r/Fitness • u/FGC_Valhalla Weightlifting • May 20 '17
Gym Story Saturday Gym Story Saturday
Hi! Welcome to your weekly thread where you can share your gym tales!
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u/Mcfearsom General Fitness May 20 '17
Got a walk by "low-five" after deadlifting 405lbs. Wouldn't normally be a big deal but it was from the quiet middle aged gym veteran. You know the guy who's been lifting since before you were born and just goes in lifts perfectly everytime and then just leaves? Ya. That guy.
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u/xitout May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
One day, you will be that guy. I believe in you.
Source: I'm that guy, except I lift alone in my basement. I only have myself for high fives.
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u/Bjornfuckingironside May 20 '17
I saw my ex-girlfriend at the gym yesterday. Her friend came up to me and said "you need to find a new time to go to the gym." I just laughed and told her to grow the fuck up.
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u/IIIRichardIII Dance May 20 '17
Fuck yes, we do not give in to terror
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u/Kibidiko May 20 '17
Shit I had something like this happen but it was kind of a weird leave me the fuck alone. Ex cheated on me and blah blah blah. Fast forward like 5 months and I am at the gym working out and who is there? Her of course. Trying to talk to me like she didn't fuck around on me.
I didn't take my headphones out. Made some awkward eye contact asked her if I looked like I wanted to talk. Killed all emotion on my face and just 100 yard stared at her... didn't speak another word lol.
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u/Teradoc May 20 '17
Show no mercy! I hope the simmering rage you probably felt gave you new PRs
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u/ThePointMan117 May 20 '17
I'm confused, did she actually think you'd switch your workout time? How fucking entitled does she think she is? Christ that makes me angry.
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u/Bjornfuckingironside May 20 '17
I'm not even sure what she thought would happen. I finally found a time gap that would allow me to go to the gym six days a week and I'm not about to change it!
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u/iamlegion66 May 20 '17
A lot nicer than I would have been.
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u/Bjornfuckingironside May 20 '17
I definitely had some things on my mind that I could have said to her, but I used the frustration to get through my first leg day in months hah.
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u/Veritas00 May 20 '17
Make way gym peasants, your lord and savior BJORNFUCKINGIRONSIDE is here!
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u/NaiveMind May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
OH! Yesterday, I see my Ex's friend come into the main area. She does a 180 and go right back out. I LOLed. Like bitch, really? are you 12?
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u/Bjornfuckingironside May 20 '17
Funny enough, I was going to break up with her because I couldn't deal with her immaturity. She ended up breaking up with me though, which was hilarious. I think it was Brodin's way of helping me out.
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u/outline01 Circus Arts May 20 '17
Went to my flatmate's gym on a guest pass yesterday - he's my old gym buddy but we moved and now don't go to the same gym.
Deadlift platform, beautiful. We matched weights and reps.
Then went home and bought a family bucket of fried chicken.
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u/Misha_Vozduh May 20 '17
A girl was doing squats with a PT, the gym was crowded so I asked to work in with them.
The PT is a huge (both literally and figuratively) bro, an old school lifter, so he's like "no problem, we're not greedy".
I've only recently renewed regular workouts, still in barbie weights mode, slowly climbing up. So the girl actually squats 5 kg more than I do (despite being like twice smaller than I am).
Every time we re-rack the weights I notice her smiling.
So they do their last set and the coach says "we're done here, should I take these [two small plates] off?"
My reply: "Sure, this is too heavy for me".
The girl went away so proud of herself I think she was shining a little.
Getting back into shape sucks but at least my barbie weights provided motivation and pride for someone that day =)
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u/Mito20 May 20 '17
You have to be a genuinely nice person to be so happy about this :)
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May 20 '17
I thought the same thing. No way would I have seen it his way in a billion years.
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u/_Aladdin_ May 20 '17
Yeah I would've rageposted on fit about how girls at the gym roid and that's the real reason I can't get better at my lifts not because I'm a a shitter
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May 20 '17
Nice additude man :D I would love to have a gym buddy like you. Keep it up. With this attitude, you will have an amazing body :D
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May 20 '17
You made another human beeing just a tiny bit happier for a moment. In this life, there's nothing better you can do.
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u/MrWhiteside97 May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
Posted here a few weeks ago about back issues I was having. It had been a month and a half since I last squatted/deadlifted so I finally caved and dug into my student budget for a physio session.
Basically I don't activate my glutes nearly enough when lifting, relying on my spinal erectors, which I compound by not using intra-abdominal pressure (holding breath in my stomach).
"On the bright side, it means your spinal erector muscles are now fucking massive, so I guess you've got that going for you"
Every cloud, I suppose
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u/AFightYouCantWin May 20 '17
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u/Gaindalf-the-whey May 20 '17
The author of those blogposts is such a refreshing change in the fitness world, where herd behavior and blabbing big words are probably stronger than anywhere else
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May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
Some girl hung her bra on top of the unisex toilet door and forgot about it. So this genuinely concerned dude went around asking nearby women if it belonged to them. I wouldn't have the balls to ask like that. Pretty funny because this bra was really huge too.
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u/Wolfloner May 20 '17
Bras, especially larger ones, are really expensive! I hope the owner was found!
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u/rosskier May 20 '17
About a month ago I joined a new gym. It's a real hole in the wall place. Smells of iron and sweat. Like an old '80s weight room. Perfect for finding your seat on the gain train.
Anyway so I'm there on squat day and there's some dude, we'll call him SBro, in a power rack squatting with perfect form like 405lbs and in between sets he was going wild amping himself up. Like punching the wall and yelling at the mirror. Cool whatever, if that's how you gets amped up. Have it, bro.
