Response to Gym Rants

Off Topic
1

There was a rant about what some folks do in the gym last week. Someone wrote about a skinny guy who tried to squat 4 plates a side and was barely moving. Everyone made fun of that guy. There were other rants in the responses too. Basically, the rants were centered on guys who either didn?t know what they were doing or were just weak. Of the rants only one or two were valid (IMO). Guys who use the squat rack to do curls are just wacky. But what’s the use of making fun of them? Just do another exercise and move on.

Now for my rant to you T-men:

Stop your bellyaching and start helping. Or at least appreciate that these guys are in the gym trying to get stronger - that’s better than 99.9% of the population. Yeah you may be stronger; yeah you may be able to kick their little Asses. But you are weak minded. You are acting like punks.

I am not defending these guys. I am really pointing out issues that you all have. It is true that these guys need to get informed. There are no good reasons that everyone is not well informed. There is so much information on the web (i.e., T-Nation, etc) and most of it is free. But somehow making fun of them without so much as trying to help seems even worse to me. At the very least let them know about websites like T-Nation.

You do not have to give them advice but do not have to make fun of them either. Save that for the guys who do not even make to the gym.

2

rofl…you might be right. but if i remember correctly the skinny guys still to this day label the big, strong guys (or athletically or asthetically inclined fellas) as dumb jocks and wouldn’t be how we are if we concentrated on our studies better. Then a mere yrs later they are in the gym trying to concentrate on their body rather than strength. Last time I checked training for strength came in second or third next to reasons for training. FIrst was nice arms, second was a chiseled chest. And I believe humans are allowed to laugh…and cry so is why you posted your feelings.

3

Carlsbad-

I TOTALLY and WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE. When I see a little guy in the gym, or a guy using horrible form, I dont think “what an uneducated fool weakling,” I think, “Fuck yeah! That little guy is busting his ass in here trying to GET BIG.” Frankly it fires me up. Or when i see a fat guy trying to squat 15lbs cuz he can barely squat his own weight. I find it inspiring, guys coming in there, being a little ignorant, and just busting their ass. I think most of us all started out like this. I had ABSOLUTLEY NO CLUE what i was doing when I began. I persevered and progressed, and so can these guys.

As for guys curling in the squat rack. Hey, it happens every where, every day. Just politely inform them, and I doubt they’ll do it again.

Good luck to all.

And as for guys giving unsolicited advice, nother post, nother time…

4

Hey, I realise that I am one of those people who pokes fun. At all aspects of life, especially in the gym, there was a time not too long ago when I wanted to inform everyone about the correct way to do this, that and the other thing. Then through talking to other T-men/T-vixens I came to the conclusion that when a person is ready to learn, they will ask, or start learning for themselves.
I am also inspired by people lifting with intensity no matter their size or how much they lift, but when they are doing exercises that serve no purpose, spend half their gym time chatting around the water fountain, or execute lifts with every muscle EXCEPT the ones that are supposed to be isolated, then IMHO they are due for some mockery.
And this includes me when I started, not squatting working only my bar muscles (chest, lats and arms) thinking deads were bad for my back. Hey I deserved to be made fun of, because honestly if somebody had told me I was wrong, I probably would have listened politely and went along my merry way doing the exact same exercises I always had.
It is ultimately up to the person doing the exercise to better themselves, until they want it, they will never become what they could be.

-Dave

5

I have to agree with this as well, I am the guy in the gym that offers to help out,and give pointers…I dont like to break balls because hey I didnt always know what I was doing either!! They only people that really piss me off at the gym are the people(mostly kids) that hang out on the cell phones,that is just plain annoying other then that if I see a person who needs some direction I offer to help out

6

I’m the type of guy to call’em over and ask’em, “why are you here?”
Usually the answer is to gain in size. That’s when I sell’em some D-ball that I keep in my fanny pack.
Hey! relax its not really D-ball it’s a stool softener.

7

I suppose I don’t offer my advice unsolicited because everyone has their own goals and reasons for coming to the gym. I had a guy come up to me once and try to give me squatting advice as he noticed I was a little unsteady. This was your typical out of shape know it all who would not have approached me had I been male. What he did not know was that I had just come back from three weeks of dysentary from a parasite that I had picked up. Yep, I was a little unsteady. I was polite and said thank you, but thought the guy was an asshole. I save my gym rants for the “personal trainers” that are idiots and the morons that are self-centered and think the gym belongs to them. I also do not understand why someone insists on trying to talk to me when I have earphones on. I’m hear to train, not talk. If I am open to conversation, I will take my earphones off.

8

You wear a fanny pack?

9

No. I wear an MP3 player turned up so loud you can hear it bleeding out of the headphones.

10

Why should we go piss these people off with tips they won’t listen to… isn’t that what the personal trainers are there for?

11

Not you gojira.

JDUBB.

