Old Gym:New Gym

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Last week my old gym closed. It was a good place. They had to close because the bastards below removed some walls so the whole of the gym floor had started to collapse under the weight. No more gym. It was a good place. Until recently it has both a squat rack and power cage. It was a semi-dungeon on the first floor.

I searched around for a new gym. I visited pretty much every gym in the area.

A condensed version of most of the gyms:
Trainer: Here’s the gym, all types of machines and over there is the squash courts, and there is a room for badminton, spinning.
ME: Any free weights.
T: Yeah, we have some free weights. See
[points to some dumbells]… and over here we have a sauna, solarium…etc
ME: Thanks. Bye.

One place didn’t have any free weights at all. Thet trainer showed me a machine pointing to the muscle it trained. I was not amused.
In one place it was getting better, almost.

T: Here’s the gym. This is the machine areas, and there is a room for courses, spinning, etc
ME: Any free weights.
T: Yeah, we have some free weights.
[walk over to the bench area]
ME: can I deadlift, squat?
T: Yes, just take a bar from one of the benches.
I look around. The largest weight they have is 15kg (35lbs) and that it a thick rubber turd. As I deadlift over 200kgs (450lbs) I worked out that I caould not deadlift here. I could fit a maximum of about 120kgs (250lbs) on the bar (non-olympic by the way).
Me: Thanks, bye.

Finally I find somewhere that has free weights. I can deadlift, use chalk (as long as I clean up after myself) and squat. They don’t have a proper squat rack or cage, but we’ll see how good they are at spotting. I mentioned that they had no rack or cage and the re was a big BBer training. He came over and we chatted a bit and he said that you didn’t need a cage, just a spotter. Turns out he is the head trainer, so we’ll see how willing they are to spot me on ME days ;o)

Oh yes, and at this gym they even have…gasp…women. In the old gym there was maybe one female every 2-3 months. Today I went to the gym for the second time and there were about 6. Yup count em…6 of the female species. Some eye candy at last (for the rest periods, obviously).

Still. Nothing beats the old gym. The dirt, the sweat, the tile on the floor that when lifted revelaed some plaster (or something) that when ground up worked very well instead of magnesium, the huge picture of a nubile, tattoed woman on the wall, the fact that I wcould get into the cage and know that I can go for a max squat and fail without killing myself. aahhh good days…

sorry for the loooooong post. end of story.

2

Why not build your own home gym? It’s not as expensive as you think.

Also, I wouldn’t rely on spotters for max lifts. Some won’t be strong enough and it’s always hard to find good ones who know what to do. That’s just another reason why you may want to consider buying your own power rack and setting up a home gym.

3

I got a power rack with the lat and row attachment. Greatest thing I ever bought. You can get a 300lbs olympic set at Dick’s or Sport’s Authority for $100. Add a few more 45’s (cheaper to buy another 300lbs olympic set, really), and you are all set. You can squat without a spotter, the gym is always open. No waiting, and no problems with chalk.

I’m not pulling the weight you are, but i don’t forsee that being a problem. I’ve been slowly buliding a full dumbell rack, too.I’m up to 80’s. I probably have $2,000 total in it at this point, but it will pay for itself in no time.

4

Another great place to find equipment for cheap is Craig’s List.

I bought hex dumbbells from 5 lbs. all the way up to 60 lbs. (in 5 lb. increments) for $40 - no lie. They were hardly ever used.

You would be amazed at the number of people dying to get rid of never/barely used exercise equipment on Craig’s list.

5

A home gymn doens’t have the admosphere.
The few people that got your respect by training hard. And they respect you because you train hard.
And the others, the entertainmant.
The women to gaze at, the squat-rack curlers and the lightbulbs to smirk at.

6

[quote]Wreckless wrote:
A home gymn doens’t have the admosphere.[/quote]

It’s what you make of it. And if you are interested in showing off to others or checking out women, maybe you’re not training hard enough.

[quote]The few people that got your respect by training hard. And they respect you because you train hard.
And the others, the entertainmant.[/quote]

I don’t train to impress others. Nor do I care if they are impressed. I train for me and my goals. If someone finds what I do impressive, great. If not, I could care less. But training at home still rules. And I don’t need to earn anyone’s respect except my own. :wink:

Entertainment? I get that in other places outside the gym.

