so 25 yrs ago there used to be one gym instructor, he used to be hard core, dead lifts, benches, presses, squat racks every where....if you werent going big you were laughed at...he used to slap you on the back really hard and tell you to put another plate on and stop being a child, if you back chatted him you would smack you out...lol there were photo's of tom platz, mentzer and arnold up on the wall, no programs to follow, just go in and lift heavy. Now you get to the gym and are greeted by 6 pretty boy and girl personal trainers dressed in bright green and black lycra who want to charge you 100 bucks for an hour sessions, people are lined up pulling weird rubber band machines to strengthen there core?...lots of hydraulic machines to do everything,stair walkers, ski machines, running machines no heavy dumb bells anymore, no squat racks, its all machines now, only one brench press if you are lucky,there are more machines then you know what to do with, televisions everwhere showing endless dance clips, girlies madly using their iphones to email and text people and check their facebooks, guys looking in the mirror at their hair styles and doing dance moves then taking pics of themselves to post on their facebooks so the girlies can check them out so where is the gym scene going to?
Yeah I agree with Mob Barley here. In my country there is a gym called Basic-Fit and they have everything. Bench press, free weights, squat racks, anything for deadlifting and those type of exercises. But also machines. I think both are good. I do a combination of free weights and machines. There are also these little "islands" of weights where you can adjust the height of the thing for triceps or biceps. I started going to the gym 6 months ago and I can say it's really helped me during my reboot.
Lots of different gyms around for different goals and needs. Not all of us want to look like Arnie. My Mum recently started going to the gym for the first time in her 70s as part of rehabilitation for a shoilder injury. She wasn't looking for some grunt to slap her on the back.
I just joined a gym and it is so well equipped. Lots more people these days want to dead lift, squat and lift heavy. It also has some of the stuff you mentioned. The fitness industry has changed so much over the years. Those old type of power lifting gyms and body building gyms are there but they are usually tucked away somewhere in the back streets.
My advice: if you want the old school gym build one. Throw all the shit out of your garage, but some plates, a bar and a power rack. Invite like-minded bros over and lift. Don't have a garage? Get the cheapest storage unit you can find and use that as a gym. Knew a guy who did that. Or just set it up in your living room. Knew a guy who did that too. No couch, no chairs. A damn power rack, a plate holder, and dumbells in his living room. He was single.
I resorted to lifting at home. No set limits, no pretty girls or boys eye balling each other. Especially the older people that act annoyingly just because you completely a lunge set. Yeah I had that happen one time… I would highly suggest training at home. It’s better, you’re mine will be less drifting, you are your own mascot and Sense of urgency to lift heavier. I’m not sure where this gym is. But the one I went to had everything even sauna rooms if you wanted to sweat a little more after a pump. My trainer was also the best one I was ever set up with. He encouraged me to go higher even if it was just one. He would stick around to make sure I stretched. If I didn’t he would catch me before I went to the locker room. I think it may just be time for a gym change. Or invest in a lifting room where you live. I highly suggest power blocks.
This.. There is no gyms even close to where I live. I started with a smith machine and a dumbbell set. I searched around and bought other equipment used and had some given to me. I have a nice gym now.
The question should really be is modern society full of wimps? Gyms have changed a great deal and consist of a wide variety of people with differing needs and goals. It is true that most people did train harder at the gym prior to phones and social media that is glaringly obvious. It is all about adapting to the environment around you and making the best of it.
Sounds like you're just being judgmental for no reason... Everyone is in there to better themselves in one way or another; just because it's not your preferred way doesn't give you the moral high ground to pass judgement on strangers.
