Gym Pet Peeves

[Stumpy1]

People that decide to take a 15 minute break between reps on a machine/equipment and then get mad when you decide to step in. Gets a quick "f#*k off" from me.

Had that experience last week. Guy is a regular and probably the strongest person in the gym, but he takes inordinately long breaks. I was scoping out this adjustable bench while I finished up my lift to see if anyone is on it because it has a towel thrown at the foot of it. Nobody is near it for a couple of minutes and everyone is using a piece of equipment so I figure somebody just forgot their towel, because if you were saving it you'd probably place your towel on the bench right? So I start my lift on the bench and he comes over all pissed off like and swipes his towel out from under the bench and pouts off muttering something (I have head phones in). He just glares at me the rest of the night, and he never even used a bench after that. It was pretty entertaining, but I would have apologized if he didn't act like a little 3 year old.

I can understand taking long breaks. Hell, when I'm going heavy I take about 8 minutes between sets. Less rest will almost guarantee me not getting my next set.
But if someone wants to work in the rack I'm using, go for it. I'll even help you unload and load the bar if you want.

I mean I understand it but from someone who isn't training for raw power, over 5 minutes of rest seems wasteful. It's like the difference between being strong and functionally strong to me.

Functionally strong? I've never understood that term. Strong is strong. Functionally strong sounds like a justification for not getting stronger IMO

Not an excuse, just a difference of philosophies. Stamina and strength go hand in hand. You can bench 350, great! But if you can't get back under the bar in less than 5 minutes and push out more than a couple reps it seems a little overrated to me unless you're a power lifter.

Functionally strong probably has a lot of different meanings depending on who's using it, but to me it's; being able to have the coordination/balance, flexibility, stamina, and strength to complete tasks in a reasonably short time.

I guess that's the difference. Time. It doesn't make sense to me to relate strength to time, at all. Strength and stamina go hand in hand in that, all things being equal, the guy who's stronger probably has more stamina too. It's never bad to be stronger.
If you can bench 350 5 times, you're stronger and than the guy who can bench 200 10 times. There's no doubt about that IMO.

Being stronger is always better than not IMO. Being able to rep out a lighter weight more times with less rest doesn't really get you much stronger.

Ok....I must have missed this post before.

Strength does not mean stamina.

First triathlon I ever did, this meat head was walking around like he was king. You could tell he lived in the gym. He could probably squat and bench ten times more than anyone in the race.

He was in a younger group so he started swimming before me. He took off like he knew he was going to kick everyone's a$$.

About a mile into the bike, I catch up with this guy and I thought he was going to die right there in the road. He never finished.

Too much muscle and no endurance training.

You might say sports like football are different. Well, I'll guarantee you that Kenny Bell could out run distance wise or time wise than any lineman even though a guy like Spencer Long is so much stronger.

I will agree with you to a certain point but you are also comparing someone that is 180lbs to someone that is 300 lbs. Compare 2 guys like Nate Gerry and Josh Banderas or Mike Rose. Both are close to the same weight but I would put my money on Nate being stronger and having better stamina because of it.

A lot of it just depends on how the person trains and what his intentions are.

 

[ZRod]

When I shoot hoops and someone else shows up half way through and starts shooting on my basket instead of using the others open on the sides. Guess what, I don't want to wait for you to shoot and then chase my ball when you don't wait for me. Just give me a couple minuted and I'll be done a-hole.

 

[BigRedBuster]

People that decide to take a 15 minute break between reps on a machine/equipment and then get mad when you decide to step in. Gets a quick "f#*k off" from me.

Had that experience last week. Guy is a regular and probably the strongest person in the gym, but he takes inordinately long breaks. I was scoping out this adjustable bench while I finished up my lift to see if anyone is on it because it has a towel thrown at the foot of it. Nobody is near it for a couple of minutes and everyone is using a piece of equipment so I figure somebody just forgot their towel, because if you were saving it you'd probably place your towel on the bench right? So I start my lift on the bench and he comes over all pissed off like and swipes his towel out from under the bench and pouts off muttering something (I have head phones in). He just glares at me the rest of the night, and he never even used a bench after that. It was pretty entertaining, but I would have apologized if he didn't act like a little 3 year old.

I can understand taking long breaks. Hell, when I'm going heavy I take about 8 minutes between sets. Less rest will almost guarantee me not getting my next set.
But if someone wants to work in the rack I'm using, go for it. I'll even help you unload and load the bar if you want.

I mean I understand it but from someone who isn't training for raw power, over 5 minutes of rest seems wasteful. It's like the difference between being strong and functionally strong to me.

