Weighlifting // Workout Journal

[soos_mite_ah]

So I recently started working out again. I wrote about this in my main journal: 

On 2/6/2022 at 11:21 PM, soos_mite_ah said:

I started weightlifting and going to the gym again: My roommate is doing this weight lifting class and they really need someone to keep them accountable. Lucky for them, I too need someone to keep me accountable when it comes to going to the gym. I went to the gym yesterday with my roommate just so we can see where we were at as a starting point. That was really fun and I will admit was a pleasant surprise  since I haven't lost any strength in tha last 2 years and if anything am stronger now. I am really proud of the fact that I can do 200lbs on the leg press and 110lbs on the standing calf raise machine. The later was especially an ego boost because right after I finished, there was a gym bro that started using the machine and this man walked up to that machine looking really cocky. He didn't adjust the weight or anything so he was doing the same weight I was doing and this man ended up red in the face (guess the guy kept skipping leg day). And so from now on I'm going to use that as motivation in the gym. I strive to be that person who looks like they can't do much but will intimidate the fuck out of anyone who manages to see or try what I'm doing for a workout. 

I'm making this journal mainly so that I can keep myself in the consistent habit of going to the gym and so that I can keep track of my progress. I don't really have an agenda in mind when I'm going to the gym. I just do whatever exercises that seem fun. No fitness goals just fun vibes lol. 

Also side note, if anyone who knows what they are doing wants to chime in, go ahead because I have no idea what I'm doing. 

Anyways, here is where I'm at so far: 

Horizontal Leg Press: 220lbs 

• 6 sets of 15 reps 

Leg Extentions: 100lbs for both legs, 50lbs for one leg 

• 6 sets of 8 reps

Squats: 75lbs (I do find this relatively easy but I want to be extra careful with exercises with the bar and I want to focus on form) 

• 4 sets of 15 reps

Standing Calf raises: 110lbs

• 4 sets of 15 reps

Dumbell Curls and Dumbell Chest Press:  17.5-20lbs on each arm (still feeling this out and figuring out what I should start off with), 35-40lbs total

• 3 sets of 20 reps for each exercise 

Dumbell Fly: 7.5lbs on each arm, 15 lbs total

• 3 sets of 10 reps

I'm choosing not to do cardio because I genuinely don't enjoy it and it fills me up with dread to where I don't even want to go to the gym. Who knows, maybe I'll warm up to the idea one day to challenge myself. And speaking of warm ups and cool downs, the only warm up and cool downs that I really do is walking and some basic stretches.

My main goal wiht all of this is to build up the habit of working out and associating this with something that is enjoyable to me instead of something that I'm doing because I'm not happy with myself. I'm also doing this because I want to build a better relationship with my body. I know just in general that lifting weights and getting good at what I know I can do is feels empowering. 

Edited February 9, 2022 by soos_mite_ah

[soos_mite_ah]

I skipped the workout today because I was dealing with a lot of back pain from the day before. I'm pretty sure it was due to general muscle soreness but I just wasn't feeling it today. I slept in a little and I feel so much better. I really needed that. 

[soos_mite_ah]

I tried a few more machines in the last few days. I'm also feeling out how the weights effect me because of how sore I got the last time. Basically I learned that just because you can doesn't mean you should. 

Adjustments:

Dumbell Chest Press and Dumbell Curls: I was going 17.5-20lbs before and while I can do that, the soreness I got from that was not worth it. I've been using 15lb dumbells lately and while it isn't as challenging as I would like, I do have better form and I don't feel miserable the next day. 

Horizontal Leg Press; I didn't change the weights but I am doing 4 sets instead of 6 and I feel like that has been more reasonable for me. 

 

Trying New Things: 

Leg Curl: 110 lbs for both legs, 55lbs for one 

I confused the leg curl machine with the leg extention one and I embarrassed myself a couple times. But the change from always using the leg extention was nice. 

