Gyms suck!!!!!!

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by NaughtyKnight, Jan 24, 2005.

  1. OBCT

    OBCT New Member

    Some people work out in a gym, some go to pose. Picking the right gym is essential, unfortunately for me the only good gym round here closed...my solution:

    Buy a York 500 bench. It has bicep curl, Lat pull down, fly's, 3 setting incline bench, chest, and leg extension, I also used a jigsaw, some 1 by 1 and some old towels to fashion a shin bar for weighted sit ups.. only £100, add £10 each for pull-up bar, press-up bars. I also occasionally cheat and use an electricution pad machine.lol.

    Working out at home is okay for weights, but cardio is hell. Running machine is one thing; Getting up on a cold winter's day and making yourself jog, hung-over, it's still dark, raining, cold and there's no incentive other than vomitting and coughing your guts up is a whole other ball game. The banana and peanut butter on toast taste so much better afterwards though.

    btw: Some stuff I've seen in gyms and hate.

    1. Bicep curls that don't start from fully extended.
    2. Pull-ups, that don't go from straight arm extended.
    3. People who have no workout plan before the step into the gym
    4. Getting charged for late dvd returning
    5. Lycra/Spandex
    6. People who just put as much weight on a chest press (Smith machine) as they can and just lift really fast and drop it really fast, and again. not slow and steady.
    7. Guys doing cardio, no freeweights at all discussing 'the ultimate protein shake' Noooo! Eat chicken or steak. Muppets.
    8. Excessive Aftershave/Perfume/Make-up/Hair gel
    9. People looking at you like you're a freak because you're sweating.
    10. Thai-Bo/Boxercise/Kickboxercise. Just no.
    11. people who just sit on a machine, chatting to their mate for 3 hours and then go to the sauna moaning about how hard they've just worked out.
    12. People convinced the're training to get into the Royal Marines, but doing no cardio whatsoever!
    I could go on for ever.
     
  2. blessed_samurai

    blessed_samurai Valued Member

    KC,
    We were all one of those idiots in the gym at one point. I used to feel like I should point out everyones bad form and horrible exercise selection until I realized my focus was not where it was supposed to be. Anymore, I'm pretty much in a zone as soon as I enter through the doors...all that matters is the weight in front of me, not what everyone else is doing.

    And you were screaming for breaking a chin PR? I don't know if that's worth screaming about...but hey, I guess whatever it takes to get that last rep in there.

    Don't let others demotivate you, but let you motivate you. You'll get bigger and stronger...they won't, that should be reward enough, if not enough motivation.
     
  3. NaughtyKnight

    NaughtyKnight Has yellow fever!

    Thanks blessed_samurai, you made me feel alot better.

    One thing that managed to **** me off even more last night was an informertial about the latest "ultimate easy workout". It was a swiss ball based workout using baby weights. It claimed that with this easy no stress system you could build the ultimate body, ripling muscles, no fat etc.

    What the hell is wrong with society, that they even give these people air time. If its not hard, you wont get bigger, stronger. Its not an epidemic of obesity, its an epidemic of pussys that are too scared of pain that they used the crapy easy way that doesnt work and waste there money.

    Dont ask me why I was watching infomertials in the first place. :D
     
  4. Pat OMalley

    Pat OMalley Valued Member

    Well considering I have won over 40 full contact titles including 3 world titles and having trained over 15 other world champions and far more British and European Champions, a lot of whome I designed gym programes for and at their peek they were how shall we say "RIPPED" and couple with the fact that at the tender age of 43 I do not have the obligitory beer gut (and I love my Beer) and still hold my own 6 pack, I think I am happy showing others how to look the part, don't you;)

    Regards


    Pat
     
  5. Pat OMalley

    Pat OMalley Valued Member

    I would also like to point out to some, that bigger deos not nessisarliy mean stronger, some like to get bigger and good luck to them, others are happy with their size and just wish to tone up their muscles, that too is good, both need different approaches to weight excersises.


    regards

    Pat
     
  6. Athleng Nordic

    Athleng Nordic Sadly passed away. RIP. Supporter

    WHOOT WHOOT!! Rock On Pat! :woo: Say it from the Mountain top!
     
  7. toothpaste100

    toothpaste100 Banned In 60 Seconds

    I was referring to your continous use of "toning" :D
     
  8. MattN

    MattN Valued Member

    I swear we think the same...
     
  9. NaughtyKnight

    NaughtyKnight Has yellow fever!

    lol, of course bro. Stick with the Knight and you will do fine.

    Pat, I know that you a renowned Martial Artist, there is nothing wrong with the way you want to train, if it works for you, then good work. But if you did compound exercises, your strength would improve 10 fold.

    Muscles do not work isolated in real life, you dont just punch with your tricep.
    You use alot more muscles, and your body should be strengthened in this way.

