Me too. Likely it eroded because of the same factors that have eroded public decency in the past, for which discussion would take on a whole different thread. I believe it is likely poor parenting, the rise in narcisisstic behavior induced by entertainment and social media, digital childhoods versus Gen X and early-millenial childhoods in which young people were out playing games with each other, literally all day, or sharing mini adventures, and breakdown of institutions and authorities that would correct bad behavior and remind people that the individual isn’t the center of the universe.
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Ok, I believe this really nailed it, ESPECIALLY the part about….sharing. If you think about it, we grew up playing outside with other kids, playing basketball, baseball, video games[inside, ok], ping pong, etc. We learned how to share, to take turns playing, as in video games. But now that I think about it, all these kids nowadays grew up with just THEIR phone/video game consoles, so they didn’t have to share and instead had complete control over all, able to choose and play what THEY wanted. Never having to compromise or negotiate. And in the case of video games, instead of having a bunch of friends huddled around a video game at someone’s house, taking turns playing, all these kids grew up with the ability to wear a stupid headset while gaming, so their “friends” were just some rando’s online, but as such they never got to form and develop TRUE friendships and learn all the various social cues, signs, etc. that we as kids learned playing outside with our real-life friends. Makes sense.
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Just a theory, but my guess is fitness (lifting) culture became more popular and newbies weren’t schooled on proper etiquette. Kind of like the New Year’s phenomenon but on a larger scale.
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Totally! You had to share ball courts with one another too. Most recreational activities involved others right in your face, including men you didn’t like but had to tolerate!
I also think (and you can likely relate to this) that young guys back understood thay they should rightly watch their p’s and q’s because they would eventually run into someone who didn’t like their shitty behavior. And for those who didn’t undersand this, and made this behavior their MO because they were just mean or mentally stronger than the guys they picked on, they usually met their comeuppance. There were bullies who hurt innocent people, but generally speaking men used to regulate other men. So I think this awareness of others is lacking generally. Being able to be anonymously cruel or annoying online has totally gotten rid of it.
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Yeah, seems like we grew up with the same gym “upbringing”. Back in the day, when I was just starting out in the gym, I actually would ASK those older and more muscular than me questions, solicit advice, training techniques. I would ask them WHY they would do certain exercises/techniques in my quest to gain more knowledge because in my brain the more knowledge/information I had, the better I would be able to get stronger/bigger. But sadly that kind of environment is no more.
Now everyone just puts their headphones on, puts this “hard” look on their face, and doesn’t interact with other people. And the thing is, stupid questions yes, will irritate me, but kids who ask well thought out questions or for advice, I’m always happy to share my knowledge with them or give them some of my tips. *And by stupid questions, you probably know what I’m referring to: “hey, how can I get my arms over 20”?” or “how’d you get big legs?” Revealing no real thought went into them, and it’s evident they just want some miracle/magic answer to get SWOL yesterday.
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Of the two times I lifted at a public gym (prior to now) a guy who was a serious lifter, prepping for a contest- asked to work in. It was like instant buddies. I treated him like any of my other buds that I lifted with- spotting, changing plates & whatnot. It was great.
I think people are missing out on a good opportunity if they’re snubby or selfish about stuff like that.
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I agree.
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That’s exactly how I met my first “gym partner” when I was around 20. I was working near the biggest dude in the gym, obviously watching him (not creepy watching lol), and he needed a spot and boom, I was there. Then I started talking to him about working out, and I just blurted it out “hey, would it be cool if I worked out with you man? I could learn a lot and I’d be a good partner, on time, consistent, but serious and no jacking around” and he was like “can you be here on x days, at x time?” and I said “yeah, I’ll make it work” Next thing you know, he was my gym partner for the next 4 years, until I moved to a different city. But it was awesome, I learned a ton of stuff, he pushed me beyond my perceived limits, we spotted/motivated one another, I even got him to try different exercises, methods, etc. I have fond memories of that dude, he was a really good guy. But it was only at the gym, that was it. I was 20, he was in his mid 30s, married, kids, so we kept it to the gym. But we still became good friends and man, I miss that sort of thing about the gym…the comradery. It’s just not there anymore….damn, now I got myself sad lol
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This too. No one minded this, even in cases of big strength differences. And now I’m told, “I have two more sets,” by some schlep relaxing on a pin-loaded machine.