Chest Press Machine: 60-70lbs 

I tried this one out and I was surpised on how much I could do mainly because when I do dumbell chest presses, I usually only do 30lbs total (15lb dumbells on each arm). I guess things like gravity and maintaining a certain center of gravity with the weights also comes into play. I guess the same coule be said about doing dumbell flyes vs doing flyes on the machine. 

Machine Flyes: 50lbs

When it comes to dumbell flys I usually do 15lbs which amounts to 7.5lb weights on each arm. So there is a big differece again due to things like gravity as I talked about with the chest press machine.

Donkey Kick Machine: 80lbs

The first time I tried it, I looked like a whole fool because I didn't know how to adjust the thing and it was set on the tall people setting. My legs couldn't properly reach back there lol. But this time I figured it out and I had someone help me, I did enjoy using this machine but I don't think I would want to use it when the gym is crowded because I don't want to deal with people staring. 

Tricep Pulldowns: 30-42.5lbs. 

I find a lot of the pulley exercises fun to do. Gonna admit, I have no idea what I'm going. I just do the thing where you pull down the bar towards you and it pulls back up after a rep. I noticed that the way that the bar is shaped can impact how many reps I can do and how much weight I can handle since sometimes I'm in an uncomfortable position. So... that's something to be mindful of.  There is also another thing that I saw in the same area which is where you sit down and you pull the thing towards you. I really like that one too. I don't know what that particular exercise is called but I was enjoying myself.  I use about the same weight as when I do the tricep pulldowns. 

 

[soos_mite_ah]

New weights!!!!

I tried to go heavier today and I suceeded. This isn't the heaviest I can lift but this is the heaviest I can do and complete a set (the sets are lifted above). I also think that at this point I have found a handful of exercises I do enjoy doing. Anyways, I'm really excited to see myself able to take on more. I think this is just how I'm going to be tracking my progress from now on. I wanted to also see how I would do on the leg curl and the leg extention but both of those machines were taken the entire time I was in the gym (it was just really crowded today. 

Tricep Pulldowns: 50lbs (up from 30-42.5lbs)

Leg Press: 250lbs  (up from 220lbs)

Donkey Kick Machine: 90lbs  (up from 80lbs)

Standing Calf Raises: 140lbs (up from 110lbs)

Edit: added a couple more things since I got to try out more things at the gym

Leg curls: 115lbs (up from 110) 

Leg extension: 120lbs (up from 110) 

Edited February 26, 2022 by soos_mite_ah

[soos_mite_ah]

Weights 3.20.22

Tricep Pulldowns: 60 lbs (up from 50 lbs) 

Leg Press: 300 lbs (up from 250) [I am super excited for this one especially on how fast I reached this goal. I can leg press more than double my body weight at this point] 

Donkey Kick Machine: 140 lbs (up from 90) [I have no idea what I was on today but I was able to successfully do multiple sets at 140. Super excited nonetheless]

Standing Calf Raises; 180 lbs (up from 140 lbs) 

Leg curls: 100 lbs (down from 115 lbs) [I found out that the last time I recorded this, my form was off and now, in an effort to correct that, I have started using lighter weights]

Leg Extention: 150 lbs (up from 120 lbs)

Dumbell Chest Press: 20 lbs on each arm (up from 15 lbs) [I noticed that I progress a couple weeks faster on this compared to the dumbell curls]

Dumbell Curl: 17.5 lbs on each arm (up from 15lbs) 

Seated Cable Rows: 70 lbs (up from 55) [forgot to note this exercise down in the previous post]

Edited March 20, 2022 by soos_mite_ah

[soos_mite_ah]

Some Thoughts 

I'm super excited on how far I'm coming as far as progressing to heavier weights goes. It's pretty empowering tbh. But I will admit, it's a little difficult to fully tap into the excitement because the annoying voice in my head is just like *well you still look the same and if anything you probably look chunkier than last time.* It just feels kind of weird to not base your progress on things like how much you weigh, your measurements, body composition, how you look etc.