    I dont know what you mean by toning? Are you talking about what thoes skinny guys do on tv with the aerobic exercises holding 1kg in there hands? Cause that has been proven to do nothing, the aerobic exercise is what makes them lose the weight not the dingy lil weights.
     
  10. Funky Phantom

    Funky Phantom Valued Member

    I think a lot of us regulars here in the Health and Fitness are moving toward a sort of hive-mind\collective consciousness... :D
     
  11. semphoon

    semphoon walk idiot, walk.

    Good on chicks. I mean..most of them and not in shape cos they are "fit" just they hardly ever eat...stupid girls.

    Again, I see girls on the treadmill who have a face full of make-up. And I think...woow...you must be sweating....LET YOUR SKIN BREATHE PLEASE!!!

    YES YES YES

    YES YES YES

    When I finish a workout I can "wring" out my tshirt and the sweat will pour from it like water from a tap...Notice I didnt say "drip"

    MAN...theres this one guy who is very skinny with a little muscle (hmmm....would that be "toned"?) he does his bicep curls and then stands in front of the mirror punching straights from the waist....MAKES ME WANT TO RUSH HIM, TAKE HIM DOWN AND SNAP HIS ARM.

    Yes..scum...sub-human scum

    Yeah.

    I would also like to add....

    People who read magazines (usually trashy "heat") while on cardio machines. How in the hell can you think that you are getting a workout while still be able to read? If you are doing it properly, I dont think your head should be in the same place all the time...and the machine should be shaking cos you are almost ripping it apart :D

    People who are worried about looking attractive in a gym. I wear 2 tshirt that look like they have been soaked in water, my face is flushed, I look like im in PAAAAAAAAIN, I grunt. When I do cardio I wear my gum sheild/mouth guard. I will often push myslelf in the last minute to "sprint sprint sprint" (please note that I will "sprint" on whatever machine in intervals but in the last min/30secs, I "beast" it )on whatever cardio machine im on which results in me grunting and almost falling over when I get off it. The machine is covered in sweat. I dont look nice either.

    I really get ****ed off when I see folk stare at me. Im the one who is in the right. All you other gym folk not training with intensity should go home :woo:

    A few nights ago all the cardio machine were taken. There were actually lines for the treadmill while make-up clad girls walked on them. I ended up doing sprints up and down the corridor that the gym looks onto. Again, really messing myself up and doubling over after it. :bang:

    I just use all these people to give me more motivation to push myself harder, grunt louder, sweat more, lift heavier, sprint faster...so maybe they do have a reason for being there :love:

    So could I.

    *Edit..Its pretty fun I get to use the gym for free as my kickboxing trainer is the manager ....and I still complain :p

    C'est la vie

    Tony Breadface
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2005
  12. OBCT

    OBCT New Member

    Lucky that it's free, I have to pay now. I bought a home gym, but the atmosphere isn't the same. So I travel a little further to a 'proper' gym (More of a power-lifter/bodybuilder gym than a body sculpture gym) , mostly free-weights, and full of huge people, they're usually really strong, and the staff are very friendly and helpful.

    RE: the corridor sprinting thing, you reminded me...the bleep test...how come nobody uses it anymore ?

    A gym is not a gym unless it smells of stale sweat, sounds like a gorrila orgy, and has a cheap 20 year old stereo as it's sound system, and not one obvious sports wear label is in sight.
     
  13. CobraMaximus

    CobraMaximus Banned Banned

    Not read this whole post I shall admit however this is my only prob with the gym:
    The gym staff who walk up to you and tell you you are doing it all wrong. Now me I've been researching BB'ing and fitness for over a year and know a fair bit about it so when some vulgar 19 year old fool walks up to me and tells me im doing it wrong it annoys me a lot.

    I was doing a 6*4 routine (brute strength training basically) and this guy says 'Your using too heavy weights, you can only do 4 reps' so heres me thinking 'Erm duh thats what my routine is' and I say 'well what would you recommend then?
    So this utter **** says 'You should do at least 12 reps'
    Now 12 reps is bridging on conditioning and at the far end of hypertrophy and im thinking what is this guy spraffing about. So i explain to him about rep groups (1 - 6 stength, 8 - 12 hypertrophy, 15+ conditioning) and he keeps whining. So I put my barbell down and walk out the gym. This was at a very respectab;le hotal place where you get memberships and I just lost it with the front desk person. Then this tool walks up again and says 'leaving weights around is dangerous, you shouldn...'
    My god I was so p'ed. I know im only young yet BUT I know what im talking about most of the time. When the chief instructor comes along I told him the deal and he got a bit of a surprise when I informed him I know more than the goddamn **** they were paying £6 an hour to instruct people.

    Just so annoys me when people try to take the highground with you when they dont know what they are talking about and you do
     
  14. blessed_samurai

    blessed_samurai Valued Member

    Typically, the less people know, the more they want to convince you that they do know.
     
