Gym Etiquette - Was I Wrong Here?

[Matt]

LOL, Matt, what the HELL are you doing? Put a bloody T-shirt on! Hahaha.

About that...

So it was only my training partner at our dungeon-type gym at the time of that video/set. The owner doesn't have a policy on mandatory t-shirts / tank tops [quite unlike the other facility where I train who won't even let people run on the track without a shirt on].

I initially took off my shirt to see if my pump was any good, and then I decided to ask my training partner if he minded if I trained the last few sets of our last exercise [pec deck flies]  shirtless.

He was fine with it.

At first I used my tank top as a cover for the back rest - then I just said screw it, and did the sets with my bare back touching the back rest/pad.

I don't want to go along with all the pandemic hysteria about germs. It's easy enough to spray a machine down if you sweat on it.

But just to be clear - I would not take my shirt off in the gym if other patrons were present.

I took my shirt off because I thought my pump was ok...I didn't expect to take it off only to realize that I'm as smooth as a baby's bottom. 

What's so completely INSANE to me is that at either of my gyms, I'm literally in the best shape there / i.e., the closest to contest shape hypothetically.

So what does that say about how out of shape most members of the general population are? Sad.   

[Hulkotron]

Not sure how things are up in Canadia but ~75% of American adults are overweight and ~40% are obese, based on BMI.  We will soon reach the point where the "average" American is obese.

"Bbbbbbut BMI DoEsN'T aCcOuNt FoR mUsClE mAsS!!!1" sure but the great majority of these people are in these categories because they are TOO FAT.

[Matt]

Bump for an answer. I don't have any "beef" with you Matt. You got your sticks yesterday so you obviously did your first shot right?

It saddens me a little to say this - but yes.

My training partner showed up with an alcohol swab, and I injected my first 1mL of Sustanon 250 [250mg/mL, in a 10mL vial].

The reason why it saddened me is because I won't be following through with the full 16 weeks, if my calories aren't around 2,500 daily, with 200g protein daily, and at least a gallon of water daily.

I loathe eating and drinking so much, but - I want to do this. I want to just get an idea of what my potential is when doing everything right - including intermediate level gear.

Bah - I wish my appetite was larger than that of a skinny teenage girl, but...it is what it is.

I'll be trying my best to get those calories in. I'll post updates as fine goes by.

Cycle start weight = 183-lb.

[webstar]

It saddens me a little to say this - but yes.

My training partner showed up with an alcohol swab, and I injected my first 1mL of Sustanon 250 [250mg/mL, in a 10mL vial].

The reason why it saddened me is because I won't be following through with the full 16 weeks, if my calories aren't around 2,500 daily, with 200g protein daily, and at least a gallon of water daily.

I loathe eating and drinking so much, but - I want to do this. I want to just get an idea of what my potential is when doing everything right - including intermediate level gear.

Bah - I wish my appetite was larger than that of a skinny teenage girl, but...it is what it is.

I'll be trying my best to get those calories in. I'll post updates as fine goes by.

Cycle start weight = 183-lb.

Matt, why are you doing shots in the gym?

Can you not do them at home?

its not suspension where there are benefits of shooting pre workout.

[Gym-Rat]

LOL!!!

Well...the gym owner doesn't mind, so yes, I still do it.

However, when the one big Gym-Rat who complained when I did it is there - I don't do it.

Otherwise - yes. 

I was never there Matt!!   

[wes]

It saddens me a little to say this - but yes.

My training partner showed up with an alcohol swab, and I injected my first 1mL of Sustanon 250 [250mg/mL, in a 10mL vial].

The reason why it saddened me is because I won't be following through with the full 16 weeks, if my calories aren't around 2,500 daily, with 200g protein daily, and at least a gallon of water daily.

I loathe eating and drinking so much, but - I want to do this. I want to just get an idea of what my potential is when doing everything right - including intermediate level gear.

Bah - I wish my appetite was larger than that of a skinny teenage girl, but...it is what it is.

I'll be trying my best to get those calories in. I'll post updates as fine goes by.

Cycle start weight = 183-lb.

Matt, you`re making a drastic change in your diet/eating habits.....this won`t occur overnight.....add in food gradually over time and always finish what`s on your plate and use shakes at times to augment protein intake.

If you`re gonna` quit the cycle and you know it, without attempting hard enough to add in more food over time until you are eating more on a daily basis, then why bother starting the cycle at all.

Nobody said it was gonna` be easy to train hard and eat strictly but we all do the best we can, and at least make an attempt to do so......even guys who aren`t as serious about it as most of us are here on getbig still know in order to progress they must eat more and must eat better.

[Matt]

Not sure how things are up in Canadia but ~75% of American adults are overweight and ~40% are obese, based on BMI.  We will soon reach the point where the "average" American is obese.

