so there was this guy in the gym . . .
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oh, and of course during their squatting session there was the 'oh-so-platonic and totally straight bro-hug of safety' thing being given as well. i noticed that because it honsetly wasnt' like young-gun seemed to know what he was doing at all, and i'd just been reading rippetoe's claim that you should NEVER, not EVER, physically interfere with someone while they're involved in a lift.0
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canadianlbs wrote: »he looked like the kind of slacker/stoner/loser dude who vaguely hopes to get told that he looks like seth rogan because he has roughly the same kind of hair. beard and thick glasses and he was lifting in a pair of those offensive cargo-pant baggies that come down to the knees and are made of some shiny false canvas that would melt if you held a lighter to them.
There is a lot of people who tells my husband that he is a Seth Rogen look alike, and most of the time, I think it's because of his curly thick hair, thick beard and thick glasses. At one point, it was embarassing. When we were working in college together, he replaced me with a student one on one and gave him an assignment to write a short story about his day at school. When I came back, the student (who was 17 years old at the time), wrote a story about how Seth Rogen was there to help him with is french, and how cool he was. He gave me a picture of Seth Rogen with my husband name written on it (and a little heart drawed next to it, which was a little bit weird). I kept the picture for a while on my bulletin board, often getting questions about my apparent love for Seth Rogen.
Well.
Husband not a loser, though. He had his beard and thick glasses before Seth Rogen was a thing. :P
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canadianlbs wrote: »all i did at that point was make a slight snicker and record his baby-bird-needs-to-be-fed facial configuration for @crabada's benefit. eyes screwed tight shut and mouth screwed wide open to show off his pain, and face tipped up to the ceiling and all while he prayed for deliverance under this terrible load.canadianlbs wrote: »beardy guy and his chiropractor who won't even work on his neck because beardy-guys' traps are so huge that his bones can't be reached. no word of a lie, and the lapdog crowed 'dude!' like it was a mental orgasm just hearing the tale.canadianlbs wrote: »while his groupie stood by with his hands on his hips and loudly watched and admired and yapped about how he wanted to learn to do that as well.
@Canadian -- You really do have the best freaking descriptions ever. These three are my favorite from this particular vignette. I can't lie -- I kind of live for your gym stories.
Mostly normal folks at my gym tonight. My friend Marco was there and had me video him doing 315 lbs. deadlifts, sans belt. His form was insanely perfect. Ridiculous.
But there was this one dude, who looked a little like this, with bigger muscles and fewer tattoos, but similar faces / expressions:
And he was doing some kind of superset with whatever machine and wide armed pullups. But he didn't walk from one area to the other, he STALKED. I've never seen anyone walk with so much purpose in the gym, even on the treadmills. He looked angry the whole time, and did those "shake the arms back and forth, shoulders up and down rapidly" stretches before doing his pullups. I honest to goodness think he might have been on something -- and I'm not talking a pre-workout.
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Is long bar row the same as a T bar row? I had to google what aT bar row was a while back because when I still belonged to Planet Fitness they had signs around proclaiming that T bar rows were forbidden.
Does PF just think of random exercises to ban? First it was deadlifts, then squats, now T-bar rows... why those three?0 -
guess it either digs holes in the floor, or holes in the egos of those looking on.0
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Yeah I think t bar rows without a "landmine" basically a fancy weighted holder really mess up the walls. That one actually makes sense to ban.0
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My gym has a machine for it with the bar on a hinge so I didn't think about the floor issue. Point taken!
@canadianlbs thanks for the bro story, it was great!0 -
So... I may just not be used to the whole gym thing yet... and you guys may see this all the time... but a maneuver that I thought was reserved for youtube "gym fail" type videos... apparently people actually walk backwards on the dang treadmills... and i dont mean mosey... this was brisk walking/running... I have a hard enough time going forward on the darn things.0
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@hanlonsk people do that and it makes me nervous because I can't walk let alone run backwards. They used to make us do it in track practice and I'd fall dramatically every time.
I think it was earlier in this thread where I posted about people speed walking sideways/doing the grapevine on the treadmill facing you and it's super awkward. I still owe @crabada a picture of me doing the mirror next time that happens to me.0 -
MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »@hanlonsk people do that and it makes me nervous because I can't walk let alone run backwards. They used to make us do it in track practice and I'd fall dramatically every time.
I think it was earlier in this thread where I posted about people speed walking sideways/doing the grapevine on the treadmill facing you and it's super awkward. I still owe @crabada a picture of me doing the mirror next time that happens to me.
Yes. Yes, you do!
And now a video of you "falling dramatically" while running backwards has been added to list of things you owe me. Preferably while wearing a little black dress, pearls, and drinking milk from a champagne goblet, because this is how I'm picturing it in my head. Please and thank you.0 -
Hahaha maybe Halloween this year because I could be Holly drinking white Russians from a coupe which would likely get me drunk enough to decide it's a good idea to run backwards. I've been known to be a runner when I drink and, not to toot my own horn but, I'm a spectacular faller.0
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I want to see a share of the Rogan-wannabe doing the baby bird face.0
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Ok so yesterday I was at the gym doing my squats... and there was this one woman who was working with a personal trainer. I've seen her around but never paid much attention. Except, yesterday, she did at least 2 sets of 5 on deadlifts of 275 lbs. And I was just like "Booyah! You rock!". I wonder how I missed that all this time! I couldn't help but watch!
