[quote]Professor X wrote:
A golden oldie. Just heard it a week ago. “You should turn that fat into muscle.”
Yesterday I watched a kid do BB curls in the squat rack, Then preacher bench curls and last curls on the Hammer Strength machine… And thats all he did.
Not to dampen this thread, but take out the “squat rack curls” and replace those with alternate dumbbell curls and that is all I did for biceps this week. I left after that (after a couple of sets of one arm preacher curls). Maybe I took your post wrong, but three exercises for biceps as a workout is only a problem if you aren’t lifting heavy and you have no strategy at all.[/quote]
How does 65 lb B.B curls sound for you? FYI, thats the heaviest he did.
[quote]steve.rt wrote:
Professor X wrote:
A golden oldie. Just heard it a week ago. “You should turn that fat into muscle.”
Yesterday I watched a kid do BB curls in the squat rack, Then preacher bench curls and last curls on the Hammer Strength machine… And thats all he did.
Not to dampen this thread, but take out the “squat rack curls” and replace those with alternate dumbbell curls and that is all I did for biceps this week. I left after that (after a couple of sets of one arm preacher curls). Maybe I took your post wrong, but three exercises for biceps as a workout is only a problem if you aren’t lifting heavy and you have no strategy at all.
How does 65 lb B.B curls sound for you? FYI, thats the heaviest he did. [/quote]
Well, that wasn’t the point. At one point in time, that 65lbs barbell would have been heavy for me. With that said, because of how I train, I wouldn’t even waste time warming up with that much right now. I was referring to him doing biceps as all he did that day. I do the same. It works. Maybe it will for that kid too.
Gym I used to work at as a trainer before starting my own biz.
Me: Have you ever worked out before?
Guy: No
Me: Ok, so I want to write a beginner program for you, can you tell me a little bit about your goals and what it is you want to accomplish?
Guy: I don’t know, my psychiatrist told me I should join a gym so I can meet people.
How the fuck was I supposed to keep a straight face? True story.
A
[quote]Professor X wrote:
It isn’t anything I overheard, but I have seen the same guy for the past two weeks literally spend over 30 minutes stretching before he ever touches a weight (not real stretches…but apparently his own version of streching). He will then do, at the most, two sets on either biceps curls or leg extensions (sometimes while reading a novel), and then stretch some more and leave.
Why do some people even buy memberships? Couldn’t that money be put to better use?[/quote]
Well, that wasn’t the point. At one point in time, that 65lbs barbell would have been heavy for me. With that said, because of how I train, I wouldn’t even waste time warming up with that much right now. I was referring to him doing biceps as all he did that day. I do the same. It works. Maybe it will for that kid too.[/quote]
i started at 50 lb curls, and it kicked my ass. i’ve almost tripled it now, but it continues to kick my ass. everybody has to start somewhere. i don’t however contribute a day to bi’s only, i add tri’s and maybe traps as well if i’m feelin particularly froggy.
Well, that wasn’t the point. At one point in time, that 65lbs barbell would have been heavy for me. With that said, because of how I train, I wouldn’t even waste time warming up with that much right now. I was referring to him doing biceps as all he did that day. I do the same. It works. Maybe it will for that kid too.
i started at 50 lb curls, and it kicked my ass. i’ve almost tripled it now, but it continues to kick my ass. everybody has to start somewhere. i don’t however contribute a day to bi’s only, i add tri’s and maybe traps as well if i’m feelin particularly froggy.
[quote]
I guess to truly appreciate the point of view I’m coming from, you’d have to hear this kid talk about which bar he is going to that night. This is a pretty regular thing for him. Also I’ve seem at my gym for a year now. He looks the same now as he did the first time I saw him.
[quote]mikren wrote:
In the locker room at my gym, there are two “motivational” posters.
The first one is captioned “Power” and is of a skinny guy with his shirt off using the EZ Curl bar with one 10 lb plate on each side! He also is looking towards the sky with his lips pursed like he is sooooooo impressed with himself.
The second one is captioned “Strength” and is a lady doing tricep kickbacks with a very small db. She has the same look on her face the guy does.
[/quote]
My gym has those posters too. They actually motivate me because I get angry every time I see them.
My favorite quote I overheard once was from a trainer at the same gym. He said, “Your muscles don’t actually get bigger. It’s your energy stores that get bigger.” Huh?
[quote]AngryVader wrote:
My gym has those posters too. They actually motivate me because I get angry every time I see them.
[/quote]
Well you ARE Angry Vader.
[quote]
My favorite quote I overheard once was from a trainer at the same gym. He said, “Your muscles don’t actually get bigger. It’s your energy stores that get bigger.” Huh?[/quote]
[quote]Kuz wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
My gym has those posters too. They actually motivate me because I get angry every time I see them.
Well you ARE Angry Vader.[/quote]
I forget that I’m angry all the time. I should have said I get angrier.