[quote]JDUBB wrote:
That’s when I sell’em some D-ball that I keep in my fanny pack.
Hey! relax its not really D-ball it’s a stool softener. [/quote]

12

[quote]malonetd wrote:
Not you gojira.

JDUBB.

JDUBB wrote:
That’s when I sell’em some D-ball that I keep in my fanny pack.
Hey! relax its not really D-ball it’s a stool softener. [/quote]

Hell yeah bro, I wear a fanny pac and to top it off I wear vertically striped spandex pants too.

Jus, joking yeah I wear a “fanny pac” to hold my mp3 player, keys, Vicodin and generic laxitives. But I most certainly do not wear spandex, unless its under my leather track suit.

13

Point taken carlsbad, but check this one out. I joined a new gym this week cause my old one was a little lacking in the free weight department. My new gym in spite of it’s country club flavor and affinity for pop music has a pretty good selection of equipment, db’s up to 150(dusty) and 3 whole squat racks where my old gym had one whole smith machine.

I had just started an abbh session when out of nowhere this walking talking real life cliche of a whole bunch of the shit we laugh about comes up wearing a spandex long sleeve shirt covered with a spandex short sleeve shirt, matching addidas warm up pants, watch, wrist brace for each arm, AND a weight belt-looked about 170lbs with all that gear on; anyways, he starts up a conversation explaining to me the virtues of his wrist braces and weight belt and the danger posed to my back because I wasn’t using one(I was doing front squats.)

My first reaction was to tell this ass to fuck off, but then I remembered this thread and tried to explain to him that I didn’t need a weight belt to front squat with 225lbs and really was much happier not using one for anything other than max singles. He walked off muttering something along the lines of,“Some people have to learn the hard way.” Now this dude might have had more credibility if after our conversation he didn’t return to benching-big build up-THE BAR for 10 reps at a 20-1-20 tempo for three more sets, weight belt and all. This is probably the main reason I don’t go around offering advice to others unless I see somebody doing something truly dangerous, and I want to know what the hell you guys would’ve told this numbnuts?

14

carlsbad, most of the rants were not making fun of people simply uneducated but rather people doing absurd shit and not using any common sense, which in my opinion is an open invitation for ridicule.

I’m all about helping people that want help , but you gotta realize so many people out there ego lift, and they damn well know they do, and they know they should use better form, but they don’t wanna look like pussies in front of the other strong people in the gym. Little do they realize, they look ridiculous anyways.

And then theres said subject of spandex boy the last post. I agree with the poster, woulda loved to tell him to fuck off. In fact, if he tried to give me advice, I woulda told him plainly to leave me alone and let me workout for the simple fact that I don’t want to get into it with some moron during my workout.

Go, workout, help those that deserve it, but enjoy free speech and forums to rant about what you see fit. Screw political correctness. Some people are just freakin idiots.

15

Honestly, the only time I have ever offered advice is when I’ve heard someone asking for it. They don’t need to be asking me, but I’ll listen to their concern/question, and then–when I’ve finished my set and if they are not in the middle of one–I’ll sometimes offer 2 cents, starting with “Hope you don’t mind, but I couldn’t help hearing you say…”

I’ve even printed out T-Mag articles and waited for the next time I see the person. I can then offer them advice that seems more legit than just my opinion. I’ve done this rarely, and always had a decent reaction.

As for unsolicited advice? Well, 2 days ago, I DID point out to a plesant, overweight woman that she was using 2 unmarked DBs of different weights. She was grateful for the observation.

16

A couple of weeks ago I was in the school gym early on the weekend. It’s about the only time that it’s not innondated with pretty boys working the same bench/curl program they do every other day and gives me a chance to actually use a squat rack for its original purpose (whole other story there).

Anyway, there’s a kid in there. Probably his first time working out with weights. He’s 18, scranny (140lbs maybe?), and trying to learn as much as he can. His friend, all 150lbs of him, is pretty much clueless. He’s trying to explain how to do lateral delt raises, which should be simple enough. Only instead of actually doing raises, they merely rotate their arms at the shoulder and do virtually NO delt work. The kid’s confused and looking for help.

So, thinking about how we should help people, I walk up and explain that he shouldn’t be turning his arm and that it’s much better to imagine pouring out a pitcher, keeping the pressure on his middle delt. He nods and does a half of set semi-correctly. I was proud. 3 minutes later, him and his friend were using worse technique than before. I simply shook my head.

Now, you’d think that this kid would want listen to the advice. I mean, it’s pretty clear when we’re there that I’m one of the few who uses correct form and concentrates through the set.

But, that’s the thing. Most people DON’T want to really know how to do it. They want to know how to do it EASY. If we really think about it, lifting sucks. The results kick ass, but the lifting is painful, tiring, and simply sucks. So, instead of learning the hard way and building up from less weight using correct form, most people want to toss it around and feel like they’re doing something cool and/or tough. Those are the people we rant against.