"Bbbbbbut BMI DoEsN'T aCcOuNt FoR mUsClE mAsS!!!1" sure but the great majority of these people are in these categories because they are TOO FAT.

In my region in Canada, the percentage of Canadians here who are overweight or obese is 68%.

I have no reason to doubt that figure is standard throughout Canada.

In other words = the USA and Canada are largely the same as far as our populations both being overweight.

[Rambone]

Will we ever know what was right and what was wrong? Sure. Maybe. Who knows? Probably not but we might.

[Matt]

Matt use shakes,not exclusively of course, and simply add small amounts of food over time.

Thanks wes!

This may be THE ticket to maximizing my cycle gains - as I am so used to eating 1,000 calories daily, that even 1,800 in a day has me full!

Shakes may well make the difference here - I find them WAY easier to take in. 

[MCWAY]

Matt use shakes,not exclusively of course, and simply add small amounts of food over time.

Now where have I heard that before?

 

[Matt]

Matt, why are you doing shots in the gym?

Can you not do them at home?

its not suspension where there are benefits of shooting pre workout.

Sorry, I didn't clarify:

He brought the alcohol swab to my house, and I injected in his presence [added bonus = safety].

We then went to the gym.

Regarding shooting up in the gym:

At my other/mainstream facility [The Complex], there is a biohazard bin FULL with needles and syringes 24/7. Like wtf? Do people REALLY need to shoot things in a public gym bathroom? 

Meanwhile, not one single person there looks like they are on juice...

[Gym-Rat]

Thanks wes!

This may be THE ticket to maximizing my cycle gains - as I am so used to eating 1,000 calories daily, that even 1,800 in a day has me full!

Shakes may well make the difference here - I find them WAY easier to take in. 

You can make a blender full of a calorie dense shake each AM, pop it in the fridge, and then just have a few drinks during each day.

An example:

I Don’t Recommend Drinking This Shake All At Once

As this shake is so dense and high in calories I do not recommend drinking it all in one sitting – instead I recommend making this 2000 calorie shake in the morning and dividing it up between two or three shakers.
Ensure it’s finished by the end of the day and you’ve got yourself in an easy extra 2000 calories a day.

Years ago I used to make this shake and drink it half an hour before hitting the gym – I could never have an intense workout when doing so, I’d always feel too sluggish and heavy after drinking it all at once (that said it did help immensely during my bulking phases!).
The 2000 Calorie Shake Recipe
Ingredients:

2 scoops whey protein powder (363 calories)
2 cups full cream milk (301 calories)
2 cups of oats (616 calories)
2 bananas (180 calories)
2 tbsp peanut butter (190 calories)
1 tbsp honey (65 calories)
1 cup blueberries (85 calories)
1 cup raspberries (65 calories)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in your blender and top up with water if required.
Please for 30~ seconds on high.
Divide up into 2 – 3 shakers and consume throughout the day.

[MCWAY]

160 grams of protein......BARELY and 2300 calories.

GEE!! I wonder why Matt is having trouble growing, said......ABSOLUTLEY NO ONE!!

[Gym-Rat]

160 grams of protein......BARELY and 2300 calories.

GEE!! I wonder why Matt is having trouble growing, said......ABSOLUTLEY NO ONE!!

A couple of these home-made Big Mac's (on the right) would make Matt "all kids of gains, all kinds"...

[IroNat]

It's wonderful to see Getbiggers helping one another in time of need.

[Matt]

You can make a blender full of a calorie dense shake each AM, pop it in the fridge, and then just have a few drinks during each day.

An example:

I Don’t Recommend Drinking This Shake All At Once

As this shake is so dense and high in calories I do not recommend drinking it all in one sitting – instead I recommend making this 2000 calorie shake in the morning and dividing it up between two or three shakers.
Ensure it’s finished by the end of the day and you’ve got yourself in an easy extra 2000 calories a day.

Years ago I used to make this shake and drink it half an hour before hitting the gym – I could never have an intense workout when doing so, I’d always feel too sluggish and heavy after drinking it all at once (that said it did help immensely during my bulking phases!).
The 2000 Calorie Shake Recipe
Ingredients:

2 scoops whey protein powder (363 calories)
2 cups full cream milk (301 calories)
2 cups of oats (616 calories)
2 bananas (180 calories)
2 tbsp peanut butter (190 calories)
1 tbsp honey (65 calories)
1 cup blueberries (85 calories)
1 cup raspberries (65 calories)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in your blender and top up with water if required.
Please for 30~ seconds on high.
Divide up into 2 – 3 shakers and consume throughout the day.
L

Fantastic. Thank you so much, Gym-Rat. You're a lot smarter than the Gym-Rat who believes resting two equidistant heavy dumbbells on a flat bench will somehow cause the bench to crack or break.

