Going to Where the Clients Are | Rebecca Fishburne

[stef]

While the attitudes in the commercial gym can be frustrating at times, the cool thing about being an SSC in this setting is that I have an opportunity to translate Starting Strength for people who don’t speak the language, many of whom have never heard of it and have never even considered lifting anything heavy.

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[FatButWeak]

This is really cool. You're doing the lords work among the heathens. Keep good notes because the great unwashed masses are definitely the biggest untapped market segment. Good luck and godspeed.

[Charlocity2]

Rebecca, you are clearly doing God's work, as the saying goes, by coaching so much in a commercial gym atmosphere. Seriously, it strikes me as similar to the work of a missionary.

I hope my questions don't sound trivial, in the scheme of things, but:

Do you see a big difference in etiquette at commercial gyms, compared to Fivex3? For example, I wonder if you get blocked out of squat racks while other members do stupid crap, i.e., not squatting.

Is the lower quality equipment at commercial gyms a significant factor? Hard to coach leg drive when the bench is so slick.

[Jr_Geezer]

Interesting article. I've been going to the same gym, following the SS model, for about 4 1/2 years now. I am therefore, not surprisingly, the strongest guy there. Well, some of the younger guys have a bigger bench because mine is pathetic, but I have only seen one person squat three plates and no one is close to four plates on the deadlift (and most people who do deadlifts either bounce them or do RDLs, in any case). I think I'm a friendly, approachable guy and have talked to several members, given encouragement to others who are trying and have received compliments on my lifts, but no one has once asked how I got strong. No one is interested. Everyone does the same lifts, on the same machines, at the same weights, for years on end, showing zero improvement. Weird.

[Gerald Boggs]

but no one has once asked how I got strong. No one is interested. Everyone does the same lifts, on the same machines, at the same weights, for years on end, showing zero improvement..

That's mostly been my experience, same with the missus. In spite of having a lean athletic body, not a single woman has ever approached her and ask about why she does squats, deadlifts and press.

[k_kws]

Hard to coach leg drive when the bench is so slick.

I keep a square of shelf liner in my gym bag. I place it where my back sits on the bench. Works wonderfully.

[FatButWeak]

Interesting article. I've been going to the same gym, following the SS model, for about 4 1/2 years now. I am therefore, not surprisingly, the strongest guy there. Well, some of the younger guys have a bigger bench because mine is pathetic, but I have only seen one person squat three plates and no one is close to four plates on the deadlift (and most people who do deadlifts either bounce them or do RDLs, in any case). I think I'm a friendly, approachable guy and have talked to several members, given encouragement to others who are trying and have received compliments on my lifts, but no one has once asked how I got strong. No one is interested. Everyone does the same lifts, on the same machines, at the same weights, for years on end, showing zero improvement. Weird.

I would love for someone to have questioned me during my life as a gym goer prior to learning about SS. As a bro, I benched and even deadlifted, but didnt bother to squat. The few times I had tried I was embarassingly weak, felt awkward and tweaked my hamstring at light weights. I also never got any bigger (even though hypertrophy was my - by far - greatest goal) and not much stronger. Why did I do this? It was the dark ages before the internet, when the only sources of info were the muscle magazines, which were pathetic, full of lies and misnformation. Also - hurbis: I thought I knew what i had to do. I didnt know what I did not know. Such a waste

[Jr_Geezer]

That's mostly been my experience, same with the missus. In spite of having a lean athletic body, not a single woman has ever approached her and ask about why she does squats, deadlifts and press.

I continue to go to that particular gym because it is 2 miles from my house, has two decent Hammer Strength squat racks (which I hardly ever have to wait for) and it's $65/month for my family of four. But I do get jealous when I read about other people's experiences at gyms where there is a community of like-minded lifters. There is another gym near my office (partially subsidized by my employer) that I go to mostly because it has a prowler and indoor turf to push it on, and appears to be more hard-core than the community rec center I regularly train at, but virtually everyone there is clueless, particularly the trainers, so I'm not sure a different gym will make a difference. Unless of course I want to spend many more bucks and drive further to work out at Robert Santana's newly opened gym in Phoenix...

[Rebecca Fishburne]

Haha! Thanks for the good wishes!

[Rebecca Fishburne]

Interesting questions. I do notice a difference in etiquette. There are a few groups of mostly guys who do some heavy lifting at the commercial gym at night, but most of the people are doing pretty light weight dumbbell exercises and, of course, all the machines. So I actually don't have a ton of competition for the squat rack, and when I do I point out that since I'm short I can't do a squat to depth in the thing with the fixed arms. I get some weird looks about that sometimes from people who specialize in partial squats. A lot of the people there do more talking than lifting. Many of them talk while they are lifting. I've had people (including trainers) try talking to me while I'm red-faced in the middle of a heavy set of deadlifts. I've had other trainers stand in my line of sight while I'm coaching a lifter on his squat. At Fivex3, people respect the space around a person when they are in the middle of a heavy set; any talking to a person mid-set is helpful cueing.

As far as equipment goes, the fixed position of the "safety arms" on one of the squat rack-like structures is a problem, and so is the lack of safety arms and the fixed pin position of the benches. We have an interesting assortment of nice equipment, like a 15kg Bella bar, a Prowler, and a Texas bar. Some people don't get it though. I've started hiding the Bella Bar because the trainers in a bootcamp class kept taking it outside for RDLs and dropping it on the concrete.