Misc. Chat Thread - Jan. 2015
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That guy would drive me to drink. Reading about him drives me to drink.0
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MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »Reading about him drives me to drink.
happy to help.
what boggles me is, he's not a kid. he's got an 8-yo of his own. which in its turn boggles me because i can't picture how anyone would have been willing to let him mingle his gene pool with hers.
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Alright, since it was my day off I decided to check out a different gym. After all the arguing on the boards, the very special commercials that I found on youtube and the fact they use purple equipment, I took a tour of planet fitness. I had considered joining it first because well, 10 dollars a month for use of treadmill during winter didn't sound too bad (as I started with walking and such before the lifting).
It was... interesting.
I do like purple, one of my favorite colors (though I like many colors including gray) and I would actually like a purple treadmill desk cause that would be awesome, but yeah, lots of purple in that building. It's a very specific purple too, stands out but when there is so much standing out, that is very noticeable almost to the point of distracting.
Not many people for 2 pm on a friday. Though that's not quite gym rush time (4:30 to 7:30) so maybe there will be more later. When I went in there was about as many staff as people using the equipment. However, I do say a big Yay for the people there working out. It's good on them to be out there and doing stuff. I support that even if I don't agree with the particular claims and approaches taken by a facility.
The guy who gave me the tour was nice. He had his whole spiel about it being a judgment free zone, which oddly is the part where they go right into how they don't cater to bodybuilders and weightlifting. I'd recommend on the sell to maybe space those two out a little bit, maybe while showing equipment can throw in the machine focus because they don't cater to body building instead of almost in one sentence saying no judgment but no heavy weight lifters allowed. Just a suggestion. Oh and I guess they are also anti-yoga and zumba based on the way he mentioned how they don't have classes like those.
He did have a nice accent, so I was able to listen and managed to fight the urge to interrupt to ask what is intimidating about the other gyms in the area or weight lifting. He showed me around the cardio station, the weight machines, odd room that he mentioned related to crossfit but think he used the wrong term there based on what was in the little section of a room (though the medicine ball and trampoline combo sounded fun) maybe more of a cross training type aspect... I dunno, maybe I misheard what he called it. Then massage things, red light chamber thing, and tanning beds. What he did not show me was the spot off in the far corner which had the dumbbells. There might have been a smith machine over there but it was hard to tell since we didn't walk close enough. Tour ended and I just took the papers that discussed the price instead of having him give me the details.
Then I went to nearby grocery store for chicken, fruit protein drinks by odwalla, and some bananas for my protein shakes. I also find it funny that short, obese, can't bench 100 lbs me is considered a lunk. Can't help but giggle at that.
The 10 dollars for cardio focus does sound nice except... that doesn't include start up fee and a yearly membership maintenance fee (even though it's a no commitment membership level). Black card is less start up, but more per month and a 12 month term along with a higher maintenance fee (which makes a little sense since they have access to more stuff that needs maintained, like tanning and such).
So that was my PF experience today. Later I shall go to the gym I attend that is also open 24 hours and I'll try to deadlift 190 lbs to make up for the visit.
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@Canadian -- Oh my. That man would drive me freaking bonkers. Do you have to listen to him? I mean, does he actually have a say in what you do on a daily basis? You mentioned he doesn't want you really interacting with the application much -- can you go around him and just do what you need to do? How much longer are you supposed to be at this job? Are you considering looking for a new contract?
I have very little to report. The first week of school was underwhelming. The two classes I'm sitting in on may end up being less interesting than I had hoped. One because I'm not impressed with the professor, and the other because there are a handful of annoying, can't-stay-on-topic students that I had hoped not to see again after last semester. My planned schedule wasn't exactly executed well, so I'll be trying again next week.
I did get the news that I was accepted to present a paper at a conference, which I'm excited about. However, it does mean I'll have to revise the paper over the next month, so that's one more thing on my plate.
