A big influx came when my gym inherited the membership from a gym up the street that closed after 20 years. Boy, what a bunch of 35+ year old whiny snobs.
On top of it all, nobody is friendly anymore. No longer is there the “Fellowhip of Iron.” Christ, you say hi to somebody, they look at you like you just stabbed them (this isn’t just confined to the gym, though).
Yesterday there was a trio of college guys benching and tough guy posturing like doing 135 was a big deal. I kept waiting for the big weights to come, but these chubby boys never got to it. Then are are the teeny tiny tatted up tough guys benching 115.
Oh well. Merry Christmas to all who are not offended by such!