I’m a 19 year old college student at the U of A. It’s funny going to the gym here. I see students everytime who must have no idea what they’re doing. 1/8 Squats. Ceiling sexuals on the bench press. Girls who only do hip ab and adduction machines. Countless crunches performed completely wrong. I could go on forever. Those “etiquette coupons” from the issue of T-mag are going to be put to good use. I have to make photocopies first, lots of photocopies. Anyway, I just wanted to see if they’re are any people like me. Relatively young, experienced in the game, and have the passion like I do, to lift weights. I feel alienated because everyone who I know can’t understand why I’m “obsessed” with lifting. I’ve basically never had a training partner for the last five years. Anyone who is like me, holler at me. I’d like to know what has worked for you, what hasn’t, and the like. See ya.
Scott,
Keep doing what you’re doing. You have allot going for you to not give up without a training partner for the last five years. Pick out a guy in the gym who appears to know what he is doing. Ask him to spot you, ask questions. Anytime a guy comes up to me and asks for a spot, as long as its not lifting for him, and asks questions, I am always willing to help. I learned by asking. I learned from the powerlifters of old. I started lifting at 16. The guys I watched and eventually asked for advice were around 30-50 years old. They were more than willing to share their knowledge with a young pup who was in awe of their feats of strength. Now, 24 years later, I am still giving back. Don’t worry about what others think of your obsession.
Bodz, I know what your talking about. I go to Colorado St and see the same types of things on a daily basis. Nobody I know enjoys lifting the way I do. Its a way of life to me, a religion. To my friends its just an activity they think they should do. Usually I never have a workout partner, so I’ve adapted my workouts around that. When I see idots doing their 1/32 dept squats I look the other direction and chuckle. However, I usually try to not pay any attention to the freaks of the gym (its hard sometimes seeing some of the things they do), once I start paying attention to them I lose my focus. Thats my thoughts on the subject. Kick Ass!
I’m right ther with you guys. I’m also 19 and go to UW-La Crosse. I can’t begin to tell you about all the idiots in there doing their bounce the bar off their chest and pretend there girl is riding them type lift. I’ve had a couple of different partners and had to ditch all of them for lack of intesity. Most people give me the weirdest looks when I finish a set of squats and then collapse to floor only to get up and do one more set. I love the pain and results of lifting. It’s a religion to me too, and I get upset to see the same guys bench pressing every day and spending five minutes in between sets to talk about how drunk they got the night before. For the most part I keep quite unless someone does come up and ask me a question. Scott, you’re not alone. We’re right here with you and I’ll be using my coupons as soon as I photo copy some more too.
Guys, there is nothing i can say that you havent already…im 20 and have been working out for about 5 years…i love everything about weightlifting…and that is what matters…stick to what you love to do and fuck what everyone else thinks…sure, there will be guys bigger than you, and guys stronger than you, and guys who think they know more than you do, but WHO CARES!!! i really hope T mag (namely cy wilson) puts out an article geared towards those of us who are “blessed with those raging hormones.”
You boyz are dead on. I’m a 19 year old University student in Alberta, been lifting since I was 14, and I’m totally right in your situation. I consider myself pretty well-versed in the science behind bodybuilding, and I share right the same passion you all do for constant progress, knowing that if better is possible, then good is never enough. I also share the frustration of morons in the gym, whether it should or not, I dunno, but it fucking enrages me seeing juice monkey’s making bicep curls a hip exercise, or old fat ladies doing DB Presses with 2lb weights. I get the weirdest looks when I pile on 300lbs on the squat bar, then grunt and scream in pain until I can’t stand, totally out of breath and dripping in sweat. These people seem not to understand hard work, or why somebody would put themselves through it. I think they are better off whacking off in the bathtub to the erotic shape of the conditioner bottle then trying to work out. I don’t see why people even bother going to the gym with the type of non-existant intensity they usually display, it’s like somebody walking the 50yard dash, making me wonder why it is for some people when they walk into the gym, their IQ seems to adjust down to the room temperature. Anyway, yeah man there are people out there like you, and we feel just what you feel!
Scott, I know of what you speak. I’m a 20 year old student at the U of C. It makes me sick to my stomich watching people in the weight room “working out”. Most of these people can not comprehent what lifting weights is all about. As for things that have worked well for me, after my intial gains from when I first started lifing weights my progress stagnated. It wasn’t untill I incorperated deadlifting into my routine did I once again grow. keep lifting brother. Greg
I know the feeling. my girlfriend says i have a problem, that i’m obsessed. oh well. anything i do i wonder what effect it will have on my performance in the gym. and i too hate those people in the gym who don’t know what they are doing and don’t even take the time to learn. sometimes somebody will be hogging equipment that i need, but doing it all wrong and i just want to tell them to get off, they aren’t doing any damn good anyway. i also hate fat personal trainers telling somebody bullshit for 45$ a session.
I feel your pain fellas. I’m 19 and going to UT at Austin. This summer I got a job at World Gym as a trainer; why not get paid for doing this stuff? You see all kinds of stuff when you’re there half the day, like guys making a hip exercise out of the leg extension, or leaning back so far on the lat pulldown(crap to start out with) that it becomes some seated row/pulldown hybrid, and the worst is the ab exercises, countless fast tempo reps and everyone thinks they automatically graduated to weighted hanging leg raises. And when you work there you realize how bad the personal trainers are. We got the old, balding guy with a limp and a beer belly that gives everyone the same workout, the real popular trainer who seems to know a lot but still isn’t that big and the last guy wasn’t too bad until I asked him what he’d do if he wanted to get stronger, “Well I’d have you do 12-15 REPS and some isometric holds.” What!? Anyway, I was wondering how you guys are doing on nutrition, that’s my next hurdle. Anyone got any tips on getting all your protein and carbs on a college man’s budget. For my two cents, I got maltodextrin at the wine-maker supply for $2.50/lb. Thanks in advance. And Scott, don’t feel alienated or obsessed, LIFTING IS ALL I THINK ABOUT. Lastly, Ian King’s stuff has really helped me, read Get Buffed. Writing out a 12 week program and putting a towel over your shoulders in between sets are some tips. Keep it up.
I know what you mean. All my friends, my girlfriend, even my parents think that I am obcessed with lifting. When I started out I wanted to lose fat. I got BF tested and it was 26%! Now after almost a year of trail and error, and reading every issue of T-mag, I am at 15%. I know I still have a long way to go, but I still get a kick out of watching newbies in the gym. I cannot laugh to hard, I know I made many of the same mistakes myself.
There’s other T-mag readers at the University Of Alberta? Huh? Why is it that I’m the only one on the U of A Campus that wears a Testosterone T-shirt? 
If any of you have trained at the U of A gym this past summer and have seen the hockey players training… sheesh… what a FUCKING spectacle! These boys, and more specifically their trainer, are in DESPERATE need of a T-mag training article! The closest thing I’ve observed them doing that could be refered to as proper training all summer long was not using a belt on some shitty quarter squats.
Nathan, I’m right ther with you man. I started training at a club in my hometown too. The extra money is great. Differnce is the trainer at my club knows his shit, he’s the one who told me about T-mag (Greg if you read this you’re the fuckin man). Anyways I have the same prob as you, I have no money to spend on a ton of MRPs and protein mixes. I think that the only thing holding back my training now is poor nutrition. Please anyone with advise let us know!