And I think that's what made it difficult to stick to working out in the past. Because even though I was enjoying whatever workout I was doing in question and was seeing improvement in my ability to do different things, I would still find myself discouraged because I didn't look like the typical image of fitness nor was my body changing to get closer to that ideal. Even with all that hardwork and improvement, I still looked like every "before" picture people post when they do before and afters. 

I also think these past 2 months helped me see myself as somewhat of an athletic person as well. I think I always considered myself as this pile of squish that couldn't do much when really, I wasn't really using the right metrics. I still suck at anything cardio related, I still can't do a pull up, and I have to do the modified versions of dips and pushups. But at the same time, I can leg press 300 lbs which I think is pretty impressive lol. I feel that this is one of those "if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid" kind of situations. And as a result, I'm really glad that I let myself just do exercises I think are fun instead of making myself feel obligated to do workouts I don't enjoy at all. I think taking the later approach would have killed my desire to go to the gym at all and would have made maintaining this habit unsuccessful and potentially even destructive.

Nevertheless, I do still find myself feeling self conscious to a certain extent. I do find myself comparing myself to a lot of the other girls at the gym. Everyone is really skinny and toned with the perfect flat stomach in their overpriced lululemon leggings and sports bras. Meanwhile, I'm over here feeling as if I look like Ms.Trunchbull from Matilda. 

And I also see a lot of these other girls spending most of their time doing some form of cardio. I know just in general there is this whole notion of cardio burning more calories and therefore helping you lose more weight. And I feel like that goes hand in hand with how there is a general beauty standard to be thin and dainty, toned, but nothing too much. Just to be clear, I don't know what's going on with other people's goals, mindsets, and what they find enjoyable at the gym, nor do I judge them for it. It's none of my business. But I do catch my insecurities turning it's ugly head when I catch myself comparing how much I can lift to other girls. My ego is sometimes springs up and says *I might not look like that but I can lift significantly more than they can* as a way to puff myself up when really I feel somewhat less than them for not looking as "healthy." I'm putting healthy in quotes because I know that I don't have to have a flat stomach or be a certain size to be considered healthy or athletic but nevertheless there is an image that pops up in most people's head when you mention a healthy/athletic girl.  

I know my goals at the gym have nothing to do with my weight, body composition, how I look etc. for the sake of both my sanity and for my ability to stay consistent with working out. I want working out to be genuinely enjoyable and I don't want to feel like I'm punishing myself. But, there is a thing in my head from years of I guess social conditioning that is telling me that I'm not doing this whole going to the gym thing right. Again, it just feels weird not measuring my progress in the way that most people usually do. 

[Michael569]

@soos_mite_ah congrats on sticking with your exercise routine so far. Thought I'd add something that may be off help after reading your thoughts recently. 

One thing I've noticed over all those years is that I never particularly enjoy the exercise session. I've been exercising since I was 14 (I'm 31 now) I do sometimes get more into it than other time but the sessions itself is hardly ever enjoyable because....let's be honest, it fucking hurts  and the biggest reward usually comes afterwards when I feel sharper and more positive for the rest of the day. And any physical gain are just a nice side effect. 

I saw in your post that you seem to have that dilemma as well. Wanting to exercise because of the physical & mental benefits but also struggle to keep up because it is not always enjoyable. What I found helpful was just seeing exercise as another thing I do. You could experimentally try perceiving it in a way that "this is not something to be questioned, I just do it". And so you don't allow yourself to hate it or skip it because it is simply something that is non-negotiable. And when its your day, you pack your beg, leave the house and not allow your body to stop you. Gradually over months, your brain's plasticity adapts to the point that you will start to crave it if you've been absent for a few days. I think it takes about 4-6 months of consistency to get to that level and once you are there, exercise is no longer a struggle, it's just the "thing you do" and you don't even question it anymore. 

13 hours ago, soos_mite_ah said:

Everyone is really skinny and toned with the perfect flat stomach in their overpriced lululemon leggings and sports bras.

