John Musser SSC: Maybe You Are a Special Snowflake

[Mark Rippetoe]

Maybe You Are a Special Snowflake | John F Musser

[Alexander Dargatz]

Awesome article, very well put.
I know I say that almost every other new article, but I read them all and it's always true.

Just yesterday I sent the links to Amazon/the book, the website and a couple of selected articles to someone interested. Now I'll have to send this article - I think it's a very good introduction if someone's new to Starting Strength.

You learned how to Squat, Press, Bench and Deadlift, and you sort of learned how to Power Clean.

Lol!

Now you resent weak people, and you blame most of their problems on being weak.

It's true. Does that make me a bad person? I don't want to resent 95% of my fellow humans.... but I do.

[Dave Joksimovic]

This was a great article to read right before the hardest day of the week for me training wise lol

Also, relevant to a conversation I was having with a friend who is considering running the program. I was explaining it and he kept referring to what he thinks are the standards for "most people" in the gym. I had to stop him and explain that he needs to stop thinking about that, because if he sticks to the program he won't be "most people" anymore.

[tww1313]

I felt like I was living my 2 month as a personal trainer at a gym named after a fancy metal. It took me two months to find another job and get out of that place. They promised I could do whatever I wanted with the clients and I would have my own schedule. At the time I just wanted to train people so everything sounded good. Than.....they want you to do the "classes" which I thought were BS so I wouldn't. So than..... they want more screenings and more clients to an already full schedule. In addition, other trainers were on their phones with clients, doing bicep curls with obese people, and making clients stand on stupid balls.A new trend is the trainer giving the 20yo athlete internal and external rotation with a band because their physical therapist did with them "to get that rotator cuff strong." However, the silver lining in this was I did reach a handful of clients that I keep up, who most of them have gone strictly to barbell training. Great article and spot on.

[teddyd]

I like this article.

[Mark E. Hurling]

The levels described in this article sound similar to Scientology. Was that kind of your basis John?

[Chris Lippke]

Yeah this article is very good, entertaining, and so true. The Power Cleans part made me lol as well.
[*cough* the then/than's need to be fixed *cough*]

Does that make me a bad person? I don't want to resent 95% of my fellow humans.... but I do.

I had to go through Blade, Interview with the Vampire, and Andromeda before I found what I was looking for:
Defector from Decadence - TV Tropes

I had to stop him and explain that he needs to stop thinking about that, because if he sticks to the program he won't be "most people" anymore.

On point.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Yeah this article is very good, entertaining, and so true. The Power Cleans part made me lol as well.
[*cough* the then/than's need to be fixed *cough*]

I thought I caught all of those. Guess not.

[John F Musser]

Thanks for the kind words and I am glad the piece was helpful. MEH I did not base it on Scientology but feel free to use my model for your BIg Globo Gym.
Chris....thanks to you also!

[JoelinChina]

So you, accompanied by the same perfectly pleasant trainer, went into a section previously denied to you, even with your EXECPAK™ membership. This room was for people serious about their training, because apparently when you first joined the gym and reached in your pocket, they could tell you weren’t serious.

So now there was yelling and hitting stuff with a sledge hammer and swinging kettlebells (barefoot of course) and a lot of core work on a big ball and more yelling and running around in circles.

Everything up to this point was spot on about the gym I go to in China. And then it gets to this part, and I get goosebumps, because this is my gym! Down to the sledgehammer.

There must be a special course they all take titled something like, "How to win memberships and abuse people".