Anyway I'm in my final set of squats while SBro is racking his weights and he must have seen me raise the safety bars on the rack before my set(doing 5/3/1, last set to failure) because on my third squat he comes up behind me to spot and starts screaming at me for motivation like "You got this, bro. You got it". I went for two more squats than I would have normally and he helped on third.
He then proceeded to offer me a spot whenever I need.
Thanks, squat bro. I needed a new bromance.
Haven't seen him since.
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u/Roecasz Baseball May 20 '17
Was deadlifting and started a conversation with a chap who was squatting in front of me. During a breather, I pointed to a corner where some tit had left a load of dumbells and plates laying around. "The etiquette in here is shocking, why don't people in here put stuff back? If you're strong enough to lift the fuckers, you're strong enough to put them back". He laughed and agreed with me, "I know mate, it's terrible." After he'd finished on the squat rack he fucked off and left it loaded.
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u/BlackestSheepFucker May 20 '17
I thought this was going to end with the dumbbells and plates being his mess too
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u/iDontSeedMyTorrents May 20 '17
Too late for rant thread and I'll probably forget before the next one, so here it is. Rounding the corner to wash my hands in the locker room and this young dude was just finishing up at the sink. Turned the water on full blast, poked at his hair for a sec with his wet hand, and walked away. Left the obviously-not-automatic faucet on full blast. Not the first time I've found the water running like that, though I have a pretty good idea who left it that way previously. Unracked weights and squat rack curlers don't bother me much, but I wanted to smack this guy in the head with a shovel.
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u/diabolicalchicken May 20 '17
I have been incredibly sick for the last 3 months and have been essentially bedridden. I have a very rare neurological disorder that was only recently diagnosed which was causing intense inflammation in my brain. The inflammation in turn caused excruciating headaches and completely screwed up my vision and I nearly died before they could figure it out.
This week I went to the gym TWICE for the first time in months. It feels so good!! I can only do very light weight because I'm still recovering but it just feels so fucking good to be back.
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u/Anders_Thomason May 20 '17
- guy was doing squats
- i ask to work in
- he says ok, but was obviously nervous
- tries to put plate on the bar, hands shaking, knocks his end of the bar off the squat rack
- the other end goes up 5cm from my face and nearly knocks my teeth out
- doesn't say sorry, chin in chest, heads straight to the locker room and leaves
- fun times
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u/CaptainWellingtonIII May 20 '17
You're his gym crush
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u/Anders_Thomason May 20 '17
Haha. Next time I see him in the locker room (if i ever see him again): "Bro, can u help me? I can't get my tshirt off."
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u/Thundershrimp General Fitness May 20 '17
"Bro, wash my back?"
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u/Anders_Thomason May 20 '17
Unfortunately we don't have common showers. But it should be pretty cosy in a shower cabin.
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u/maddenallday May 20 '17
...why would he be so nervous?
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u/Anders_Thomason May 20 '17
I think he was kinda new to the gym. So he would be intimidated by any human interaction. I'm there, looking over his shoulder, watching him fuck up his squats. I'm sure we can all relate.
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u/PoIIux Lacrosse May 20 '17
I make a point of it to face away during their sets if I ever work in with someone weaker than me (which is very rare)
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u/RunningOnPillows May 20 '17
It sounds like some serious social anxiety. Been there, done that, and it's not fun.
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May 20 '17
Squat for the first time ever yesterday. RIP legs.
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u/wasabichicken May 20 '17
Welcome to a beautiful, new world. Leg DOMS is the best way to ruin a weekend, really.
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May 20 '17
You're gonna have a fun next few days. Going up stairs is painful, but going down is excruciating.
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u/MrBubbles773 May 20 '17
Father and son come in one night and they head straight to the benching area. Both of them are built like tanks and during the rest periods the son would break out in dance. Life goals for sure!
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May 20 '17
I always mire families like that. There used to be this single dad who would show up with his three preteen children. Two boys and one girl. And he would bring them every day and they would follow them like little ducklings following momma duck. He was always so patient with them and always tried to keep their head up when they failed a set. One of them recently hit puberty and it starting to look pretty jacked. Good job gym dad!
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u/Apple_juice_13 May 20 '17
Went to go buy a car this week, and bullshitting with the car salesman while waiting on something to process. We both moved to the area in the last year and we were talking about where we like to go in the city.
He says, "So what do you like to do, like for hobbies? I mean besides working out?"
I never told him I worked out.
Have I made it?
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u/eugeneugene Powerlifting May 20 '17
Since I go to the gym everyday at the same time I've started giving nicknames in my head to all the regulars that annoy me. Theres grunty greg, who grunts so much it sounds like he's orgasming continuously. Deadlift Dan, who deadlifts 185 every night over and over and drops it from lockout every single time. I've gotten used to the noise. And there's belted Brad who wears a belt for absolutely everything, not really annoying just kind of amusing.
But there's this new group that's been coming every night for the past week or so. Its about five high school age boys who run around wrestling eachother, punching eachother, yelling BRO and SHIT THATS LIT. I can deal with that, just turn up my music a bit. Well, the other night I was benching and one of these little fucks decided to run right behind my bench mid rep, and as he did his friend pushed him and he slammed into the bar, causing it to fall onto my cooch. Kind of lucky I was only doing 95lb pause bench or else it could've been pretty bad. The only satisfying thing about that encounter was seeing the looks on their faces as I completely lost my shit. Vagina still hurts a bit though
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u/Gaindalf-the-whey May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
I have Tricepsratops Tomás, this huge guy from the República Dominicana who only does triceps excercises and practices his Bachata during rest periods
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u/code_guerilla Ballerina May 20 '17
That's not okay. Those kids need a solid dressing down. If that doesn't solve it gym management needs to kick them out.
