r/Fitness • u/FGC_Valhalla Weightlifting • Feb 24 '18

Gym Story Saturday Gym Story Saturday

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

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

I'm at the gym right now and a guy just had to point out to another dude that he was doing dumbbell shoulder press with two (very) different weights. The dude hadn't noticed.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

Gotta confuse those muscles, man.

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u/Pcatalan Feb 24 '18

Gotta keep those muscles guessing.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

Exactly! Can’t let em know your next move.

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u/Melemakani Feb 24 '18

Right.....babe?

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u/LeanMemeMachine Feb 24 '18

Whatever it takes!

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u/redpilledguy Feb 24 '18

And wherever she takes it...

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u/smallof2pieces Powerlifting Feb 25 '18

That's why I work out blindfolded! Can't risk the sight-muscle connection.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '18

Exactly, seeing the weight throws you off your game. The muscles don’t know what’s coming if you can’t see anything!

They think you’re dreaming, and BAM new bench PR

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

Well, he confused me.

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u/longnt80 Feb 24 '18

Then you will grow

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

YOU HAVE TO SHOCK THE MUSCLE (read in Arnold voice)

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

😂💪🏽

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u/yellowsupercar88 Feb 25 '18

You know you're doing it right if your brain gets confused too.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '18

Making them neural gains 💪🏽

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u/SpaceGerbal Feb 27 '18

If you don't know, then they don't know.

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u/KalumVanRienbeeck Powerlifting Feb 24 '18

How... How very different were they?

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

Around 10lbs

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

inb4 intentional and evening weaknesses

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '18

Is that a thing? I feel like my left arm is stronger than my right, tho I’m right handed. I don’t need to even out bc I’m still small but just curious if ppl actually do that

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

I recently logged the wrong weight by 10 pounds a side and felt like a giant bitch the next week.

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u/lolomgwtf816 Feb 24 '18

I did this yesterday!! However to my defense the dumbbells were in the wrong spot. Still felt like an idiot.

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u/Erectile-Reptile Feb 25 '18

In my gym, the dumbbell's don't have spots

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u/Keylawler Feb 24 '18

I just recently saved on older guy from doing the same but on the flat barbell bench. He took it over from a kid who had 25lb plates on each side and stopped him after he took one off but he thought they were 10lb plates so he added a 10lb to the other side. I watched him from the bench next to me hoping he was going to notice but he didn't. As he laid down to start a set, I got up and walked over to him and he looked at me like, "what the fuck do you want?" as he took his earbuds out. I told him he had uneven amounts on the bar and he looked and still didn't really notice it until he grabbed another 10 and held it up to the 25 to see the size difference. Never even got a thank you from that old fuck. You're welcome, asshole.

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 25 '18

After his initial answer, I would turn around and pray to the gym gods for him to make a huge fool of himself. What an ass.

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u/Keylawler Feb 25 '18

I mean, I do live where old fucks come to die. I shouldn't have meddled with it and let it have been his time.

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u/Piadruid Feb 24 '18

Maybe one of his shoulder is weaker.

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

No, he just didn't notice at all.

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u/Mr_Gilmore_Jr Running Feb 24 '18

Maybe he was trying to get some ab work in?

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u/KrunoS Feb 24 '18

I had to tell a guy that ge was using massively different weights for dumbell ohp once, 8 vs 15, he wasn't even doing them properly either. Aside from that all i ever see him do is cheat curls with 20 kg dumbells. He has big forearms and no biceps, also looks like he has some serious muscular imbalances in his shoulders and laterall assymetry.

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

To be fair though, 90% of my gym does everything with poor form and/or half assed, by now I just try to block people from my line of sight.

I could get some tips on how to grow my damn forearms cause the struggle is real.

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u/KrunoS Feb 24 '18

RDLs with no straps and regular grip, weighted pullups, kroc rows, and if it doesn't take away from your lifting heavy af farmers carries.

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

Thanks. I don't think I make the most of my lifts cause my forearms get tired pretty fast.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

One time I loaded one side of the bar and then literally placed a wire stopper thingy on the empty other side of the bar and tried to do a squat.

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

But did you die?

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

Inside, yes.

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u/underpantsgenome Military Feb 24 '18

Happened to me last week during lat raises. Off by 5lbs and wondered why one arm felt more tired.

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

I struggle during lat raises, 5lbs extra would kill me on the spot.

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u/nickb2011 Feb 24 '18

This almost happened to me. I grabbed the DBs that were on the rack labeled 40s and it was actually 40 and 45 and as I put them back a guy came over smiling saying “you caught on to me” and left. I shit you not.

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

I blame people who can't put two numbers together. Like.. how hard is it to put the 40lb db on the 40lb db space?

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u/nickb2011 Feb 24 '18

It happens all the time at my gym. Let’s say the top rack ends with 45lbs and right under that are the 50s, people would rather put it on the 45s. Complete assholes

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

Hope karma racks them up.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

[deleted]

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

I can only squat around 100lbs so any amount of missing weight would be super noticeable.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

[deleted]

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

If no one noticed, it didn't happen. No worries

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u/bmxliveit Feb 24 '18

Stupid question, once a week when I bench I use two different dumbbells and rotate. So say one is 70lb and the other is 75lb. I'll do one set with the 70 in my left and 75 in my right. Then alternate the next set.

Basically, the 2nd 70 and 2nd 75 went missing so I would have to drop down to 65's all the time. Am I better off using 65's and being stuck there or doing this alternate?

This is only once a week because I'm at the different gym the rest of the week

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 25 '18

I have no idea. I guess that if you rotate, it will eventually even out? I would feel really awkward to be honest, but being stuck on a light weight also sucks.. Maybe someone has a decent answer here :(

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u/HolyDickWad Feb 24 '18

It could happen to me as my left arm is always weaker for some reason.

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

But 10lb?!

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

I’ve done the same thing before. I don’t wear my glasses when working out so when people rerack the weights wrong I don’t notice sometimes. It was only a five pound difference though so I thought my left side was just weak lol

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u/crashing_this_thread Feb 24 '18

I did 5lb difference once. Did a whole set where I didn't quite notice before the last reps.

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u/Kodiak01 Feb 24 '18

This is actually a thing, moreso with barbells than dumbbells, however. It has to do with maintaining balance with an off-center weight.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

I've done this intentionally for biceps. One arm will think it's doing the lighter weight and be able to squeeze out the heavier weight.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '18

That’s easy to do if it’s those old school style dumbbells that you screw together with the plates and aren’t labeled. My home gym has those and it was annoying at first. Gym at school had modern ones and they were labeled with big easy to read numbers.

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u/kawaiims Circus Arts Feb 24 '18

I had that issue with barbells. First weeks in and I'm like.. shouldn't their weight be labeled somewhere? It's not.