From an old sketch o’the week…

I was reading CNN the other day and ran across this article entitled “Dealing with Jerks at your Gym”. It was an accurate portrayal of what big fitness centers are like… both in the actual problems they have and in the way things that should not be problems become so because of the stupidity and selfishness of the human race.

I used to belong to a big club in Eagan, Minnesota called Lifetime Fitness. That’s where I really got back into weightlifting and I worked out there for about 5 years before I’d had enough and moved on to a smaller studio gym. I actually left because they fired my trainer just because some jerks at the club had some untrue complaints about him, but really that was just the last straw… I hated that place for a number of reasons that apply to almost all these mega-gyms.

Big fitness centers are not for people who seriously want to work out and exercise. They are designed for transient members who work out for a few weeks or months and then give up, only to return for short bursts now and again. They cater to these people, and have policies that actually deter those who work out regularly and for real results from wanting to continue to do so. They make most of their money collecting membership fees from people who DO NOT use their facility. If even a modestly decent percentage of a big club’s membership showed up at the same time to workout they would be totally overwhelmed. They want you to pay for membership, but not to work out. What they really market is the thought you COULD get to the gym and get into shape. Once they get you as a member, 99% of their goals are accomplished. Giving up your membership would be like surrendering to the idea that you will never get “back into shape”. Therefore you pay the fees and never go in, but you are always “meaning to”. Genius marketing.

Meanwhile the facilities are like candy stores… all empty calories. They have shiny mirrors, dozens of flat screen TVs, wood grain paneling, plush carpets and any real efforts are often discouraged in favor of the posh surroundings. The worst part is that often those real efforts are looked upon as annoying by other patrons. In the story I referenced above, some of the “jerks” cited are doing nothing more than sweating, making some noise or putting in 110% effort into their workouts. Imagine that!

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty if idiots at these gyms. I almost got into a fistfight with one jerk who jumped onto a machine I was clearly doing sets on and then proceeded to do a five minute multiple exercise super-set on it… some people think they are the only ones in the gym. Then there are those who make a big show of their workouts, expending more energy on noise and groans than on the weights. The facilities are also clogged with people “working out” in full makeup, hair done and in workout clothes that have clearly never seen sweat. The problem is that the people who run these gyms would rather make the part-timers and wannabes happy than the people who really want to use their equipment and facilities, because they make them more money than the serious workout folks. I left Lifetime and will never work out there again after witnessing management clearly siding with casual users over those who really wanted to get something out of their facility.

The bottom line is a gym is a place where you have to feel comfortable and can do what you need to do. I train to build size, strength and power, and need big weights, power racks and a little latitude to occasionally grunt my way through a heavy set. I sweat. I gasp for breath after a big set. I don’t do any of it for show but it does occasionally creep out. If that annoys those primped up pretenders at Lifetime then screw them… if any of them put in half the effort I do in a workout they’d be getting somewhere. Those mega-gyms are really for those people, and I don’t belong there.

I’m quite happy in the small studio gym I’m currently working out in. In fact, I am currently setting personal records in several lifts including bench (335 x 3), incline press (285 x 3), squats (405 x 2), deadlifts (415 x 3) and military press (255 x 3). Nobody complains and I have nobody to complain about. If you are looking to find a place to workout take a hard look at what your goals are, what you need to do to achieve them and then find a place that will provide you what you need for success. That may be the local super-spa, small sweatshop gym or some personal equipment in your basement.

It’s been some time since I’ve written about working out. Actually weightlifting and bodybuilding have been a big part of my life for over 5 years now, every since I saw how fat and out of shape I was at age 36 and decided to do something about it.

My trainer, Ryan Branson, left Lifetime Fitness a little less than two years ago and after a year or so of being part of an independent co-op sort of gym just opened his own studio in Eagan, MN. It’s a smallish space right now but there are plans to expand when another tenant next to him vacates their part of the building in a year or so. Ryan is a great trainer, who has kept me focused on my goals and kept me from injuring myself by working around my various ailments and past injuries. No mean feat as I have bad knees, a partially torn rotator cuff and I.T. band, barbed bone spurs in my AC shoulder joints and tendinitis in my wrists and biceps tendons. Despite all that, we maintain a 4 days a week rotating periodization program that changes frequently to keep the body guessing and continues to make progress.

Here are some pics of Ryan’s new studio, Renegade Personal Training and Fitness:

The equipment is necessarily a little limited right now due to space, but it’s got all the important stuff. We have to be creative in order to do some things, but that can lead to new gains as you use angles and movements that your body has not gotten used to or even attempted before. I did front squats for the first time last week, and I’ve got the bruises on my front shoulders to prove it.

Right now we are at the end of a mass building phase, one of three or four I undergo every year to bulk up and build new muscle. That usually involves heavy weights and lots of big, compound movements, as well as a lot of calories. It must be working, as I am currently weighing in at 242 lbs… my all time heaviest. I wish I could say it was all muscle, but there is always a certain amount of fat gain as well when you bulk up. I’ve got a little more muffin-top than 6 pack right now, not that I ever get cut enough to have a 6 pack anyway. I hate dieting. We will probably follow up with a short transition program of two weeks or so before doing an endurance phase where I will drop a lot of bodyfat and some muscle as well, but the net gain will be a certain amount of permanent muscle (at least as long as I continue to work out) and hopefully less bodyfat overall.

Here’s an example of a workout from my current routine that I did yesterday. This was a chest/back/triceps “push-pull” workout where we superset (doing one exercise immediately after another with almost no break) a “push” movement for chest with a “pull” movement for back. I’ve got pictures of some of the movements.

Superset:
- Bench Press: 4 sets x 8 reps
- Pull Ups: 4 sets x 8-12 reps

Flat bench press

Pull up at the top of the movement

Superset:
- Dumbbell Incline Press: 4 sets x 8 reps
- Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets x 8 reps

Incline Dumbbells using a decline ab bench!

Nice face, Popeye!

Lat Pulldown- top of movement

… at the bottom. Looks like I am leaning too far back.

Superset:
- Dumbell Flys on Ball: 4 sets x 8 reps
- Bent Over Dumbbell Rows with twist: 4 sets x 8 reps

Dumbbell Flys on the ball… good core movement as well as for chest

Bent Over Dumbbell Rows- Bottom of movement. The “twist” is when I pull
the dumbbells up to my chest. I start with my knuckles toward the mirror,
then I twist my hands so I end up with my knuckles facing out to each side.

Superset:
- Tricep Rope Extensions- 4 sets x 8 rep
- Overhead Tricep Dumbbell Presses- 4 sets x 8 reps
- Dumbbell Shrugs- 4 sets x 8 reps

I usually do deadlifts as well on back day and do some abs at the end but I had to cut out after an hour today to get some work done for a deadline. I try to never skip a workout but I do sometimes have to compromise them to limit my time spent in the gym if I am up against the Dreaded Deadline Demon.

Weightlifting is a passion and a way of life. You have to be committed to put up with the pain and soreness that is inevitable if you want to make gains. I find it both rewarding and a great stress reliever.