The Craziest đŸ’© You've Ever Seen in the Gym

Came across this fun old article where we asked some T Nation contributors, “What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen in the gym?”

But, because humans are fascinating and eternally weird, I’d like to hear your stories.

Boots

I was going to update my answer with a new one, but nope, this is still the craziest thing I’ve ever seen at the gym:

I was at the seated row station and a woman was using a machine across from me. In walks this guy dressed in street clothes carrying a paper sack. He goes up to the front desk and pays for a one-day membership, then walks up to the lady across from me and hands her the sack.

They don’t say a word.

She reaches into the sack and pulls out a pair of knee-high, black latex boots, puts them on, and stomps around. Then she pulls out a huge leather bullwhip. She proceeds to walk around the gym in her very-bad-girl boots, cracking the whip.

She and Sack Guy still haven’t said a word to one another.

After testing out the whip, she puts it back into the sack, takes off the boots, hands everything back to the guy and nods to him, as if to say, “These will do.” He leaves the gym without working out and she finishes her set as if nothing had happened.

I still wonder about that.

What’s your story?

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My first thought reading this story was ‘Oh, so you saw ‘Hallowed’ at the gym.’

(I assume at least a few here still remember her).

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I once saw a dude not only put his weights back in the right spot, but fix the other weights on the rack too.

So that was wild.

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I do this.

I’m vocal and demonstrative about it, too. It’s one of my many character flaws.

I still remember the time this one guy showed up at my gym. He did a sensible and challenging workout with serious weight and then left, all without a visible cellphone.

Wild times.

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In 1994 I used to work out at an underground gym where I lived, in the basement of a minor shopping mall complex. It was well equipped and you had your own key to the facility to work out whenever you felt for it. I also had some of my best friends training there, which made it an obvious choice.

Being a private club, the place had a history of gathering PED users, more or less openly doing their thing. History tells us that when they renovated the facility, syringes fell out from inside the walls. Considering legislation against PEDs had recently become headline news, this gym attracted some strange individuals.

I can remember this big, bloated, half-fat guy in his 30-ties with hair dyed in different neon colours, regularly come into the gym in his ordinary clothes. Exchanging greetings with fellow trainees, before loading up the bench press with 400 pounds, performing ONE rep before just leaving. Maybe as some sort of demonstration. He did this numerous times a week as his way of training, favoring the use of Halotestin which he declared helping him in these lifts. I believe he used different PEDs just like a kid chooses candy on a saturday, never following a cycle. Only once I saw him performing cheat high rows in a lat machine with a seldom seen agressiveness in extremely bad form. Many years later he tried to get in touch with me through FB to which I have not responded.

Another story that comes to mind from this gym, is a new guy approaching the scene, quickly making friends with the club members. Maybe 25 y.o. and looking like he’s working out, but nothing special. After a couple of weeks he starts offering us different deals on PEDs, as he claims to be a supplier from UGLs. This continued for a couple of months, me started avoiding the guy as I got tired of always politely declining his offers. Then one day he appears at the gym, offering cheap Somatostatin GH which he carries on a tray like a fancy waiter. About a week later the guy comes rushing into the gym, showing a severely stressed out look, asking if anyone bought GH from him? Appearantly this was a contaminated batch from cadavers, which had started to give rise to serious issues alike Jacob-Creutzfeld disease. Even media started reporting about this at the time.

In retrospect I am both surprised and glad I stayed away from PEDs, considering the risk environment I was exposed to. If I learned something about PEDs from this POV experiences - it was the side effects it had on it’s users. Especially the serious depressive symtoms many showed when coming off the PEDs might have made my decision to stay away from it easier.

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Me!




Ok, aside from that, how about these two stories. These are the two most athletic things I’ve ever seen at a strongman competition.

The first one, we were doing keg carry and load over bar. 3 kegs, 50’ from a yoke, carry it, put it over the yoke, move on. The promoter, Mike Kromer, was VERY adamant about NOT throwing the kegs over the yoke, because we had spotters on the other side who were there to catch the kegs and keep them from rolling into equipment/spectators. Throwing a keg over the yoke was effectively throwing a 200lb steel death sphere at another human.

You know where this is going


This is the final event, it’s been neck and neck between me and another dude, that guy is up, he’s trying to make up time, so of course he THROWS the keg over the yoke.

