First Gym Experience?

**Billy Boy** · 09-28-2001, 03:29 AM

Remember the first time you went into a gym? The first stupid thing you done in the gym?

I think I was 15 and I remember the door had a glass window in it. I had played around with the weights at school and had read hand me down copies of M&F from a couple of the bigger kids at school. I was ready to join the mainstream bodybuilding culture I knew what I had to do and say, well at least I tried to convince myself I did.

I remember asking the women behind the counter if I could go in and only many years later did I realise that she did not sneeze when I said I wanted to be a bodybuilder she was sniggering behind her hand. Un-deterred I gazed through that window watching the guys lifting weights. I had never seen weights that big before. I was a pretty strong kid and weighed around 128lbs and was 5 6” I was a prime beefcake, all right, I was also boxing at the time and was pretty good –I always came second :-)

It took me 3 weeks to get through that door and when I did the smell made my nose sting. A mixture of sweat old leather and rust hit you as you walked through the door no-one looked up no one spoke they just carried on training. I warmed up and proceeded to the Latpull down Machine. I had never used this before or anything like it but I had just watched a guy use it and felt confident I could do it. He was probably 30lbs heavier than I. I knelt down and pulled this bar all the way down behind my neck with the same weight he had used. So far so good. Then I hit trouble. I had the bar there but it was pulling me off the floor and the room was quiet I didn’t want to make a noise and let the weights fall. It felt like I spent hours there just hanging onto this damn weight.

A guy came over in the end and took the weight off me. Funny I became good friends with him and I always used to train hard but he used to say train smart not hard. I continued to train and applied for the Royal Marines and passed all their fitness stuff and their trial training and got offered a place to train as a marine. Parents and g/friend talked me out of it. I stopped training and pissed it up every night instead. Glad I’ve found it again though.

Billy

**Ms Figure** · 09-28-2001, 03:44 AM

Hey good thread Billy

Well my first experience was funny!

I thought i would take my friend to a hard core gym and we stood there normally spoilt by gyms which had pictures on how to use the equipment i felt like i was surrounded by machines i didnt have the first clue how to use! Then this friendly gym owner guy decided wow females lets have a chat up session! he showed us briefly how to use the things but i was still none the wiser! I went home to my boyfriend and drew pictures of the machines i used and asked him what muscles id work!

It does seem weird looking back now and if i advise people at the gym now what equipment to use i can see their confusion its a bit like sitting behind a learner driver and thinking ahh i was there once but what a long time a go that seems!

**SPEEDY** · 10-01-2001, 09:26 PM

Drawing pictures of the machines??? funny..

My funny experience was putting way too much weight on the bench and having no one to spot me. The bar just sat on top of my chest for a few minutes. Someone came and said "are you ok??" I guess he could see a throbbing vein on my forehead. I said "NOOOO.. I cant get this bar off my chest." Even though I increased weight pretty quickly, everytime I saw the guy, I know what he was thinking--- "PUNK!"

**RON** · 10-01-2001, 10:41 PM

I was very young the first time I went into a gym. It had to be about 3rd of 4th grade. My Mom was worried cause I was overweight. She took me to this gym. I remember it was all industrial looking outside not like the "fitness centers" of today

We went inside to the office and they didn't want to let me join, cause I was so young. Finally my Mom talked them into it (she was always very persistent about things). Anyway the catch was I had to work out light. I think they limited the stuff I could use too.

A trainer showed me around and I remember everyone was so huge and built. I guess everyone is huge when your a little boy though.

I didn't go to that gym very long, maybe a year. It's not even there anymore. There is a furniture store where it was. That was the last I saw of any gym till Freshman football in high school.

I was 225 and fat as hell the start of my freshman year. By the end of it I was 185 and lean as hell. At graduation I was back to 225 but very little of it was fat. That is when I first knew I wanted to get involved in BB.

I trained seriously for about 2 years before I hit a huge plateau got frustrated and quiet. Then I trained off and on for the next 8 years. Now Im finally ready to get serious again.