Hope you all have a great weekend.
xo,
C.0 -
@Canadian -- Oh my. That man would drive me freaking bonkers. Do you have to listen to him?
yeah, bleh; it's ambiguous. and how's that for lovely? i was thinking today 'the statement-of-work says i will 'mentor' you guys in what qa's about. it doesn't say anything about me getting the freaking spanish inquisition from buttmuch over there, every three or four days.' it actually wasn't clear until last week that he actually doesn't have any authority to 'make' me do anything, because his manner sure as hell doesn't suggest that's the case. he sees all of this as him just 'making his opinion known'. in the meantime anyway, it is part of the job description that i have to maintain good enough relations with him that we can work together. so when it comes to telling him i don't want to hear his opinion and i'd like him to stfu, i'm trying to keep my powder dry for as long as i can.- can you go around him and just do what you need to do?
pfeh, well - i'm doing that anyway. that's why i'm getting so much aggro from him, i suppose. it's just the timewaste of his mouthiness more than anything else. and there's a delicate line hidden in there somewhere, across which he does know more than i do and is qualified to speak up. it's just that he's blowing so much of his cred along the way to that line . . . and the fact that then, when we do come across it i'm the one who'll be getting the flak for just stomping past it.How much longer are you supposed to be at this job? Are you considering looking for a new contract?
it's a year contract. so i believe it will end when november wraps up; another 10 months. and nah, i'm not looking for anything else. i like the money, i hate putting on that penguin suit, i like the bike ride and the business analyst here . . . and i've never quit any contract i took so i won't quit this one. believe it or not, the aggravation level is about constant in any place if you're doing qa. you shoulda seen the reports that came out of the last place i was at. those guys were magisterially deranged
. it's just that the stories coming out of this place have a flavour that's slightly to the left of usual qa-kind-of-sucks-as-a-profession flavour.I did get the news that I was accepted to present a paper at a conference, which I'm excited about.
ooo . . . and you'll be able to conquer stage fright by looking out over the whole sea of heads and thinking 'i could deadlift any one of you fools' instead of by the usual means of picturing them all without their clothes on.0 -
I just posted these on my page, but in case we're not on each other's FLs, I wanted to share here too. Personally, I think these are two MUST WATCH videos for EVERYONE:
"Real Beauty"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrHoDJinMQI&feature=youtu.be
"Like a Girl"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs&feature=youtu.be 0 -
Just for fun I finally gave in and looked up one of the max test sites that I've seen posted on the exercise forum. strstd.com
It's amusing. I got intermediate on everything but... Bench. Seriously, my OHP was put in the intermediate range but my bench is very novice. lol I just put I could do some of the lifts 5 reps, even squat though I could probably do a little more. Bench I can do 90 for 5 at least so that's what I put and yeah, 107 estimate, which not sure I could do for 1 but we'll pretend that is right.
It entertained me for a moment, at least.0 -
canadianlbs wrote: »i can't picture how anyone would have been willing to let him mingle his gene pool with hers.
I'm dying. You have such a way with words
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@DawnEmbers did you end up joining? Is your plan to lift there even though he said no lifters or just do cardio? I ask because a lot of those purple gyms supposedly banned deadlifting and got rid of their squat racks so there wouldn't be much ability to do what we do there...0
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MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »@DawnEmbers did you end up joining? Is your plan to lift there even though he said no lifters or just do cardio? I ask because a lot of those purple gyms supposedly banned deadlifting and got rid of their squat racks so there wouldn't be much ability to do what we do there...
Oh, no. While the per month price isn't too bad and I would have considered it as a second gym for cardio if I found a lifting place (and had that kind of money), even if I had wanted to join I don't have that kind of spare cash for the start up fee. I want to learn even more lifts, so it's definitely not the gym for me.
I do find it odd that according to them I would intimidate others at the gym. Like anyone who does heavy lifting is super intimidating and stuff. I'm a fluffy 4'11.5" female and look like I'm maybe in college even though I'm older than that. Intimidating? pfft
And I definitely get why others on the main exercise forum don't like the one gym. They want to target a group, that is fine. But saying No Judgement only works if you don't judge anybody, even the bodybuilders. They shoot themselves in the foot when they say "no judgement free zone, so no bodybuilders or heavy weightlifting." If they'd stop that, it wouldn't be so bad.
