So the other day i stopped in at a local fitness facility to get some soft-tissue work done. Terry Fletcher is a great guy, and one hell of a massage therapist, so I don’t hold it against him that he works out of a traditional “big box” gym!
When I showed up Terry had to finish up a thing or two before starting, so I stayed on the floor for a couple minutes to see what people were doing.
I kid you not, in the 2 minutes that I stood waiting for him here’s just a quick “taste” of what I saw:
– Weighted Side bends
The gentleman doing these had one of those rubbery bars that weigh about 8-10 pounds on his back. For the ENTIRE 2 minutes I stood there, he teetered and tottered back and forth. I’d hate to be this guys lumbar spine!
– Behind the neck pull-ups
These were performed by a kid that couldn’t have been more that 14 years old and 110 pounds. He was flailing all over the place, making a bad exercise 10x worse. Let’s just say when shoulder experts like Eric Cressey and Bill Hartman tell you to stay away from an exercise, well, I listen.
– Da Curlz!
Yes, I saw at least a half dozen guys performing some form of curls. All in the same two minutes!
– Floor press combo thingamajig
The final exericse was not only the most creative, but definitely caught my eye. Let me set the scene a little bit for this one.
A guy was lying on the ground doing floor presses. Now obviously it caught my eye because you NEVER see guys doing floor presses in a gym like this, but it was even stranger because he had a huge mat underneath him and he was not anywhere near a rack. He only had 135# on the bar, so I didn’t think much of it.
So anyway one second I look over and he’s doing floor presses, no big deal. I turn away, and when I look back he’s still holding the bar at lockout but now he’s actually doing reverse crunches with it!
Now he’s definitely got my attention.
He cranks out about 5-10 reverse crunches, and then proceeds to straighten his leg and do a 1/2 battle flag to finish the set.
At this point, I don’t know whether to be shocked, awed, or slightly amused. I guess a little bit of everything. This guy at least had my respect, because his core strength must’ve been pretty damn good.
It was all good until I looked over 20 seconds later and he was catching a street pump with some dumbbell curls
As I’ve mentioned numerous times, if you’re serious about losing fat, adding muscle, or flat out getting strong, you owe it to yourself to find a facility that can help you do that. I know I’m preaching to the choir a bit here, but stick with me.
How many of you reading this are training in a great facility? One that actually cares about you getting results?
Big box and corporate America gyms are a dime a dozen nowadays. On the other hand, a gym like IFAST, Cressey Performance, Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, Results Fitness or a host of other gyms across America are smaller and customized to your needs. I spent some time with Lee Taft yesterday and he has a kick-ass gym in his 500 square foot garage!
Why continue to spin your wheels?
Why continue to get sub-par results?
This is my call to action – don’t allow yourself anything less than the best going forward.
Find a great gym, join it immediately, and watch your strength and physique flourish.
Have a great weekend!
Stay strong
MR