Oh Public Gym

So today was my first day at the local public gym. I have been used to a college facility which isn't perfect but it's better than the public facility. I already had some expectations of things I would see that would make me shake my head. To add to it, I had to go later in the afternoon so there was a much larger crowd to check out. To start things off, it was definitely National Bench Day (Monday), as 80% of the guys in there were pressing it out. Meanwhile, I was found squatting in the single power rack. Beyond the benching and the large collection of super cut-offs, there wasn't much else that really disturbed me, which was surprising. However, it's only day one.

The thing that really made my brain hurt was the trainers in action. I actually had to stop and write some things down on the back of my workout card just so I could remind myself day in and day out to never fall to this level. Here are a few examples:

• At one point I looked over and noticed a trainer with his client (young, healthy girl) doing planks on a stability ball. The problem with this was that her stability is not yet that advanced as her hips were sagging so bad and there was so much curvature in her lumbar spine that I almost ran over there to sit on her back, thinking is was a swing or hammock of some sort.
  
• This same trainer then had this client doing cable rotations while standing on a Bosu ball. Once again, her stability is not there. She was falling all over the place and the rotation wasn't even working her core.
  
• Another crazy thing I saw was the new workout of the day: Bulgarian split squats combined with straight bar bicep curls. Yes, this guy's client was doing Bulgarian split squats while holding a barbell with a supinated grip, and at the top of the squat performed a bicep curl. WOW!

Now, I don't want to rag on these trainers too much because I will be training there soon. But hopefully I can set an example and teach some people better methods of training than the excessive use of the Bosu ball. The only time I will ever touch a Bosu ball will be when I get bored and decide to play Frisbee around the gym.

I could honestly tell stories like this day in and day out but instead, I think I will keep them to myself and after about a year write a book telling these stories and showing how messed up the public fitness world is.

On a side note: I owned my interview today as I took a "test" and talked with the director. Not only was I able to dominate the "test", I was also able to define the Multifidus (a spinal stabilizer running along the spine). Direct quote: "I have never seen someone complete these questions and present themselves so well as you have just done."