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canadianlbs wrote: »sigh. i've got another person in 'my' office now, which is fair as far as space-hogging goes . . . but she's a banana eater. i'm not sure if i'm going to be able to bear it, because this isn't a cube-farm, i.e. a large airspace divided by little low walls. this is a room. and i thought i'd be okay, but when she peeled open today's exhibit and started on it, i realised that this is a problem. what i actually needed to do was either leave the room, or at least go get a paper towel and breathe through it until she was done. it's just a question of how to explain this or go about it or whatever, is all. 'excuse me, you can't eat bananas while you work here' isn't like 'excuse me, you'll have to give up your perfume', somehow.
and at least people know about nut and chemical sensitivities. i'm always the only person anyone has ever heard of who has the same kind of problem with a kind of fruit.
I used to work with a guy that couldn't stomach the scent of bananas. You are not alone!
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I hear you. I'm lucky to have found an inexpensive gym with cardio machines, a variety of classes, and a large amount of free weight and barbell equipment.
PF's marketing strategy is hypocritical but it seems to work for them. They target people that are afraid of the gym and lure in others with the low monthly fee. It works because they sign up a lot of the very people that are most likely to quit going to the gym after a few sessions but keep paying membership dues.
Some franchises are better than others in that they're more relaxed with the silly rules and aren't gung-ho about the lunk alarm.0 -
AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »I used to work with a guy that couldn't stomach the scent of bananas. You are not alone!
yay. did cucumbers make him hiccup as well?
/okay, enough about me.
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True and they do get quite the following. It's either super fan who think the idea is great and parrot the hating grunting and other things they might find a little intimidating at other gyms, or very negative reactions over on the forum. Makes for entertainment each time it's mentioned though. I do like the 10 dollar idea but for gyms I prefer they also mention the start up fee and the maintenance fee. Cause those are factors in making that decision. I'd have to know if I had over 60 extra dollars to join and make sure I had 30 come annual fee time even though it's no contract... I would prefer a gym that is like, you give us 10 dollars, you work out that month, you don't show up next month then you don't pay, but obviously it's not the most efficient or profitable idea. But some use the gym just in winter to get through the colder weather and must be a pain paying the start up fees each time to join.0
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I belonged to PF for 3 yrs, right up to buying my own power cage & wts. It was a good post-baby-once-in-a-while gym. I switched locations when we moved to go to a closer one. I don't think #1 had a squat rack. But, I wasn't using one then. #2 had one. I started SL there & had no issues but I realized that as I progressed I might have problems. I was just hoping they would tap me on the shoulder & tell me that I was intimidating to the other patrons! Please!0
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It does have its place for sure and I wouldn't mind using a purple treadmill. But now that I can deadlift 190, I don't wanna go to a place that doesn't allow that. 0
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I read somewhere that gyms rely on people signing up but not coming. That's why they offer specials to lure people in then lock them into a contract. They couldn't accommodate all the people with memberships if they came in regularly. It makes sense from a business standpoint. I still think it's junk to lock people into contracts, though.0
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@DawnEmbers and @Sumiblue are SO gymtimidators, then!!0
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About the purple color-I took a selfie at PF one day when I was wearing the exact same shade of purple workout gear. I looked like I worked for the place. It's not a great gym but if you know what you are doing and don't need the extras like a pool, classes or sauna it's fine. I went and did my thing. I think I wanted to leave because I was getting very self conscious being the only woman lifting heavy (that I ever saw). I knew I could focus on my form better without the voyeurism. My husband was one of those people who got the membership because it was cheap and then didn't use it. He used to go regularly and then he started riding his bike to and from work and he never went to the gym again. He is just beginning to hear the siren call of the power cage down the hall.0
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MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »I read somewhere that gyms rely on people signing up but not coming. That's why they offer specials to lure people in then lock them into a contract. They couldn't accommodate all the people with memberships if they came in regularly. It makes sense from a business standpoint. I still think it's junk to lock people into contracts, though.
Another way to look at it is that this type of utilization forecasting allows gyms to offer those that do go regularly a competitive rate. If they could only rely on membership fees for people that showed up (because everyone else cancelled in March), prices would be higher.0
