What is just as disturbing as people being on stage that are delusional are all the guys in the gym that are delusional. Cheating an exercise to use a heavy weight is completely out of control. Guys look for the easiest way to to an exercise. Just look at the leg press. Guys put every plate they can find on it then barely bend their legs. They get up and strut looking around like, "Did everyone see what I did?" The same kind of stuff goes on with shoulder pressing and chest pressing. A short range of motion so they can handle the "big" weights. Saw a guy in the smith machine doing a shoulder press and the bar was stopped above his head for every rep. Pull ups should be done all the way down and don't stop going up until the elbows are pointed down and the bar brushes your chest. So many delusional trainers.
I was doing Smith machine shoulder presses the other day and I noticed this dude was watching me every rep, writing in his notebook after I finished every set.
After I finished I walked up to the guy and asked him how he was doing, he muttered that it was exhausting policing the gym and keeping track of all the partial reps, he went on to tell me he has a room full of binders documenting all of the “poor form” gym lifts over the years. He then muttered something about most of these clowns couldn’t clean and jerk 300 pounds if their life depended on it.
I mentioned that I noticed him watching me lift, and he quickly explained that my shoulder presses wouldn’t be honored as a legitimate lift because I didn’t allow the bar to travel beneath the outer edge of my clavicle and hold the weight until I was told to press it.
As he stared blankly at my face I was trying to gather my thoughts to process what he was saying, he offered some advice about me staying humble and finding a weight I could manage.
I explained I have a shoulder impingement and I’m unable to lower a weight past my head and that’s why I was using the smith machine, I can set the safety pins and perform the partial reps pain free.
After a long awkward silence the man said I’ll never gain his respect if all I have is excuses.
It was good meeting you OT1!