Many of these women have probably been going there for years to achieve that physique. Remember you only see the ones that look like it, you don't see the thousands and thousands that want to start exercising but haven't mustered the same amount of willpower that you have and said "fuck it I'm doing this and nobody will stop me". SO what you see is a very very very biased sample of the female population  And trust me in their head, they don't feel they are good enough. In fact most people in gyms are unhappy with their looks, it is that entire toxic fitness industry that we need to protect our mind from. 

13 hours ago, soos_mite_ah said:

I know just in general there is this whole notion of cardio burning more calories and therefore helping you lose more weight

Weight loss can totally be achieved by weights only. The more muscle you acquire the more efficient you become at RMR (resting metabolic rate). Lean muscle tissue is a metabolic factory and the more of it you have, the more energy you burn even just by sitting. Not only that but with increased mitochondrial density stimulated by mechanical pressure, you find it easier to produce more energy at any given time of the day. And that doesn't even mention the benefits for mental health, insulin sensitivity, neuroplasticity and immune system by having more lean mass. I would consider giving the book called "Spark - J.J.Ratey" a shot for more positive motivation 

Pulling around heavy weights burns a shit load of calories and you can totally get toned without cardio. The main benefit is that very slow-grade cardio (e.g. walking) tends to tap more into fat reserves where moderate cardio taps more into your sugar & glycogen stores. So it is nice to actually do just slow walking at the end of your weight session. Put a 20 minute podcast on and just walk on the treadmil. Chances are you will have depleted a significant portion of your stored glycogen during weight training and that so your body will start tapping into fat storage and burn that more effectively. But there is definitely no need to run, in fact running after weights may just put your body into cortisol overload especially if you don't like running and find it stressful...so mild walking is actually much better. Or one great alternative is to use a bike to get to the gym, definitely my favourite way. You start the workout already warmed out and then you also max out on those metabolic benefits afterwards on your way home. 

Anyways, hope you don't mind the input. Happy to delete if you do

[soos_mite_ah]

On 3/21/2022 at 4:54 AM, Michael569 said:

One thing I've noticed over all those years is that I never particularly enjoy the exercise session. I've been exercising since I was 14 (I'm 31 now) I do sometimes get more into it than other time but the sessions itself is hardly ever enjoyable because....let's be honest, it fucking hurts  and the biggest reward usually comes afterwards when I feel sharper and more positive for the rest of the day. And any physical gain are just a nice side effect. 

I saw in your post that you seem to have that dilemma as well. Wanting to exercise because of the physical & mental benefits but also struggle to keep up because it is not always enjoyable. What I found helpful was just seeing exercise as another thing I do. You could experimentally try perceiving it in a way that "this is not something to be questioned, I just do it". And so you don't allow yourself to hate it or skip it because it is simply something that is non-negotiable.

I think focusing on things that I enjoy has been really important in me kick starting this habit and keeping me coming back to the gym consistently. Sometimes it's even something that I look forward to in order to destress. I'm starting to see this become "something I just do" slowly and I feel like once I'm at that poiint, then I can start incorporate things that I'm less excited about like cardio. I'm at about 2 months of consistency so I guess a couple more months will get me to that point. 

On 3/21/2022 at 4:54 AM, Michael569 said:

Many of these women have probably been going there for years to achieve that physique. Remember you only see the ones that look like it, you don't see the thousands and thousands that want to start exercising but haven't mustered the same amount of willpower that you have and said "fuck it I'm doing this and nobody will stop me". SO what you see is a very very very biased sample of the female population  And trust me in their head, they don't feel they are good enough. In fact most people in gyms are unhappy with their looks, it is that entire toxic fitness industry that we need to protect our mind from. 

I agree with this and I try to keep myself grounded regarding the biases I might have in my environment and the sample sizes I'm working with that is affecting my perception of the situation and where I fall. Besides the gym, my school (and the surrouding area) just generally has a lot of emphasis on looking a certain way, especially when it comes to women, and it just hits especially hard in this particular gym. There is a whole lot I could go into all of this but that's a post for a different time lol. 

On 3/21/2022 at 4:54 AM, Michael569 said:

I would consider giving the book called "Spark - J.J.Ratey" a shot for more positive motivation 

I'll check that out. 

