Email from my Gym about the Gen Zs

[DustinTheHuss]

I encountered my first one of these this morning. Legit was just making TikTok vides the entire time and fake fighting the hitting bag. Dude was probably 105 pounds soaking wet.

I would have laughed so hard. TikTok is crazy. My daughter, nieces and her friends all do those dances to make TikTok videos.

I feel like one of those old people talking about the younger generation. What happened to me lol. Gen Z just cracks me up a lot more than the Millenials did.

[badreligion]

If you are averse to noises, don't go to a gym

There's a difference between making noise due to exercise and being a loud, obnoxious douchebag.

[shmobin]

That's pretty funny, I would have laughed my ass off..

He was wearing sunglass too, at 4:30AM. It was so confusing.

[mtpockets]

He was wearing sunglass too, at 4:30AM. It was so confusing.

This keeps getting better lol

The owner of my gym installed a heavy bag last year, I use it primarily for my martial art workouts and I know he uses it occasionally, other than that I don't think it's used much at all, the next time I see him I'll ask if he's seen any shenanigans going on with the bag because I saw some funny stuff in the old gym in the bag area.

[Bando]

So how about this.

As you're connecting your phone to your wireless headphones (sorry for you guys still using Discmans, 8 tracks or whatever) you look for your headphones, in my case Otium. Well there's like 9 other headphones listed, why not just connect to them randomly and play some good old episodes of He Haw or whatever. Figure out which kid freaks out when his headphones start blasting Minnie Pearl and make note of the name of the headphones and match it to the kid.

When that kid is going for his heavy 1/3 rep squat max, you guessed it:

[KeepItMoving]

Guys between 14-27 are real goofballs, generally speaking. The exception proves the rule. I see them; they see me. They pretty much stay out of my way, and I am only around them if I need a particular space near them to train. I've gotten a few why is the old man here lifting weights so seriously kinda looks. That's fine. I remember thinking thoughts like that about the old cats in the gym when I began training at 14.

The old guys back then seemed a little odd to me. Some of them were pretty damn strong, and they all trained focused and intense. By the time I was 21-22, I could lift way more than any of the old fkrs. I'd see them watching me when I got to my lowest rep sets. They never regarded me in the years before. They just seemed like kinda angry/mad guys who smelled like BO and liniment.

If the old me could see the young me in the gym, he'd think 'What an a**hole.' If the young me could see the old me in the gym, he'd think, 'What a pvssy.'

[Bando]

If the young me could see the old me in the gym, he'd think, 'What a pvssy.'

Speak for yourself I guess. When I was benching 200 in College if you told me I would be doing 335 in my 50's, I would have been like yeah whatever.

[Karl_Hungus]

Speak for yourself I guess. When I was benching 200 in College if you told me I would be doing 335 in my 50's, I would have been like yeah whatever.

But if you also informed your 20-year old self about the addition of "replacement", then your 20-year self might be significantly less skeptical.

[AlBHappy]

I attend a Planet Fitness from time to time when I'm not using my kettlebells at home. I have a buddy of mine whose 60 who gets so frustrated at the dumbbell rack. 5 kids to a machine, all with mushroom heads. Phones out, looking at them walking.

I told him, "they're just dumb kids. We all were that way. Teach them etiquette. I would rather have them in the gym than at home staring at Call of Duty."

The ones that drive me crazy are the Brazillian women all dressed up like Jen from the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with their phones on speaker yelling in Portuguese while resting in between sets. There is a sign that says no phone conversation, but it is never enforced.

The rudest thing is working up a lather on the cardio equipment and then, laying on the benches and machines. People are pigs at the gym.

[Gabbar99]

I attend a Planet Fitness from time to time when I'm not using my kettlebells at home. I have a buddy of mine whose 60 who gets so frustrated at the dumbbell rack. 5 kids to a machine, all with mushroom heads. Phones out, looking at them walking.

I told him, "they're just dumb kids. We all were that way. Teach them etiquette. I would rather have them in the gym than at home staring at Call of Duty."

The ones that drive me crazy are the Brazillian women all dressed up like Jen from the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with their phones on speaker yelling in Portuguese while resting in between sets. There is a sign that says no phone conversation, but it is never enforced.

