Stupid People At The Gym

Off Topic
1

Saw some things yesterday at the gym that really made me laugh.

First was a guy that was pretty big, and was using on alternate grip to deadlift, 155. Its rare that i see anyone deadlifting or squatting, but every time i see someone deadlift, they’re using alternate grip, and everytime I see someone squatting they are doing back squat, with a pad on the bar.

Then, my gym has to places to do pullups, but i had to wait to work in with people, but none of them were using the pullup bars to actually do pullups, instead they were all doing hanging leg raises. I have nothing against leg raises, but people are forgetting what the bar is there for.

Another thing i see a lot, is people doing seated rows, or lat pulldowns, and using they’re full body to move the weight. The one guy was basically doing a seated deadlift, and the other guy is this huge viking looking guy that does the whole lat pulldown stack, plus 2 45’s, but uses so much momentum to even do one rep. I know that theres more than one correct way to do these exercises, but i’d like to see these guys try to do pullups and deadlifts.

Lastly, i saw some guy “trying” to do hang cleans, but instead he was doing some form of curl clean. He completely eliminated the explosive lower body part of the movement, and made it into a reverse grip curl, using his back leaning backward to get the weight up.

Oh and that reminds me, i saw a guy who thought he’d be cool if he could curl 135 in the squat rack. He was nowhere near strong enough to do it, and was using all back to get the weight to the top position, but he couldn’t even hold the weight there, or do a controlled negative.

It was really pitiful to watch. Haven’t people ever heard of cleans and pullups. Why do they thing they need to curl as much weight as they are able to squat, and yes, these guys probably would be squating 135.

Just though id share some funny things with you guys, there should be a seperate section for this.

2

What’s wrong with alternate grip deads? I think most people do them this way.

3

Well, not everyone has reached the level of knowledge of a person who is 5’11", 180 lbs., and 13% bodyfat. Be easy on the plebeians. Someday they will know what you know.

Next time you should go up to the “huge viking looking guy” and give him some tips. It’s obvious that what he’s doing in the gym isn’t work for him. Also, help out the “pretty big” guy using an “alternate” grip for the dead lifts. It’s obvious what he’s doing is not working for him, either.

What fools we encounter in the gym!

4

I don’t get it; why is it funny to see alternating grip on deadlifts? That’s what I do to work my grip muscles from different angles.

And why is it stupid to do hanging leg raises from a pull-up bar? That’s a perfectly legitimate use for them.

You keep using that word “stupid”. I don’ thing it means what you thing it means.

5

shut up

6

All of these things aren’t horrible training mistakes, but things that can be done better.

And about the alternate grip deadlifts. I guess there could be some debate on these, but ive read that this greatly increases the chance of you straining your biceps. Also, alternate grip is easier to hold making it less work for your forearms. IMO its up there with using straps, which I feel should only be used on the heaviest sets. Its just another thing to help develop a weak link in your body.

About the huge viking guy, sure i know he’s way bigger than me, and way stronger, but we are completely different. I develop my entire body, whereas all he does is lat pulldowns. Seriously I see him there at least 2-3 times a week, and thats all hes doing. Im a firm believer that pullups are far superior to pulldowns, and thus IMO hes kinda wasting his time. I may be wrong though, he might be able to pump out 30 pullups, and then do a set of 5 with his BW+100lbs, but i highly doubt it.

7

the other day i was getting ready to do 365 on the squat, i was thirsty so before i went to lift it i placed my belt on the bar to indicate that the power rack was “in use” and went to snag a drink of water. When I got back i saw two kids who looked like freshman in high school stripping my weight down to 135 and were about to do calf raises.

I told them “i was using that” and they said “nobody was here” and so i said “didn’t you see the belt on the bar?” and they went “its the gyms belt anybody could of left it there”.

So i then asked if i could have the squat rack back again and they said “no caue you weren’t going to rerack your weights” and i went “how do you know that?” and they go “cause you look like the type. anybody who squats heavy doesn’t rerack their weights”.

pissed me off.

I also saw a girl hang clean 135 today. I immediately asked for her number.