  15. Funky Phantom

    Funky Phantom Valued Member

    Haha! I'll be sure to put those points on a checklist next time I go looking for a gym... :D
     
  16. Black Thistle

    Black Thistle New Member

    Correctamundo, although the body would need alot more recovery time from hard 20 rep squatting than the 2/3 days you suggested. Adding 50lbs a week is impossible and would be a very short cycle of weight training. The key here is progressive resistance. If your not lifting slightly more this week than you did last week there's something a miss. Adding 2/5kg max is suffice on the big exercises such as all forms of DL's and squatting. Of course you can't progress forever otherwise we'd all be OHP'n mini's :D so then you cut back the weights and start over again...progressive resistance being the key. The folks who dont do this and train x amount of times per week and still progress experiencing good gains are usually the ones blessed with superior genetics/responsive bodies. Visit the below site if your genuinely interested in transforming your body because everything else to me is BS.

    20 rep squatting and the likes has transformed my physique from a puny 10st to 15st. Thats a gain of 70lbs! not all of it useable but also alot of muscle. This has taken alot of time and dedication to training/diet/sleeping/rest. People don't actually realise I started out a complete ectomorph now they think I'm the opposite when it's the result of my complete dedication. I have always trained alone in my home gym/lock up and had the guidance of some awseome contributors/legends to the iron game such as, Stuart McRobert (Hardgainer.com) and all those that wrote for his Hardgainer publication. Also the priceless advice I recieve from the Hardgainer forum. Jam packed drug free sensible advice.

    Oh yes, I meant to say, I've trained in a few gyms such as Belfast etc and found it ok but they never had the equipment I needed.The sign of a good gym is the sparsity of its equipment. i.e you only need the basics to gain. I basically train the same way alot of strength atheletes did in the 1920's. Nothing has changed, only grease balls trying to seperate you from your money by trying to buy you into their latest gimmick e.g creatine. Bill philips (founder of creatine) is laughing his ass of all the way to his Ferrari. Funnily enough, Bill is a steroid user. Trust him now? everyone has to thank Bill for adding 5lbs of water to their frame and when of it, it's back to the shop to buy more... and guess what? your filling up Bills Ferarri with unleaded.

    I feel better now :D
     
  17. CobraMaximus

    CobraMaximus Banned Banned

    If anyone has been on muscletalk lately all you need to build muscle is a length of rope and some iron disks lol :D
     
  18. MattN

    MattN Valued Member

    Also, is it just me or do 20 rep squats make you really amazingly hungry? I eat as much as possible usually, but that was weird
     
  19. NaughtyKnight

    NaughtyKnight Has yellow fever!

    Sorry mate, I miss typed. I meant 5lbs.

    I love your attitude, I wish you came to my gym. We could be training partners.

    In fact I wish you all did, maybe we should follow mine and KE's dream of opening our own gym. This is what it would have.

    1. The whole wall filled with chin up and dip bars
    2. Enough power racks to choke a donkey (Adam will make em to save money :D)
    3. Enough Weight belts to go around
    4. Griping machines
    5. NO MACHNIES, except for cardio. 100 rowing machines
    6. Good music to get you pumped, I dont know about you, but country and western doesnt make me want to pump out the last rep.
    7. Water fountains everywhere
    8. Olympic sized pools
    9 No godamn posers policy, if I see a poser, we use them to train our fly kicks.
    10. No mirrors, I dont want posers full stop.

    There's gonna be more, but I'll let KE add some. :D

    Memebership is gonna be free, you just need to help teach ma, we will make it the biggest ma school in the world also.

    A man can dream cant he. :D
     
  20. Black Thistle

    Black Thistle New Member

    MAttN.....thats great! when that hunger kicks in, thats your body telling you to hit the food as it wants to GROW! I get this all the time. a compound exercise such as the 20 rep squat is the king of exercises. Most people don't have what it takes to get under the bar. Reminds me of a great article I read titled "The psychology of the 20 rep squat" you need alot of mental strength! The few times I've been to a gym and seen people squatting they've been doing half reps or quarter reps? and calling it a squat. Of course some stuff can have its uses like DL'n from knee height to aid the movement etc etc.

    The other month I went for a swim at my fiancee's fancy membership gym. You' see the odd well developed guy, you'd see the odd gear user, but mostly I saw the under developed guys carrying their water bottles doing 10 sets of cable curls? with legs like sparrows.

    As far as pet hates in a gym are concerned, Hmmm. People with out standing genetics that break all the rules yet still gain? they can never understand the plight of someone that has all the factors nailed down but his gains come very very slowly. I'm just jealous :D Man, I used to work with a guy who just needed to look at a weight and he'd blow up, unreal. He thought it was because of his special committed training i.e trained when he felt like it, poor diet and rest that was doing the trick. I enlightened him :D What else?...guys that are basically fat thinking they're the business with their 33% BF ;)

    Knightcommander. I have virtual training partners that all help me get it right inside the gym. Go to the site I suggested, great stuff.
     

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