Overheard in the gym - Share!

[Obitim]

So I racked up the power rack today with 2 oly bars, one for deadlifts and one for OHP (I'm lazy and don't need go to a different station then) as I was doing circuits...was loading up the lower oly bar for deadlifts and managed to stand up and crack my head on the higher oly bar...only good thing was that there was no one in there to see me doing it and then I get the pleasure of being of being written about on this thread!

[Guzzi]

Ha! Well done. You get a gold star

[Obitim]

Ha! Well done. You get a gold star

 

I was seeing stars!

[Obitim]

I guess I'm not the only one who thinks to oneself "Which thread should I post this in, and at what Forum" whenever they do something silly [or awesome, for that matter]

 

Tell me about it, I pretty much put everything here now...some poss should go to the woot room!

[Cr33g]

I can't remember if I posted this or not, but I'll post about it regardless. It wasn't something I overheard or something that was said to me, it was something that I did that was incredibly stupid. 

 

Sometime last year (near the end of 2013) I was at the gym and I was doing overhead press, working with 70kg (154Ibs). This girl walks into the gym, now before I continue, the gym I go to is typically very blokey, a lot of guys go there and not many girls. The few girls who do train there, we all know. Anyway, I've never seen this girl before and I won't lie, she was very attractive but she was wearing... very, very short shorts. I see her, but it's a mere glance, then stupidly I do a dumb arse "double take" with a 70kg weighted barbell above my head. As I bring the bar down I lose focus (forgive me Dwayne Johnson) and I drop the barbell on the bridge of my nose.

 

Surprisingly I didn't break anything, but I did have a very nice bruise on my face for a while. Did that girl see that? I have no idea, but I reckon she probably did and she probably thinks I'm the resident dumb arse, ha ha.  

[Raev]

Gym owner to me yesterday (yelling)-

"Take care [real name here]! See you Friday!  Hope your groin gets better!"

 

Me to him(yelling across gym)

"See ya!  That's a weird thing to yell across a gym by the way!"

[batman4]

Not even sure what I saw - I don't think it's a real lift...any thoughts?

Guy set up in a squat rack and had a neck pad on the bar. No squats though - he held the bar in his elbows out in front of him, then did "squats". Is this a real thing, or a poorly executed front squat??

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[Why not?]

Not even sure what I saw - I don't think it's a real lift...any thoughts?

Guy set up in a squat rack and had a neck pad on the bar. No squats though - he held the bar in his elbows out in front of him, then did "squats". Is this a real thing, or a poorly executed front squat??

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It's called a zercher squat.

[Oramac]

It's called a zercher squat.

 

Had to google it.  Is there any real benefit to squatting like that?  Obviously someone thinks there is, otherwise nobody would do it, but really, is it any better than the more "normal" squats?

[Machete]

Had to google it.  Is there any real benefit to squatting like that?  Obviously someone thinks there is, otherwise nobody would do it, but really, is it any better than the more "normal" squats?

 

It's a way to transition to a front squat if you don't have the ROM. Also:

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

I'm gonna have to call BS on this one

Men don't use those ... not that I've ever seen, anyway

Actually a really good warm up for hips and low back. I know a guy with a bad back whom opens every workout on that machine and swears by it.

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[LadyFenix]

Yo! Get outta here with your facts and IRL "I know a guy ..." nonsense, you

 

There is NO acceptable circumstance where ANY man should be in a position where he looks like he's on the receiving end of a gyno exam ... GOT IT???!!!

 

So how strong are your thighs then, since you seem to avoid working them?

[Why not?]

So how strong are your thighs then, since you seem to avoid working them?

And here, all this time I was squatting, I thought I was strengthening my thighs...guess I better hop on the yes/no machine...

[Buff Brogan]

most recently i've overheard a few concerning things, but my favorite as of late is probably, from this huge guy -upper half at least- explaining to another guy why his upper body is so much larger by comparison. "i don't even do legs man. ya see, my legs are big compared to a "normal" person so i don't even have to work em. the chest is what the women go for"

 

maybe it's just me, but i don't think your forearms should be twice the size of your calves. 

[Cr33g]

most recently i've overheard a few concerning things, but my favorite as of late is probably, from this huge guy -upper half at least- explaining to another guy why his upper body is so much larger by comparison. "i don't even do legs man. ya see, my legs are big compared to a "normal" person so i don't even have to work em. the chest is what the women go for"

 

maybe it's just me, but i don't think your forearms should be twice the size of your calves. 

 

I really agree to this. 

 

I've got pretty big calves. I think the reason they're big is because I used to be very overweight and walking around carrying all that weight all the time probably had some effect on them. That's my theory.

 

Anyway - my point is I agree with you. I find it strange when guys have bigger forearms than their calves. To me it looks a bit funny (no offence to anyone). I also find it especially strange when guys have arms (biceps/triceps) that are bigger than their upper legs (quadriceps and hamstrings). I guess the only reason I find both of these things "funny" is many guys seem to think it's funny that my legs (calves and quads/hammies) are bigger than my arms. 

