People at Your Gym

Off Topic
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[quote]Cherrybomb wrote:
I have a few characters in my gym. It’s a small gym, but has a long history in my town and has been various gyms for 30-40 years years. Needless to say that with such a long history it has collected some some interesting fixtures.

The Ethnic Swede: This man is a bodybuilder, dark as a meatball, always wears sweatshirts and sweatpants even when it’s 110°F outside, age unknown. While most bodybuilders I’ve known spray tan before comps, this guy must sleep in a tanning bed. Either that, or he’s pushing Melanotan to the extreme. Very nice guy though.

The Ultimatum: Mid to late 40s, nice physique, probably ex military. First time I met this gentleman, he complimented my squats. Then he told me that he squats heavy every day, to which I blurted “dear God, why?” Then he told me, “suppose someone told you that you have to double your squat in 30 days, or they would execute your whole family, would you squat heavy every day to double your squat in a month and save your family?” Somewhat strange first encounter, but sure loves lifting and is also a very nice man.

Pappa Bear and Baby Bear: Have never talked to these two. Pappa Bear is trying to teach Baby Bear the ropes of lifting. Pappa Bear always wears his lifting belt, for everything. 1/4 squats, curls, pec deck, everything. Pappa isn’t weak, per se, however he still walks around with his chest puffed out, and a grave expression on his face like the Undertaker. I imagine him telling Baby Bear before they enter the gym, “if you want to be a man, son, this is how you do it.”[/quote]

I’ve had some form of these at my gym at one time or another, and I think its the 3rd gym that’s operated in the building.

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Car man: whenever I arrive at the gym there is this guy sitting in his car staring aimlessly into the distance with a blank expression. He sits in his car for literally 30 minutes plus. He then finally comes in and then proceeds to sit on the gym bench for at least another 30 minutes and eats a banana and sips on some water, with the same blank expression on his face. He finally starts his workout which I cant really comment on because I am usually finished before he starts. A few times I have driven past the gym later in the evening and his car would still be in the car park, meaning he has been at the gym for at least 3 hours. Bizarre!

*tweet *

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I went to the gym with the naming exercise in mind for the rest of the week and came away with this:

Squatter Sam: DBs on a bench, phone & bag on another bench, working on another bench (which holds his water during rest periods) jacket on the bench press, rests in the squat rack, usually checking his phone. Is well aware of squatters rights and will refuse to relinquish any of his property without adequate compensation. Don’t even think about moving the jacket, even if he hasn’t been near the bench for 30 minutes

Awesome Andrew: Looks about 55, comes in 5x5 - Squats, ramp to 5RM deads for seriously respectable weight then dips/pullup super sets, then reps out roman chair situps. No mucking around, no fuss (no groaning, all reps smooth, no headphones, no fluro) just does his work and leaves. Steely focus, can throw a slam ball at his head mid squat and he won’t blink, please be my dad!

Doppleganger Dean: Appears next to you on the bench/rack and loads up the bar with the exact amount of weight as you +5lbs or sets the cardio equipment to the level above you’re doing. Will do this at least twice in your workout before focussing on the next poor guy.

Doubting Thomas: Must check that his abs are real every minute.

Bruce Lee: Not the one inch punch but the one inch ROM. Has the secret training method and refuses to buckle on it despite all of zero other people following suit. Looks all sinewy and stringy but kudos for sticking to your guns.

Friendly Fred: Knows everyone, talks to everyone, does 1 warm up set with the guy he’s talking to and rotates his shoulder saying he felt a tweak and its okay because he did 3xbw benches last sesh before moving to the next guy and repeating for 3 hours.

Helpful Harry: Deadlifted/Benched/Squatted 50-100lbs more than you are doing when he was your age. Knows how to get you strong and will tell you. Especially helpful with girls.

Creepy Carl: Never seen outside the change room.

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Creepy Carl, hah.

Every gym has a creeper, if you dont know who it is…it is You !

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[quote]sufiandy wrote:

[quote]Cherrybomb wrote:
I have a few characters in my gym. It’s a small gym, but has a long history in my town and has been various gyms for 30-40 years years. Needless to say that with such a long history it has collected some some interesting fixtures.

The Ethnic Swede: This man is a bodybuilder, dark as a meatball, always wears sweatshirts and sweatpants even when it’s 110Ã?°F outside, age unknown. While most bodybuilders I’ve known spray tan before comps, this guy must sleep in a tanning bed. Either that, or he’s pushing Melanotan to the extreme. Very nice guy though.

The Ultimatum: Mid to late 40s, nice physique, probably ex military. First time I met this gentleman, he complimented my squats. Then he told me that he squats heavy every day, to which I blurted “dear God, why?” Then he told me, “suppose someone told you that you have to double your squat in 30 days, or they would execute your whole family, would you squat heavy every day to double your squat in a month and save your family?” Somewhat strange first encounter, but sure loves lifting and is also a very nice man.

