Originally Posted by
j.flo
I think my gym has the full complement of general oddness going on, but a few things I've seen have stuck out in particular:
One guy repeatedly does 1/8ish ROM Smith squats with a 45 on each side of the bar, sweating, grunting, and holding his face quite literally parallel to the ceiling. I don't know how he has enough flexibility to get his neck back that far, but I cringe for his spine every time I see him lift (he's probably about 45 and looks pretty jacked, so I'm not sure I'll ever comment on it, but I worry a bit for his health).
Another guy, quiet, sits on one of the decline ab benches and does 1/10 ROM at the top and 1/10 ROM at the bottom alternating sets. When I first saw him he was doing bottom 1/10 ROM. This is not what was striking. The entire time he was forcefully pulling a towel over his face. He didn't remove the towel when he rested, though you could hear the heavy breathing through the towel. I assumed he was waiting for someone to come over with a bucket of water and attempt to waterboard him. I still haven't figured that one out...
On the other hand, I've seen some kind of recent influx of people doing 1/4 ROM squats with <150lb. I know I'm not strong yet, but I've had several people laugh at me (generally to a girl who is also there with them) doing my warmups starting with the bar while they lift 135. I get into my work sets while they're quarter squatting 135, I take 285 to depth for reps, rack the bar and just smile at them. None of them have approached me yet, and the look on their faces is priceless.
I can only assume the New Year's rush will bring a massive influx of hilarious behavior.