Don’t need it.

7

Unfortunatyely working out at home is not an option. I live about 40 miles from where I work, and I only have time during my lunch break to train.

Having 2 small babies means that any time spent at home is used either to clean up or look after the kids.

I did some max lift squats today with a spotter, and it seemed okay. I would still feel happier with a power cage, though.

8

This might not be the place to do this but I’ve got a nice 45 degree leg press that I want to get rid of. Also have a leg extension leg curl. It is commercial gym quality equipment and I’ll trade it for a reverse hyper and a glute ham bench if anyone is interested. The leg press doesn’t suit my type of training and neither does the leg curl leg extension. (modified westside).

9

Update to the new gym :o(

Two guys come in to the gym, one of which is an acquaintance from the old gym. He’s about 5’8 with low BF, and looks like a light bodybuilder. With shirt on, he looks ‘normal’ albeit with wide shoulders.
Anyway, I tell him that it’s a good place and they should join. The trainer/receptionist (she doesn’t look like a trainer, but you never know) joins us, and they say that they would like to join. She said that they shold think about it, and she can get them a good deal at McFit (another gym - real name). WTF???
They repeat that they want to join and she tells them to think about it.
I go straight to the boss and tell him. He then tells me that they have a ‘membership pass criteria’ and my acquaintance does not pass. He is not welcome. He soes not want lots of BBers there to put off the other customers.
Slightly understandable, but they have bigger BBers there as this guy is not hyoooge by any means.

Anyway, I would go elsewhere but I do not know of any other gym where I can squat or has enough weights to deadlift, so I’m basically stuck with gym politics.

The question. Should I use a flamerthrower and torch the building (especially as they have replaced all of the Nautilus machines with some Pro Natura stuff), or should I use explosives?

10

[quote]De Molay wrote:
The question. Should I use a flamerthrower and torch the building (especially as they have replaced all of the Nautilus machines with some Pro Natura stuff), or should I use explosives?
[/quote]

With building codes and materials what they are, explosives are always a safe bet. Accelerants don’t always take. If you are good with timers and ignition, you can get the best of both worlds with some good compressed gasses.

Have you found any other options for another place to lift?

11

[quote]teratos wrote:
I got a power rack with the lat and row attachment. Greatest thing I ever bought. You can get a 300lbs olympic set at Dick’s or Sport’s Authority for $100. Add a few more 45’s (cheaper to buy another 300lbs olympic set, really), and you are all set. You can squat without a spotter, the gym is always open. No waiting, and no problems with chalk.

I’m not pulling the weight you are, but i don’t forsee that being a problem. I’ve been slowly buliding a full dumbell rack, too.I’m up to 80’s. I probably have $2,000 total in it at this point, but it will pay for itself in no time. [/quote]

Don’t know your circumstances, but I’m with the Doc on this one. We are decidedly lower middle class in the financial department and I was able to setup a home gym in the basement that is plenty adequate. Totally free to do whatever, whenever I want, with my TV there and all the rest of my shit right there. No waiting in line, nobody to impress or piss off.

I got a rack/smith machine with upper and lower cables, three decent quality benches (one came with 100 pounds of plates and two sets of dumbell handles for 100 bux so I bought 2), 4 more sets of handles and a bunch of extra plates Sears had on sale for a song, 680 pounds of olympic plates (2 bars) a dip/chin/leg raise piece, a hyperextension bench, a really nice ab bench, a bunch of different handles, a tri bar, some extra chain and HD carbiners snaps, a belt, gloves and New Balance shoes for under 2 grand.

The home deal I’m sure ain’t for everybody, but I really really love being able to train in my own house. There’s always something you wish you had (and had room for), but you can do a hell of a lot with less than one might think. I almost forgot, a nice stationary bike (floor model 1/2 price) and an old heavy duty health rider thing for 10 bux at a garage sale. Great for warming up for upper body work, especially my troublesome left shoulder.

–Tiribulus->