so there was this guy in the gym . . .
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Nice response from your daughter.
Few guys at the gym last night even though it was midnight. A trio were working out together and when I first entered the gym, all three of them were doing bicep curls with the fixed weight bars while watching in the mirror (for form of course). They spent the time I saw them doing curls with those, dumbbells, a little cable work and some random arm lifts while chatting. When lifting, a couple of them had to make noise cause I guess the curls were strenuous for them.
Other guy was better. He did a super heavy bench too, had one of the trio spot him. He lasted longer than the others so we chatted a little during the last bit of my workout.0 -
Maybe it is the time of day I go (6am when it opens) but I have never had a bad experience with males at my gym. They are super friendly and helpful, and we joke around a lot. We have races to the squat racks and have spotted me when I asked for it.
That being said, it's the same six guys in the morning and we have become a little group.
I don't know how I would handle a man being condescending to me while I lifted. I want to think I'd tell him to go play in traffic but in the moment, maybe not.0 -
Lately there has been this guy at my gym (who just started coming so I don't know him well) but I have noticed that he is doing Stronglifts as well. I'm thinking 'cool! A brother in arms!'
But then he starts barging in on other peoples sets on the racks and the bench, without even asking and he starts benching in the squat rack and squatting by the benches and I'm just like 'really????'
But other than him, the other guys at my gym are super cool!!0 -
I always read this thread and laugh so hard. Some people...I usually never have any issues at my gym but on Saturday was a doozy.
One guy was actually curling in the squat rack. I always thought the whole "don't curl in the squat rack" was a joke because nobody would be silly enough to do that, guess I was wrong!
Then there were two guys wearing flip flops. Something about people wearing flip flops at the gym grosses me out, it also seems a little unsafe to me.2 -
Then there were two guys wearing flip flops. Something about people wearing flip flops at the gym grosses me out, it also seems a little unsafe to me.
i saw a woman on sunday wearing shiny black-strappy flipflops with rhinestones on them. and stap me if there might not have been a big rosette at the base of the big toe as well.
not that i want to imply she was lifting. she wasn't, she was just traipsing along at the side of her man sort of window-shopping for different lifts that perhaps he should do. you may think i'm making that up, but i was intrigued by them both so i kept them under surveillance, and leisurely window shoppers was exactly the vibe they both had. it was like they'd just finished dining on restaurant row and were doing that post-dinner consumer dawdle, you know?
they weren't getting in my own personal way so i felt free to just enjoy them for whatever it is that they were.
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Then there were two guys wearing flip flops. Something about people wearing flip flops at the gym grosses me out, it also seems a little unsafe to me.
It's funny, because I never thought about grossness, but guys who deadlift barefoot - I just cringe...and the other day it was so hot out that I wore my flip flops to the gym, but put my chucks on before entering the weight room. It's not like that layer of canvas is going to protect my foot at all, but I can't get past that mental barrier of picturing a weight falling on my foot.1 -
Twice in two days two different dudes have taken the only 45s left in my area without asking me if I'm going to be using them. Sorry no long story associated, but I'm annoyed.
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See...no assumptions...no condescension...that's how you offer help.
i agree. and there was a nice guy i collaborated with on efficient use of the squat rack (i shared for a few sets, then just let him have it while i jumped onto the bench). when he was done and i was coming back in to finish, he just gestured at his plates and said 'would you like me to unload them or leave them for you?' none of that smirking, no assumptions, just plain old good manners, you know?
i want to ring some kind of anti-lunk bell every time someone else in the gym behaves like a normal human. it's so reaffirming to my faith in this world.
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Then there were two guys wearing flip flops. Something about people wearing flip flops at the gym grosses me out, it also seems a little unsafe to me.
It's funny, because I never thought about grossness, but guys who deadlift barefoot - I just cringe...and the other day it was so hot out that I wore my flip flops to the gym, but put my chucks on before entering the weight room. It's not like that layer of canvas is going to protect my foot at all, but I can't get past that mental barrier of picturing a weight falling on my foot.
Ew, barefoot in the gym! No no no no no!! I can understand deadlifting in socks. Sometimes I'll do that when I'm testing a PR. But never barefoot.