Wow did I say all that. Next time I ramble on like that someone slap me.

**edraven29** · 10-02-2001, 10:28 AM

i was 16 when i first joined a gym, i add the chance to train with big black football players, they where huge, one of them (dwayne) was about my size but 8 months later he was well over 200 pounds.

I kept asking myself what the hell am i doing wrong????? i did bench press, squats, pullups all has they did and i grew a little bite.

3 months after this dwayne went back to looking smaller then me.

I panicked, dwayne are you sick whats going on, well i discovered that he was on steroids .

At that time i didnt have any money for them but i was really scared when i saw him shrink.

I did my first cycles not long ago after nearly 12 years of behing 100% drug free, well i didnt do much, fake deca wont make you grow a lot.

If i can find good deca then i will use it for a while but i will never do big cycles.

that was my first gym experience

**$uperman** · 10-03-2001, 12:27 AM

My first time was with a friend who was a member. I was working out at the highschool so i had a lil experence. I remember all the mirrors and odd machines lol . In school we always ran on the track so after our workout we go on the treadmills. It felt so weird running in place for 2 miles. I remember the only thing inspiring me was the hot babe that got on the one right in front of me.....

. Man...... i could have ran for dayz after that.

**dumbells101** · 10-03-2001, 07:02 AM

I joined the Air Force in 83 and believe it or not my duty was in the gym. I was sent to fitness advisor school, and at 5'11 140 thought I arrived. The first thing I was told when walking into the gym was "Boy we gotta get you on the weights" Duhh

I Loved it! And still do. It's my life!

**decadbal** · 03-30-2004, 04:13 PM

airforce......how was that

**Dude-Man** · 03-30-2004, 04:24 PM

well, congrats dbal, you've bumped a thread from 2001. Although i think it was a good one to bump.

My first experience in a gym was only 3 or so years ago. I went with some friends to work out my chest.. first bench press, where i did 45's on each side for 6 reps or so.. for 4 sets.. then off to the 30 lb dumbells for incline press. Man it was nuts. I've come a long way.

**decadbal** · 03-30-2004, 04:49 PM

im tryin to reinvigorate the board brotha..lol i lvoe bumpin the golden oldies u know

**Phillyboy1** · 03-30-2004, 06:48 PM

i was in 7th grade and my dads girlfriends kids had a bench and barbell so i decided to try some bench pressin. i always got into fights alot when i was young so i figured if i got stronger it would help me with fighting, you know give me a advantage. so i when i was young i would visit my mom and id take every heavy book i could find, put them in my back pack and sprint up her stairs for like 5 minutes, then id do all the push ups i could, then i would do a handstand agains a wall and do some sort of military press. i just always knew it would be better health wise if i stayed in shape.

when i got in to 9th grade i was able to take weight lifting as a gym class. you were only aloud to take it 2 out of the 4 semesters but i talked the gym teachers into letting me take it all 4. they understood i actually wanted to work out and not just waste time like most people that took the class would do. every once in a while when i couldnt take the weight lifting class cause of other grade requirements i would stay after and lift at my school. by the time i was a senior i was only about 140lbs but i could bench 225 for my max. i would always get 1st in the physical requirment days.

finally after i was expelled from high school i decided i needed to join a real gym. i remember this place was a hole in the wall. i would go monday threw friday. ever since that age (18) till now (23) ive belonged to a gym and worked out. at least now ive actually learned alot of stuff and my results show it i think. im 188lbs and max bench at 355, max deadlift 455, max squat 465 and max shoulder press 315. now my life pretty much works around working out. i dont drink, or do anything that would hamper my training

**juicehoe** · 03-30-2004, 10:02 PM

Yea i started in my garage with a bench older then me. Then in HS i was in weight lifting class for 3 years lol. Then i joined a gym about 3 years ago.
As a first gym experience.... i benched to much by myself and ending up having the bar stuck on me untill someone came and helped me