Pappa Bear and Baby Bear: Have never talked to these two. Pappa Bear is trying to teach Baby Bear the ropes of lifting. Pappa Bear always wears his lifting belt, for everything. 1/4 squats, curls, pec deck, everything. Pappa isn’t weak, per se, however he still walks around with his chest puffed out, and a grave expression on his face like the Undertaker. I imagine him telling Baby Bear before they enter the gym, “if you want to be a man, son, this is how you do it.”[/quote]

I’ve had some form of these at my gym at one time or another, and I think its the 3rd gym that’s operated in the building.[/quote]
Ha! Small world. These types are probably floating around a lot of classic gyms, I imagine.

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Awesome Andrew made me laugh, I see those at my gym. Some of them have been lifting in the same place since the 80’s. They’re all buds, happy to be there, still strong and awesome, it’s really inspiring.

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There a dude in my gym we call the Spanish guy.

He’s actually from Brazil, but we call him the Spanish guy anyway.

He’s in his early 50s I would say and he looks pretty good too, really lean and solid. Except this dude lifts with no ROM at all. Bench for example he will put his legs up on it, unrack the 405 and then bring it down 2-3 inches and then lift his ass up (like a glute bridge) and press it up for like 8 reps. Fast reps too so it looks like he’s humping the air. All the exercises I’ve ever seen him do are really heavy weight with a few inches of ROM.

Homeboy comes up to me, I was doing 235 for triples, and says “you know man you can do 315 easy, I’ll spot you man”. That’s how many people there met him, he always encourages people to go beyond their limits, but like not in a good way.

He’s a nice dude, but apparently that’s how everyone lifts in Brazil. I guess whatever works for him, I just hope he doesn’t help someone injure themselves.

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I love my gym and a lot of us are sad that it will be changing locations in a month. The regulars I’ve lifted with for the last two years are all great guys. Hopefully we all end up lifting at the same location in October, but we’ll see how it plays out.

Plenty of oddballs come-and-go, but I’ll draw attention to some of my gym’s best.

Old Man Steely Eyes: This fine gentleman is 59 years-old with visible abs, and at least a mid-300’s bench. He was the first person to really sit me down and take the time to help me bench when I was a new lifter. He is the holder of many bench records in the state of Maine over the last several decades, and I don’t think he is done setting them. He doesn’t lift at the same time I do very often, but I was honored to have him ask to work in with me on my bench workout two weeks ago. I think he held back to make me feel better. He looks and carries himself an awful lot like a powerlifting 1990’s Clint Eastwood with a strong Maine accent.

The Swolesons: This father-son duo have been lifting together for a lot longer than I’ve been there. They get in. They bust ass. They get out. They are both pretty freaking jacked and pretty strong on the bench press, but they do a lot more dumbbell work and lower-body machine stuff. Lots of supersets. Very little rest. Overall pretty impressive, especially considering the dad is around 53 and his son is only 21.

The Next Mayor of Lewiston: This guy is a real character. Mid-30’s, menacing tattoos, jacked upper body, very friendly and helpful, walking proof that bro science and crazy shit works if you put the work in. Occupation: Shirtless pool guy. His genetic line continues to become more and more secure, as he and the smoking hot fitness instructor at my gym just had a baby together. He has a stated goal of scaring the shit out of his daughter’s unworthy suitors, and I think he will have great success in this endeavor.

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[quote]theBird wrote:
Car man: whenever I arrive at the gym there is this guy sitting in his car staring aimlessly into the distance with a blank expression. He sits in his car for literally 30 minutes plus. He then finally comes in and then proceeds to sit on the gym bench for at least another 30 minutes and eats a banana and sips on some water, with the same blank expression on his face. He finally starts his workout which I cant really comment on because I am usually finished before he starts. A few times I have driven past the gym later in the evening and his car would still be in the car park, meaning he has been at the gym for at least 3 hours. Bizarre! /quote]

Got a few guys who I think are maybe homeless or just use the gym for the showers and a place to get warm in winter. Some of their cars look lived in. One had a black trash bag covering a broken side window. One guy just walks around and BSes with people. One other weird guy (real shabby looking) would go in and out of the locker room, probably going through lockers.

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Being serious here for just a minute -

Several posters have mentioned some variation of the middle-aged woman who’s “desperately trying to hold onto her fading beauty/ youth.” She’s working out, trying to “stay relevant.”

When you see a guy lifting into his 40’s and 50’s, do you think, “That man is desperately trying to hold onto his fading youth,” or “He’s desperately trying to stay relevant.” Or do you just think “He’s awesome, good for him.”

It seems women who gain a bunch of weight as they age, or “let themselves go” are criticized. What’s the alternative? Being seen as desperate?