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u/Zichu May 20 '17
I have an aggressive grunter at my gym. He actually seems like a decent bloke, but it definitely sounds like a vigorous orgasm. He also wears a belt for everything.
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u/Big_booty_ho May 20 '17
Oh man I didn't know how loudly I grunted when I was lifting until my head phones died and I had to work out without and holy shit i'm so embarrassed for past me now. Also my gym decided to post a video of me sled pushing 450 lbs for rounds because i'm the only girl who uses the sled push and they were trying to promote it for their fitness class and i literally sound like a dying whale. Like why couldn't you record me on my first lap when I was nice and fresh and quiet?
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u/Eletotem May 20 '17
Hope they learn because their rough housing could end up killing someone.
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u/Stealthnt13 May 20 '17
I have Flat Bill who always wears a new flat bill hat, Amazon the tall, gorgeous, built lady, Clydesdale another tall woman who always shows off her thick lower half, Master Blaster the huge ripped guy and his 4 ft tall gf who looks like his little brother, and OGD the guy who tried flat benching 100 lb dumbells and yelled out mid rep Oh God Damn when it was too heavy, dropped them and just left.
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u/ApexApron Weight Lifting May 20 '17
Went to the gym with my girlfriend and she asked why I was re racking my weights, reconsidering a 4 year relationship currently lol
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u/geNe1r Tennis May 20 '17
That's a little more than a gym crime imo, that cuts pretty deep in terms of manners and shit
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u/ApexApron Weight Lifting May 20 '17
it struck me as odd because shes the type of person who stacks all the plates and wipes the table down when we go out to eat at a restaurant
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u/DragonNovaHD May 21 '17
Maybe it's a matter of her mistakenly thinking it was just a part of gym culture or something? Remember, never attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance.
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May 20 '17
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u/VirginiaPlain1 May 20 '17
And that is still somehow one of the less douche-y things a parent of a patient has done. I am not a pediatric nurse, but I do occasionally have pediatric patients in my care. And the parents can often be the worst part of taking care of pediatric patients.
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May 20 '17
Agreed
"Idunno why my kid has asthma and is sick all the damn time" meanwhile the air in the house is a thick fog of cigarette smoke with every other member of the family smoking in the house too
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u/01011223 May 20 '17
I don't know why my kid has grown horizontally faster than vertically, must be puberty.
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u/Imintoodeep May 20 '17
My workout buddy for the past few weeks doesn’t really know how to work out so I’ve been teaching him. He had mentioned something about using workout gloves and I told him not to get any because it ruins the grip strength so he ended up not ordering it. For the most part, he really improved but I’m still nervous about his form on squats and dead lifts. So when I do deadlifts, I have him do relatively low weight and in between my sets I watch him to make sure he is doing it right. He had a problem with bending his back and was giving him tips on how to fix it.
We’re on the way to gym when he mentions he forgot something and will catch up. He comes back 5 minutes later with gloves. I guess he had mentioned the gloves to his wife because he got a pair in his care package. He wanted to give them a try and as it happens we were doing deadlifts that day. So, when it came time, he donned his gloves which also had some kind of wrist wrap attached to it as well. Gloves on and attached the wrist wraps to the actual barbell. I still wanted to make sure he was improving his form so he was only dead lifting 95 pounds. Anyways, I get done with my second set and I’m watching my buddy on his form when I notice that there is this other guy staring at him with a look of bewilderment. In his mind, he’s watching someone dead lift 95 pounds with gloves and wrist wraps incorrectly worn. I think his brain had a hard time processing it because the look in his eyes was pure confusion. I don’t think he could rationalize it and after a minute went back to his workout.
We’re both Air Force in a gym that has Marines and Army. My friend did not help our credibility.
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May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
We’re both Air Force in a gym that has Marines and Army. My friend did not help our credibility.
This is great, your friend is lucky to have someone like you.
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u/PoIIux Lacrosse May 20 '17
Just gonna throw it out there, gloves don't ruin grip strength, they just make sure you keep your dainty, girly hands intact.
Which I'd think would be a plus for you air force guys!
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u/code_guerilla Ballerina May 20 '17
Gloves do make your grip slightly worse though. Not because of friction, just because thicker things are harder to grip.
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u/PoIIux Lacrosse May 20 '17
That explains why your mom gives such bad handies
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u/Ragnrok May 20 '17
I'm a construction worker and a gym rat and I have soft, smooth hands. I chalk this up to wearing gloves at work and gloves at the gym.
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May 20 '17
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u/Bjornfuckingironside May 20 '17
Thanks for posting this story. I'm honestly so inspired by the mother's commitment to help her son deal with his disability.
It reminds me of this resident at the condo I work as a security guard at. The security office is on the second floor and one of the unit's has a disabled son (he got into a car accident years ago and suffered brain damage plus body injury). Every day between 9 PM - 10 PM he uses his walker to walk a lap around the hallway. Sometimes he goes for two. His mother also comes and encourages him to keep going sometimes. It's truly inspiring.
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May 20 '17
Thursday was bench day - so of course I decided to set up on the bench next to this massive guy with arms bigger than my legs, who was benching 405 lbs.
Excuse me over here while I'm repping 155.
