On Strange Behaviour in the Gym

[danieldwilliam]

I've become fascinated by strange gym behaviour. Mostly this is when I notice someone doing an unusual and particular exercise. I wonder what they are specifically trying to do or develop or practise.

I'm conscious that my own gym routine can be a little esoteric at times, nay ecentric. As part of the weight training, for example,  I've been doing some asymetric lifting, lifting with one foot further forward or back than the other which is designed to get slightly different groups of muscles take slightly different roles in the effort and build strength. Before that, I've been having bean bags thrown at me to improve the strength of the ligaments in my feet. Today I was kicking cones over as a remedy for a twisted ankle.

Personal favourites include the improbably Impressive lady who was jumping up to a pull up bar, and lifting her feet up to touch the bar (circus skills?), the lady doing pull ups with a 5 kgs weight dangling from her waist (rock climber was my PT's best guess), the couple who seemed to be doing exactly  the same exercise regime expect when they weren't but seemed to think they were (injury, or ineptness?) and today's entry, a lady doing sort of push ups with her knees elevated on an exercise block and her hands quite close to the block (I can't tell the difference between this and lifting a 40 kgs weight other than the risk that you fall on your face).

Less fortunate strange behaviour is the lady doing about 90 minutes on the cross trainer who my PT thought probably had some form of body dismorphia.

Mostly my reaction to these things is to think "Wow! but why?". The gym doesn't seem to be the sort of place where you can enquire of strangers why they are doing particular exercises. My PT is usually able to figure things out from first principles if I ask her. Occassionally we are both baffled.

It's been a window in to a whole world of strange behaviour of the type that I usually only find in the library or on the train to Newcastle.

Comments

[danieldwilliam]

One of the other things this highlights for me is uni-direction knowledge searching.

It's easier to search for the meaning of an unfamiliar word than it is to describe a concept and find the word for it.

It's easier to find exercises for, say, a twisted ankle than to describe an exercise and find out what it's for.

[mountainkiss]

I genuinely think it's OK to approach someone between sets if you pick your moment thoughtfully and say "do you mind my asking what you are working when you do that?" If the answer is brusque then you don't need to do it again, but I can't see that it's offensive to enquire.

[danieldwilliam]

You are probably right.

I doubt a polite but enthusiastic and authentic query would be considered offensive and if it wasn't exactly welcome, well, there you go.

[mountainkiss]

Exactly so.

[miss_s_b]

There's a bunch of guys at my gym who have really skinny legs but massive arms who only ever do arm exercises...

[danieldwilliam]

And it's exactly that sort of thing that piques my interest.

Now I do mostly deadlifts at the moment.

And the reasons for that are a) I happen to have some natural ability at it so my PT and I are going where the pay off is, b) it appeals to my tendency to measuring and c) it makes me strong enough to be able to wrestle with the Captain in a way where neither of us get hurt.

But anyone who was charting my gym attendence might say, "that bloke comes in twice a week, does a bit of dead-lifting, chats to his PT and then has a shower".

At some point I'm going to have to shift to a more active weight loss regime but that can happen in the winter. Or perhaps next spring.

[miss_s_b]

My PT is an enormous guy who after a little while has gone "all you're interested in is embarrassing the young lads by lifting more than them, isn't it?" and I've said "yup"

[danieldwilliam]

Are the embarrassed?

[miss_s_b]

I like to think of it as subverting expectations