I think the safety factor is probably engrained in my head because I work in an industrial site (an office job though) and we aren't allowed to wear open toe shoes as it's a safety concern. So when I see it in the gym I'm always thinking "Noooooooo". But you're so right! As if that little layer of canvas is going to protect you if you drop a weight on your toe! For the record, I always wear flip flops on the way to the gym and then change into my nikes while I'm there.1 -
disappointed and trying not to be surly with the 'gym' at the new job. won't be lifting there, i don't think. kind of place that has ONE BARBELL and thinks the smith machine is the same as a rack. plus, it's not free. it's cheap, but it certainly should be, with ONE BARBELL and NO RACK . . . and 'towel service' that includes 'yup, you can't actually keep anything in these lockers of ours overnight.' so what's the point of that then, exactly?
you know what really made me mad? i was very very polite and civilized, no sneering or anything. but when she said 'you can do everything you need to right here' after telling me they had NO RACK, i did point out that that would be 'everything' except for back squats. know what she said? go on, guess. 'oh, there's lots of stuff you can do instead of squatting, there's no real need for a person to squat'.
i mean, i don't care what they have and don't have. it's their space and their dime in a democratic country; they can have any damned thing that they please. but the pushy breezy dismissive sales pitch THAT I DIDN'T ASK FOR really got up my nose. just say yes no and admit you're 'a lifestyle gym' and then leave me alone if i'm not showing interest in you.
bleh. i did the ride and that will have to keep my hamstrings satisfied until i get these new routines sorted out. they do sell cheap protein bars though. i'll give them that much.0 -
canadianlbs wrote: »disappointed and trying not to be surly with the 'gym' at the new job. won't be lifting there, i don't think. kind of place that has ONE BARBELL and thinks the smith machine is the same as a rack. plus, it's not free. it's cheap, but it certainly should be, with ONE BARBELL and NO RACK . . . and 'towel service' that includes 'yup, you can't actually keep anything in these lockers of ours overnight.' so what's the point of that then, exactly?
you know what really made me mad? i was very very polite and civilized, no sneering or anything. but when she said 'you can do everything you need to right here' after telling me they had NO RACK, i did point out that that would be 'everything' except for back squats. know what she said? go on, guess. 'oh, there's lots of stuff you can do instead of squatting, there's no real need for a person to squat'.
i mean, i don't care what they have and don't have. it's their space and their dime in a democratic country; they can have any damned thing that they please. but the pushy breezy dismissive sales pitch THAT I DIDN'T ASK FOR really got up my nose. just say yes no and admit you're 'a lifestyle gym' and then leave me alone if i'm not showing interest in you.
bleh. i did the ride and that will have to keep my hamstrings satisfied until i get these new routines sorted out. they do sell cheap protein bars though. i'll give them that much.
So ridiculous! Guess you won't be going there. Good news about the protein bars though. I'm curious though since her opinion was that people don't need to squat (which is insane because squats are a great movement)...did she have a pancake butt?2 -
did she have a pancake butt?
lol. i didn't look. i didn't like her enough to look at her face, never mind walking round behind her to check out her butt. to be fair she looked to be extremely strong and her profile/bio on the wall outside seems to bear that out. she could probably crush me like a twiglet. all of the woman trainers i've taken an instant scunner to could.
so that isn't the point. the point is you don't tell people, uninvited and unsolicited, what they need or don't need for something as personal and discretionary as a lifting program, because it is rood.
it's just as rude from a fellow-woman as it is from a man.
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Guys at my gym are generally nice, and there are a few regulars I ask for a form check or a piece of advice now and then (and vice versa). Today, one of the trainers was there with a few guys I know when I got there, and there was another younger guy working out who was unknown to me. I nodded hello, asked if this guy was using the rack (because he was near it) and he said no, and I got started squatting. Eventually the trainer and the guys I knew left, but the total stranger who was probably 20 or 30 years younger than I am remained behind. I was wearing headphones, finished up my warm-up and started loading heavier plates onto the bar.
He came up, tapped me on the shoulder, and motioned to me to take out my headphones. "Yes?" I thought he was going to ask how much longer I'd be there or something. Nope.
"I'd like to show you something I noticed about your form." Leaned in and put his hands on the bar as if he were going to demonstrate for me.
Hello? I'm sure if I were doing something dangerous, the trainer who is an employee at the gym who was there moments earlier (a powerlifter) would have said something. Also, total stranger in my personal space. I said, "Sorry, I'm in a big hurry today and don't really have time." Put my headphones back in and continued squatting.
Then, of course, I started to wonder. What the hell had he noticed that he needed to demonstrate for me and couldn't just say? Maybe I was missing out on that one piece of information that would help me perfect my squat! Took my headphones out, smiled, and said, "Okay, now it's driving me crazy. What did you notice?"
Why, oh why do I ignore my instincts? He said, "Oooooh, so NOW you have time for me? NOW you're not in a big hurry?"
Oy vey. I shrugged and said, "No, I'm still in a hurry, but maybe you can just tell me."
And he snapped, "No, you were very rude about it and now you'll never know! Have a nice day!" and stormed off in a fit of pique.