[quote]My favorite quote I overheard once was from a trainer at the same gym. He said, “Your muscles don’t actually get bigger. It’s your energy stores that get bigger.” Huh?
WTF? So does your liver begin to bulge then???[/quote]
Beats me. I can just picture that same guy pointing at someone at the gym and saying, “See that guy over there with the big arms? Yeah, that’s all carbs.”
[quote]AngryVader wrote:
Kuz wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
My gym has those posters too. They actually motivate me because I get angry every time I see them.
Well you ARE Angry Vader.
I forget that I’m angry all the time. I should have said I get angrier.
My favorite quote I overheard once was from a trainer at the same gym. He said, “Your muscles don’t actually get bigger. It’s your energy stores that get bigger.” Huh?
WTF? So does your liver begin to bulge then???
Beats me. I can just picture that same guy pointing at someone at the gym and saying, “See that guy over there with the big arms? Yeah, that’s all carbs.”
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Kuz wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
My gym has those posters too. They actually motivate me because I get angry every time I see them.
Well you ARE Angry Vader.
I forget that I’m angry all the time. I should have said I get angrier.
My favorite quote I overheard once was from a trainer at the same gym. He said, “Your muscles don’t actually get bigger. It’s your energy stores that get bigger.” Huh?
WTF? So does your liver begin to bulge then???
Beats me. I can just picture that same guy pointing at someone at the gym and saying, “See that guy over there with the big arms? Yeah, that’s all carbs.”
I have heard they do call you spaghetti arms…[/quote]
Yeah, but that’s for a completely different reason.
[quote]Hack Wilson wrote:
actual gym conversation, circa 2003:
i’m on the platform doing cleans and jerks. just did a rep around max, something like 165 kg. or so. not sure.
guy walks up. he’s around 5’5" tall and goes around 200 pounds.
him: how much is that?
me: 363 pounds.
him: what’s that?
me: what’s what?
him: what do you CALL that?
me: oh. clean and jerk.
him: what’s that do?
me: it’s a competitive lift. i compete in weightlifting.
him: yeah. i’m a powerlifter.
me: yeah? that’s cool.
him: yeah. i hold a few records.
me: oh. you do? what federation? i do some raw powerlifting.
him: no federation. world records.
me: oh? what records do you hold?
him: deadlift.
me: what weightclass?
him: middleweight.
me: middleweight? what’s that? what do you weigh?
him: 200.
me: okaaaaaaaaay. so…anyway. what’s your best deadlift then.
him: 'bout a thousand.
[quote]Kuz wrote:
veruvius wrote:
Things at my uni gym:
I was deadlifting with the fat bar, about 315 lbs at the time. Some guy comes over and asks if he can get a set. I say sure, so he picks up the bar, does two calf raise/shrugs, then puts it down. His buddy walks over so he says, “I can’t hold on to this bar.” Buddy says “Yeah, that bar can only passively build your grip.”
[i]Passively[/i] build your grip??? I read stories like this and wonder if that is not one of the signs of the Apocalypse. I am going to keep looking out my window today for 4 horsemen.[/quote]
I didn’t know how to react. I considered picking up the bar and holding it while staring at him, but they both left pretty quickly. At least no one else wanting to use it frees it up for me.
[quote]Xvim wrote:
I keep my workouts short and relatively simple, chest day is flat dumbell persses, dumbell flyes and tricep extensions, maybe some kick backs.
That being said, one time a TV news crew was in the Powerhouse I used to go to, one of the high school kid regulars, bigger guy, by big I mean fat, wanted to show off for the camera so he loaded up as many plates as he could get on the legg press and knocked out a couple reps while the cameras were rolling. He didn’t come back to the gym for a month, that’s how long it took him to recover.
As for advice giving in the gym, I don’t do it unless I’m asked. I’m not interested in getting advice from most of the people in there and I do them the courtesy of assuming they’re just as disinterested as I am.
I don’t argue with people who try to correct me either, if they look like they know what they’re talking about I might listen but most of the time I just nod briefly and keep on doing what I was doing, arguing means downtime.
I don’t mind the people who come in and do nothing but stretches for a half hour then use the smith machine because they’re paying dues that help keepthe gym operational and they’re not in my way, I do my warm up before I leave home and I don’t use the smith machine for anything. The end of the room where the 150+ dumbells are located is a quiet, lonely place :)[/quote]
I think this post gives the best perspective in the forum on other people in the gym. As long as they pay thier dues and stay out of my way, those jerkoffs can do whatever the hell they want.
It doesn’t count as overheard really if it’s said to you, but I’m going to post it anyway.
I’m just a little guy - up to 203lbs now. I workout at home so I don’t get to see and hear the funny stuff you guys talk about much. I did visit a gym in another town last week though.
I was doing olympic squats while waiting on the manager to bring over the mats for deadlifting. Yeah, it’s one of those fancy places but at least they do allow deadlifting.
