CrossFit East Bay Rest Day 3-03-08: Arms Day at The L Street Gym

I just had to reprint this classic post from the CrossFit Message Board: It is worth reading the whole thread. Post the stupidest exercise  you have ever observed.

Lately I have been training around not one but two injuries. Neither very serious but serious enough to have to train around instead of through. So I've been going to a local community gym because they have more stuff to help me train around the injuries. The gym is owned by the city of Boston and runs $30 a year so you can't beat it. However I still prefer my garage gym because of all the gym numb nuts that dominate this gym. Benching and E-Z bar curls are the order of the day at this gym and I think its mando that all members wear fingerless weightlifting gloves and lifting belts. The belts must be worn and cinched tight at all times, even when working on the pec deck.

Anyway after I finished up I took a seat on a box in the corner to scan out the various routines. Nothing too remarkable. Then walks in Steve and Doug Butabi, you know, the characters from A Night at the Roxbury. I knew these chowderheads from a my pre-garage gym days. There they were in all their glory pulling on their gloves and cinching their leather belts. Donned in spaghetti strap muscle Ts and parachute pants they made their rounds slapping hands with the other numb nuts. This is their gym. After the formalities they bee lined straight for the preacher curl bench for a warm up with the E-Z curl bar. Thirty seconds later they were off to the incline bench for incline dumbbell curls. Then on to the tricep pushdown machine. After that they went to the flat bench for concentration curls super setted with tricep kickbacks. I don't think I saw a dumbbell used over 30 pounds but I could tell they were feeling the burn by all the yelling and screaming while transfixed on the mirror in front of them. After the super sets they socialized more and then proceeded back to the preacher curl bench for the real work.

Now you may be wondering why I was sitting there for so long watching the Butabi brothers pump iron. Well I had finished my work out and was socializing with a few guys I hadn't seen in years. I was just sort of half watching the Butabi brothers. One couldn't help it because they were making spectacles out of them selves.

Now back to the preacher curl bench. Now at this point I did sit down and watch because one of the Bubati brothers, let's call him Steve, pointed to my chalk and asked in a very audible voice, "who's is dis"? I said it was mine and he asked if he could use some. Of course I said yes but couldn't help wondering what for. He chalked up, cinched his belt, adjusted his fingerless gloves and braced himself in the preacher curl bench. His brother, Doug, handed off the E-Z curl bar to him with as much as 45 pounds loaded on the bar. He then proceeded to do forced reps. After about 6 or 7 reps it was Doug's turn. I asked him if he needed some chalk. He declined, tightened his leather belt, gloves and believe it or not wrist wraps. He went to his set but apparently lacked the zeal that Steve had. I know this because Steve began berating him like a red-faced drill sergeant. Steve said, "You mother$*&^#, get serious! This is &*^%*&# arms day! It's mother%$%*&^# arms day man!:angry:

In my 25 years of weight training I have never seen anything more ridicules than this whole scenario and that's saying a lot. And I don't know what bothered me more, the fact that these guys were such *******s or the fact that no one in the gym seemed to find anything unusual about this scenario. Anyway I laughed my *** off all the way to the showers. I may have to go to the gym more often. With gym dues only $30 a year you can't beat this kind of entertainment value. :wink: