A Day at the Gym

A Day at the Gym 

Friday, August 12, 2011 

Yesterday I went to the gym. That makes two weeks in a row that I've gone to the gym twice. Twice a week lifting weights is good for me. My body complains if I try to lift on alternate days, but it's fine with a three day lag. Seven day weeks being what they are, that means the best I can expect is a Monday-Thursday, Monday-Friday, or Tuesday-Friday lifting schedule. Yesterday's agenda was Romanian deadlifts, lat pulls (because I'm too weak for pullups), dumbbell incline chest presses, and walking lunges.

The owner recognizes me, but there are many new faces in the weight room. I see a few old regulars that I recognize, and a lot of unfamiliar people who have well defined bodies and look like they know what they're doing. Of course, I still see the usual plates left on bars and bars left at abandoned stations, a mute testimony to the fact that clueless n00bs have been here. 

Between sets, I sometimes peek at what other people are doing. Yes, most of them know what they're doing. Some of the young guys with well defined bodies are working on explosive moves that I could not do safely. Most of the ones doing traditional lifts are using good form. Sometimes I see a lift that I haven't done, and I think about incorporating it into my rotation. Right now I'm thinking about dropping the weight on my military press, and instead doing a hang clean and press. I like compound moves that use several major muscles; they're time efficient for me. 

Yesterday while I was doing my warmups (Turkish getup/windmill combos followed by a few kettlebell snatches), I heard a couple of young, well defined body types talking. One was describing a diet theory that cut carbs to almost nothing while overloading on protein and working hard. Apparently that's part of the cutting phase to prepare for a modeling show or body building competition, designed to force the body to burn fat while rebuilding the muscle that the diet also loses. I kept a straight face and didn't say anything. I suspect that kind of diet can't be good for health, and that you need to be young to tolerate it in cycles for that kind of vanity. But if that's what those guys want to do, well, I'm not their trainer.

A bit later, an odd thing happened. I had finished one set of something and was walking toward the drinking fountain. Another guy and I dodged around each other in a perfectly normal maneuver for a crowded gym floor, and he mumbled "excuse me" in a tone that seemed to indicate he was deferring to me. A while after that, I figured it out. Saw the same guy, a younger fellow, doing DB chest presses. He was using 20 pound dumbbells, which isn't very much for a young healthy male to press. The light dawned. 

This guy is a newbie, and he identified me as a regular! Now, there are two major types of newbies. One is the clueless n00b who is going to wash out and is oblivious. The other is the serious newbie who wants to make this work, and is trying to learn without getting in the way of people he sees as more experienced and knowledgeable than he is. This guy was the second kind. I used to be that guy, except I was a lot older when I was at that stage. 

That was a minor ego boost. I don't see myself as a regular at the gym yet. Haven't been doing this consistently long enough. Don't have the well defined body saying I've done this consistently. But to a new lifter, I look like a regular who knows what he's doing. 

 Must be those Turkish getups.  They do look impressive to people who have never done them.