The rudest thing is working up a lather on the cardio equipment and then, laying on the benches and machines. People are pigs at the gym.

I go to a Planet Fitness and everyone is very well behaved. But this is central Pennsylvania where I'm more often frustrated by people being overly courteous than by them being rude.

[Cantplankwell]

They pretty much stay out of my way, and I am only around them if I need a particular space near them to train. I've gotten a few why is the old man here lifting weights so seriously kinda looks. '

I'm one of the few older dudes lifting most days, especially on squat rack row. Im doing power snatches, power cleans and I squat every session. It seems the younger kids there...mostly 20 somethings and teens, are visibly baffled by this...can seem them looking at me in my peripheral vision. I often wonder if I look ridiculous to them, I have tried to imagine my Dad doing this stuff when I was teenager....and its not a pretty sight LOL.

I looked into the chalk ban a little further and one of the super strong dudes mentioned that it was a crew of recently new members... younger buffoons who would come in during the evenings and make a big mess with it all over screwing around. So thats why it got banned...only a month or two ago.

[LWW]

Speak for yourself I guess. When I was benching 200 in College if you told me I would be doing 335 in my 50's, I would have been like yeah whatever.

When I was in my early twenties (more like 24).

The first time I went to watch the state strongman contest. The top guy was over 40, he was real good at all the mobile events which is 90 percent strongman.

I certainly didn’t think he was a pussy at all, he was impressive as hell and I wanted to be like him.

I entered the next contest and it turned out that guy was the state chairman in NAS.

You see the tire I’m flipping, that’s his tire and I had one just like it. I trained at his house a couple weeks before my first contest.

[DustinTheHuss]

Guys between 14-27 are real goofballs, generally speaking. The exception proves the rule. I see them; they see me. They pretty much stay out of my way, and I am only around them if I need a particular space near them to train. I've gotten a few why is the old man here lifting weights so seriously kinda looks. That's fine. I remember thinking thoughts like that about the old cats in the gym when I began training at 14.

The old guys back then seemed a little odd to me. Some of them were pretty damn strong, and they all trained focused and intense. By the time I was 21-22, I could lift way more than any of the old fkrs. I'd see them watching me when I got to my lowest rep sets. They never regarded me in the years before. They just seemed like kinda angry/mad guys who smelled like BO and liniment.

If the old me could see the young me in the gym, he'd think 'What an a**hole.' If the young me could see the old me in the gym, he'd think, 'What a pvssy.'

LOL. Very true. I remember seeing the old guys at the gym when I was in my 20s. Now I'm the one complaining lol. Although I always worked out alone and smartphones didn't exist, so I wasn't annoying others (at least I don't think).

I don't mind them being loud or swearing as I'm used to that in the gym. What's annoying is that they hog the dumbbells and the benches forever in groups so I can't do my stuff as they'll look at their smartphones and do Snapchat selfies or look at NFL betting so I can't get my damn workout done as I have Achilles tendonitis so I really need the benches now.

I attend a Planet Fitness from time to time when I'm not using my kettlebells at home. I have a buddy of mine whose 60 who gets so frustrated at the dumbbell rack. 5 kids to a machine, all with mushroom heads. Phones out, looking at them walking.

I told him, "they're just dumb kids. We all were that way. Teach them etiquette. I would rather have them in the gym than at home staring at Call of Duty."

The ones that drive me crazy are the Brazillian women all dressed up like Jen from the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with their phones on speaker yelling in Portuguese while resting in between sets. There is a sign that says no phone conversation, but it is never enforced.

The rudest thing is working up a lather on the cardio equipment and then, laying on the benches and machines. People are pigs at the gym.

The only thing good about Covid is it made me more aware of the germs in the gym. Now I wipe down machines before and after use, which is a pain but I haven't been sick with colds as often as I was before.

Our gym also has signs about no cell phones but it's not enforced. People really shouldn't be Facetiming their friends while working out. I put the phone away when I lift so I can focus, and I just use it to read during cardio.

