Eh, short and sweet answers. “I like lifting weights.” Lately I’ve been getting a lot of the follow-up question, “why do you like lifting weights?” Then I’ll inquire about their hobbies and ask why they like that. Seems to work out well.
Also, I’ve ended up with 3 or 4 guys over the years that ended up going to the gym with me steadily after asking questions like these. None of them are huge or anything now, but I’d like to think I made the lifting world a little bit better for us all by doing away with a few SRCers.
you know how in the olympics people throw the weight over their heads? well, i do that, except i’m not very good at it.
then they look confused for a bit like they aren’t sure whether i’m fucking with them or not. sometimes they muster the courage to say ‘but you aren’t big fat sumo’ or similar.
sometimes people want more info, othertimes not.
some of them get to learn that olympic lifting is a weightclass sport (like boxing). and that it is technically demanding and requires flexibility.
others of them get to learn that you can do FUN stuff at the gym training movements rather than muscles.
if they are still interested then usually hearing that i train 6x per week puts them off…
have had a couple who have turned up for a while then kind of quit. one of them never did seem to understand that you need to put the weight up once you get the reps. another showed promise but then attendance kind of lagged (don’t think his girlfriend was terribly supportive). i think most of them don’t get past the fatigue of a solid effort. probably because they don’t eat enough. maybe just the initial shock to the system, too.
[quote]postholedigger wrote:
It’s not too terribly taxing to summon some respect for my fellow humans to reply with a simple, “I lift weights and run”. That usually does the trick too. Every once in a while I’ll get asked for specifics. Rare though.
*edit to include a pivotal “not” in the post.[/quote]
Respect for other, inferior individuals? What are you crazy?? Have you lost your GOT DAMN MIND???
[quote]Phoenix44e wrote:
You sound like a fucking asshole. Who the fuck are you to think you’re better than anyone else?[/quote]
Beautifully done, Phoenix. Guy sounds like a tool of the highest order. Arrogant, self-centered, mother-fucking tool. Apparently LIFTING HEAVY OBJECTS is some sort of license to act like a haughty jackass.
^^ That may answer my question earlier in the thread.
Many people come here because they expect that a place called T Nation will have the most hardcore sons o’ bitches around, so they come in new and want to make a good impression, like the rest of us are lined up like the cast of The Expendables judging their T levels, so they start with threads about how they can’t find clothes to fit their physiques and how their parents don’t like how much weight they’re lifting (sending the message that they are abnormally strong yet still very young).
Doing anything other than this is just going to perpetuate even more BS myths about how everyone who is above a certain size/strength is either: A) On roids OR B) Has an ego the size of a small continent C) Uses their physique to compensate for gaping chasms in their intellect/self-esteem/social skills etc D) Must have been born a genetic-super-hypertrophic-make-a-Grizzy-Bear-cry-just-by-looking-at-it-a-certain-way-TWADDLE!!!
I tell them to eat meat, vegetables and eggs and point them to a good basic 5x5 routine and tell them to get back to me when they can squat 2x their bodyweight. Very few get back to me because they’re trying P90X instead.
Maybe it’s because of where I work, but usually people ask me out of curiousity, not malice. I’ve had a few situations where the person’s obviously trying to goad me, usually in front of a crowd, but a respectful and honest response still seems to work for me.
[quote]Nards wrote:
^^ That may answer my question earlier in the thread.
Many people come here because they expect that a place called T Nation will have the most hardcore sons o’ bitches around, so they come in new and want to make a good impression, like the rest of us are lined up like the cast of The Expendables judging their T levels, so they start with threads about how they can’t find clothes to fit their physiques and how their parents don’t like how much weight they’re lifting (sending the message that they are abnormally strong yet still very young).[/quote]
Damn Nards with the head shrinking, I am impressed. You sir get a gold star for today, you can leave work, drink beer and eat bacon.
[quote]inkcreep wrote:
I tell them to eat meat, vegetables and eggs and point them to a good basic 5x5 routine and tell them to get back to me when they can squat 2x their bodyweight. Very few get back to me because they’re trying P90X instead.[/quote]
Hey Ink, do you have a log here? Just curious how you train and all that.
[quote]inkcreep wrote:
I tell them to eat meat, vegetables and eggs and point them to a good basic 5x5 routine and tell them to get back to me when they can squat 2x their bodyweight. Very few get back to me because they’re trying P90X instead.[/quote]
Hey Ink, do you have a log here? Just curious how you train and all that.
[/quote]
No log, but it’s pretty simple. I just finished recovering from a broken fibula so my training has been a little different for the past few months. I’ve been doing 30-45 min of cardio on that miserable recumbent bike ( it’s the only cardio I could do with a cast on) and lifting four days a week Mon/Thurs: Chest and Back ( presses, weighted dips, flyes,tons of weighted pullups, and a sort of seated bent over DB row) Tues/Fri: Shoulders and arms ( bunch of seated pressing, laterals and shrugs, seated curl variations,more dips CG bench). Everything is heavy and kept in the 5 rep range, usually 3-5 sets depending. When I’m not nursing a broken leg it’s all presses, pullups, squats, deads, cleans, snatches… Big and basic again 5 rep range usually 5 sets. Cardio is some KB work, Prowler work…things like that. Pretty much all my ab work is weighted. Diet is meat, eggs, some fruit, tons of veggies and nuts. Everything is cooked in coconut oil. Grain and starch intake ( oatmeal and rice cakes) is kept strictly peri workout. Fish oil, Multi, Greens mix, BCAA’s, and a good Pre WO (lately it’s been Bullnox androrush) are really the only supps I use consistently. DAA is pretty bad ass so far and I keep some Metabolic Drive on hand for when I feel I need it. If you want to know anything else just PM me.
[quote]Nards wrote:
^^ That may answer my question earlier in the thread.
Many people come here because they expect that a place called T Nation will have the most hardcore sons o’ bitches around, so they come in new and want to make a good impression, like the rest of us are lined up like the cast of The Expendables judging their T levels, so they start with threads about how they can’t find clothes to fit their physiques and how their parents don’t like how much weight they’re lifting (sending the message that they are abnormally strong yet still very young).[/quote]
Damn Nards with the head shrinking, I am impressed. You sir get a gold star for today, you can leave work, drink beer and eat bacon. [/quote]
Thank you very much! But you’ve noticed that about some of those newbie threads right?
[quote]Nards wrote:
^^ That may answer my question earlier in the thread.
Many people come here because they expect that a place called T Nation will have the most hardcore sons o’ bitches around, so they come in new and want to make a good impression, like the rest of us are lined up like the cast of The Expendables judging their T levels, so they start with threads about how they can’t find clothes to fit their physiques and how their parents don’t like how much weight they’re lifting (sending the message that they are abnormally strong yet still very young).[/quote]
Damn Nards with the head shrinking, I am impressed. You sir get a gold star for today, you can leave work, drink beer and eat bacon. [/quote]
Thank you very much! But you’ve noticed that about some of those newbie threads right?[/quote]
You are spot on 100% in my medical opinion that is why I handed out the off day of work.