I was beyond irritated with him and even more with myself for giving in and asking! And then I failed on squats for the first time ever, mostly because I was on my heavy day of 5/3/1 and it was more than I'd ever squatted, and probably a little because I was so irritated and unfocused. The only consolation was that he wasn't there to see me fail!
Sorry for the novel. I could not wait to get home and vent on this thread.1 -
@scrittrice Man now I'm curious. I'm way too nosey to ever blow someone off like that although I'd really want to. I'm sure if you see him again he won't be able to keep it to himself.0
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i think that was great. nothing wrong you with you asking him later, and 'just tell me, i'm still in a hurry' is valid. prima donna dipshit. maybe he kept watching you and realised what an *kitten* he'd been just about to make of himself
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overacting the smh bit, but funny anyway. one of them is for scrittrice after her rudenik experience today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdP4LtsbN1Y 4 -
@canadianlbs Thank you--for both the video and the validation! (Yes, I need validation from semi-strangers on the Internet.) That was more or less it--the total invasion of personal space. Not that my form is so perfect, but I think maybe he saw me doing my warm-up and thought those were my work sets and so he was going to "help" a relative beginner, but then I started doing my work sets and he realized I know what I'm doing. Also, I have to say that, "Sorry, I'm in a big hurry today" was a lot less rude than what was running through my head, so I was surprised he was offended. Or maybe he thought he was being cute. I'm 50, and while I think I look good for my age (thank you, heavy lifting), I don't color my gray hair and I do look my age, which is a good deal higher than his age, but it was a very weird, almost sleazy pickup-y vibe. Which is funny, because I'm a humorless feminist with resting *kitten* face and hardly anyone ever flirted with me even when I was young, and I've probably been married as long as he's been alive, and my gym is a YMCA that's the very opposite of a meat market, and I was having bad hot flashes and sweating buckets and generally feeling disgusting.
@Fittreelol I predict I never see him again! But yes, curiosity killed the cat and all that. I just couldn't stop myself from asking. I have mild scoliosis, so maybe he was going to tell me that I'm crooked. (I am always fighting it.)0 -
scrittrice wrote: »@canadianlbs Thank you--for both the video and the validation! (Yes, I need validation from semi-strangers on the Internet.)
i would too, tbh. the thing is, it's all on him. he was unbelievably rude. he broke in on you, in fact he tapped you on the shoulder to push himself into your space and give you this advice that you didn't ask for. he put his hands on the bar you were using. i've never seen anybody do that, in two years of spending probably 10 hours a week at a pretty high traffic gym.
nobody could have such good advice that it could justify manners as dreadful as that. i often use the litmus test of 'would he do this if everything else was the same but i just happened to be a guy?' chances are no, he would not. he'd approach more respectfully and handle the brushoff respectfully if it was given to him.0 -
canadianlbs wrote: »scrittrice wrote: »@canadianlbs Thank you--for both the video and the validation! (Yes, I need validation from semi-strangers on the Internet.)
i would too, tbh. the thing is, it's all on him. he was unbelievably rude. he broke in on you, in fact he tapped you on the shoulder to push himself into your space and give you this advice that you didn't ask for. he put his hands on the bar you were using. i've never seen anybody do that, in two years of spending probably 10 hours a week at a pretty high traffic gym.
nobody could have such good advice that it could justify manners as dreadful as that. i often use the litmus test of 'would he do this if everything else was the same but i just happened to be a guy?' chances are no, he would not. he'd approach more respectfully and handle the brushoff respectfully if it was given to him.
You're the best. Seriously. Not only would he never have done that to a guy, but he waited for the guys who were there to leave before he approached me.1 -
. . . is it awful that last friday (which mr t kicked off by tuning into the cbc) all four of us simultaneously made ourselves suddenly hysterical by realizing what we were listening to while doing our turkish [strike] upris [/strike] i mean getups?