Functionally strong? I've never understood that term. Strong is strong. Functionally strong sounds like a justification for not getting stronger IMO

Not an excuse, just a difference of philosophies. Stamina and strength go hand in hand. You can bench 350, great! But if you can't get back under the bar in less than 5 minutes and push out more than a couple reps it seems a little overrated to me unless you're a power lifter.

Functionally strong probably has a lot of different meanings depending on who's using it, but to me it's; being able to have the coordination/balance, flexibility, stamina, and strength to complete tasks in a reasonably short time.

I guess that's the difference. Time. It doesn't make sense to me to relate strength to time, at all. Strength and stamina go hand in hand in that, all things being equal, the guy who's stronger probably has more stamina too. It's never bad to be stronger.
If you can bench 350 5 times, you're stronger and than the guy who can bench 200 10 times. There's no doubt about that IMO.

Being stronger is always better than not IMO. Being able to rep out a lighter weight more times with less rest doesn't really get you much stronger.

Ok....I must have missed this post before.

Strength does not mean stamina.

First triathlon I ever did, this meat head was walking around like he was king. You could tell he lived in the gym. He could probably squat and bench ten times more than anyone in the race.

He was in a younger group so he started swimming before me. He took off like he knew he was going to kick everyone's a$$.

About a mile into the bike, I catch up with this guy and I thought he was going to die right there in the road. He never finished.

Too much muscle and no endurance training.

You might say sports like football are different. Well, I'll guarantee you that Kenny Bell could out run distance wise or time wise than any lineman even though a guy like Spencer Long is so much stronger.

I will agree with you to a certain point but you are also comparing someone that is 180lbs to someone that is 300 lbs. Compare 2 guys like Nate Gerry and Josh Banderas or Mike Rose. Both are close to the same weight but I would put my money on Nate being stronger and having better stamina because of it.

A lot of it just depends on how the person trains and what his intentions are.

Your last statement is exactly right.

I guess maybe we need to define stamina.

If you take Gerry and Banderas who are similar in size and one trains for the ironman triathlon and the other stays in the gym lifting weights, the one lifting weights is going to be stronger but put him out on the road with the other and he is going to be puking in the ditch in short order.

 

[TGHusker]

Someone who gets on the treadmill, is barely walking and has a magazine or book they are reading but occupy the machine for an hour while getting literally no benefit while others would really like to exercise.

Oh....and people who leave their crap spread all over the locker room making others step over it.

This

Similar: 2 gals doing circuit training talking up a storm while 'exercising'

like a stroll in the park. Taking up machines and space. Similar # 2: some gal (it always seems to be gals) doing a machine or the treadmill while texting the whole time. Hea, as Mark Levin would say, "Get off the machine you big dope" and let someone else on it.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Someone who gets on the treadmill, is barely walking and has a magazine or book they are reading but occupy the machine for an hour while getting literally no benefit while others would really like to exercise.

Oh....and people who leave their crap spread all over the locker room making others step over it.

This

Similar: 2 gals doing circuit training talking up a storm while 'exercising'

like a stroll in the park. Taking up machines and space. Similar # 2: some gal (it always seems to be gals) doing a machine or the treadmill while texting the whole time. Hea, as Mark Levin would say, "Get off the machine you big dope" and let someone else on it.

I got a story on this, I used to be a group fitness trainer at a Kosama here. I'm doing class and these two ladies are in the back yaking up a damn storm for 10 to 15 minutes of the 60 minute class. Won't shut up, doing burpees half assed, etc. I can tell it's bothering the other 30 people that are in there busting their butts to do the exercises and these people aren't there to yak. So eventually I walk over to them, cover up the microphone that's on my head and tell them in no uncertain terms to either get with the program, shut up, and make the money they're paying worth it, or get the hell out because you're ruining everyone else's class and the money they spent. One wanted to argue with me about this being a business and blah blah blah. I told her I would gladly lose two members because of their piss poor attitude and work ethic than lose 30 because you two want to come here and socialize. Needless to say they never came back to my class and I didn't care. I have no idea if they ever ended up at another class or not.

In case you're wondering what Kosama is: It's kickboxing, yoga, kettlebells, cardio, ploymetrics, TRX, core exercises, truly a total body workout type program. It's a kick in the nuts for 60 minutes...........

 

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

The people who will judge and make jokes to their lifting Bros about someone who is obviously out of shape, who is trying to better themselves. My buddy tried to make a joke one time about someone and I ripped into him. This is why gyms get a bad rep and are so intimidating for some people who are out of shape.

You may not be a person who openly expresses that kind of judgement, but even in your head, if you've found yourself doing it, reevaluate your mindset on what the gym is for.

