Glamour Muscles
Glamour Muscles The Unwritten Rules of the Gym
Table of Contents
The Gym Caste System Unwritten Rules Rule 1 Talking Rule 2 Excessive Talking Rule 3 Through The Looking Glass Rule 4 Working In Rule 5 Letting Someone Work In Rule 6 Bench Hogs Rule 7 Rolling, Rolling, Rolling Rule 8 Water Breaks Rule 9 Captain Safety Rule 10 Abusing Your Spotter Rule 11 Comfort Zones Rule 12 Resetting Machines
1 5 9 11 19 25 35 41 49 55 63 69 75 77 87
Rule 13 Be Nice Rule 14 Spotting Rule 15 Screaming Rule 16 Dropping & Banging Rule 17 Too Much Info Rule 18 Bullseye Rule 19 Pepe La Pew (Part 1) Rule 20 Pepe La Pew (Part 2) Glossary Bibliography Colophon
91 99 107 111 1 15 1 21 125 1 31 1 37 1 41 142
The Gym An endless number of masculine postures dominate the gym. From overly aggressive salespeople and trainers to the banging of heavy steel weights, the gym is turning into more of a masculine machine than a symbiotic place to improve one’s fitness. This is prevalent when one observes the stratification of the gym areas. —Professional
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The gym tends to privilege a masculine
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posture
in men in order to gain a measure of respect. —Professional
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Caste System Owner Professional Amateur Gym Rat
Member
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The elite gym is highly organized, sharing elements with all gyms as well as containing some that are unique. This is seen in the social structure of Olympic, in which five strata can be isolated, arranged hierarchically in pyramid fashion. What distinguishes one stratum from another is power and status, both of which are variously defined (Klein pg.48).
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When I break in a new gym, even if in the same city, there seems like an
unwritten code of conduct
that holds the gym culture together.
—Professional
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Unwritten Rules All gyms, however, have an unwritten code of behavior that is not always readily apparent to sometimes even the most advanced of us. The unwritten code of the gym is often a mystery to the inexperienced trainer, though advanced trainers have been known to experience lapses. If you have ever wondered what the unwritten code of the gym is, you have come to the right place. They are many and not always what you’d expect (Nelsson, Bodybuilding.com).
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RULE
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Talking Do not talk to someone in the middle of a set. This is very distracting and they are probably not listening to you anyway. Don’t be offended if and when they ignore you. Wait until they’re done.
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I stand at attention
at the front counter waiting to lay some world class customer service on him.
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Talking This one time some black dude comes walking in and he is on a phone call, I stand at attention at the front counter waiting to lay some world class customer service on him. He keeps putting up his finger to me as to indicate ‘give me a minute.’ I wait for almost ten minutes and he is just jiving around talking with his woman, so I walk away. I went
to the bathroom and when I came out I guess he had left. It didn’t bother me, I figured if he was really serious about joining the gym he would have gotten off the fucking phone. —Owner
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I enjoy interaction as long as it’s between sets or between me and the person I’m working out with. If I’m trying to do an exercise, you better hope it’s not leg day, cause I need all my concentration. —Amateur
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Talking
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Talking
I would be annoyed if someone tried to talk to me at the gym, especially in the middle of a workout.
That’s just poor timing. —Member
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RULE 19
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Don’t talk excessively to people during their workout. They are (usually) at the gym to work, not socialize. Socialize after the workout.