8

Unless someone is doing something that is just blatantly retarded(curls in the squat rack) its probably best not to infer anything about it. You have no idea if the HUGE VIKING GUY was doing cheat reps to finish off a set to complete failure, or if the big guy deadlifting 135 wasn’t just warming up, or injured and rehabbing, or getting ready for some tabata’s. Plus there’s a legendary thread dedicated to pointing out the entertainment we see in the gym:

http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=480680

9

[quote]BWBurner wrote:
the other day i was getting ready to do 365 on the squat, i was thirsty so before i went to lift it i placed my belt on the bar to indicate that the power rack was “in use” and went to snag a drink of water. When I got back i saw two kids who looked like freshman in high school stripping my weight down to 135 and were about to do calf raises.

I told them “i was using that” and they said “nobody was here” and so i said “didn’t you see the belt on the bar?” and they went “its the gyms belt anybody could of left it there”.

So i then asked if i could have the squat rack back again and they said “no caue you weren’t going to rerack your weights” and i went “how do you know that?” and they go “cause you look like the type. anybody who squats heavy doesn’t rerack their weights”.

pissed me off.

I also saw a girl hang clean 135 today. I immediately asked for her number.[/quote]

So, did you let them get away with stealing the squat rack? I hope you didn’t let that happen.

10

[quote]dre wrote:
BWBurner wrote:
the other day i was getting ready to do 365 on the squat, i was thirsty so before i went to lift it i placed my belt on the bar to indicate that the power rack was “in use” and went to snag a drink of water. When I got back i saw two kids who looked like freshman in high school stripping my weight down to 135 and were about to do calf raises.

I told them “i was using that” and they said “nobody was here” and so i said “didn’t you see the belt on the bar?” and they went “its the gyms belt anybody could of left it there”.

So i then asked if i could have the squat rack back again and they said “no caue you weren’t going to rerack your weights” and i went “how do you know that?” and they go “cause you look like the type. anybody who squats heavy doesn’t rerack their weights”.

pissed me off.

I also saw a girl hang clean 135 today. I immediately asked for her number.

So, did you let them get away with stealing the squat rack? I hope you didn’t let that happen.[/quote]

no i didn’t. i did the “logical” thing and told an employee about it and he told them to wait their turn. i know some people may not consider that “manly” but it got the job done a lot faster then the 5 minutes of arguing with them!

11

[quote]dankid wrote:
And about the alternate grip deadlifts. I guess there could be some debate on these, but ive read that this greatly increases the chance of you straining your biceps. Also, alternate grip is easier to hold making it less work for your forearms. IMO its up there with using straps, which I feel should only be used on the heaviest sets.[/quote]

You are really showing everyone how ignorant and weak you are. If you are not using an alternate grip for dead lifts, you are not dead lifting very much weight. Period.

It’s one thing to be ignorant and to ask: “Why do guys use an alternate-grip when dead lifting?” It’s in a whole other ball park to get all superior when you see someone using an alternate grip dead lift. This is how everyone does it.

Maybe someone who suffers fools better than I will explain to you why people use an alternate-grip when dead lifting. I’m all for helping out newbies. But you’re so convinced of your own superiority that I don’t think you can be helped.

12

[quote]BWBurner wrote:
no i didn’t. i did the “logical” thing and told an employee about it and he told them to wait their turn. i know some people may not consider that “manly” but it got the job done a lot faster then the 5 minutes of arguing with them![/quote]

That you had to get an employee to remove the miscreant has nothing to do with being “manly” or not. It has to do with being small or just giving off an estrogenic vibe. I am far from being the biggest guy in the gym, but people have pulled stunts like that on me before, and once I apprised them of the situation, they all realized the errors of their ways and promptly go out of the way.

Either your attitude is just off, or you need to work on gaining some size.

13

I’ve seen threads about legitimately “stupid” things in the gym. But those don’t really fit that category.

Very few people can grip enough weight in a deadlift to give their back a good workout. Using a reverse grip is normal (although I agree, it can be bad for biceps and therefore straps are safer).

It’s the same with heavy shrugs. If you don’t use straps because you want to give your forearms a good workout, you will be limiting the stimulation to the targetted muscle.

