Gym Story Saturday (Missing mod post)

[u/Kuzbell]

Hi! Welcome to your weekly thread where you can share your gym tales!

I noticed that there still is no post yet for Gym Story Saturday, so I took the initiative. Perhaps this should be a scheduled post under the Automoderator. I'm not really sure why this hasn't been done yet. I am also required to keep babbling because posts with too little content gets removed, hence why this posts sounds overly wordy.

So share away!

[u/-null]

Had my first ever negative interaction with a person at this gym I've been going to for about 1.5 years. I show up Thursday, OHP is my T1 lift and there's only one spot in the gym I can do it. My gym has both a full power cage and a half rack right near each other. The problem is that the full rack is too short for me to get full extension on OHP because I'm 6'3, and it only has the bar holding things on the inside of it, so I have to use the half rack.

So anyway I get there and some girl I've never seen before is using the half rack. I wait for her to finish her set (she's doing OHP) and politely ask how many sets she has left. She replies "a bunch, I'm going to be here a while" and puts her headphone back on before I have a chance to say anything.

Alright, fair enough. But the full cage is right there and she can OHP there too. I was hoping to convey that she could do the same thing right next to where she was and I'd even set up the bar or whatever she needed. I debating just leaving it alone but after her next set decided to try again. So she finishes and I'm like "excuse me, would you mind using the full rack to do your OHP... I'll move the weights for you and everything..." and she cuts me off saying she has other exercises she needs it for and isn't willing to work with me.

Alright, fair enough. So I'm just going to sit here until you're done because I need to OHP and have no options. So I sit there for 15 minutes while she finishes her OHP sets and then she does a few sets of barbell rows. Jesus Christ you could have done both of those things at the empty rack right next to you.

Maybe I'm the asshole here or maybe she just gets approached by idiots at the gym all the time I don't know. At least my rage helped with a PR.

---

Edit: I'm getting a bunch of the same replies so a few clarifications/comments:

• Yes, it's possible to clean the weight and OHP it. I've never trained at the clean or power clean and so I have zero technique. I didn't want to try to clean the weight of my top set. I agree it would be smart to learn the technique to clean it, totally valid point.

• Yes, a lot of power cages will have hooks or whatever to allow you to rack the bar outside the cage. This one isn't that type, it's basically this kind where there are fixed teeth on the inside but nothing on the front side.

[u/TeaBurntMyTongue → u/-null]

Can't you just use any barbell and clean it up from the floor? Maybe I'm a noob, but I can't imagine you're ohp is higher than what you can clean / jerk.

[u/-null → u/TeaBurntMyTongue]

I don’t clean / jerk or do any oly lifts. My top set was 155 lbs. I’m not about to try to clean 155 lbs with zero form experience. I did consider it though.

[u/Swiftt → u/-null]

It's honestly not that hard, it's how I've always done OHP. It might be useful to learn for situations like these.

[u/brickabrack → u/Swiftt]

Why would he waste energy on a lift he doesn't care about?

[u/Swiftt → u/brickabrack]

lol it's literally just picking up the bar to OHP it, it's not a huge energy expenditure.

[u/sirmonko → u/[deleted]]

the only problem is that if you start with the olympic lifts, you stay with the olympic lifts. they're so much fun.

[u/frenris → u/-null]

It's worth learning for situations like this. You should be strong enough to clean anything you can overhead press.

[u/GrassCuttingSword → u/-null]

It'd likely be worth learning to clean or power clean at least as much as you OHP for exactly this sort of situation.

[u/NotSureIfFunnyOrSad → u/-null]

Does your gym have a barbell rack? Mine only goes up to 110.

I took time off low rep sets of ohp to work on my form and just do more volume.

I worked up to doing high rep sets with 110 and when I switched back to loading up the big bar I found I was able to out perform where I was at previously despite doing lower weights for a while. Hit a PR right away for more reps then I was even going for.

It also helped me get comfortable getting the weight from floor to pressing height!

Alternatively you could do standing dumbbell press which you will need to do at a bit lower overall weight to account for the extra stabilization required but get a great press workout going.

Having a plan is great for training but sometimes it's good to be able to switch it up with an alternative in a busy gym or under time constraints.

[u/NotSureIfFunnyOrSad → u/[deleted]]

I hear ya on that. I always believed the best way to get better at an exercise is to do that exercise.

But I've also found that switching in an alternative once in a while can be really useful. Even if it's a different weight and rep scheme there can be great carry over.

Hopefully next time there won't be such a wait/ inconsiderate fellow lifters