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Friday, January 22, 2016

Don't be "That Guy (or girl)" in the gym

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So many things wrong with the above lift...from no collars to trying to pull this stunt off in a commercial gym, with TV's.
Recently I read the Thrillist article 21 Things No Self-Respecting Person Should Do at the Gym, don't click on the link because you will lose a solid 5 minutes of your life as you click ad after ad after ad.
Here are some highlights.
Grunting, howling, or roaring like an animal
There’s nothing wrong with emitting a few inadvertent grunts on the last couple reps of your bench press because, you know, you’re exerting yourself. But to the (mostly guys) who grunt, howl, and roar before, during, and after throwing around a few questionably heavy dumbbells: you’re making a spectacle of yourselves in all the wrong ways.
Mansplaining
As in, “Hey girl, you really should be taking your ass to the grass on that squat. I went to CrossFit once.”
Obsessing over intra-workout protein consumption
... during a 30-minute circuit-training routine. Unless you’re engaging in extra-long, intense workouts, shaking up your protein powder after 15 minutes on the machines is completely unnecessary. When you do it loudly while looking around to see who’s paying attention to how much you know about performance nutrition, you just look ridiculous.
Being the "Ab Guy"
There was this guy back in college who always checked himself out in the gym mirrors by “wiping his sweat” with his shirt so he could lift up his tee and look at his own abs. If he thought he was being sneaky, he wasn’t.

I posted all of the above verbage so I could convey the message below..... 

Recently I've been working out at more commercial gyms, most of the time it's around 7:00 AM, but yesterday I found myself there at lunch time and that's when I met the "Gymocrat"

Full disclosure here, I'm not very political but I do have a few opinions, "Term limits" and "Reelect no one".

Now back to my "Gymocrat", we made eye contact while I was warming up on the dreadmill and he was on the leg extension machine. 5 minutes later I nodded my head as I made my way over to the free weights, he was still on the leg extension machine. After the free weights my next  stop was the purple machines and that's when the "Gymocrat" stopped me. 
"Gymocrat" - Never seen you here before
Me - ( In a prepubescent voice) I 'm usually here in the morning
"Gymocrat" - Me, I'm retired from up North, used to be fireman...blah, blah, blah.........couldn't afford insurance...blah, blah, blah.... I'm a Democrat.... blah, blah, blah
Me - 2 minutes into this and I'm zoned out.
"Gymocrat" - Hillary "She should be in jail" Clinton has no business....blah, blah, blah...now Bernie he's....
Me - Thinking to myself "I thought he said he was a Democrat. Time to do a set of shoulder presses" as I head to another purple machine.
"Gymocrat" (Between set 1 and 2 of my shoulder presses) He walks over and says, this whole Obamacare thing total BS...blah, blah, blah....
Me - Thinking to myself, again, "I thought he said he was a Democrat. I'm guessing he's not the poster child for the party, I'll do another set". 
"Gymocrat" (After set 2 now hovering) You know what else?
Me - (In my mind) No, please tell me.
"Gymocrat" - I'm ready to run the place at my part-time job. Been there a month and know the system better than my boss.
Me - (Cleaning off the equipment, fumbling for my keys) No doubt you do, as I head to the exit.
 
Normally at the gym, I'm "That Guy", wearing headphones with the disconnected look, apparently today, I possessed neither.

We all have opinions, but sharing them with strangers at the gym, is not cool. Be it politics, religion or social issues your thoughts are yours, please keep them that way, you're not going to change my mind. 

The one nice thing about Crossfit is that everyone is grasping to breath and can't speak.

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