That’s why I pick those I will tell about T-mag selectively. You can look at some big guys in the gym and tell that they’ll never use this site because, in spite of their training, feel like they’ve got it down. Rather, I look for the guys who are actually going to USE this stuff. I’d hate for one more chump running around telling others that he tried T-nation but it didn’t work for him. Relegate this site to the level of some late night infomercial because someone won’t do it correctly? Hell no.

So, when we rant about “Belters,” guys curling in the squat rack, the “Rule of 8’s” (1/8 rep = 8x’s the weight = 8x’s “feeling cool”), or anything else, it’s really ranting about how weak minded, weak willed, and blissfully ignorant some people are. And you know what, sometimes nothing we say is going to make that 140lb kid, who’s got an even scranier heart, do anything different.

17

[quote]NewDamage wrote:
you gotta realize so many people out there ego lift, and they damn well know they do, and they know they should use better form, but they don’t wanna look like pussies in front of the other strong people in the gym. Little do they realize, they look ridiculous anyways.
[/quote]

So they do. So what? Are you chastising them for EGO? Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone! Shit, I’ve curled in front of a mirror without a shirt. Are you better than me now?

What happened to the chivalrous, knowledgeable ‘T-Man’ TC’s preached about every 13 seconds?

What follows isn’t directed specifically at you, NewDamage.

The last topic was a BIBLE of insecurity. I can only assume we have a lot of very average-looking people on this board who, by reading 10 minutes of basic lifting principles, feel they’re superior to everyone else within fifty feet of a dumbbell.

Oddly enough, it’s never the big guys doing the jeering. I’ll bet Goldberg’s seen more stupid shit than all of you combined, but he hasn’t said a word.

Why does everyone mention the WEIGHTS they used when they saw so and so doing something stupid? Does it make you more manly to load the bar with 225 lbs for squats? Are you better than the guy using 75 lbs? Are you afraid we might confuse you with the guys of whom you’re making fun?

And at what point did this board’s general populous become such experts on lifting technique? Joe Random does a bodybuilding movement with a little momentum and suddenly he’s clueless? If you learn ANYTHING from T-Mag, it should be an appreciation for the enormous variety of movements and routines that can represent a successful program.

[sigh]

Enough.

DI

18

I agree with telling spandex boy to buz off as well as some of the other freaks that come around (unless they are in there working out without messing around).

My point was to start from a position that these guys are at least in the gym trying to better themselves. But cell phones and spandex are way over the top.

Also, I agree with most of the other stuff you guys have written. I do not give advice unless someone ask me or shows interest. For the simple reason that most of the guys in the gym are not interested in knowing. Most of the contact I have in my gym are with others who workout consistently. We end up sharing information about things we’ve learned.

19

Alright big guy, weight wasn’t the big issue, and I’ll be the first to admit that it is possible for good advice to come from all shapes and sizes, creeds, colors, etc, etc. I don’t see your point in relation to my complaint specifically, but if some jagunormous powerlifter dude had given me the same advice, I wouldn’t have changed my methods any, but it would’ve meant more than someone who was obviously new to weightlifting and did not excercise the same training methods as me. I didn’t include my numbers for anything other than to show that I wasn’t lifting heavy weights, and I resent having to defend a harmless post like that. You accuse us of having a holier than thou attitude and in the same breath blast us for blowing off steam in such a harmless fashion.

20

Most people like to feel at least a little superior to others. A majority like to feel quite a bit more superior. I think this is what fuels the cruelty directed toward those people who have not, or have no interest in, being exposed to the information we assume to be THE RIGHT WAY to do anything fitness related.

I’m sure when I first started doing my sloppy 35lb barbell curls in the mirror wearing a silly tanktop I looked like the biggest dumbass to that big guy doing reps with 315 on the bench press.

It may be the aggression that is inherent in putting yourself underneath a bone crushing amount of iron. You need to get jacked to push yourself. The intensity implies a prehistoric desire to dominate, even if the domination is just pushing yourself past your max squat weight.
This same jacked intensity can translate into aggression against those we see as inferior.

It’s telling of a mans character how much energy he puts into focusing on other peoples perceived inferiority. A strong, confident man wouldn’t spend the energy slagging another person.

A man of character will live and let live. He knows people are entitled to be as different from him as they desire and he has no control over this, so he wastes no energy in judging them.

I myself struggle with stupid people. They piss me off. I am a man of limited character, and I know this. I get angry and waste my energy raging when I should just push on and get my job/workout/commute done. I wouldn’t be nearly as tired if I didn’t spend so much time visualizing the bloody beating of someone I’ve labeled a oxygen wasting moron.

I have a long way to go in the development of my body, as well as my character as a man. This website and forum are good tools to help me in these pursuits, but those “Gee, aren’t we just so much more superior to those stupid assholes over there!?!” posts are just a bunch of noise diluting the signal of knowledge. And we all know knowledge equals power.

It’s just as the psychologist told me in the locked ward “If you don’t having anything constructive to say, keep your ignorant mouth shut.”