Jesse: I Don't Want to be THAT guy. (Warning, cell phones and French Fries are mentioned!)

I don’t want to be that guy.

I’m a lot stronger than I think I am. That is the underlying lesson I am learning while training with Devon.  You all got to see my video in my last post where I did some very heavy deadlifts that I hadn’t done since high school. Since that session I have done a variety of lifts with weights I didn’t think I was near ready to lift. The strength is coming fast and I love it.

The only downside is now I have to use more plates, which means I have more plates to put back. I can’t be one of those guys who leave what I was using on the bar, that’s just rude. Although lately while putting plates back I have had to rearrange racks because some folks can’t tell the difference between a 25lb plate and a 5lb plate. I don’t want to be that guy either. It’s rather silly.

I have read a lot of articles lately on the super awkward moments of going to the gym and I wondered how many of them I did, do, or have seen.

I see a lot and I have done a lot (not anymore!). One of the biggest ones that I read about is using cell phones while sitting on benches when the gym is busy. I am guilty L, I have done this a few times. I was just outright perusing FaceBook when there are better things to be done. I am more focused on my workouts now and getting my training in, I don’t have time for FaceBook while I am at the gym. The only time my phone is out is when I am entering information into my workout apps...or saving myself from being Rick rolled by Pandora (What’s Rick rolled? Google it, it’s fascinating).

Also another one that falls into the cell phone usage category is making phone calls near the big window in the weight room. Guilty of that too. I have made calls several times (let’s face it, it’s the only place with service upstairs) but I didn’t realize that everyone can hear my conversation. Annoying, especially when the conversation is about the pros and cons of dipping Wendy’s fries into a Frosty (yes, I had that conversation while at the gym). I won’t be that guy again.

There is another guy I will never be again. The guy who takes up a squat rack just to do bicep curls. I didn’t realize how annoying I was by doing that. Not until I started focusing on strengthening my legs. I have, on more than one leg day, encountered another person doing what I used to do. Curls. In. the. Rack. I was mentally amped up to squat some heavy weight and boom, both squats racks being used and one is full of someone doing curls. Oh NO! I was losing my momentum, thinking to myself “hurry up, broseph”. I learned that day that no curls should be done on a squat rack. Legs are a hard day and many people psych themselves up for lifting heavy. I don’t want to be the guy that stops that momentum by doing something that can be done without a rack.

There are a lot of “I don’t want to be that guy” type things that I know I do and probably other people do to. I am sure I will learn all of them the longer I keep lifting, which is good because “I don’t want to be that guy!”