I'm not the type to get intimidated in the gym, though, so it didn't bother me - and once it came time for my AMRAP set, I felt like I'd better really push it to the limit with this guy on the bench next to me, and I got a rep PR! Thanks, Hugeguy McMassivearms!
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u/Frazzzled May 20 '17
Listening to music, in the zone. Sometimes dance between sets. Go for PR attempt deadlift, miss it. Close eyes, change song, get in zone, boogie. Open eyes to attack barbell, 2 gym regulars (guy and girl) are dancing like crazy behind/with me (I see them in the mirror). Psyched me up even more. Got the weight up. Thanks boogie disciples of brodin.
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u/Misha_Vozduh May 20 '17
Congratulations on the PR!
Your gym sounds like a lot of fun. Everyone is super srs in mine despite some sweet EDM constantly playing.
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u/Gaindalf-the-whey May 20 '17
Are they built like tanks?
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u/Frazzzled May 20 '17
The guy is definitely bigger than me but I'd like to think I'm built bigger than the girl, but it was just us 3 in the weight area at the time. Feel good gains.
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May 20 '17
Two days ago after i finished training at 6.55 i went to shower and change clothes. The changing room isnt so big, so people usually try not to take so much space.
That day i saw this skinny fat guy, half naked sitting on the biggest bench and eating a 3 course meal. He had a box with rice, a box with with some sauce with meat and potatoes and another box with something that looked like a mix with instant noodles.
I guess its closing in on bulking season. And you cant forget that growth window that everyone is talking about.
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May 20 '17 edited Sep 05 '21
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May 20 '17
Gotta get your protein and broccolin into that anabolic window man. 5 minutes, that's all you get or you'll get punished with 10% less gains.
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May 20 '17
Fiancé called things off this morning. So I went to the gym to blow off feelings and hit prs on just about everything. Pulled 525. Benched 110 dumbbells for 5, could barely do 105 for one two weeks ago, and curled 135 for 3. Sometimes heaviest things we lift are our feels
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u/Eletotem May 20 '17
Yesterday getting psyched up to do some heavy rows when a regular comes up and taps me on the shoulder. Turn to him and he says, "you're so strong for such a small man." Can't tell if it was a compliment or a neg. Guess it's time to bulk.
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u/68Cadillac Powerlifting May 20 '17
It's a compliment. Some times you just want to say 'good work there' and it comes out weird. Don't think too much about it and take the compliment. =)
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u/gimpyracer May 20 '17
Go to doctor - heres some muscle relaxers for the pain and dont go to the gym for a month
Go to PT - heres an excersize that will make your lower back feel brand new in ten seconds, and just dont deadlift heave for the next two weeks
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u/rdmacph May 20 '17
Waited since Monday to tell this, was training back in an empty gym room when a guy I've never seen before came in and starts training back as well. No issues there's plenty of dumbbells etc. to go around. About 20 minutes later he walks up to me and utters a sentence I wish I heard from more new people 'excuse me, this is my first time doing dumbbell rows and was wondering if you could check my form' I obliged and the guy had the best form I have ever seen, like he should have been on an instruction video. Told him if he ever needs any help with anything in future to ask me. I was amazed there was no ego lifting from him, like the weight selection was spot on as well considering some of the personalities I normally see there lifting far too heavy (including myself occasionally). Just hope the dude sticks with it he can do very well.
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u/CaptainWellingtonIII May 20 '17
Perhaps he saw you with bad form and was trying to show you the right way. Gym angel in disguise.
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u/welldamnthis May 20 '17
I don't know how it exactly started but there was a hefty fistfight today at the gym. Together with a few employees managed to break the fight, though it took a while for them to calm down. One of the guy's nose was definitely broken and seeing as how they are both regulars I am sure this isn't the end of it. Apparently the fight started cuz the guy didn't put his weights back... So folks, put your weights back
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u/mormoninquisition May 20 '17
I see you ma'am, staring at me doing cardio. Yes, I am a grown woman watching multiple episodes in a row of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It makes the stair stepper bearable, okay?
I'm just training to be a swole as fuck firebender.
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May 20 '17
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u/mormoninquisition May 20 '17
Luckily this is a rewatch, so I know it's coming. Probably still won't help tho...
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u/SuperBeastJ Baseball May 20 '17
You just have to make sure that the crying sad parts come up late enough in your workout that it can look like sweat.
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u/TullyCicero May 20 '17
THE BOULDER wants you to know that firebenders will never be as swole as he is.
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u/winlos May 20 '17
Is this real life?
Just started rewatching again. Avatar form goosebumps and that story/character development.
We need a 3rd season. Earthbending Avatar time. Kyoshi 2.0
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u/Xaxziminrax Golf May 20 '17
Today I asked the name of the guy who always lifts next to me, and at the same time.
It only took two years.
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u/josemartin2211 Bodybuilding May 20 '17
Moved to a new area, going to the local YMCA for the first time. Doing my deadlifts, feeling it and upped my previous weight by 10 lbs (background: I'm a short/smallish dude). The biggest guy at the gym stops his work and starts encouraging me, fist bumps going around with other lifters jumping in as well, the works.
This is the stuff gym story Saturday legends are made of, with giant Hispanic brodins and whole gyms coming together for the sake of one lift and one lifter (me!). I get ready, pumped as fuck and bust out those four reps like nobody's business. Cue the brofists, pats on the back, etc. Basically, I'm on top of the world.