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I bet this guy wouldn’t
DREAM
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of expecting free gas at the gas station or free food at Burger King
On Monday some guy who I will just call asshole came in and said he wasn’t a member, but was coming in to train with his buddy. I said ‘no problem man, we just have a $10 guest fee.’ He flatly came out and said he was from out of town, wasn’t going to join but was hoping that he could just workout for free. I fucking HATE that, you will train here for free when I say, not when YOU say. I bet this guy wouldn’t DREAM of expecting free gas at the gas station or free food at
Excessive Talking
Burger King, but the guy who owns a gym should just give it away. I just told him, ‘Yo dude, did you notice that when you walked in here the temperature went from a sweltering 92 down to a comfortable 72? Well that is called air conditioning, which costs MONEY, MY MONEY. Are you seeing the picture yet? No? Well how about this, I don’t care if you train here or not today, but if you are it’s going to cost you YOUR money.’ He gave me the $10 and sadly walked away after just being dominated like a little bitch. On his way out later he says, ‘Well my buddy didn’t even show up, he got stuck at work. I must look like a real dick huh?’ I said ‘YEP.’ —Owner
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Beyond a simple hello and my brain just strays from its course. Even when I was working out with a trainer I kept having to ask him to cut out the conversation. —Member
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RULE 25
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Walking or standing in front of someone during a set interferes with their concentration. People rely on the feedback from the mirror to help their balance and keep track of form, especially during overhead presses, squats, deadlifts, etc.
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Men are doing one of two things: exercising or
staring at themselves in the mirror.
—Member
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The last couple weeks I have seen a lot of the curl guys doing fixed weight barbell curls in the power rack so they can watch themselves while being very close to the mirror.
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—Gym Rat
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All day long
I can feel people looking
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at me.
While in my private office, or as I call it my fortress of solitude, because it’s where I go so that nobody can freaking look at me. All day long I can feel people looking at me. Sometimes I just don’t want to be looked at. I do this several times a day. —Owner
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The majority of men in the power racks in the gym aren’t even using them cause’ they are looking at themselves. —Amateur
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RULE 35
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Working In Always ask before you work in. It is very rude to just sit down on a machine or bench the instant someone gets off. Don’t ask to work in on a machine or bench if the other person is using a lot more or a lot less weight than you as it may take too long to change weights in between sets. Just wait until they’re done or find something else to do.
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Watching them really reminds me of my buddies and I
stumbling into our first gym and the stuff we used to do.
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Working In Around three or so the high school kids start coming in. The gym gets more crowded. It’s funny to watch these young kids come in and train in groups of six. And there’s always that ‘leader’ in every group that sort of trains the other ones who always has awesome theories regarding
training. Watching them really reminds me of my buddies and I stumbling into our first gym and the stuff we used to do. —Owner
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Working In The free weight area is where all the men start out when working out. They come into the gym, head to the free weights, stretch, scope the gym to check the competition, then begin their workout. Working with free weights poses extreme risks for a beginner. There are light weights, but men will try to intimidate anyone who gets in the way of their workout, hovering over weight benches and machines with postures that suggest impatience and intolerance. —Professional
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RULE 41
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Letting Someone Work In
By the same token, it is rude not to let someone else work in with you. The exception to this is when it would interfere with your own workout, e.g. lots of weight changing or very short rest periods. The Unwritten Rules of the Gym
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Letting Someone Work In
I’m a bit of a loner normally, plus I work retail on top of it, so when I get to the gym I tend to just shut up and lift if left alone, kind of as a way to clear my head and get any aggravation and/or stress out. I am more than willing to let someone work in if they need to though. —Amateur
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Old dudes
are grumpy and don’t like to let you work in.
—Gym Rat
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Letting Someone Work In
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Letting Someone Work In
It doesn’t help that everyone clammers to the gym at around the same time, making it impossible to engage in a smooth workout, and usually at this time you see the clear hierarchy on the gym floor. —Professional
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RULE
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Don’t hog benches or machines (unless it’s quiet and nobody else wants to use them).
Bench Hogs The Unwritten Rules of the Gym
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The dudes
with the biggest muscles only do various machines, curls, and bench press. —Member
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There are never enough bench presses. I think there is a law that says no gym can ever have more than three. Compounded by the fact that people like to do ab-raises, butterflies, and all kinds of ridiculous crap on them that you could do in 20 other, less popular places. —Amateur
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RULE
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Don’t let your dumbbells or barbells roll away from you as they can cause injury to others.
