My commercial gym is a YMCA. Last night I laid eyes on their new Christmas toys (they just keep showing up). Prior to December the gym had three squat racks and one power rack. The power rack was next to the platform (also only one).
Right before Christmas the power rack was replaced with a double half rack. It’s two half racks that face each other and they’re all bolted together. Last night I discovered that the wooden platforms for the racks arrived as well as another full platform. In addition to this, 2000 lbs of calibrated Rogue plates also showed up.
I couldn’t use any of it because of my nagging injuries (and it was crowded) but it was glorious to see.
I think the ability to influence (not coerce or manipulate) others is something that would make someone “alpha” in modern times. Physical size and strength isnt the benefit it used to be. We now have weapons and laws that make physical superiority less important.
That is true, but there have been and are plenty of big dudes who are subpar decision makers, averse to risk, unsophisticated, inarticulate, unintelligent, too sensitive and so on. If I were in the armed forces I don’t think I’d simply want a brute in charge.
Some men who have changed the world temporarily or permanently or carved out ideologies lasting til this day did so simply by starting with a pen or typewriter and paper!
I agree with you 100%. I am in the military and sometimes good soldiers make terrible leaders. I was trying to convey that the more technologically advanced we become, the less important physical size and strength are in the big picture (until shit hits the fan).
The whole Alpha/Beta thing sprung from the minds of people from an age group that is very confused about the world.
Amongst their peers, the chest beaters are probably most successful at getting laid as women, particularly young ones, tend to be so awful at spotting liars.
They see this as the model for success and then extrapolate this out to everywhere.
If you don’t read stuff posted by teenagers, you will never need to hear/read about silliness like Alpha/Beta, The Sprouse Twins or Starting Strength again.
I see it perpetuated by people in their 30s! It confirms the suspicion that there is a lot of immaturity and arrested development in the people who buy into the Alpha/Beta thing.
I look at girls in the gym, and on social media, and can’t help but wonder if some of them train nothing but their butts.
Maybe I’m alone in my opinion, but it’s not a good look and pretty actually darn unattractive when a girl’s physique looks completely untrained except for an obvious overabundance of time spent on making her posterior look as bulbous as possible.
Both, but I meant empires in a more figurative sense. Each person’s “empire” might be a little different – fat bank account, cars, house, etc. I didn’t mean literal empires with the armies and castle walls.
The defending of said empire was more literal. I’m pretty small in the grand scheme of things so I was thinking more along the lines of protecting my family, my wallet, etc. It’s hard for me to think as if I was one of the Clinton’s with the secret service guards and such.
Yes!!! I agree 100% and I think the majority of the bulbous ass is fat because that’s where women carry most of it. I see girls doing lateral hip abduction on the cables, hip abduction/adduction on the machine, cable glute extensions, banded hip thrusts (band around the leg just above the knee to hit that glute medius…again), etc.
I can’t help but think “You’d be a lot better off if you just did some heavy squats.”
I’m happy that 90% of the folks at my gym are this way. I rarely if ever have to wait for a squat rack or deadlift platforms. Only thing that gets used for legs is the Smith, whhich I don’t use and the leg press, which I do use. When the leg press is tied up I just sub extra squats so it all works well.