The little 100 pound trainer girl came over and told me what I was doing was too dangerous and I was going to get hurt. Then she kindly offered to show me how to use the leg extension and leg curl machines.
This is when the manager arrived with the mats and the part I overheard was said. “go over to the machines and leave him alone. Can’t you see he knows what he’s doing?”
Hell, I’m still small and weak and only had 185 on the bar at the time, but it still made me feel good as if there is still some hope and goodness in the world.
[quote]TrainerinDC wrote:
New girl client tongiht. Very cute, very intelligent. Just, not athletic at all. Showed her how to squat, using just an olympic bar. I tell her drive through the heel on the upward motion. She goes down, a2g, but unintentionally. She fell at parallel and I didn’t know this until she hit the floor.
Showed her again, picked her and the bar up for attempt two, where this time she falls again. This continued for about ten minutes. I wouldn’t let her stop until she did 3x10 squats with the bar. She was trying to push forward with her feet instead of into the ground, and falling every time. Here’s the kicker, she can leg press 300 lbs.
[quote]TrainerinDC wrote:
apayne wrote:
Direct result of squatting in the smith machine.
Not really. Just a result of no inherent athleticism at all. She has never done smith machine squats, just what she has done with me.
To the other question, I can do anything and everything I want as long as I hurt nobody. It was probably a little mean to make her continue after falling several times, but I wanted to drive home the message that things can be done when someone tries, and that failure on something like this is not acceptable.
She is definitely going to hate me this morning however. [/quote]
[quote]dre wrote:
Hack Wilson wrote:
actual gym conversation, circa 2003:
i’m on the platform doing cleans and jerks. just did a rep around max, something like 165 kg. or so. not sure.
guy walks up. he’s around 5’5" tall and goes around 200 pounds.
him: how much is that?
me: 363 pounds.
him: what’s that?
me: what’s what?
him: what do you CALL that?
me: oh. clean and jerk.
him: what’s that do?
me: it’s a competitive lift. i compete in weightlifting.
him: yeah. i’m a powerlifter.
me: yeah? that’s cool.
him: yeah. i hold a few records.
me: oh. you do? what federation? i do some raw powerlifting.
him: no federation. world records.
me: oh? what records do you hold?
him: deadlift.
me: what weightclass?
him: middleweight.
me: middleweight? what’s that? what do you weigh?
him: 200.
me: okaaaaaaaaay. so…anyway. what’s your best deadlift then.
him: 'bout a thousand.
Feckin’ brilliant!
Alright, here’s a conversation I had last night in my gym. The gym is in the basement of the local YMCA. The closest bathroom is quite a ways away. So, next to the power rack is an emergency exit door. Here’s the exchange we had.
Me: Hey, does an alarm go off if that emergency exit door is opened?
guy: Why, is it open?
me: No, it’s not. I was just wondering if an alarm goes off if it’s opened.
guy: Why?
me: Well, I’m feeling a little queasy from my leg workout. And if I need to you know, puke, it’s a long run to the nearest bathroom. So, I was wondering if the situation arises, would an alarm go off if I go through that door to puke in a bucket or something.
guy: Why, don’t you just stop your workout?
me: Because i’m having a good leg workout, I don’t want to stop.
guy: Well, don’t overexert yourself.
me: What’s the point of working out if you don’t overexert yourself?
guy: Just don’t puke alright.
I just walked away shaking my head. I mean, don’t overexert yourself? WTF?[/quote]
[quote]Man O’ War wrote:
This story is an absolute classic and was used as an example in my old gyms sales training manual.
The star of this story is no less than the greatest bodybuilder of all time (You know who I mean. He will be referred to as GOAT). My old boss was an international bodybuilder and has competed against/ trained with the GOAT so I take it as true.
When GOAT was in his bodybuilding heyday he travelled to Australia for a competition/promotional activity.
My boss had to go with him to all the fan sessions and etc. This one guy kept coming up to him and asking if he could kiss his bicep.
GOAT told him that wouldn’t be happening.
The guy followed GOAT everywhere. To the gym, book signings, the shows and so on. He realised that it wasn’t going to happen without some consideration. He then offers him $500 to kiss his bicep. GOAT agrees and tells him to bring the money and meet them at my boss’ hotel room.
They all go up there and sure enough a knock on the door comes. My boss opens the door…
“Hey GOAT, your faggot friend is here.”
GOAT walks up to him. Takes the cash, counts it, flexes the bi’s and the guy lands a tiny peck on it before GOAT slams the door on his face.
He turns to the room full of Bodybuilders pissing themselves laughing and says (Best said in Austrian Accent) “Da moral of the story… Get da money first.”
That was actually engraved on a plaque behind the counter at our gym and used as our sales motto.
[/quote]
I’m sure this happened. The BS people pull out of their ass these days just to appear hardcore.