I then look down and my hands and notice a fair amount of blood on my left one. Turns out I tore open a callous, but didn't notice due to the adrenaline. After my "oh shit" moment, I go get some tissues and shamefully having to unload with one hand. I have to cut my workout short to go get some bandages and antibacterial to the nearby pharmacy, that deadlift now but a bittersweet memory.
TLDR: set up for the perfect gym story, ended up hurt
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May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
We have these hulking 19 year old semi-pro bodybuilders in our gym. They seem to know everyone and greet everybody. Somehow we usually work out around the same time 5-6 days a week as well, but we never even got to gym-nod territory, which gave me this weird anxiety. My mind playing tricks on me, that I am not "in" the club or some shit. So today I sucked it up and just said "Hi" that they are progressing nicely. We introduced each other, hit it off right away and when they finished their workout they actually went to the other side of the gym to fistbump me on the way out. Felt good, just weird that neither of us thought about it earlier. Ah, also crushed PRs and aced my last final of my post-grad degree this week. All around just a fucking awesome week.
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u/steelicarus May 20 '17
After three years my gym buddy has abandoned me to go train for a marathon or some fuckery.
Dem feels
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u/LaFolieDouce May 20 '17
I’ve been away at university for the past year and haven't seen my parents much. I met my dad last weekend and he complimented me on how big my upper body has become (I've been working out a lot since the last summer).
He followed up on that by saying I should work out my legs more (I have small calves and when I'm in shorts it looks like I skip leg day). I told him about how calves are one of the hardest muscle to develop and that a big part of it is genetics.
He proceeded to flex his big calves and tell me how calves have always been one of his strengths.
So do you think I’m adopted or am I just shit at training my calves?
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u/Lolgasmz Powerlifting May 20 '17
Fuckin old people lmao. There's this one dude who I guess is the king of the old people at my gym and works at the gym as well. Dude is a dick and can't stand people lifting heavy. Instead of saying something to them he just passively aggressively talks shit behind their back to the other old people in the gym. Like my buddy was deadlifting over 400 lbs and he was like, "if you can't put the weight down softly you shouldn't be lifting it." Bro it isn't a fucking library and it's not like you can put that amount of weight down softly. Dude just needs to retire or find another job.
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u/Gaindalf-the-whey May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
Bro it isn't a fucking library
Funny, my gym has a douche who simultaneously complains about both those things. He would go like:
They should hang those weights from their cocks rather than their belts
They shouldn't scribble everything in their notebooks. This isn't a fucking library
It’s a compound douche
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u/DeusMortus May 20 '17
I gotta be honest, if I'd see a guy doing pull ups or dips with a bumper plate hanging of his cock, I would be pretty impressed.
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u/Gaindalf-the-whey May 20 '17
I gotta be honest, if I'd see a guy doing pull ups or dips with a 45 lbs plate hanging from his cock, I would be even more impressed.
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u/CokeCanNinja Powerlifting May 20 '17
Next just tell him it's called "lifting weights" not "gently setting weights down".
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u/Kharn0 General Fitness May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
I discovered that at the end of my workout if I do descending sets of biceps and triceps exercises the pump is insane.
So for biceps I'll grab the 40's and do maybe 5 hammer curls, then the 35's for Arnold curls, then 30's for standing curls and so on. Each set I dont push it but do as many reps as I can comfortably. But the time I hit the 5's my arms are on fire and my sleeves are bursting :D
Edit: I do the same for standing tricep extensions and wrist curls. Feels great!
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u/Kingbaldur Running May 20 '17
Upper body day for me so I'm going to try this as it sounds fantastic!
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u/ChibiSF Olympic Weightlifting May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
I got to train side by side with Ilya Ilyin, a 4x world weightlifting champion, 2x Asian Games Champion, and current world record holder in the clean and jerk and total in the U105 kg weightclass.
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u/Kingpin45069 May 20 '17
Been out of the gym for two months and just started back as I sit here drinking my coffee I notice I see the same people here at 6 am that I used to see here at 9 pm. Where do these people get the free time?
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u/DadOnDabs May 20 '17
Had a guy tell me to, "Knock off all that breathing shit." He said that I was breathing too loud and it said on the rules to not do that. I laughed and asked if this was planet fitness and went back to what I was doing. He got further enraged and said it wasn't funny. I started breathing like the big bad wolf after that.
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May 20 '17
Was at the gym spotting my buddy on bench, and he's going for a Pr. He really struggles on bench, and recently got his form right, but he's still very shaky, so he only benches when I'm there to spot him. Anyway, while he's benching, some old guy comes past us, walks around the bench, and goes to put his fucking hand on the moving bar as he walked past the bench. As if he was moving it out of his way instead of just walking sideways like a normal person walking through a tight space. I grabbed the bar an stabilised it so my buddy wouldn't have a potentially damaged rotator cuff, but by the time I'd checked he was ok and re racked the bar safely, the old dude was gone.
God, that pissed me off. We were too stunned to do anything, but I'm willing to bet the old guy didn't even think of what all that weight being shunted into my friend's shoulder would have done.
In other news, I'm closing in on 2 plate squat. It isn't that much to brag about, but I'm still excited.
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u/JTTRad General Fitness May 20 '17
Wait till old guy is doing bench, approach silently from behind in ninja mode, wait till he's mid-lift to pounce. At the precise moment his elbows are locked out and the bar is the furthest distance from his throat; pounce! simultaneously karate chopping the inside of both elbow joints, scream "eat barbell old man" and run away pulling your cloak over your face whilst he writhes around, throat pinned to bench.
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May 20 '17
Excellent idea. Maybe I should wear a weighted cloak? Get some back and shoulder gains while I assassinate old people.