As far as doing cable rows or lat pulldowns w/ 2 45’s pinned to the stack; obviously the guy is strong. Even if he is heaving with his lower back, you would have one hell of an effective negative rep.

I think “good form” is overrated.

Lifting heavier with some body movement generally does recruit more motor units and emphasizes the semi-stretch.

14

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Well, not everyone has reached the level of knowledge of a person who is 5’11", 180 lbs., and 13% bodyfat. Be easy on the plebeians. Someday they will know what you know.

Next time you should go up to the “huge viking looking guy” and give him some tips. It’s obvious that what he’s doing in the gym isn’t work for him. Also, help out the “pretty big” guy using an “alternate” grip for the dead lifts. It’s obvious what he’s doing is not working for him, either.

What fools we encounter in the gym![/quote]

lol. a masterful, sarcastic burn.

15

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
BWBurner wrote:
no i didn’t. i did the “logical” thing and told an employee about it and he told them to wait their turn. i know some people may not consider that “manly” but it got the job done a lot faster then the 5 minutes of arguing with them!

That you had to get an employee to remove the miscreant has nothing to do with being “manly” or not. It has to do with being small or just giving off an estrogenic vibe. I am far from being the biggest guy in the gym, but people have pulled stunts like that on me before, and once I apprised them of the situation, they all realized the errors of their ways and promptly go out of the way.

Either your attitude is just off, or you need to work on gaining some size. [/quote]

ive handled these situations myself before but during that day i wasn’t in the mood to deal with them because if i did it probably would have ended up in a fight. it has nothin to do with being small or giving out feminine vibes. I wasn’t about to get my membership revoked along with a possible assault charge just because a couple of 15 year olds won’t get the fuck out of my way.

so i guess you could say it was my “attitude being off”. Next time they try to pull that at the gym ill grab a barbell and tie it in a knot in front of them while making rabid mammal noises to please you. :stuck_out_tongue:

16

No comments from anyone about the legitimacy of using a pull-up bar for leg raises? Hell, at the gym I go to, there are only half a dozen of us in the entire place who ever use it for any reason at all.

17

none of that stuff looks stupid… if you want to read about stupid stuff go the “Squat Rack Curls” thread in Strength Sports.

18

[quote]dragonmamma wrote:

You keep using that word “stupid”. I don’ thing it means what you thing it means.[/quote]

Extra points for a Princess Bride reference.

19

[quote]dankid wrote:
Saw some things yesterday at the gym that really made me laugh.

First was a guy that was pretty big, and was using on alternate grip to deadlift, 155. Its rare that i see anyone deadlifting or squatting, but every time i see someone deadlift, they’re using alternate grip, and everytime I see someone squatting they are doing back squat, with a pad on the bar.

Then, my gym has to places to do pullups, but i had to wait to work in with people, but none of them were using the pullup bars to actually do pullups, instead they were all doing hanging leg raises. I have nothing against leg raises, but people are forgetting what the bar is there for.

Another thing i see a lot, is people doing seated rows, or lat pulldowns, and using they’re full body to move the weight. The one guy was basically doing a seated deadlift, and the other guy is this huge viking looking guy that does the whole lat pulldown stack, plus 2 45’s, but uses so much momentum to even do one rep. I know that theres more than one correct way to do these exercises, but i’d like to see these guys try to do pullups and deadlifts.

Lastly, i saw some guy “trying” to do hang cleans, but instead he was doing some form of curl clean. He completely eliminated the explosive lower body part of the movement, and made it into a reverse grip curl, using his back leaning backward to get the weight up.

Oh and that reminds me, i saw a guy who thought he’d be cool if he could curl 135 in the squat rack. He was nowhere near strong enough to do it, and was using all back to get the weight to the top position, but he couldn’t even hold the weight there, or do a controlled negative.

It was really pitiful to watch. Haven’t people ever heard of cleans and pullups. Why do they thing they need to curl as much weight as they are able to squat, and yes, these guys probably would be squating 135.

Just though id share some funny things with you guys, there should be a seperate section for this.[/quote]

20

this was one of the dumbest rants