Describe your Gym and it's users

[hardestgainer]

I've started this thread because I'm interested to know if people have different experiences of their gyms and gym users to myself. I'm also interested to know if people have had training partners who were either a help or hindrance and if they think training partners are a good or bad thing.

For myself, every gym that I've ever been to falls into this category:-

Main area dominated by machines and treadmills, cross trainers and rowing machines. A small corner with dumbells and a Smith machine dominated by groups of people who all seem to be best friends, and sometimes a little mat area with Swiss balls.

As far as gym users go I've found that people are either in with a group of people who do preacher curls all day long with the occasional Smith Bench Press, or they do a bit of cardio followed by lat pulldowns and a few leg extensions. I've never seen or met anyone who would be a suitable training partner. I'm curious as to where people who train us Stronglifters train as the only gyms I've ever seen with equipment like a squat rack are very posh gym which would cost me an arm and a leg to become a member of. Does this therefore mean that to be a Stronglifter you either have to train at home like me or have very deep pockets?

[holvoetn]

Main gym now: my basement.
My music, my weights, my chalk, my everything, whenever I am free. No closing hours.
No training partner.
Just me, myself and the iron.

Occassionally I will go to the gym I frequented before having a home setup (which reminds me it has been a month already ... ).
Largest area as you describe: machines, treadmills, cross trainers, cable stuff, ... the works.
The weightlifting area is maybe only 1/8th of the surface. 1 squat rack, no power rack, 2 Smiths, 1 bench rack.
1 oly bar with revolving metal sleeves, 2 lighter bars with plastic sleeves, some curl bars and EZ-bars.
A lot of dumbbells and that's it.
But you can do SL5x5 perfectly there (provided the 1 squat rack is free when you need it).
I never mingled with the 'locals' (your description fits most of them) though they started to notice me for making steady gains. An occassional 'hello' or even a handshake when they arrive last times I went but chatting is not my cup of tea. I am there to exercise.
Heck, there is only 1 I know of that could squat more then me but it was not below parallel (but he did do it with +200kg which is already a feat on its own).

[ltbs]

I use a work supplied gym, room for 6 max, no cost
the usual corporate treadmill, a row machine, 1 pec dec/bench/leg extension multi gym, and frame for cable work/pull-ups, preacher bench, also dumbells from 2.5k upto 50k

for SL 5x5 it has the minimum, 2 benches, 1 700lb oly bar, lots of collars, 1 pair of squat stands (150k max weight) and about 200k in plates that range from 1.25k upto 25k each, an ez bar and hammer grip bar, various padding to stretch on if no-one else in the room due to space

i try to get in before others so i can get squats out the way thus freeing up the bar for their bench work also let's me choose the music but i always give them the option to change it

the users are a good bunch tho' they seem to need a belt to just enter the room lol, some i work with daily and some are from other deparments, there is usually always a positive comment regards my training, ie the increases of weight on the bar (someone called me Conan because 90k was on the bar ), or one particular person likes to check my written log. There is no one there that i would call an able training partner, they are partial ROM lifters, wether it's bench, d/bell curls or their friday quarter squats. They will spot my bench no problem, but sometimes without me asking they have jumped in to spot throwing me right out of focus Have to say tho' without them to feed from, my lifts probably wouldn't be so aggressive (point to prove) and so less productive, so bring 'em on

[Mazikins]

My gym is precioussss. I spent several weeks looking for a suitable gym after turning my nose up at the local posh gym with retinal scanners, full of machines and treadmills and idiots. The one I found is 2 towns away and it takes me an hour to get there, but it's so awesome.

It has two weight rooms, although one is more for strongman/strongwoman training (huge tractor tyre, logs, stones etc). It has a squat rack, 3 benches, deadlift areas, 3 olympic bars, 1 powerlifting bar, a whole lot of weight plates, a huge range of dumbbells, a basic set of machines and treadmills/bikes.

The owners are a couple - he is Iceland's Strongest Man and holds several world records in weight lifting, she is Britain's Strongest Woman. The other gym goers are mainly powerlifters, body builders, about 10-15 girls who do strongwoman training and other strength training and some "normal people" who mainly use machines and the lighter weights on dumbbells/barbells.

The gym organizes events pretty regularly and has a lot of perks (fat percentage measurement, training tracking, training and nutrition advice). There is also a professional sports masseur who opened a place right above the gym, but I have yet to try out his services (he is also the gym pimp and he offered to find me a suitable guy who likes what I like and doesn't have a problem with girls lifting weights).

[maroon]

Interesting to read about others' gyms

My new one is a Bodybuilding / Martial arts gym spread over two floors.
I switched from a flashier and newer commercial gym this autumn.

Top floor: Room with 100% covered flooring for fighting. You can faceplant it without severe pain (I've tested it, 8/10). Several points in the roof where you can attach large punching bags etc. This is where I have my Muay Thai twice a week.

Bottom floor: Room with machines. Lots of freeweights: dumbells (including some monster ones), incline bench, decline bench, flat bench with a wide base (my favourite), lots of olympic bars (YAY) and lots of plates (2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25kg). It only has one power rack, but people are generally very friendly and we try to split it in a sensible way. Most of the fighters don't use it at normal gym times.

There is some cardio machines too. A couple of treadmills, some crosstrainers and some bikes.

People there are mostly athletes and some fighters. You also get casuals like me there. Most are considerably stronger than in the average commercial place. Everybody get on well and I've never been judged there for being a beginner at lifting nor Muay Thai.

The gym owner is a decent lifter and chalk etc. is fine. I've seen people use it and I very recently started using it myself.

