Ridiculous gym behavior, nonsensical gym rules, and the occasional death-defying stunt from fellow club members.
Joe Weider’s 1980’s bodybuilding bible, at 528 pages, gets it wrong for only one single paragraph. Weider points out that while bodybuilders literally carry their sport around with them, they should never under any circumstances wear shirts so tight that the shirts seem painted on. I think Weider’s aim was to discourage lifters from making…
There is a whole class of people that have been ignored by this blog but deserve better: the compulsive overexerciser. I’ve even lived in my own denial for years, but I think I finally reached the acceptance stage. I have always been careful to finish my run before sunrise, especially in summer. But because of…
There are a few really astounding gym incidents that I’ve been able only to hear about, rather than witness firsthand. For example, there are variations on the collarless barbell: A guy doing bench presses with three plates on each side pushes up unevenly; the bar tips to one side, all three plates spill off the…
Hang out in the grunting area of your gym, and you’re destined to find folks using lifting belts and joint wraps to excess. I read somewhere that these guys who wrap their knees, their elbows, their wrists and then cinch a weight belt around their waists begin to resemble mummies. Bodybuilding forums debate at length…
I’m resting between sets of bench presses, and I notice a guy come in and drop his gym bag next to the squat rack. He throws three plates onto each side of the bar, warms up with a quick check of his nose hairs in the mirror, and then settles in for his lift. What…