On 3/21/2022 at 4:54 AM, Michael569 said:

Pulling around heavy weights burns a shit load of calories and you can totally get toned without cardio. The main benefit is that very slow-grade cardio (e.g. walking) tends to tap more into fat reserves where moderate cardio taps more into your sugar & glycogen stores. So it is nice to actually do just slow walking at the end of your weight session. Put a 20 minute podcast on and just walk on the treadmil.

Is there a specific speed or incline I should look into? I've recently been trying to do 3 mph for 15 minutes at 12 incline. It's actually kind of challenging because of the incline. 

When it comes to the weights, I definitely find myself feeling out of breath and having my heart rate go up after a while but I don't mind it too much because it feels much more manageble than just running. 

On 3/21/2022 at 4:54 AM, Michael569 said:

But there is definitely no need to run, in fact running after weights may just put your body into cortisol overload especially if you don't like running and find it stressful...so mild walking is actually much better.

I heard that a couple times and how it's especially not effective with those with PCOS because of the cortisol overload. As much as this condition sucks, there is a part of me that likes having yet another excuse to not run lmaoo 

 

[Michael569]

1 hour ago, soos_mite_ah said:

I'm starting to see this become "something I just do" slowly and I feel like once I'm at that poiint, then I can start incorporate things that I'm less excited about like cardio. I'm at about 2 months of consistency so I guess a couple more months will get me to that point. 

this is awesome! Once that mind shift (and also brain shift) happens, it is actually hard to stop working out because you'll get withdrawal symptoms  but these are good withdrawal symptoms so embrace the additive nature of exercise

1 hour ago, soos_mite_ah said:

Besides the gym, my school (and the surrouding area) just generally has a lot of emphasis on looking a certain way, especially when it comes to women

Yeah, agreed. Especially if you live in Northern America or Europe

1 hour ago, soos_mite_ah said:

Is there a specific speed or incline I should look into? I've recently been trying to do 3 mph for 15 minutes at 12 incline. It's actually kind of challenging because of the incline. 

This is an interesting question actually! I have never looked into the literature on how does incline impact metabolic deployment of different energy sources but it will definitely have an impact. The higher the incline the harder you will have to work but also the quicker you will tire. COmbined incline with high intensity will probably burn through your sugar stores too quickly and tire you out much much quicker because now you have to deploy large muscles of glutes and hamstrings that are maybe not deployed as much during regular walking. I would probably not go over 5-10% at a very moderate rate. You want to go at a pace where you could still have a conversation with relative ease (for prolonged fat burning benefits at least) 

If the aim if cardiovascular fitness & efficiency, however, I would switch to moderate to high intensity and shorter bursts of multiple rounds switching between high intensity and low intensity. Or select one of the pre-made programs for peak heart rate. Most of the machines have some element of variability for you to choose. 

1 hour ago, soos_mite_ah said:

When it comes to the weights, I definitely find myself feeling out of breath and having my heart rate go up after a while but I don't mind it too much because it feels much more manageble than just running. 

Give it time. Maybe the techniques are not yet automated by the brain so the energy consumption isn't as efficient yet. It takes some practice to master the breath-during-reps technique properly. This is actually something where I would consider hiring a PT to help you because correct breathing will also help you achieve better performance.

Also, worth mentioning that you actually want to be struggling with a bit of oxygen challenge because it generally means you are working hard and that's a common side effect especially during high intensity training. 

1 hour ago, soos_mite_ah said:

I heard that a couple times and how it's especially not effective with those with PCOS because of the cortisol overload. As much as this condition sucks, there is a part of me that likes having yet another excuse to not run lmaoo 

 

Yeah, agreed with this. You don't want to be driving those stress mechanisms chronically. Acute elevation of stress hormones (e.g. during exercise) is beneficial but long term stress is not too good. 