Does anyone else yearn for the 90s-mid-aughts heyday of fake tans, Zubaz pants, Perfetto, NPC Wear, Fanny packs, Otomix Crazee Wear, neckless sweatshirts, and techno, and too much hair product? Jersey Shore/Hamptons starter pack.
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LOL, I think I’m just fine leaving that back in tha day! Man, the bodybuilding clothes that were in magazines in the 90s….good god they were heinous! The red, white, and blue parachute pants, the string nipple tanks (I called them that cuz the material was so thin you could see dudes nipples sticking out, pretty gross), the fanny packs, the crazy chunky workout boots, the colored do-rags, man, ALL THAT! It was awful, but damn if some dudes didn’t actually but that stuff and actually wear it to the gym. Funny thing about it was that the weird dudes that wore those costumes almost never were truly big, jacked dudes. It was always these wanna be bodybuilder guys.
Oh, and working out in those cut off jean shorts/flannel shirts? Now I remember, you could find a lot of those getups in the NPC magazines…that’s where it was at!
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Seems like it should be a given, like taking a kid to the playground.
Cut em lose and in about 5 minutes they’re running around in a pack.
Before I started working out and just looked at magazines, I actually thought that looked awesome, cut off jeans, sleeveless flannel, tank top, and boots. It is good I never left my house like that.
Also, and this might be hard to describe, does anyone here remember gyms having a sort of cast of characters, like individually whacky people. Like one older guy at my first gym used snort coke before workouts and use relaxation balls between sets. Another older guy would do an assortment of calisthenics on the dip/pullup station (actually impressive stuff), hop off, then look around, and raise his arms as if he were waiting for applause. Another guy would do quarter or half reps on everything, but was very big. We referred to him as Half-rep Man.
LOL, I think I can safely speak for most everyone on here when I say that ALL of us have “names” for certain characters who workout at our gyms. I think that’s part of the fun of going to the gym and seeing peoples’ ideas of “exercise/working out”.
God, I’ve worked out in quite a few gyms in my time, and each one had a different cast of characters who were almost always there when I worked out, so naturally I had names for them.
In terms of names, I can’t think of any of the past ones off the top of my head (they are gym persons, not friends, nothing serious which is why I think they are so forgettable) BUT I have of course names for ones at my current gym: there’s nipple tank/stink bomb (he’s earned himself 2 names)…this dude’s in his late 50s, early 60s, drives a…..wait for it………miata convertible, his body is trash, he doesn’t even look like he works out, toothpicks for calves, posture is shit/bent forward about 20 degrees, he ALWAYS wears these literal string nipple tank tops, with his old crusty nips always poking out (who wants to look at that man?! JFC!), and he does almost every machine in the gym, with horrible form and too much weight. But he has earned the dubious honor of 2 names for the simple fact that he also smells like a person would after not showering for about 2 weeks. Don’t ask me how I know what that smells like[old roomate]. If you get within a 20 foot radius of him, it will turn your stomach. LOL, that’s just ONE. Then I have “rainbow mohawk”, it’s this 20 something year old goth/metal chick with, well, rainbow hair, she wears the shortest, tighest stuff, has tats and piercings all over, BUT she has a great body..she just looks kinda out there. I’m not gonna lie…if I were to go slumming, she’d be at the top of my list.
There’s Jeffrey Dahmer, a guy who wears glasses, tall/thin, who basically walks around, choosing random machines to park at and lift little to no weight, all while looking around the gym, scanning, with the most serious yet creepy look on his face. Pamela HAMerson, an obese chick, blond, massive boobs, who wears the tighest, most cellulite revealing shorts/tops with a full face of makeup, fake lashes, etc. She “thinks” she’s a dime, but doesn’t accept that she’s a 3 on her best day.