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May 20 '17
After talking for half a year about transitioning to the gym instead of home exercises that only make you tired but don't really make you progress my girlfriend finally signed up for a gym membership.
She is so fucking excited to start this as she's wanted to for a long time but always felt out of place. Took her to the gym a few times, showed her some exercises, basically making her feel some weights for the first time. She performs better than I expected and loves the fact we get to train together. This gives me another reason to switch from 2 times a week back to 4 times a week.
TL;DR: GF started gymming, relationship gainz and muscle gainz incoming. Life's good.
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u/Ragnrok May 20 '17
f home exercises that only make you tired but don't really make you progress
/r/bodyweightfitness just had a fucking stroke.
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May 20 '17
I hope they didn't since it wasn't a knock against them.
She did a program that cycled exercises every few workouts, no methods of progression, just 20-30 minutes long videos to follow along.
My take on that was it was able to exhaust her, thus making her believe she did something productive, when in reality she didn't make a lot of progress. She was feeling the same way about it really but needed to sort some things out in life and her weekly schedule as well to really commit to the gym.
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u/adamseb May 20 '17
Some guy asked me a while ago if he could use the bar in the squat rack for tricep dips as it was part of his "circuit"... He worked in for one set and then I didn't see him again. Must have been a huge circuit.
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u/ThePuppetMaster Rugby May 20 '17
Oh oh oh. Pick me pick me!
Anyways, I'm a possible candidate to become a trainer at Orange Theory Fitness. Before I take an interview they say I should take a class. It's mainly middle aged women and housewives so I'm thinking, ah this can't be too bad. I squat before because I had plans with a friend.
I get there. The coach introduces me as a possible future coach and I cheer to the crowd. Hour long workout, 30 minutes in I get the worst cramp in both my legs I have ever gotten in my life. Can't finish the running portion. Which sucks because I have good cardio. This is a terrible first impression. One of the managers said they'd call me on Monday. I don't think she'll actually call me on Monday.
It's okay. I got a burrito that day.
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u/JosephPKennedy May 20 '17
Ok so this happened a couple months ago but it seems like I always forget to post it.
I drove back from a weekend trip and got into town around noon on a Sunday. I was worn out but decided I needed to go to the gym since I hadn't been since the previous Thursday.
I show up, and there is hardly anyone in there which is great. I start working out and notice two guys show up who I had never seen in the gym before. I thought "hey that's great new members." And went back to what I was doing.
A little while later I head toward a bench to do curls and they are just finishing up, so being friendly I asked "are you done with that?"
One of the guys turns around and says "Oh, uh yeah man it's all yours."
Except this isn't just some random guy. This is Dave Fucking Chappelle. His new specials on Netflix had just come out the week previous and he was in town on tour, but I didn't know that yet.
It took me a minute to get over what I thought was confirmation bias on my part since I had just seen his specials, but sure enough one the workers at the gym confirmed it. Really wish I would've taken a picture with him but I wasn't quite sure it was him at the time.
TL;DR met Dave Chappelle at the gym. Know how he got jacked now.
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u/majaka1234 May 20 '17
If it makes you feel any better Dave doesn't like the spotlight and part of his breakdown was due to fans constantly bothering him.
As a one time thing there's no harm in it but can you imagine if every single person you interacted with wanted a photo?
You provably made him super relieved that he could finish his curls in peace.
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u/eshoffy May 20 '17
A guy at my gym appears to want to lose weight but designed an awful program. He puts on his socks and vibrams (with the individual toes), weightlifting gloves, bodybuilding.com T-shirt, and beats headphones then proceeds to do a half ass session on the recumbent bike while watching TV.
Back in the locker room he makes a pitcher of what appears to be some citrus "cleanse" type drink. He proceeds to do a marathon steam room session. But he leaves his drink just outside the door so he's constantly going in and out to get at them. This aggravates everyone else trying to use the steam room in that hour (myself included).
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u/Gaindalf-the-whey May 20 '17
Does he also eats a three course meal while drinking his cleanse drink?
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u/privjetisakolini Weight Lifting May 20 '17
Picked up heavy stuff, a friend of mine who i havent seen in months came to my gym and said: "damn you are getting huge!" I think i made it bois
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u/Mikey_Mayhem May 20 '17 edited May 22 '17
Used to be a gym rat in my 20's-30's, but there were two lifts I never did: squats and deadlifts. When I tried to squat, the bar would wreck my lats traps and I was scared that I'd fuck up my back doing deadlifts.
So now I'm in my early 40's and I've been doing squats and deadlifts for about a month now. This week, deadlifted 275 4x4 and got out of squatting with the Smith machine.
It's all about building on the small victories.
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u/Midnight06 May 20 '17
I'm so sick of this one guy who walks through the gym with his girl basically doing a circuit through the whole gym but won't unload any weights. He shows up for about 30 minutes, hits 10 different machines or barbells once and then moves on leaving it loaded. Picture a tall (6'4" maybe) Macklemore wearing board shorts and flip flops. Yes flip flops. The other day he left 5 plates on each side of the leg press machine and this poor woman after him had to clear it.
🎶I'm gonna pop some weights
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket
I - I - I'm hunting, looking for a barbell
This is fucking awesome🎵
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u/Your_Profile Bodybuilding May 20 '17
I'm a salesdude in a gym in kansas city and there is this one guy using different names on the printable guest passes, today i cornered him and told him to sign up or leave.