PCOS will generally benefit from weight lifting as it opens up cells for glucose (through a sort of backdoor mechanism) and the hallmark of PCOS is insulin resistance (or a mild degree of it). The restoring of good levels of HbA1C & reduction of oxidative stress is an topmost priority in PCOS treatment and coincidentally one of the best ways to improve A1C is weight training (and diet - mainly based around whole foods, high fibre and good intake of essential fatty acids- sort of Mediterranean style if you wish )  

 Also one thing that can make significant difference is myo-inositol + folic acid supplementation for 2-3 months. There is actually a pretty darn robut evidence out there that shows it really works potentially as effectively as some drugs used for PCOS and normalising the levels of LH, FSH and prolactin in many women.  Chiro-inositol could be tiny bit more effective however it may cost twice as much so not sure if it would be worth the cost. 

[soos_mite_ah]

27 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

. I would probably not go over 5-10% at a very moderate rate. You want to go at a pace where you could still have a conversation with relative ease (for prolonged fat burning benefits at least) 

That makes sense. Yeah, the thing that I'm doing right now, I can't have a conversation with someone with that kind of incline lol. I started with doing 12 incline, 3mph, for 15 minutes after finding out about this whole trend that's going around lately. I'm pretty sure it started as a social media challenge but it's the 12-3-30 routine (12 incline, 3 mph, 30 min). I just thought it would be fun to try it out. 

Yeah, I can't do the 30 minutes in the original challenge. I'm sure if I really tried I could do 20 minutes, but I want to make sure I have more time to do the weights since that's what I really enjoy. Normally I do an hour of weights and if I feel like it (based on how much energy and time I have), I might add 10-15 minutes of walking. 

28 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

Give it time. Maybe the techniques are not yet automated by the brain so the energy consumption isn't as efficient yet. It takes some practice to master the breath-during-reps technique properly. This is actually something where I would consider hiring a PT to help you because correct breathing will also help you achieve better performance.

I thought about getting a PT for a free session at my school. I was originally thinking about doing that to make sure I have the right form so I'm getting the most out of my work outs and so I don't injure myself. Didn't think about the breathing aspect and how breathing properly would help with performance though.

[Michael569]

36 minutes ago, soos_mite_ah said:

I started with doing 12 incline, 3mph, for 15 minutes after finding out about this whole trend that's going around lately. I'm pretty sure it started as a social media challenge but it's the 12-3-30 routine (12 incline, 3 mph, 30 min). I just thought it would be fun to try it out. 

the one issue I would see with this challenge (and pretty much any workout challenges out there) is that they favour the top of the fitness pack generally. So for example let's say a random person Lucy is in her prime fitness, works out 5 days a week and for her doiung the challenge is equivalent to a routine warm up. A second person, Jessica is just starting, is not in the best shape, has a few extra pounds and is generally a gym newbie. 

Now if the two stand next to each other doing the challenge at the same time, Jessica will feel like crap, she will lose her self-confidence and feel hummiliated. Lucy won't even break a sweat. 

Now if you strapped heart rate monitors on them, you'd see that where Lucy is going at 90-100 beats per minute on leisure pace burning 5 calories per minute, Jessica is firing on all cylinders going 180 beats per minute burning 25 calories per minute and her body is going through massive metabolic adaptation. On high altitude overview, it would seem that Lucy is doing great and Jessica's fitness sucks but in reality, Jessica is working 10  times harder to the point of nausea. For Jessica this is much more challenging because  her muscles aren't as adapted, her heart isn't as efficient and she does not have the same vo2 capacity as Lucy has built up over years of training.  This is where the whole notion of targeted goals vs individual performance comes in and which I believe is a huge default of all sports. 

Something like nice sports watch or Aura ring can help you calibrate your performance much better than being able to do or not do a challenge on internet But that's just my opinion you gotta have fun sometimes that's for sure :D. I've been trying to complete "bring sally up" pushup challenge for years but have never got beyond 3-minute mark even tho I know I am giving it my absolute best 

anyways soz for blasting your journal  signing out

[soos_mite_ah]

@Michael569 I think that is a very valid point when it comes to comparison in general. I also think depending on what we workout and what our genetics are that different people start out in different places as well so really yourself to anyone is comparing apples to oranges (not to mention that you don't know what's going on behind closed doors or people's mind state). I'm starting to notice and question this more as I have been reframing the way I see myself when it comes to fitness.

