All The Gear, No Idea.

This is not a rant.
This is what it is.
This is a story about Trainer 'X'
And about egos.
And the truth.

Trainer 'X' works at one of the gyms I use.
He is a very popular trainer.His business is booming.
Why?
People train with him because of how he looks.
He looks big. Ripped. To some people, he looks good.
To me, he looks like a Dr Frankensteins monster...a collection of disproportionate and exaggerated body parts that don' function together as a unit.
But each to his own.

Why is 'X' Popular.
Because the guys that train with him wanna look like him.
So he takes their money and he trains them like he trains.
What happens?
Sometimes nothing.
Sometimes minor gains.
Often Injury.
Progress is measured in post-workout pain, and in-workout puking.

Is Trainer 'X' a bad person?
No.
He is, in fact, my friend...Although I don't agree with what he does..
Am I criticising him?
Again, no...because he doesn't know any better, but I'll keep trying to steer him towards the light.

Who am I criticising?
The people who mindlessly want to train with him because they think they'll look like him.
They won't.
Why?
Because he doesn't know why, or how, he looks like that.
I do.
He looks like that because of:
1) Steroids. Gear. Juice...call it what you want
2) Genetics
3) The way he trains.
4) In that order.

If you train in any gym in Coventry...and I'm guessing in the UK in general...chances are you are surrounded by gear monkeys.
They are easily recognised.
Their training is characterised by:
Boasting.
Overt aggression.
Limited range of motion.
Functionally redundant isolation exercises.

Why do they do this?
Because they train their egos, not their bodies.
And they..and the wannabes who want to look the same but haven't yet fully turned to the darkside...don't understand what their bodies are meant to do, or how they are meant to perform.

Yes, you can bench press more than me.
Let's run a mile.
Let's do some box jumps.
Or some bear walks.
Now who can bench more?
Now who can bench at all?
Now you can hear me...but you're till not listening.

But people still won't realise the truth.
The best trainer and the biggest trainer aren't the same things.
Trainer X is my friend.
He regularly rings me up for advice.
I regularly give it.
He regularly ignores it.
Such is life.

 

But, as my friend Mitch would say..we keep on keeping on.

Because this is what we do.

This is who we are.

Keep on being yourself.

Resist the gear freaks and the Men's Health workouts.  

Don't train your ego.

Train your body.
Train your mind.
We're all just animals.

General Out