 

[Stumpy1]

The people who will judge and make jokes to their lifting Bros about someone who is obviously out of shape, who is trying to better themselves. My buddy tried to make a joke one time about someone and I ripped into him. This is why gyms get a bad rep and are so intimidating for some people who are out of shape.

You may not be a person who openly expresses that kind of judgement, but even in your head, if you've found yourself doing it, reevaluate your mindset on what the gym is for.

A gym is no place to make fun of people at. I have no respect for people like that.

I have a really good friend that I have been trying to get in the gym but he doesn't want to because he doesn't want to look like a pu&&y when it comes to lifting. I told him everyone starts some where and who cares if you can't lift as much as someone else, at least your putting in an effort.

 

[Hedley Lamarr]

The people who deserve to be made fun of are the guys that walk around puffy chested with invisible lats acting like they are Ronnie Coleman....only Ronnie Coleman is allowed to be Ronnie Coleman

 

[BigRedBuster]

The greatest thing to see is someone out of shape making the commitment to be at the gym and trying. It can be a life changing event. Anyone who makes fun of that can screw themselves.

 

[TonyStalloni]

The greatest thing to see is someone out of shape making the commitment to be at the gym and trying. It can be a life changing event. Anyone who makes fun of that can screw themselves.

I congratulated a woman today for being one of the most consistent workout persons. The fact she was 6' tall, long brown hair and gorgeous had nothing to do with it.

 

[ZRod]

The greatest thing to see is someone out of shape making the commitment to be at the gym and trying. It can be a life changing event. Anyone who makes fun of that can screw themselves.

Completely agree, I always smile a little when I see someone like that consistently coming back. It's not easy, on many counts, to make a commitment like that. I know how intimidated I was when I started lifting again after 4 years off and looking back it seems so stupid. No one really cares how much you lift, not to mention in a year you'll be out doing yourself anyway.

 

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

The people who will judge and make jokes to their lifting Bros about someone who is obviously out of shape, who is trying to better themselves. My buddy tried to make a joke one time about someone and I ripped into him. This is why gyms get a bad rep and are so intimidating for some people who are out of shape.

You may not be a person who openly expresses that kind of judgement, but even in your head, if you've found yourself doing it, reevaluate your mindset on what the gym is for.

A gym is no place to make fun of people at. I have no respect for people like that.
I have a really good friend that I have been trying to get in the gym but he doesn't want to because he doesn't want to look like a pu&&y when it comes to lifting. I told him everyone starts some where and who cares if you can't lift as much as someone else, at least your putting in an effort.

That at the thing, there have been those dbags at gyms who have created the atmosphere where someone might be nervous of looking like a pu&&y. And that's really unfortunate.

 

[DaveH]

The people who will judge and make jokes to their lifting Bros about someone who is obviously out of shape, who is trying to better themselves. My buddy tried to make a joke one time about someone and I ripped into him. This is why gyms get a bad rep and are so intimidating for some people who are out of shape.

You may not be a person who openly expresses that kind of judgement, but even in your head, if you've found yourself doing it, reevaluate your mindset on what the gym is for.

A gym is no place to make fun of people at. I have no respect for people like that.
I have a really good friend that I have been trying to get in the gym but he doesn't want to because he doesn't want to look like a pu&&y when it comes to lifting. I told him everyone starts some where and who cares if you can't lift as much as someone else, at least your putting in an effort.

This. I tell my wife this all the time. Don't worry about what other people are doing. Put in the work, make some progress and come back a few days later and make more progress. Many people will come and go.

 

[StPaulHusker]

<blockquoteclass="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/billburr">@billburr</a> "curlsin the squat rack" guy is way worse than "abson bench press" guy.</p>— Joe Beaulieu (@jbeaulieu59) <a href="https://twitter.com/jbeaulieu59/status/580040801461383168">March 23, 2015</a></blockquote> <script asyncsrc="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[True2tRA]

I do upright row with dumbbells or smith machine, depending on what's being used.

I do decline bench on smith or with dumbbells.

I do incline bench with dumbbells and/or smith. Though I do prefer dumbbells for both of those.

I do shrugs with dumbbells or the smith machine.

I do my heavier squats on the smith, probably shouldn't but it gives me more stability with the heavy weight.

I have done abs on the bench press multiple times.

You guys would go to my gym and then be on here talking about "that guy", and I would be that guy I guess. I use whatever isn't already being used to get my workout done and get the f#*k outta there. Don't got time to be f'ing around or catering my lifts around everybody else and their jerk off time.

If I see someone taking way too long on something I need, especially the cables.....always the damn cables, if they walk away I will pretend I didn't know they were on it and I will jump in and start my sets.