And apparently I'm doing something wrong because all the trainers came by to try to help me haha. Ok, well two of them did. One told me to "look to the sky" when doing squats (I thought you should be looking slightly down with low bar squats - keeping a neutral neck... something I confirmed later with a different trainer when I explained I was doing low bar)... and then that trainer wants to help me find my 5 and 10 rep maxes... he said I get a 1.5 hour fitness assessment for free so I just said "Sure! Why not!" - no harm, right (considering I'm not one to feel obligated to hire a trainer just because of something like that)? Maybe he'll quickly check my form, not that I have any idea what this fitness assessment entails.0 -
You should have said, "No, you fool!" to that trainer that told you to look up.0
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I want to see a share of the Rogan-wannabe doing the baby bird face.
you don't ;-) it was kind of upsetting really. like, uh, something that strangers shouldn't be looking on for.
couple of guys in the place yesterday from kind of the same sort of group. they were both kind of middle-aged young'uns, the kind of early-30's guy who's going bald and so he shaves his head and adds a beard instead. and apparently they were great buddies and all - i think i even saw body contact occasionally. but i could only half hear their words, so what struck me the most was how they were standing around talking with these, like, omigod totally into-it vocal tones almost like bff women might use - but their body language and facial expressions were absolute 100% mutual watchfulness. they pretty much did nothing but socialize in my general vicinity and i think there was a lot of low-voiced hard-core misogyny being exchanged as their bonding currency, from the few little soundbites that got to my ears. the whole thing kind of gave me the creeps.
example: guy 1 tells some story involving somethingsomethingsomethingsomething, and guy 2 watches his face, carefully, the entire time, without a twitch or a blink. guy 1 arrives at the punchline, whatever it was, and guy 2 joins in. 'oh my god that's hilarious. that's the funniest thing that i've ever heard.' apparently heartfelt, i.e. not meant as sarcasm at all. but no vocal inflection at all, he doesn't crack a smile, nothing moves but his lips, and the eyes never even shift to some other part of the other guy's face.
like i said, they gave me the creeps. i tagged them as wannabe alpha males, tier two or maybe tier three in whatever herd they wandered away from that day.
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@Canadian -- If I ever come visit you, the only thing I want to do is hang out at your gym. We can leave to eat gummy bears every once in a while, but otherwise, I just want to stay inside and people watch. We can workout too, but our rests between sets will each be an hour long to accommodate said watching.
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The rubber-band-around-the-ankles guys were back yesterday, walking around like T-rexes again. This time they were filming each other doing their strange exercising routine. I think I got to make a few cameos as they were taking up a large part of the gym floor to film. I pretended not to notice and went about my business.
Also, I watched Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion on Saturday and I totally have some new gym outfit inspiration. Metallic two-pieces with skirts and pig tails anyone?0 -
MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »The rubber-band-around-the-ankles guys were back yesterday, walking around like T-rexes again.
i just so love this. it's the only thing my gym seems to be missing. apart from a few extra squat racks, of course.
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They are my favorite
I heard shrieking at the gym tonight and I thought someone was caught under a machine or something. Turns out, it was sounds coming from the Zumba class
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Saw some interesting things last night. Not quite as interesting as the ones some on here often get to report but they caught my attention.
First was the older gentleman who helped me remove a 45 from the bar when setting up deadlift. The guy using it when I first got there had just left his on there, 4 in total, but I was managing okay to get them off. He was nice though, the one that helped.
Over using the big cable machine with all the pull down bars and such were a group of guys all bro-ing out. They would do a lift somewhere or do some pull ups then watch someone else do their thing. One of the guys I see on a regular basis, and have for months, was there too near the smith machine but it was more like he was observing than a part of the group. Though it wasn't as amusing as the guys who randomly hugged last time I was in the gym. Was kind of cute, threesome bro hug.
Then there was a guy doing something similar to deadlift near the squat rack but without it touching the ground and didn't have 45's on it though had decent weight combined. He looked in the mirrors a lot (two are available in the area, front and side though side was a longer distance away). Gotta say, whatever he is doing it is working for his butt and the black pants accentuated that factor. The gay boy (novel) characters in my head were entertained by the view. lol0 -
I have a collection from the last bit or so.
I had a couple of guys actually curling in the squat rack. Which once again... I thought that was just one of those gym rumors. What made this even more special was how every bit of their conversation I could hear was like major serious in depth bromotional conversation. Would have made much more sense if they were females in general.
There is this guy I have seen twice now that is absolutely COVERED in tattoos. Like most of his face sort of totally covered. Like why do people do that sort of thing. He doesnt even look tough with it, just really ridiculous.