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There are always one or two guys I see doing some type of curls all the time. Curls in the squat rack, curls with dumbbells, curls sitting down, curls he just invented.
—Gym Rat
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My workouts are very meditative and intense so I can sometimes
cut people off.
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—Amateur
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Most people go there and are in their own little world and not worried about what is going on around them. —Member
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RULE 63
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Water Breaks Don’t take too long at the water fountain. This includes filling up your water bottle. If someone is behind you, let them drink then resume filling. Don’t ever spit or blow your nose in the fountain, either.
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I gulp down a
Speed Stack, an ephedrine tablet, a protein cookie
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and get ready to train.
Water Breaks I gulp down a Speed Stack, an ephedrine tablet, a protein cookie and get ready to train. I have decided that I’m not answering the gym phone anymore when I’m training. So between ten and noon every day, the gym is dead in the water. —Owner
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Water Breaks Gym water fountains never work well and they are always dirty because people get their shake stuff in them. And then on top of it someone is always spitting in them, except they miss and get spit all over the place. —Member
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RULE
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Don’t automatically jump in and spot someone the instant they look as though they’re having trouble. The hard reps are the most productive and you may screw it up by jumping in. Get into position and be ready if they ask but don’t assume.
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I’m
witnessing
a lot of squirrly looking hang cleans and
tricep workouts.
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By one pm, lots of college students start rolling in the gym. I’m witnessing a lot of squirrly looking hang cleans and tricep workouts. Not one of them ever asks me a training question. They just watch in horror as I train, but never ask me anything. Maybe it’s because they are friends with the kid that I screamed at as I beat up my garage door in a fit of rage the other day. —Owner
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The majority of people that go to gyms have novice to intermediate knowledge of weight training, so maintaining confidence in the weight room can be worrisome. —Professional
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RULE
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Abusing Your Spotter
Don’t ask someone to spot you if you can’t lift the weight yourself in the first place. If your spotter gets a lower-back workout while you are bench pressing then you need to reevaluate the amount of weight you are using. The Unwritten Rules of the Gym
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Abusing Your Spotter This goes without saying but most people care more about the amount of weight they are moving than the proper manner in which to move it. Every time I go I see three or four meatheads using weights way too heavy for them. They look ridiculous lifting while their hips are flying around and their head is bobbing. —Amateur
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RULE
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Don’t move your bench too close to other people’s benches. Some exercises require more room to execute than others and you might just be in the way.
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I love going to the gym when I’m in shape. I find it comforting to workout when I know some of the regular gym goers and staff. —Professional
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I avoid talking to other people more out of shyness and not wanting to bug people. It’s more of an
insecurity than anything. —Member
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The newbies don’t understand the concept of removing free weights and stepping away from the weight rack to do their exercise. I probably have two near head misses a day from gym yambags just trying to grab some weights myself. —Amateur
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RULE
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If you work in on a machine, reset it back to where the other person had it after you’ve done your set.
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The skinny teenage boys will only do isolation exercises like hammerheads and curls and then leave their weights on the floor.
—Gym Rat
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RULE
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Be Nice It’s not nice to laugh at other people just because they can’t lift as much as you. Remember, there is always someone else who can lift more than you.
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I think its a posture. If you carry yourself in a certain way, people aren’t going to mess with you, but if you are very timid and act like you don’t know what your doing, you’re going to get messed with. —Professional
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Be Nice
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Pole dancing? I told them they should go underneath the Ben Franklin Bridge and use the
massive girders
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that support the bridge, just in case.
Be Nice Yesterday I turned away three heavy-set women looking for pole dancing classes. Really? Pole dancing? I told them they should go underneath the Ben Franklin Bridge and use the massive girders that support the bridge, just in case. —Owner
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Be Nice Most gym’s offer a way to remove the anxiety by encouraging personal training, but most trainers abide by the gym’s aggressive tone and are very expensive. —Professional
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RULE
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Spotting If someone asks you for a spot, give it to them. If you don’t feel comfortable spotting them, e.g. they are using a very heavy weight, let them know.