I know especially when I was a kid, don't know if other countries do this, but we had this standardized fitness test that basically judged where you were compared to all of your classmates. And while I don't want to critique that whole thing mainly because my knowledge on fitness is pretty limitted and as a result, I don't know all of things that are wrong with this approach. But I will say that those tests as well as how gym class was often framed growing up basically convinced me that I was a pile of squish with little atheletic ability that wasn't capable of doing much. But yeah, doing weights is making me rethink that whole notion because of what I'm capable of and how I'm progressing.  I am planning on branching out to other forms of working out later on but I guess I wasn't as aware as to where my strengths literally were and I was incorrectly comparing myself to others and assuming that I wasn't a good job when that's just not what my body is accustommed/ adapted to (kind of like the example that you talked about in your comment). 

Also, there's no need to apologize for posting on my journal. Especially when it comes to working out, I don't have the best idea as to what I'm doing so having additional input is helpful more than anything. Plus I just like talking to people on here. 

[soos_mite_ah]

A Few Funny Anecdotes at the Gym 

I've been going to my college's gym for a few months now and I have met some entertaining characters along the way. I swear to god some of the guys I run into there, for better or for worse, are like human memes. 

One of the first memes I have come across is this guy who basically reminds me of the Golden One. For those of yall who don't know who the Golden One is, he's like this white supremacist who is built like a body builder and he has this whole cringy and memeable persona. I only know of this person because Contrapoints has made fun of him a couple of times in her videos. But basically, everytime I see this guy, I just want to start laughing. I have to try extra hard to not laugh especially when this guy keeps grunting and checking himself out. 

  Just in general, I can't take anyone seriously if they are one of the people who grunts between reps. There are a few guys like that at the gym who are also in my classes and honestly, when I see these guys out and about on campus, that's the only thing I can think about. 

While guys grunting is not my favorite thing that I encountered at the gym, there is something else that I think about a lot that really made my day. So there were these three guys that walked in on the section where I normally get my weights. They were all dorky as hell (one of them had a math formula tatted on his forearm) and they were basically trying to hype each other up at the gym. It was really wholesome. Then one of the guys was trying to teach the other two how to do dumbell flys correctly. While he was teaching his friends he kept repeating "fly away little birdy fly away." And then, when this guy started doing dumbell flys himself, he let out a *cakaw* between each rep as if he was a bird. Once he and his friends finished up with the dumbell flys another one of the guys, puts his arm around the other two and said "one of these days, men, we are going to be mightly falcons" and then they all got really hyped up. The whole thing was cute and really funny and over all they seem like fun wholesome people to be around. I haven't seen them since but I hope they're well on their way on accomplishing their goals. I think about this moment whenever I catch myself feeling a little down as a reminder to not take myself to seriously at the gym. 

There was this one guy that I saw that was wearing a black t-shirt with white letters saying "Alphathlete." I remember doing a double take when I saw that because that was really cringe. I just remember thinking *OH GOD..... HE'S ONE OF THOSE....* I was just standing there like:

And unfortunately, this isn't the only time that I encounter weird shit like this at the gym. I have heard some conversations that were kind of concerning to say the least. I can't really say I'm surprised because it's just the regular ol' stage orange shit. It's like *surprised pikachu face* gym bros have conservative stage orange political leanings. 

Also on a brigher note, I scared my first person at the gym the other day. I mentioned this somewhere in the first post of this journal but I'm not going to the gym with any specific goals other than to have fun and create a habit. And part of having fun is scaring people at the gym. So what happened was I was using the calf raise machine. After I was done I went over to another machine to do a different exercise. There was this one girl that walked up to the calf raise machine after me and she just said to herself "WHO TF IS DOING CALF RAISES AT 250lbs!?!??!?!"  loud enough to where I can hear near by,  And I'm just sitting here just like: 

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by soos_mite_ah