That time gets shorter if you show up already in shape, with your notebook and already knowing the gym etiquette.

When I became a regular I ended up doing the same thing – why bother offering usually unwanted advise to someone who's not going to be around in a few weeks anyway? One thing I figured all gyms should do though is tell all their new members what "working in" means and when it's ok to ask. For example, don't ask the guy benching 405 if you can work in when your max is only 95.

crossfit, the food pyramid, veganism, socialism, egalitarianism, atheism, just looks like another terribly stupid idea expanding into a movement.

Ah well, I guess stupid is it's own reward.

Basically I do this because I don't have the patience to learn all the fancy bodybuilder exercises that everyone always talks about.

Same. For me it's just the basics- lift heavy sh*t, rest, repeat.

BTW…what the hell was that guy doing on the rings? trying to have an orgasm? I haven't seen anything that messed up since kindergarten. I don't see the fitness value of swinging like a monkey having an epileptic seizure, unless you are simply trying to work on your stamina… it looks like hard (and stupid) work.

It was a parody :).

Unfortunately, what he's making fun of is a real thing.

Naww, I do them military style. straight, from the floor, full arm tension. The same with pushups. Straight, hold halfway for 30 seconds to build endurance, then ten fast ones.
Armor squats I got from the SCA, and involve doing 5 point bodybuilders in full armor. Not the most comfortable exercise, wearing 120 pounds of platemail, but neccessary to be able to get to your feet in a rough battle.

and rowing? well, it's just rowing. good core burn (in my experience) and keeps your stomach tight, as long as you row with your legs instead of your back.

I know people gripe about situps, but I haven't yet found anything better than suspended situps for keeping your stomach tight.

Basically I do this because I don't have the patience to learn all the fancy bodybuilder exercises that everyone always talks about.

BTW…what the hell was that guy doing on the rings? trying to have an orgasm? I haven't seen anything that messed up since kindergarten. I don't see the fitness value of swinging like a monkey having an epileptic seizure, unless you are simply trying to work on your stamina… it looks like hard (and stupid) work.

Only if you do them the way CrossFitters do. Especially pullups.

(As that video shows, you can extend the horrors of bad CrossSh*t form to almost any form of exercise you want.)

I don't know if Schwarzenfraudder is the precise culprit, but I know there are bodybuilding types who worship him, and he deliberately misled people when he did mags and interviews and gave advice. His autobiography gives his original workout regimen (Reg Parker's workout), and everything else he said after that was different. He might not be the only one to blame for all the misinformation out there, but he definitely played the biggest part.

Of course, the meatheads at the desk would first have to acknowledge that not every day is National Bench Press Day for that to work elsewhere.

Friends don't let friends skip leg day, bro. =)

I blame this "never squat below parallel" phenomenon on Ahnie. His bodybuilding "encyclopedia" told people not to because it was damaging to the knees.

Really? I didn't know that was the source. I'd seen and heard the usual nonsense about "deep squats are bad for the knees" many times before I started doing squats, of course, but I never knew that Ahhhnuld was the reason behind it. And as you say, there are plenty of pictures of Arnie doing very deep squats with very heavy weights from back in the early days of his bodybuilding career.

Did you at least offer the guy some advice?

I rarely, if ever, offer advice in the gym anymore. Partly because I never feel like my form is perfect, so I try not to lecture others about theirs. And mostly because such advice is rarely taken well- most guys either don't listen or get actively hostile when you try to tell them.

And I understand why those guys get annoyed. A bit over a year ago I was in a gym in London working out and one of the trainers came over during my warm-up sets and started lecturing me about my squat form because my first few sets looked weird. (He was right about that, actually- I knew what the problem was and fixed it on my own.) Then he started telling me about "functional" lifts and deep squats and CrossFit- at which point I got rather annoyed and told him point blank whether he minded if I got back to my workout. He didn't like that at all.

The only thing worse than watching some doofus with horrible form in the gym is having to listen to lectures from the wannabe coaches. So I try not to be one.

It's easy and fun to sneer and laugh at these guys, but what we should really be doing is spreading the manosphere gospel to those who need it most. That's how we actually fix the problem. Talk to these guys. Teach 'em to lift. Teach 'em to approach. Teach 'em the way the world really works.

Maybe 4 out of 5 K'nex men ignore you or scoff, but the 1 who listens is potentially another footsoldier in our ranks.

We have to reach out.

I agree completely. Which is why this blog, and others like it, exist.

If you look through my blog archives, you'll see a set of posts targeted specifically at helping men to understand how to perform the big lifts properly, along with accessory exercises and the right ways to rest and heal after a hard workout.

I personally blame this sort of thing on personal trainers and "box gyms" like Planet Princess/NYSC that operate on "churn" rather than on results. I used to go to an NYSC gym; NOBODY there ever did heavy squats or deadlifts, and I worked out on treadmills, stationary bikes, and isolation exercises for years. I had to fundamentally change huge parts of my life to get rid of those bad habits.

I blame this "never squat below parallel" phenomenon on Ahnie. His bodybuilding "encyclopedia" told people not to because it was damaging to the knees. Problem is, there's tons of pics out there of Ahnie squatting ATG, and at the time he published the book he was endorsing anything that paid him a buck. Wouldn't doubt that a knee specialist told him to add that little nugget and paid him handsomely for it.