[Buff Brogan]

I really agree to this. 

 

I've got pretty big calves. I think the reason they're big is because I used to be very overweight and walking around carrying all that weight all the time probably had some effect on them. That's my theory.

 

Anyway - my point is I agree with you. I find it strange when guys have bigger forearms than their calves. To me it looks a bit funny (no offence to anyone). I also find it especially strange when guys have arms (biceps/triceps) that are bigger than their upper legs (quadriceps and hamstrings). I guess the only reason I find both of these things "funny" is many guys seem to think it's funny that my legs (calves and quads/hammies) are bigger than my arms. 

 

it's completely understandable that your legs are larger based upon that. however, i don't think that makes you unbalanced. I agree that your legs should be a good bit larger than your arms if for no other reason than your legs carry your weight... all day, everyday. idk, i just think your legs should be stronger and larger than your arms.

 

new terrible thing i saw yesterday: i've seen, on countless occasions sadly, of folks curling in the squat rack. but yesterday.... yesterday i saw a guy doing curls on a flat bench. not just a bench with no rack on it, one specifically designed to do.... wait for it.... bench press on. he was curling the bar, then doing dumbbell curls, then back to the bar. all the while several people were waiting on the bench. wtf is going on? 

[TheCrimsonFist]

Had an interesting one last night at the gym. There's a hispanic guy who comes in and lifts every now and again, and today he brought a few of his friends with him to "train" them. He took one guy over to a bench and loaded up a plate on either side. The "trainer" cranked out a few reps to show his friend how it was done and then left him alone. Bear in mind that his friends arms were probably as big around as my wrist. I knew bad things were coming.

 

Sure enough, the guy unracks the weight, gets it down to his chest, and then his legs start flailing. I drop what I'm doing and go over to help him get it re-racked and then explain to him that he should probably start a little lighter. We deload to about half the weight and I spot him through his reps (which he did like a champ, I might add). Then his friend comes over, sees the lighter weight and calls his buddy a maricon (spanish equivalent of fag).

 

I just bit my tongue, gave the little guy a fist bump, then walked behind his "trainer" and gave him 10-12 One-Finger Salutes (stone cold!). Seriously, nothing gets me going more than someone who has no idea how training actually works.

[Tomu-san]

 

 

maybe it's just me, but i don't think your forearms should be twice the size of your calves. 

Only if you have a pipe and a can of spinach.

[TheCrimsonFist]

I've kind of always wanted to have ridiculous Popeye forearms. At one point I considered training nothing but forearm isolation exercises just to see what would happen.

[Cr33g]

it's completely understandable that your legs are larger based upon that. however, i don't think that makes you unbalanced. I agree that your legs should be a good bit larger than your arms if for no other reason than your legs carry your weight... all day, everyday. idk, i just think your legs should be stronger and larger than your arms.

 

new terrible thing i saw yesterday: i've seen, on countless occasions sadly, of folks curling in the squat rack. but yesterday.... yesterday i saw a guy doing curls on a flat bench. not just a bench with no rack on it, one specifically designed to do.... wait for it.... bench press on. he was curling the bar, then doing dumbbell curls, then back to the bar. all the while several people were waiting on the bench. wtf is going on? 

 

Again I agree. I believe your legs should be a bit larger than your arms. To be precise I believe your legs should be stronger than your arms. 

 

You know, as for people curling in the squat rack or other strange things... I've actually never seen anyone curl in the squat rack before, ever. Never seen anyone use a bench press for curling though. That's a new one, kzacher! 

[Cr33g]

I can't remember if I posted this one or not so I do apologize if I did double post but I thought I'd share it regardless.

 

I know a fella who is very much into cross fit and tells me it's the best thing ever. Now I've got nothing against cross fit and I have nothing negative to say about it, but with this fella we were discussing certain lifts. He asks me, "How much do you dead lift?" and I answer "Not much. The most I've ever done is 140kg for three reps." and he goes "Is that it?" 

 

I admit, for a guy my size a 140kg dead lift isn't very impressive at all but I was a little offended by his response. So I ask "Well, what's the most you've pulled?" and he replies instantly, as if prepared, "180." 

 

Wow. 180 is nothing to sneeze at. I reckon that's good. I'm curious though so I ask, "How much do you squat?" and he goes "What?" and I ask again, "How much do you squat?"

 

"Oh... I don't really do squats. What about you?" I say "At the moment I'm working with 100kg." 

 

I was surprised. I've always been instructed that dead lifts require a fair amount of leg drive to achieve the lift, so someone who doesn't squat but can pull 180kg? That surprised me. So I ask "Oh really?" and he replies "Well, I do squat, but I use the smith machine... squat maybe about 60kg half way." 

 

So... I wasn't quite sure what to do or say about this, so I just thought you know what? Okay, fair enough.

 

I suppose the reason I bring this up is how snarky and arrogant he seemed about a dead lift, but when questioned about squatting he quickly closed up and seemed embarrassed about it. I'm still wondering if it is possible to properly achieve a pull of 180kg while not being able to properly squat at least 60kg? 