Then today, a guy probably mid 20's came in. And was, i dont even know how to explain it... tap dancing... maybe??? To the music in the gym.... while standing on the treadmill... for like 5 minutes before he ever started on the treadmill... and then while on the treadmill he would walk and run, and occasionally throw in some more toe tap type stuff, and shadow box, and I dont even know what else because I am a klutz and had to occasionally look at my own treadmill.0 -
tap dancing... maybe??? To the music in the gym.... while standing on the treadmill... for like 5 minutes before he ever started on the treadmill... and then while on the treadmill he would walk and run, and occasionally throw in some more toe tap type stuff, and shadow box, and I dont even know what else
that's lovely. i lose my balance on a treadmill if i even move my eyes by a couple inches.
pseudo-seth was in there today, fortunately without groupie but still with the world's.stupidest.haircut and the half-rimmed heavy-frame glasses and the depressing urban-hipster-short-guy aggressor smirk. he took over from me on the bench, and good riddance to both of them.
there's a teeny little middle eastern woman who i've seen twice in a row now, being taught lifts by either a boyfriend or a big brother. last time i offered them the 30lb bar when i saw them looking dubiously at the 45 in the stand, and this time i took over from her for my squats. saw them leaving later when i was outside for a brief fresh-air break, and she waved to me. feel like i've made a gym buddy there
- awful woman working with this guy i've seen around, who seems okay enough. one of those big muscley middle-class guys with a shaved head and a tattoo on the back of his neck who's probably a network administrator or internal tech dude. he's also either a pt or he runs a harem, because i've seen him before with other women, walking them through various lifts. this one was awful. at first i just thought she had had a bad day, but then the self-righteously complaining narrative tone just went on and on and then further on, no matter what they were working on. and i could hear her wherever they moved to as well. at one point i was stepping backwards with the broomstick while she was doing cable rows and complaining, and i guess i impinged on her airspace or something. she did that classic passive-aggressive sniff/sneer and said, i kid not 'of course, that's a really good place to be with that thing' and i had this brief, really intense longing to smack her. oh excuse me - am i lifting weights in your gym?
only other hting that happened was that i found someone's credit card outside on the grass and handed it off to the desk. hopefully she's a member, because if not then it's up to the desk people to know how to do whatever gets done with such things.0 -
Soooo... today was one of those days, like spectacular enough I may have to adjust my gym time just to see if the people watching is always that great.
Some like 60+ year old lady was the one doing the sideways treadmill walking thing tonight. Only she was doing it on an incline, and instead of regular side step she was grapevining, and rather briskly too. She clearly has excellent coordination and cardio, but it just seems like a bad bad idea.
Treadmill dancing guy was back, only today was a weight day, and lets just say certain weighted moves do not look at all appropriate when someone is bobbing along to a rhythm.
Face tattoo guy was back, and today he had clearly smoked pot directly before coming to the gym. Like completely brought a waft of it in with him.
Then there was a guy, who I really would not have known what to make of his get up had the trainer not been with me. This guy had his hoodie on, with the hood up, and this black mask with like 3 white plastic circles on it. It is apparently an "elevation mask." (Google it.. it looks goofy in the images.. but rather intimidating with the sweatshirt hood up.) But yeah he looked like some wanna be comic book villain, and sounded like Darth Vader. Apparently they make your lungs work as though you are training at a higher elevation. To quote the trainer "so instead of just working harder he just makes it so he cant breath... I don't get it."
Oh... and .. some girl tripped while getting on the elliptical... which wouldn't be all that amazing... other than it WASN'T ME!!!!0 -
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Last night the interesting sight was the guy who looked like he forgot his gym clothes but really wanted to work out. Had khaki looking pants and a long-sleeved nice-ish teal/blue kind of shirt. He still walked around the weight section and did stuff but looked out of place.
I also noticed the older gentleman who is there 5+ days a week at 11 working elliptical and some of the cable machines tends to workout in jeans.0 -
DawnEmbers wrote: »
I also noticed the older gentleman who is there 5+ days a week at 11 working elliptical and some of the cable machines tends to workout in jeans.
I see that guy when I go at night too. I do not understand what is going on there. I know exactly who you mean.
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DawnEmbers wrote: »
I also noticed the older gentleman who is there 5+ days a week at 11 working elliptical and some of the cable machines tends to workout in jeans.
I see that guy when I go at night too. I do not understand what is going on there. I know exactly who you mean.
I see these gentlemen too. I think maybe they feel self-conscious in sweats.
Good for them for getting to the gym though...0 -
Yeah, he is a motivation in that he's freakin' dedicated. Might be odd at times but he goes and does his thing all the time.
Tonight it was the bro show. I've seen this group of guys often after 11 pm and they often are working out together. Sometimes it's take off shirt and take pictures doing some weird thing in the power cage. This time it was lie down on the floor near the numbers and curl/lift fixed barbells by bringing down close-ish to forehead (or move head up to help get it closer) then push away from body again. Group of 4 working out on that one taking turns and helping each other.
I also saw a guy wearing spandex/tights type leggings and it reminded me of a forum post over in the fitness section about whether it's offensive if guys wear those. This one did in fact also have a pair of shorts on over them.0 -
My 1AM dude last night was not someone I have seen before. He was wearing super tight spandex leggings and one of those tank tops that is so scoopy that the neckline is down to his belly button.0