We have our own bounce boy (similar to your half rep man), who bounces every rep with this herky jerky motion, naturally using way more weight than he should, while grunting, huffing, and generally acting/looking like a moron. All those around where he’s “working out” never cease staring at him, all with the same look which reads “dude, what in the hell kind of exercise are you doing? You need to cut that weight in half”. He walks around the gym like he’s some massive IFBB pro, with his ILS in full display (inflated lat syndrome), yet dude weighs maybe 200lbs. There are more and more but i wanted to share some for your amusement.
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This is great stuff!
The last few posts could easily inspire two separate threads.
“A Field Guide To The Gym” might include some of the more colourful specimens native to that environment. 90s Guy is still wearing his Zubaz, Zumba T and leopard print puffy pants. You Go, Glute Gurl spends hours at the gym but only does kickbacks and tie up the Smith machine. Pigpen uses twelve pairs of dumbbells to do twelve sets of curls leaving them all in a cloud around his bench. Saunaboy does not lift weights and has a gym bag without any equipment except eucalyptus oil. Frigboy keeps interrupting you to ask how many sets left on the exercise you are doing with heavy weights. If you cut your work short to let him in, he will do one light set for three reps then abandon the exercise. Rocky only comes to the gym to do light stretching exercises - ankle lifts on the stairs and band work. The more advanced version boxes with dumbbells and skips rope for an hour while wearing a belt. Hanes read it is healthier to ditch the shoes and does the workout in a disgusting and half-dirty pair of socks. Millimetre really loads up the leg press but does not take off the safety. Rayban wears dark sunglasses in the gym to hide the pinpoint pupils. Pronoun has every right to be in the gym, working out in boots and a superhero cape. (My pronouns are Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum having spent too much time on hypertrophy).
As for sharing, as kids we were constantly outside playing sports and games, insulting each other, negotiating and being generally social. Not sure if it is true sharing is now more difficult because of social media, lack of being taken down a peg, or degree of centredness. Do kids still get picked last for road hockey teams, chirp “easy out” and “hey batter batter” at opposing players, make fun of every quirk? My mother once gave me a banana for lunch and wrapped it in tinfoil. I was still hearing about it a year later.
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I have not developed a cast of characters yet. I’m sure they’ll emerge as time goes on.
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THIS! It seems as if in just the last few years, EVERY [99%] woman in my gym seems to think the human body only contains leg muscles, specifically glutes. All the time they are on the hip thruster machine, or tying up the smith machine AND a bench, with that towel wrapped around the bar, them sitting under it, bar across their waist, hip thrusting their way towards the coveted ridiculous looking Kim Kardashian ass. The real zealots will also throw in stiff leg deadlifts, maybe some lunges, and they seem to also all love the dumbbell bulgarian split squat as well. I’m guessing some “influencer” videos must be circulating with titles such as “Best gym exercises to give you the biggest ass possible!”, or something along those lines.
Almost all of them completely ignore the fact that us humans have something called an upper body, which also contains muscles which you can exercise. I’m not exxagerating, most of these women don’t even work out their upper body, and the real hardcore ass lifters have these ridiculously lopsided bodies: big, muscular butts, legs but spaghetti arms, sharms [shoulder and arms just one blob, no separation], and no back muscles visible. Again, it looks ridiculous but then I have to ask myself “well, maybe these idiot dudes nowadays are okay with this look. Maybe all they care about it dating the woman with the biggest caboose? Maybe their eyes are only capable of looking at a woman’s lower body?” Very odd when you think about it….
While the look doesn’t do much for me, I don’t see the trend as any worse then guys who just work on their biceps and never do a squat or deadlift. At least pelvic exercises are functional.
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Probably a whole generation of people raised with social media and the internet. It’s what the kids are calling “main character syndrome.” It definitely existed before, but seems to have been more rare.
I tend to agree with you, and if I may add, I think they also develop a strong degree of narcissistic personality disorder. Which, in the gym, manifests itself in filming their every move, because everyone online will want to see ME! That also carries over to treating the gym like their own PERSONAL gym, and not the shared space that its meant to be. Hence the camping out all day on the leg extension machine, not even sweating but watching videos for 30 minutes.
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