[Barfly]

Used to hear the same sort of thing; the old school "how much ya bench?" from guys with legs I'm pretty sure I could have snapped off and slapped them with.

[Obitim]

I can't remember if I posted this one or not so I do apologize if I did double post but I thought I'd share it regardless.

 

I know a fella who is very much into cross fit and tells me it's the best thing ever. Now I've got nothing against cross fit and I have nothing negative to say about it, but with this fella we were discussing certain lifts. He asks me, "How much do you dead lift?" and I answer "Not much. The most I've ever done is 140kg for three reps." and he goes "Is that it?" 

 

I admit, for a guy my size a 140kg dead lift isn't very impressive at all but I was a little offended by his response. So I ask "Well, what's the most you've pulled?" and he replies instantly, as if prepared, "180." 

 

Wow. 180 is nothing to sneeze at. I reckon that's good. I'm curious though so I ask, "How much do you squat?" and he goes "What?" and I ask again, "How much do you squat?"

 

"Oh... I don't really do squats. What about you?" I say "At the moment I'm working with 100kg." 

 

I was surprised. I've always been instructed that dead lifts require a fair amount of leg drive to achieve the lift, so someone who doesn't squat but can pull 180kg? That surprised me. So I ask "Oh really?" and he replies "Well, I do squat, but I use the smith machine... squat maybe about 60kg half way." 

 

So... I wasn't quite sure what to do or say about this, so I just thought you know what? Okay, fair enough.

 

I suppose the reason I bring this up is how snarky and arrogant he seemed about a dead lift, but when questioned about squatting he quickly closed up and seemed embarrassed about it. I'm still wondering if it is possible to properly achieve a pull of 180kg while not being able to properly squat at least 60kg? 

 

I do both and I can deadlift far more than I can squat...but at least I'm doing both!

[Why not?]

I can't remember if I posted this one or not so I do apologize if I did double post but I thought I'd share it regardless.

 

I know a fella who is very much into cross fit and tells me it's the best thing ever. Now I've got nothing against cross fit and I have nothing negative to say about it, but with this fella we were discussing certain lifts. He asks me, "How much do you dead lift?" and I answer "Not much. The most I've ever done is 140kg for three reps." and he goes "Is that it?" 

 

I admit, for a guy my size a 140kg dead lift isn't very impressive at all but I was a little offended by his response. So I ask "Well, what's the most you've pulled?" and he replies instantly, as if prepared, "180." 

 

Wow. 180 is nothing to sneeze at. I reckon that's good. I'm curious though so I ask, "How much do you squat?" and he goes "What?" and I ask again, "How much do you squat?"

 

"Oh... I don't really do squats. What about you?" I say "At the moment I'm working with 100kg." 

 

I was surprised. I've always been instructed that dead lifts require a fair amount of leg drive to achieve the lift, so someone who doesn't squat but can pull 180kg? That surprised me. So I ask "Oh really?" and he replies "Well, I do squat, but I use the smith machine... squat maybe about 60kg half way." 

 

So... I wasn't quite sure what to do or say about this, so I just thought you know what? Okay, fair enough.

 

I suppose the reason I bring this up is how snarky and arrogant he seemed about a dead lift, but when questioned about squatting he quickly closed up and seemed embarrassed about it. I'm still wondering if it is possible to properly achieve a pull of 180kg while not being able to properly squat at least 60kg? 

That conversation does not sound like someone who's into CrossFit. CrossFitters squat. A lot, if they're doing it right. It should be called SquatFit.

[Cr33g]

Used to hear the same sort of thing; the old school "how much ya bench?" from guys with legs I'm pretty sure I could have snapped off and slapped them with.

 

There's something strange about the bench press. To a lot of people, whether they go to the gym or not, the bench press seems to be a sign of masculinity, of "manliness" basically. I know this isn't true, but to some people it just seems to be. I guess that's because the general stereotype of a big, strong guy is the whole big arms/chest/shoulders thing, like Arnold Schwarznegger in his movies. I'm aware Arnie had massively powerful legs too, but for people who don't go to the gym or don't know much about it, the first thing they look at and recognise is his upper body.

 

I do both and I can deadlift far more than I can squat...but at least I'm doing both!

 

It's okay. I understand. I know a lot of guys who dead lift more than they can squat and to me, that seems natural, that seems right. For me, it's the opposite... my maximum squat is 120kg, while my maximum dead lift is 140kg. I hope it changes though, I just want to increase both those numbers! 

 

 

That conversation does not sound like someone who's into CrossFit. CrossFitters squat. A lot, if they're doing it right. It should be called SquatFit.

 

I understand what you mean. I once had to go to a different gym on my lunch break (because I couldn't go to the normal gym I go to after work) and while there doing squats, someone asked me if I do cross fit. I said no sorry, and he said "Oh okay, because you're squatting deep like a cross fitter." 

 

So... I guess with this other fella, it's confusing because he is apparently able to pull quite a substantial dead lift, yet apparently has to use a smith machine, not even full squat, to lift a small weight. It seems bizarre but... okay, no problem. Fair enough.