yeah, it's awful. but it happened and we were all reeling around and leaning on walls, so it's just a good thing nobody lost an eye to a loose kettlebell. all i can say is lifting exhaustion makes people giddy.1 -
At the current gym, few different guys. I haven't been talked to much, which is fine, but I miss the empty anytime fitness from Oregon just a little bit. Last night, there were three guys when I went in, with two buddies and one guy on his own. The one on his own was using the smith machine among other things, working on shoulders. He was quite oblivious to the others as they started talking about excessive grunting, burping and dropping weights, how annoying it all was. The guy didn't drop weights but he did grunt during his shrugs. He also didn't want to use 45's on the smith machine for them it seemed as he had 25's and then all of the 10's in use. At one point he belched, very loud and for a couple of minutes. At least he put away the weights on the smith machine when he was done... for the most part. He left one 25 plate on the right side. One. x.X2
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Okay so this is pretty much the opposite of what we usually get on this thread but I had a run in at the gym two days ago where the guy at the gym was great. He's a power lifter. I was taking up the squat rack, resting 3 minutes between all my sets at 135 and I noticed him waiting for the rack. He came up and asked how many sets I had left and I told him one but he could work in if he wanted to warm up. He seemed hesitant and I just said, "Seriously, I have to rest 3 minutes before my next set and it doesn't hurt my feelings to watch people warm up with my max". He did it, was really appreciative and did a warm up set while I waited. Then later I watched him hammer out a 500 lb squat.4
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in trainer time on friday, i heard a new (to me) word for a very old thing. also a new way of getting it done. someone, and i won't disclose who except to say it might have been mr trainer himself, mentioned to the new lifter how you want to be careful of 'canning' yourself as you lock out deadlifts. i'm actually very sympathetic about the injury, but still the expression made me blow bcaa mix out my nose and stagger sideways into a wall.2
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Tonight had the guy that grunted a lot during dumbbell work and using a medicine ball doing sit-ups using the decline bench.
However, the interesting one was seeing the woman doing step ups. The gym does have some blocks and steps but she didn't use those. Instead, she used the preacher curl spot in order to do them. Interesting choice though if it's the right height then use what you gotta use.1 -
DawnEmbers wrote: »Tonight had the guy that grunted a lot during dumbbell work
omg! today my rec centre had a woman grunter. you don't get that too often, and they were not delicate little fieldmouse-sneeze grunts either.
and i noticed one vacant rack all set up with the pins so high i could have walked under the bar and had room for a hat. i was just thinking 'sticking point; press?' when this dude came back from the water fountain and went right back to his squats. the bar was set right for him, too.
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canadianlbs wrote: »omg! today my rec centre had a woman grunter. you don't get that too often, and they were not delicate little fieldmouse-sneeze grunts either.
and i noticed one vacant rack all set up with the pins so high i could have walked under the bar and had room for a hat. i was just thinking 'sticking point; press?' when this dude came back from the water fountain and went right back to his squats. the bar was set right for him, too.
ooo the female grunter, that is rare. The closest to a grunt I get myself is a loud exhale. hehe As for squat set ups, I'm sure there are a few guys whose set up I could walk under but I'm rather short. The oddity that I've met once so far is the guy who can share the rack with me during squats without changing the set up.
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Speaking of grunters, had two guys tonight. One was doing bench press with dumbbells and the other was using the smith machine.
Quiet me took up the power cage for deadlifts as it's the only bar we have in the gym. Though, another woman came in the gym and used some dumbbells (quietly), which is always nice to see if there are going to be others around. Often it's just guys working on upper body but sometimes there will be women there too.0 -
squat king is squatting again. still doing 5 plates, except now i'm not as impressed.
know why? because mr squats in my friday club is 30 pounds smaller than him and squats more or less the same weight . . . without calling himself *kitten* and *kitten* and pansy at the top of his lungs while smacking himself in the face for ten minutes first to get himself wound up for it.
and the best part? mr squats-who-squats-the-same-weight actually IS a 'pansy'. he's a part-time drag queen, as a matter of fact.
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Had an interesting outing in the gym today after work. There was a guy lifting, mostly upper body stuff, who was wearing a tank top and had tied over his mouth a red bandana. Not sure what that was for. On occasion he'd walk behind the squat rack to some of the machines and check himself in the mirror on the way. He also practiced a little posing and in the background near a different mirror worked on his selfies.
It's also a bit odd how guys will comment on squats when I'm not trying to go heavy, often 135. On other times, nothing really, but I do a light day and someone comes over to say I'm doing well with the squats.2 -
DawnEmbers wrote: »Had an interesting outing in the gym today after work. There was a guy lifting, mostly upper body stuff, who was wearing a tank top and had tied over his mouth a red bandana. Not sure what that was for. On occasion he'd walk behind the squat rack to some of the machines and check himself in the mirror on the way. He also practiced a little posing and in the background near a different mirror worked on his selfies.
lol. i was going to suggest he's just flu-conscious since i seem to have picked it up in the gym myself, but the selfie factor suggests something else going on.
there was this guy sometime in the last week . . . . sort of wild ratty hair, def not a lifter's build. i'd type him as a skateboarder/parkour kid 20 years later or so. he had skateboarder clothes on, put it that way. anyway, he visited most of the equipment while i was in there, and at every point he'd do . . . stuff.
like, i'm not really sure what exactly. but it was like he was trying to combine dumbbells and cables with really slow-moving control-based yoga. i'm not necessarily knocking him either; i was just really thrown. when you walk past a bench and the guy on it is doing a normal dumbbell bench from the waist up, but from the waist d down he's simultaneously doing this huge hip circle thing.
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