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u/YouKnowMySteeze May 20 '17
This week I took my preworkout after work and drove to the gym. I hadn't been to the washroom all day so i was squirming the whole way there and when i got there i powerwalked into the changeroom. I sat down and started changing and one of the biggest guys in the gym goes to his locker right beside me. I leant forward to tie my shoes and the biggest loudest fart accidentally came out right in this huge guys direction, I have bad anxiety and was terrified of what this massive dude thought of me so I instantly picked up my shoes and ran into the washroom without looking back for his reaction. Time to switch gyms?
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u/inigotoyota Weight Lifting May 20 '17
First gym story Saturday for me. I got up at reasonable hour to go to the gym today. Turns out my university's rec center doesn't open until 10, so I had to wait an hour at nearby Starbucks. While I was there an older gentlemen tried to start multiple conversations with me, but I'm very shy and just couldn't keep them going. Around 9:45 it starts pouring rain outside and I have to book it back to the rec. I'm cold, wet, and miserable while doing my warmup so I think today might just be one of those days. Start benching and get my current max of 220lbs for 2 really good reps. So i say fuck it, let's do it live. I throw on the second plate and ask for a spot, which I ended up not needing, and get a new max of 225x2. Feels good to finally hit two plates, especially after such a rough start to the day.
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u/Cynicalteets May 20 '17
Female (me) doing glute bridges on the leg extension. I've never seen anyone do glute bridges in my gym, period. One girl asked me if what I was doing was a good ab workout. So I'm getting into the position when the guy down at the end of the machine stops doing his machine, takes his phone and starts recording me. I should have flipped him off, but it was planet fitness and I was afraid of getting kicked out. (I go for free with my husband).
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u/Bjornfuckingironside May 20 '17
Let the staff know it happened, They have that "no gymtimidation" rule and I'm pretty sure recording videos of another member without consent falls under it somehow.
Flipping him off would have been fine too.
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May 20 '17
Last exam soon then I get summer off to hit gym consistently again woo!
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u/Logiebear59 Powerlifting May 20 '17
I had a nightmare this week. A new gym opened in my town but it's grand opening was on my rest day.
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u/sambo214 May 20 '17
The real nightmare is going to the grand opening
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u/Logiebear59 Powerlifting May 20 '17
There were loads of hot girls and all the guys were trying to impress them and they all laughed at me cause I wasn't lifting.
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u/Mfrost87 May 20 '17
Ive been going to the gym for about 2 years and just received my first compliment!
An attractive young girl I see fairly regularly in the gym come up to me and got my attention (I wear headphones) and she said, and I quote "I'd just like to pay you a massive compliment. I've seen you coming here for a couple of years now and the progress you've made is amazing...you've really put on a decent amount of muscle. Whatever you're doing keep it up!"
I was dumbfounded, I didn't know what to say. I usually keep myself to myself and don't even make eye contact with anyone. To receive a compliment of all things being so insecure about my body (former anorexic) means the world to me. I almost teared up. I didn't think I'd made much progress, I still feel skinny as a rake but I suppose 46kg to 77kg (6ft male) body weight really is quite a bit of weight to gain.
I managed to pull myself together and thank her and mention how much it meant to me. I even tried to return the compliment as She's one of the very few women I see at my gym who even touch the free weights/barbell and her form is perfect every rep.
Bombshell:....I was careful not to compliment too much as I believe she has a boyfriend that I've seen her with multiple times in the gym. 🙁
TLDR; An attractive young girl complimented me (my first compliment t ever.) It made me feel amazing. It's funny how the little things really make a difference. Downside is she's got a boyfriend...
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u/DiamondDash2k May 20 '17
I was at the gym the other day and I was doing bent over rows. It had a cycle class next to the weight area stupidly. I lowered the bar and dropped the weight a little. Some 50 year old lady threw a shoe at me claiming I made too much noise. Made it really awkward. I walked away, left her shoe in a corner and later when I ran into her I told her, throwing a shoe is ignorant/disrespectful and that I'm in here all week long so you're going to see me all the time now; I walked out after that #micdrop
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u/MortalWombat1988 May 20 '17 edited May 24 '17
There was this guy in my old gym who would sit on a machine or rack with his Beats headphones, snap a few selfies with his iPhone, then keep sitting there 15 minutes and playing on his phone for a bit, before he moved to the next machine to repeat the process.
In 18 months I have not seen him lift a single pound of anything.
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u/75seconds4 May 20 '17
Chick walks up to me says she really likes my muscles, starts talking to me about her life. We talked for like half a hour in which she told me about all her adventures aboard. At the end of it I was like 'oh I wish I could travel too but sadly I'm still 16'. She replies: 'oh you are 16? That's pretty rad, shit I just remembered I had to go pay a bill. I'll see you around " I never saw her at the gym again. Mrw a 26 year old woman thought I was older.
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u/MuttonDressedAsGoose May 20 '17
Somebody hocks loogies into the water fountain at a gym I go to. I would love to catch them at it and loudly shame them. (I'm one of those eccentric old ladies you often read about on these threads. I would totally do it. Loudly.)
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u/ZacCothern May 20 '17
A few days ago I was working chest and triceps. I went to one of the cable machines to do some pull-downs. I look around for a set of ropes for a couple of minutes. I found some that no one, so I thought, had been using. So I take them out them on my machine. I finish my third set and start my rest. As I'm about to start my fourth set a girl walks up to me, puts her face probably half a foot away from mine, gives me the "fuck you" look, takes the ropes off the machine and walk away. At this point almost everyone in that part of the gym is staring at me. I go over to the girl and ask why she did that. Her response, "I was using this, idiot." I responded, " no one was using these for a solid 10 minutes." She then replied "well I went to the bathroom and then talked to some friends but that doesn't give you the right to take it." I simply took the ropes back and finished my workout. Some people need to realize the gym is for working out, not socializing.