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Spotting Even though I beat myself up internally for being weak, externally I continued to project a macho persona, as if I was satisfied with my workout. —Professional
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If someone approaches me, ask me for a spot,
whatever, that’s cool and I consider it a compliment. —Amateur
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Spotting
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Spotting
It’s like as soon as I enter the gym I become invisible. Probably because I’m unimpressive. —Member
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RULE
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Screaming Try not to yell and scream unnecessarily. This can distract other gym members. Sometimes it is necessary but if you scream during a set of wrist curls, something is wrong.
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this kid is watching me and profusely apologizing the whole time,
WHICH IS PISSING ME OFF EVEN WORSE.
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Screaming The other day I hear someone screaming my name, I leave the fortress and a very nervous looking kid tells me that he just broke my garage door. I let people open the automatic garage door to take the tires and sleds outside to use and once in a while they shut the door with something obstructing it, and it bends the living hell out of the tracks and strains the pooper on the little motor. As I’m trying to repair
the door, this kid is watching me and profusely apologizing the whole time, WHICH IS PISSING ME OFF EVEN WORSE. I dismantle the whole works and reassemble it. Tragedy was averted but this young member was traumatized. —Owner
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RULE
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Don’t drop weights or bang them together unnecessarily. Not only can you hurt your joints by banging and dropping weights, but it is very distracting to others as well.
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There are always guys who slam the weights down on the floor rumbling the floor after three reps, stares down every person in his vicinity, and/or throws a tantrum if someone complains. (I admit I have done it several times myself) —Professional
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RULE
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Too Much Information
Don’t hold loud, in-depth conversations around people while they are doing a set.
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Too Much Information And then there is that baby boomer and former bodybuilder who wears the spaghetti string tank, which barely covers his nipples, and works just enough to say ‘he feels the pump,’ yet feels the need to impart his wisdom on everyone in the gym. —Professional
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Too Much Information Most people just go to the gym to do their workouts and leave. Then there are the ones that go there just to hang out and talk with their buddies. Rarely is it in the middle when people work out and just sort of say a couple of sentences. —Member
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RULE
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Bullseye If you tend to spray spit when you lift (it happens), make sure there is no one in the target area.
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I forced the guy to watch me in horror as I
screamed and punched
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the door a bunch of times.
Bullseye On my way out, some guy tells me that he has just accidentally closed the garage door on something and it’s now all jammed sideways. WHAT THE HELL? I totally lose it and get my tools out and take it all apart ONCE AGAIN
and fix it. And again, I forced the guy to watch me in horror as I screamed and punched the door a bunch of times. —Owner
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RULE
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Don’t wear excessive cologne or perfume to the gym. It can be very unpleasant for others who are breathing heavily.
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I am now being forced to smell
Marlboros and tuna. Awesome!
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This bodybuilder kid that comes in here just about every day late afternoon gets done training and goes outside for a smoke break, he then comes in, stands in front of me at my counter and busts out a container of tuna fish and starts slurping it down. Now, for some reason, I am now being
forced to smell Marlboros and tuna. Awesome! I don’t know how many times I have to tell this guy to eat that shit outside. —Owner
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Some people seem to think it’s acceptable to do all their personal grooming, including nose hair trimming, at the locker room sink. —Member
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RULE 131
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Pepe La Pew (Part 2) Bathe regularly. ‘Nuff said. Good luck.
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Like a
Native American tracker
I follow the trail into the weight room, and then all the way across the room leading right up to the culprit.