I will definitely be trying your 2,000 calorie shake recipe - looks delicious, and easy to eat over the course of the day!! 

[wes]

Now where have I heard that before?

 

LOL 

[Matt]

160 grams of protein......BARELY and 2300 calories.

GEE!! I wonder why Matt is having trouble growing, said......ABSOLUTLEY NO ONE!!

Ah, but MCWAY - you always attributed my lack of progress to my training.

And to that I say - bullshit. I train for strongman, which means bodybuilding-style lifts, but in the 1-6 rep range, and events specific training [like the Farmer's Walk, and the Circus Dumbbell].

My training is specific to what I do - and it's fine.

I could switch that to bodybuilding-style training - NO PROBLEMS.

My deficit in muscle mass comes from eating 1,000 calories a day - something I have the blood tests to verify that I do in fact eat that little.

So you can stop trashing my training now. I know what I'm doing in the gym, and will transition to bodybuilding-style training within two weeks of focus on it. Promise.

My caloric intake...well...I'll give it my best shot. That much I guarantee.

[MCWAY]

Ah, but MCWAY - you always attributed my lack of progress to my training.

And to that I say - bullshit. I train for strongman, which means bodybuilding-style lifts, but in the 1-6 rep range, and events specific training [like the Farmer's Walk, and the Circus Dumbbell].

Ummm....no I didn't. In fact, I specifically pointed out that you were only eating (by your own account, which you later corrected) about 750 calories per day.

Not to mention, this whole discussion started on this matter, when we were talking about your alleged concern about getting "FATTER", remember that? I do recall stating something to the tune of your being more fearful of beef and eggs than you are about anabolics.

[Walter Sobchak]

The excuses for Matt Canning being a failure are ramping up.

The preemptive reasons for why he can’t gain any muscle while on a steroid cycle should start in earnest later today.

After the failed steroid experiment the next three stages of Matt Canning’s sad little life will be:

Homosexuality
Transgenderism
Suicide

[Matt]

Ummm....no I didn't. In fact, I specifically pointed out that you were only eating (by your own account, which you later corrected) about 750 calories per day.

Not to mention, this whole discussion started on this matter, when we were talking about your alleged concern about getting "FATTER", remember that? I do recall stating something to the tune of your being more fearful of beef and eggs than you are about anabolics.

I fear food/overeating in general.

Caloric restriction is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves.

Yeah, it caused my TSH to go up a little - but with all my other thyroid markers fine...who cares?

Caloric restriction = great thing for health.

[MCWAY]

I fear food/overeating in general.

Caloric restriction is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves.

Yeah, it caused my TSH to go up a little - but with all my other thyroid markers fine...who cares?

Caloric restriction = great thing for health.

As I've said repeatedly, it's the Orton voices in your head.

In fact, one of my previous quotes was,

So, you don't want to compromise your health by eating more food; yet you have no problem compromising your health by using anabolics.

More beef, milk, and eggs, BAD!! More Winstrol, Test, and Deca, GOOD!! Am I missing something here?

You are trying to get BIGGER (215 lbs, correct?); that does not happen without caloric surplus.

[Van_Bilderass]

There's no harm in swabbin but when have you ever seea a doc swab and then after 30 seconds do the shot? Lol they try to save microseconds, ain't got no time for that.
Another argument was that skin is living tissue and you are never getting it sterile anyway. Some hospitals have abandonded it but others still do it.

[Walter Sobchak]

As I've said repeatedly, it's the Orton voices in your head.

In fact, one of my previous quotes was,

So, you don't want to compromise your health by eating more food; yet you have no problem compromising your health by using anabolics.

More beef, milk, and eggs, BAD!! More Winstrol, Test, and Deca, GOOD!! Am I missing something here?

You are trying to get BIGGER (215 lbs, correct?); that does not happen without caloric surplus.

He’s not trying to get bigger.

He’s just an attention-whoring retard with internet access.

Don’t waste your time.

[Palumboism]

I fear food/overeating in general.

Caloric restriction is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves.

Yeah, it caused my TSH to go up a little - but with all my other thyroid markers fine...who cares?

Caloric restriction = great thing for health.

In general I agree with you on caloric restriction.  As bodybuilders we tend to eat more than an average person and more protein.  Neither of us are trying to get our pro card, or even step on stage, so we're really not trying to get that big.  Decide how much muscle you want and where you want it and eat enough to maintain that muscle. 

I personally can control my weight to such an extreme I can pick a weight I want to be and maintain that within plus or minus a couple of pounds.

Also, don't discount the health benefits of having muscle.  We have a higher metabolism than most making losing weight easier.