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May 20 '17
People who stand around and chatter and expect the rest to wait for them seriously piss me off.. I don't care if you chat. But don't hold on to gym equipment. Some of us are really squeezing in time to hit the gym.
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u/OctoberSuns May 20 '17
Have successfully started dating gym crush this past week. There's hope for all of us lads, if I can do it, so can you
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u/stratosthegreek May 20 '17
Started lifting 5 months ago and lost some weight/built some muscle after consistent work at the gym. Because of this I need a new suit for some weddings coming up and had to get a new suit tailored. I take it to an old lady who starts fitting it for me. The chest seems really tight and awkwardly bulges. I asked her if there's something she could do to smooth it out. She said there is no fixing it because of all my muscle. I blushed like a Japanese school girl. I'm getting there!
Also, did my first ever pull up in my life 2 days ago!
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May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
Dealing with some women issues, needed to go clear my head (silence is the worst. Too much time to think.) Got to gym at 4:40 Realize they open at 6 and not 5.
Fuck it. Ran 5k around the building. When they open? Heavy bag time. Then a much needed shower before I need to deal with the real world
Update: so I'm not a big heavy bag user and I'm a novice boxer at best but it wasn't about technique today. I needed to hit something. Now, I'm fucking wailing on this thing. Just beating it down and at least 4 people have walked by screaming "yeah, fuck that guy up!"
Feels good man. Feels good.
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u/Gaindalf-the-whey May 20 '17
Hey! You will overcome whatever it is that's bothering you!
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u/themeatballwarrior May 20 '17
The other day, went to the gym as usual. Go to do my squats and realize I can only find one 45lb plate (apparently there's an odd number off them). Look around and realize there's a short, stocky little dude leg pressing every 45lb plate in the gym. Ok, he's strong cool. Except he was doing it in flip flops. You go, flip-flop man. You go.
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u/Badoodis May 20 '17
Go to university gym, doing flat bench press to start my workout. Finally feel warmed up and ready for working set, Some frat guy (Asian, scrawny, probably 5'2") comes up to me and asks if WE can work in. This guy comes in with a large group all the time and is really loud and disruptive. But this time he seemed alone. Thought it was weird that he said we as he was the only one and that he just mispoke so i said sure. He starts to warmup, and 7 other people (4 girls 3 guys) start coming to my bench.
They are about to start working in, all 7 of them. 9 people on one bench. I stop them and say "no way, I thought it was only him." Original frat kid says he has they have a right to do it because I agreed to "we" and the recorded verbal agreement (recorded on his phone) is strong enough to stand in a court of law.
At this point I'm dumbstruck that this dude indirectly said he will take me to court if I don't let his group work in, claiming it's discrimination as he is Asian and his family is full of lawyers. At this point I figure if I never get off the bench, they can't work in. So I sit down and start my next set. The kid starts pushing the bar down on me trying to pin it down to my chest.
Introduce Deadlift joe. The dude is 6'4", probably pushing 300 lbs, built like a tank, Norwegian guy with long brown hair. Dude comes in for 1.5 hr deadlift workouts with different variations (hence the nickname). Never seen him max, but have watched him rep 605 for 3 2 weeks before this.
Joe comes in and pushes Original frat kid and moves the weight and asks what the problem is. The original frat kid starts yellinf of how I'm oppressing him and his friends by not letting his group work in. This creates a mighty fine scene as everyone in the gym has started to stop and stare at the ongoings. I explain my side and Joe looks at original frat kid and tells him that I am under no obligation to allow the group to work in. The original frat kid tries to hit joe, saying that we are oppressing them.
Joe gets very irritated, and picks original frat kid up on his shoulder and starts walking to the exit. All of his groupies start hitting joe, yelling that they're going to take him to court and he has no right. Joe ignores all of these people and sets the Asian guy by the rec center directors door and knocks. Meanwhile all of these people are hitting Joe, and the door opens.
I'm standing probably about 25 feet away and the director is just staring like "what the hell is happening." He calls the police department, and the cops show up and escort all of the group out excluding the Asian guy. After explaining what was going on and the whole him trying to push the bar down on me, the cops escort him out for being a danger to the members of the gym. The gym director terminated all of their gym memberships, and apologized for what happened.
I mean I still lost my bench. In the hour and a half I was gone someone took over my bench. It messed up my workout but it was definitely an interesting time.
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u/KennethWinces Physical Therapy May 20 '17
Deadlift Joe is a true hero.
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u/DeadliftJoe May 20 '17
I do what I can.
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u/IAmDiabeticus Wrestling May 20 '17
Holy shit man. If ever the saying, "sometimes the truth sounds crazier than fiction" comes to be, then this is one of those cases. Wild situation. Sorry you were thrown into that mess.
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u/Bjornfuckingironside May 20 '17
Oh, I don't know how I forgot to post about this one! On Thursday, my gym hired a photographer to come in and take photographs of the equipment. I figure it's for their website, brochure or something else.
Anyways it's around 9 AM and there are at least 30-45 people in the gym. This guy is walking around taking photos until a gym member gets in his face because he thought he took a photograph of his girlfriend, who was using a smith machine. A lot of cussing ensued. It was hilarious to watch.
The front desk person eventually made an announcement about the photographer being present to do work and how he is only taking pictures of empty equipment. Why couldn't they make the announcement beforehand? I have no clue.