It reminded me of the idea that a guy of normal height who builds his physique is just being awesome, where a short guy trying to build his physique is probably compensating for small-man syndrome.

Maybe I’m just being sensitive? I hope so. Seriously, do you think there’s a double standard?

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[quote]Powerpuff wrote:
Being serious here for just a minute -

Several posters have mentioned some variation of the middle-aged woman who’s “desperately trying to hold onto her fading beauty/ youth.” She’s working out, trying to “stay relevant.”

When you see a guy lifting into his 40’s and 50’s, do you think, “That man is desperately trying to hold onto his fading youth,” or “He’s desperately trying to stay relevant.” Or do you just think “He’s awesome, good for him.”

It seems women who gain a bunch of weight as they age, or “let themselves go” are criticized. What’s the alternative? Being seen as desperate?

It reminded me of the idea that a guy of normal height who builds his physique is just being awesome, where a short guy trying to build his physique is probably compensating for small-man syndrome.

Maybe I’m just being sensitive? I hope so. Seriously, do you think there’s a double standard? [/quote]

First, I don’t think of “older” women at the gym this way. Second, of course there is a double standard, as long as they exist elsewhere this is just as good of a situation as any to have one.

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I don’t think the references are meant as a generalization. Not everyone at the gym is serious, hardworking, a goofball, or trying to hang onto youth, just that every gym seems to have some characters.

I do think that about males trying too hard to be young, cool, or relive some former sporting glory. The same for females worrying more about their appearance than progress.

I have a lot of respect for anyone working hard and putting in the effort to make a difference. Just do so in an appropriate manner

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[quote]Powerpuff wrote:
Several posters have mentioned some variation of the middle-aged woman who’s “desperately trying to hold onto her fading beauty/ youth.” She’s working out, trying to “stay relevant.” …Maybe I’m just being sensitive? [/quote]

Yes, you are being sensitive.

The listings here are about the odd or funny (or inspirational) people at your gym.

The normal people are just normal people and don’t merit comment in this context.

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Double Standard is not a four letter word.

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I wasat my gym last Thursday and I saw some sketchy things. There was this group of 4 tools…I mean guys…and two hot girls. The girls were just goofing around and the guys were yelling and screaming like shit throwing apes.

I think it was squat day, but I am not sure, because I have never seen anyone willingly roll their pants up to their crotch to squat. I am not sure what they were trying to accomplish by doing that. One guy hit 405 for a single, which is a decent weight. The rest were acting like tooly-assholes, yelling screaming, doing this absurd super wide squats where their legs were almost parallel with their torso… What drove me nuts though was how good looking girls enjoy hanging out with idiots like that.

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[quote]Aero51 wrote:
I wasat my gym last Thursday and I saw some sketchy things. There was this group of 4 tools…I mean guys…and two hot girls. The girls were just goofing around and the guys were yelling and screaming like shit throwing apes.

I think it was squat day, but I am not sure, because I have never seen anyone willingly roll their pants up to their crotch to squat.
[/quote]
Occlusion training?

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
I am not sure what they were trying to accomplish by doing that. One guy hit 405 for a single, which is a decent weight. The rest were acting like tooly-assholes, yelling screaming, doing this absurd super wide squats where their legs were almost parallel with their torso… What drove me nuts though was how good looking girls enjoy hanging out with idiots like that.
[/quote]
Anytime you have a group of guys with a couple girls, the girls aren’t with all of the guys. You mention one of the guys wasn’t a tool. There you go.

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Andy, Push, Fifty, Ruff, Silyak -

Thank you guys for responding. It’s been bothering me a little bit. When I said “older” I often feel that since I train at a university gym, so I probably am more sensitive to it. People at my gym - men and women included - have been overwhelmingly cool. I’ve never personally experienced anything like that attitude, and if there are people out there who think it - then they’re not worthy of my mental energy. I’ll assume good will from you all.

Carry on. Sorry for the threadjack.

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[quote]biggjames wrote:
When I trained in a commercial gym, the one that would crack me up the most was the one I coined “Harry Half Rep”. Would lift a ton of weight with no range of motion.

[/quote]

So funny. There’s a young guy who recently started lifting at my gym. At first I thought maybe he’s working around a shoulder injury or something. Nope. It’s every lift, every body part, every machine. Always with a tiny ROM, but with sort of a speed set tempo. Like 100 tiny ROM partial BB Curls, all very, very fast.

He will do pushups like that, where he barely lowers himself a couple of inches, but the reps are so fast it looks like he’s going to give himself whiplash. I don’t normally notice what other people are lifting, but he’s moving as such a manic pace, it’s hard not to notice. Same thing for all the leg machines. I don’t think he ever puts a muscle group in a fully stretched position and then contracts it. I wonder if he’s drinking too much coffee.