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Pepe La Pew (Part 2) Between five and six the gym gets really busy. Last week I’m walking around doing my normal check of the gym floor when I see a trail of dried muddy footprints coming out of the locker room. Like a native American tracker I follow the trail into the weight room, and then all the way across the room leading right up to the culprit. He had totally trashed the whole side of the weight room with dried mud. And he is there doing a set of flyes with his feet up on MY
BENCH with his muddy ass sneakers on. I’d like to say I calmly informed the guy that he had a little bit of mud on his shoes, but I totally flew off the handle and started screaming at him. That seemed to do the trick. —Owner
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What helped me stay focused on my goal was first to accept that ‘gym culture’ was not going to change overnight, and then I figured out how Most people can put on their music and block the gym surroundings out, but this only will send a message to gym owners that business as usual is OK. —Amateur
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Glossary Bodybuilding A type of weight training applied in con-junction with sound nutritional practices to alter the shape or form of one’s body. In the context of this book, bodybuilding is a competitive sport nationally and inter-nationally in both amateur and professional Ab-Raises An Abdominal exercise where you raise your knees to your categories for men, women, and mixed pairs. However, a majority of individuals use bodybuilding methods merely to lose excess body chest while sitting on a bench. fat or build up a too thin part of the body. Amateur A person who is in the process of becoming a professional Butterflies An isolation exercise of the chest done with either a bodybuilder. machine or free weights. Barbell Weight used for exercise, consisting of a rigid handle five to Curl Any of a number of weight training exercises that target the seven inches long, with detachable metal discs at each end. biceps brachii muscle. Bench A wide variety of exercise benches are available for use in Deadlifts One of three powerlifting events (other two are squat and doing barbell and dumbbell exercises either lying or seated on a bench press). Weight is lifted off floor to approximately waist height. bench. The most common type of bench, a flat exercise bench, can be used for chest, shoulder, and arm movements. Incline and decline Lifter must stand erect, shoulders back. benches (which are angled at about 30—45 degrees) also allow Ephedrine a sympathomimetic amine commonly used as a movements for the chest, shoulders, and arms. stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, decongestant, and to treat hypotension associated with anaesthesia. Bench Press an exercise of the upper body. For bodybuilding purposes, it is used to stimulate the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. Exercise Each individual movement (e.g., a seated pulley row, barbell While on his or her back, the person performing the bench press curl, or seated calf raise) that you perform in your bodybuilding lowers a weight to the level of the chest, then pushes it back up until workouts. the arm is straight.
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Fitness comprised of two related concepts: general fitness (a state of health and well-being), and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Flyes a strength training exercise in which the hand and arm move through an arc while the elbow is kept at a constant angle. Flyes are used to work the muscles of the upper body. Form This is simply another word to indicate the biome-chanics used during the performance of any bodybuilding or weight-training movement. Perfect form involves moving only the muscles specified in an exercise description. Free Weight Barbells, dumbbells, and related equipment. Serious bodybuilders use a combination of free weights and such exercise machines as those manufactured by Nautilus and Universal Gyms, but they primarily use free weights in their workouts. Gym A facility where equipment is provided to exercise with. Gym Rat A person who spends entirely too much time partaking in muscle building, strength training, cardiovascular, or aerobic activity. Specifically, one who does so at a health club or gym.
Hammerheads A variation of the curl where instead the palms of the hands face each other. Hang Cleans The clean portion of the lift refers to the lifter explosively pulling the weight from the floor to a racked position across deltoids and clavicles. Isolation Exercises In contrast to a basic exercise, an isolation movement stresses a single muscle group (or sometimes just part of a single muscle) in relative isolation from the remainder of the body. Isolation exercises are good for shaping and defining various muscle groups. For your thighs, squats would be a typical basic movement, while leg extensions would be the equivalent isolation exercise. Joint the location at which two or more bones make contact Leg Day The day of the week that is solely dedicated to working out the muscles of the leg Masculine Having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength and boldness. Meatheads Slang for an enormously muscular guy who can’t hold a conversation about anything other than weight-lifting and protein shakes.