It would be great if it had another power rack, but there genuinely is no need for it yet. So I see why they stick with one for now. Also the place being bigger would be a bonus. But can't have everything. I'm happy with it

[Portillo]

The gym i go to is in between mainstream and hardcore. The employees are extremely helpful, polite and knowledgeable. Not the type to say dont do squats and deadlifts, but the type to give you a form check and help you anyway they can.

The members of the gym are quite friendly, there are only 1-2 ppl who i would suspect are on steroids, everyone else tends to look up to them, there like the main guys of the gym. I usually stick to myself. Most guys there are the isolationist type but theres a few that squat and even fewer that squat to parallel.

Gym has only one squat rack and no power rack which makes it hard especially when its crowded, so i usually go when its least packed like in the morning, afternoon or later at night.

[vhalros]

I work out in my school gym. It has two sections, one of which is devoted to weight machines and cardio equipment, one of which is devoted to free weights. Each side has a large selection of dumbells as well. The free weight area has about 3 power cages, 3 platforms equipped with bumper plates (there are these rail you can attack to the uprights and potentially also do squats here as well, but I'm not too sure of their weight limit), and about 10 plat forms with benches and attachable side rails (suitable for bench press). The power cages and the uprights for the bench platforms all have chin up bars.

There is also a small padded area for doing body weight stuff and stretching, although it is honestly way to small (when I do legs swings, for example, I need to be careful to avoid kicking people).

The equipment is old as all Methuselah, doing squats leaves rust stains on my shirt, and I usually have to pound on stuff to adjust the pins on the power cage. So its not too shiny, but its actually a pretty sweet gym

The really sucky part is that some times athletic teams reserve the entire free weight area, and the other side is mostly useless to me.

The people are pretty friendly. I actually found some crossfit people in the gym the other day and induced them to help me with my power clean (there form looked pretty good ). Who ever does the strength coaching for the athletic teams seems pretty competent, as there are a lot of strong guys there who know how to lift.

[hardestgainer]

Some interesting Gyms here. For school gyms, I was about to join one which apparently had a squat rack. When I went to check it out, I found that there was a hidden away room with freeweights and a main gym with "state of the art machines and dumbells." When I asked about the freeweight room the trainer said that they were outdated stuff used by the school children. When he asked me what I thought, I said "If you're going use machines to balance the weight for you, then you might as well use a crane to lift it for you."

Mazikins - I'm so jealous, that gym sounds unbelievable.

Most peoples' gyms here sound better than what I'm used to. Most of the ones I've seen are council owned and linked with local schools. Even company gyms for employees only sound good even if they are basic.

I'm beginning to think that I'm better off training at home as no-one can say don't Clean, Deadlift or drop the weights and I don't have to listen to Alphabeat tracks that have been left on repeat either.

[l1n3n01z]

The company has a great gym in the basement. A wall full of machines, cardio stuff (2 treadmills, 2 bikes, 2 stair machines, a single elliptical), a power rack, bench rack, free bench, lots of dumbbells, 2 olympic bars with rolling sleeves, plates (2*1.25 (which I bought as I couldn't wait for the company to buy them), 2*2.5, 4*5, 2*10, 4*15, 2*20) and even kettlebells of all sorts. There's even a small stretching room with mats and a gymball.

I'm spoiled, really.

[hardestgainer]

Is this the one?

[ArthurNijkamp]

Nice to read about other people's gyms!

Although not perfect, I'm quite happy with my gym. It is a gym belonging to my university. It has three rooms. Two are devoted to machines and cardio-stuff. I only go there to do my core-work and some stretching. It's not necessary but it's a nice excuse for checking out the girls dominating the room

The other room is nicknamed the 'testosterone-room' as girls hardly ever set foot in there. It is packed with benches (incline, flat, and decline), has some smith machines and a squat rack. There are also many dumbells present ranging from (I think) 1 to 50kgs. There's an opportunity to do dips and pull-ups as well. As there is only one squat rack I have to wait occasionally but most of the time it is free (it is not that popular).

The people in the gym are very friendly. As most of them are students there is a great variety. There are 'machine and bicep-curl only people', but there are also people doing compound movements with a more than decent amount of weight. If you get lucky, you might even see some cleans

One of the only things that surprises me is the fact that most of the regulars do not seem to have a clear schedule concerning weight, sets, and reps. Almost all of them seem to prefer a more intuitive approach to training I guess. Oh well, to each their own...

[Portillo]

One of the only things that surprises me is the fact that most of the regulars do not seem to have a clear schedule concerning weight, sets, and reps. Almost all of them seem to prefer a more intuitive approach to training I guess. Oh well, to each their own...

Yeah thats how my gym is. The only ppl i see writing things down, besides me, are the ones that have been given programs by the personal trainers.

[hardestgainer]

Most of the trainers I've seen advise people to do 3 sets of 10 with assorted isolation exercises and crunches if they are trying to lose weight, which I've never understood. I'm not trying to bash all the trainers though, with the gyms I've been to my advice would usually be find a better gym which the trainers can't say. So does this mean that trainers are preventing from doing a decent job because of a substandard gym?

[Tmv]

LA fitness
gots squat racks, power rack, a bench, hot women in spandex, I'm good2go.

[thefinalsql]

24 Hour fitness.

Cardio machines farther than the eye can see. Plenty of weight machines. One Smith machine. I cannot use Smith Machine(thankfully) I cannot fit inside of it

3 bench press, 2 decline, 2 incline.
Entire wall filled with dumbells, also a bunch of pre-weightws? barbell curl looking things.

Basketball court, aerobics rooms.

Free daycare.

Swimming pool, hot tub, steam room, sauna

And finally, one power rack and one squat rack.

People are friendly, but I would not train with any of them. I get all my information from the amazing people on this forum.