The spotter, standing there, prepared to catch a “placed” keg, sees the rolling sphere of death heading straight for his shins. He doesn’t have time to jump out of the way, trying to stop it is going to wreck his whole body, so he goes full Bloodsport and does a set of JUMP SPLITS in order to let the keg roll under him while midair, saving his shins and resulting in some dented equipment instead.

I get the impression that dude learned THAT DAY that he could do the jump splits if the situation called for it.


Ok, next story. I’m in San Diego CA at “Grinder Gym”. It’s an open air gym, because San Diego is awesome year round. But the consequence of an open air gym holding a strongman competition is it means ANYONE can wonder in off the street and suddenly be in the comp space
which is what happened.

Homeless dude shows up. I imagine he had an appreciation for methamphetamine, because he was rail thin but proceeded to grab the nearest loaded barbell (about 165lbs in weight) and just clean and press it for all he was worth before the promoter came by and told him to knock it off.

Folks, I am the most interesting misanthrope you will know, because there’s still humanity in me. I felt bad for the dude, gave him $5 and said “Hey man, Carl’s Jr is right around the corner: go get some lunch.” I figured that’d at least keep him busy, and he looked like he had skipped a few meals, and Carl’s Jr is awesome.

In an amazing display of gratitude, the dude gives me a “bro elbow bump” and proceeds to land 3 ONE HANDED-BACK HANDSPRINGS as his method of retreating from the competition.

I know of no better way to make an exit to this day.


Careful observers note: the most athletic things I’ve ever seen at a strongman competition were NOT performed by strongmen
food for thought.

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Holy crap!

Also: “Grinder Gym” hits different these days.

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Your story reminds me of one(s) that @idaho (??, I think it was you) told about meth heads that will fight with inhuman strength/ability until their body literally dies.

(might’ve misrepresented a little, but the gist is there)

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Ahh, grinder gym. I miss that place. Still keep in touch with Dave every now and then on social media, he is crushing it these days

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Yes, I have posted several stories about fighting meth heads, but, noting compares to trying to fight someone loaded on PCP.

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Great venue for sure. Was sad they got rid of the Arnold mural. I understand their position, but it was still iconic.

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There is a guy who taps his foot in a very exaggerated way while benching

Men wearing heals and toe nail polish

I don’t know if this is the craziest, or the funniest: This took place in the late 1970’s. Our 242lb powerlifter, who we called the White Rhino, sorta bullied his way into using the squat rack when he came into the gym. We only had one squat rack. The White Rhino’s method was to just work in by saying, “You don’t mind if I work in, do you?” And he would start squatting. (He worked up to 800lbs.) This particular time the guy using the squat rack was only squatting about 185lbs. The Rhino’s second squat set was 315lbs, and the other guy was getting frustrated changing the plates on bar. The White Rhino would pull off his side and give the other guy the look: like if you are going to do a set, do it. Then the weight went to 405lb and the other guy was getting frustrated. (This wasn’t the first time he had been bullied off the squat rack by the White Rhino.)

The other guy threw up his hands and pointed at the Rhino and said, “I have something for you in my car.” The White Rhino replied, “What makes you think you’ll make it to your car?”

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On another White Rhino event: In the late 1970’s our gym owner was obtaining “stolen” steroids from the warehouse from an employee of the warehouse. Then he was also administering AAS injections in the front office that was in full view, being all plate glass windows to Beach Blvd (major highway) vehicle traffic and sidewalk traffic. Quite a few members who were afraid to inject themselves or didn’t want anyone at home to know that they were taking AAS had the owner or some random member inject them.

The White Rhino was one of the members who didn’t want his wife to know he was taking steroids, so he wouldn’t take any home, but instead he had the gym owner give him testosterone injections every Saturday morning just before he squatted. Each Saturday morning he would take a full 10ml bottle of 200mg/ml testosterone (either E or C, I don’t know), 5cc’s in each cheek. He took no other AAS.

I would see about 5 different members getting their Saturday morning injections. One of the owner’s best friend would volunteer to do some of the injections. He would stand back a little and throw the needle about 6 inches in the air, laughing the entire time. It was definitely a party atmosphere. Definitely a boys club in those days.

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