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Tales of a Gym Rat: Weighty Matters
Mar. 12th, 2016 05:36 pmI like using free-weights over machines but there are times that I need to use machines because I have concerns about being able to keep a grip on the weight.
This morning I started my arm routine with the usual warm up but I could tell only a little way in this was going to be one of those days and I had to switch it out with machines. My hands could not be trusted. I tried using less weight but that didn’t do the trick.
So I used various machines to get the burn that I get with the free weights. There are a lot of adjustments to make the machines fit my body. I have long arms so the standard setting that most people do just doesn’t work. So it took me twice as long to do basically the same thing I can do with the free weights.
Part of that time was resetting the machines to their neutral setting that most people use.
And I have been observing a lot of people using those machines while waiting for the next machine I needed.
Why are women so afraid of weight? Upping the weight would allow them to do the exercise and get more out of it. I know part of it is this insane notion that if they use too much weight they will turn into Schwarzenegger or Jay Cutler. It won’t happen. I know that avoiding injury is a good thing but this is absurd and just adds to the time they are on the machines.
Why do teen boys think they are Superman? I watched this skinny kid pulling weight that was pulling him out of his seat. He had no control over it and was well on the way to hurting himself. Not the only teenager that I saw doing this sort of thing. Slow and steady wins the race and saves one from joint damage and muscle tears.
There is a rehab group that works out of my gym. They work a lot with the elderly especially those doing out patient rehab for joint replacement. I can tell within 5 minutes pretty much how they are going to do. There are some that are committed to getting better and doing the work to get there. And there are those that are doing this because they are being forced to for whatever reason. They do the minimum effort to get through the exercising. The committed folks seem to stick around. The others vanish after a couple of weeks.
I will give everyone lots of kudos for being polite to each other. People let other people work through when they were between sets. People helped other people and spotted for people they had just met. That makes for a nice gym trip.
I am grateful for times at the gym that just click.
This morning I started my arm routine with the usual warm up but I could tell only a little way in this was going to be one of those days and I had to switch it out with machines. My hands could not be trusted. I tried using less weight but that didn’t do the trick.
So I used various machines to get the burn that I get with the free weights. There are a lot of adjustments to make the machines fit my body. I have long arms so the standard setting that most people do just doesn’t work. So it took me twice as long to do basically the same thing I can do with the free weights.
Part of that time was resetting the machines to their neutral setting that most people use.
And I have been observing a lot of people using those machines while waiting for the next machine I needed.
Why are women so afraid of weight? Upping the weight would allow them to do the exercise and get more out of it. I know part of it is this insane notion that if they use too much weight they will turn into Schwarzenegger or Jay Cutler. It won’t happen. I know that avoiding injury is a good thing but this is absurd and just adds to the time they are on the machines.
Why do teen boys think they are Superman? I watched this skinny kid pulling weight that was pulling him out of his seat. He had no control over it and was well on the way to hurting himself. Not the only teenager that I saw doing this sort of thing. Slow and steady wins the race and saves one from joint damage and muscle tears.
There is a rehab group that works out of my gym. They work a lot with the elderly especially those doing out patient rehab for joint replacement. I can tell within 5 minutes pretty much how they are going to do. There are some that are committed to getting better and doing the work to get there. And there are those that are doing this because they are being forced to for whatever reason. They do the minimum effort to get through the exercising. The committed folks seem to stick around. The others vanish after a couple of weeks.
I will give everyone lots of kudos for being polite to each other. People let other people work through when they were between sets. People helped other people and spotted for people they had just met. That makes for a nice gym trip.
I am grateful for times at the gym that just click.