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Member A person that has a gym membership but doesn’t go on a regular basis. Newbies A person that is new to the gym culture. Overhead Presses A weight training exercise in which a weight is pressed from the shoulders until it is locked out overhead. The lift is performed standing. Owner A person that operates and handles all dealings in a gym. Power Racks A station in the gym where heavier weight can be supported for certain exercises including squats and bench press. Professional A person that has competed and won in any bodybuilding competition. Protein Proteins are the building blocks of muscle, enzymes, and sonic hormones. They are made up of amino acids and are essential for growth and repair in the body. A gram of protein contains four calories. Those from animal sources contain the essential amino acids. Those from vegetable sources contain some but not all of the essential amino acids. Proteins are broken up by the body to produce amino acids.
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Pump The tight, blood-congested feeling in a muscle after it has been intensely trained. Muscle pump is caused by a rapid influx of blood into the muscles to remove fatigue toxins and replace supplies of fuel and oxygen. A good muscle pump indicates that you have optimally worked a muscle group. Reps Abbreviation for repetitions. The amount of times a weight is lifted within a set. Set Group of reps (lifting and lowering a weight) of an exercise after which you take a brief rest period. For example, if you complete 10 reps, set the weight down, complete eight more reps, set the weight down again, and repeat for six more reps, you have completed three sets of the exercise. Speed Stack A pre-workout supplement that supports thermogenic energy, alertness and encourages thermogensis. Spot Assist if called upon by someone performing an exercise. Squats a compound, full body exercise that trains primarily the muscles of the thighs, hips and buttocks, quads (vastus lateralus medialis and intermedius), hamstrings, as well as strengthening the bones, ligaments and insertion of the tendons throughout the lower body.
Train The process of achieving goals set involving ones fitness. Trainer a fitness professional involved in exercise prescription and instruction. They motivate clients by setting goals and providing feedback and accountability to clients. Tricep The triceps brachii muscle (Latin for “three-headed arm muscle�) is the large muscle on the back of the upper limb of many vertebrates. It is the muscle principally responsible for extension of the elbow joint (straightening of the arm). Weight Rack Used to hold and organize the different weight variations of dumbbells and plates. Usually racked in numerical order. Weights objects of known mass used in weight lifting Workout A bodybuilding or weight-training session. Wrist Curls a weight training exercise for developing just the wrist flexor muscles of the forearm. It is therefore an isolation exercise. Yambag Slang term for the skin like sac that carries the testicles.
(Klein and Bodybuilding.com)
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Bibliography
Arena, Mike (Professional), Personal Interview. 28 Dec. 2011. Gym Members (Amateur, Gym Rat, Member). Personal Interviews. 26 -30 Dec. 2011. Klein, Alan M. Little Big Men: Bodybuilding Subculture and Gender Construction. Albany: State Univ. of New York, 1993. Kuris, Tom (Owner), Personal Interview. 5 Jan. 2012. Nelsson, Nick. “Bodybuilding.com - The Codes Of The Gym!” Bodybuilding.com. 27 Aug. 2003. <http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/betteru20.htm>.
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Colophon
This project was produced in partial fulfilment of the requirements of GDES 402, Design Studio, in the Graphic Design department, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Spring 2012. Rachele Riley and Sebastian Agudelo, faculty advisors. Jerome Cloud, critic.
Special thanks to Mike and Rob for all the help acquiring photographs and interviews. I couldn’t have completed this project without you. Another special thanks to my professors, Rachele and Sebastian for all their patience and guidance these last eight months. I wouldn’t have survived my senior year without your support.
Jason David Meyers, designer and photographer, Fonts used in this book include: Stag Sans, DINPro, Optima, Proxima Nova, and Avenir.
And thanks to everyone else that I conducted interviews with as well as Retro Fitness and Planet Fitness for not kicking me out when you caught me shooting photographs when I wasn’t allowed.
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This is the sketch that
started it all.
September 2011