[eod8989]

The gym used to just be strong dudes that looked like Mike Thurston in there training hard and maybe a few athletes idk how it went from that to groups dyel zoomers crowding the machines on their phones with broccoli hair

I had to quit going 2 years ago because nobody in there was serious about lifting and it was awkward

Legit if this was 2010 you wouldn't even want to be seen in there unless you were either big or strong because that was just what it was. You definitely wouldn't see dyels in the free weight area back then.

[mtpockets]

Got my first experience in lifting when I was around 11, I got the York Barbell set for xmas and the paper exercise guide to go with it. At that time I was really into Hockey and Martial arts, our Dojo was 10 miles away in a recreation complex that had a gym, I would hitchhike to and from Karate so I would leave early to make sure I got a ride there in time. Sometimes I would get a ride right away and have an hour or more to kill.

I would venture down to the gym and if there wasn't anyone there I would go in and mess around. Sometimes these same couple of guys would come in and they were well built strong fukkers. One of them called out to me one day and said It looks like you really like lifting, if you would like a few pointers and if it's ok with your parents, I will help you.

I was elated, this guy talked to my old man who gave him the go ahead and that was my start. I was very fortunate to have these lifers get me off on the right foot. If it weren't for them I may not have had all these years of lifting, who knows?

Over the years I have seen many young folk in the gym and I managed to help out a few young people , paying forward the gift that was given to me years ago.


The latest was about 1.5 years ago a young girl came into our gym, she was brand now to lifting and on the heavy side. The owner gave her a tour of the equipment and told her that if she had any questions and he wasn't around to ask me because she was training early in the am and came in about 1/3rd way through my workout.

She was shy at first and that's to be expected, one day I saw her squat it was just the bar but it was just horrendous, I offered to help her, not something I ever like to do but she willingly took my advice and asked if I would mind if she came in earlier to train while I was there.

She trained the same time as me for a few months and boy was she full of questions, it was nice to see a young person with a genuine interest. She was really advancing then her shift got changed to nights and I had not seen her since that because she trained in the afternoon. About a month ago she texted me out of the blue and asked when I was training next she wanted to be there.

The following morning this tiny girl came in, it was her and I didn't even recognise her until she spoke. It was leg day for her and she repped a 155 squat with perfection, she was on vacation and trained with me for 2 weeks, the rest of her lifts were flawless, there was absolutely nothing I could see worth improving. She is doing awesome. It's quite evident that she had really put her work in.

Not all youngins we see in the gym are goofs. The majority are but there are a few that really want to be there.

[KeepItMoving]

Got my first experience in lifting when I was around 11, I got the York Barbell set for xmas and the paper exercise guide to go with it. At that time I was really into Hockey and Martial arts, our Dojo was 10 miles away in a recreation complex that had a gym, I would hitchhike to and from Karate so I would leave early to make sure I got a ride there in time. Sometimes I would get a ride right away and have an hour or more to kill.

I would venture down to the gym and if there wasn't anyone there I would go in and mess around. Sometimes these same couple of guys would come in and they were well built strong fukkers. One of them called out to me one day and said It looks like you really like lifting, if you would like a few pointers and if it's ok with your parents, I will help you.

I was elated, this guy talked to my old man who gave him the go ahead and that was my start. I was very fortunate to have these lifers get me off on the right foot. If it weren't for them I may not have had all these years of lifting, who knows?

Over the years I have seen many young folk in the gym and I managed to help out a few young people , paying forward the gift that was given to me years ago.


The latest was about 1.5 years ago a young girl came into our gym, she was brand now to lifting and on the heavy side. The owner gave her a tour of the equipment and told her that if she had any questions and he wasn't around to ask me because she was training early in the am and came in about 1/3rd way through my workout.

She was shy at first and that's to be expected, one day I saw her squat it was just the bar but it was just horrendous, I offered to help her, not something I ever like to do but she willingly took my advice and asked if I would mind if she came in earlier to train while I was there.

She trained the same time as me for a few months and boy was she full of questions, it was nice to see a young person with a genuine interest. She was really advancing then her shift got changed to nights and I had not seen her since that because she trained in the afternoon. About a month ago she texted me out of the blue and asked when I was training next she wanted to be there.

The following morning this tiny girl came in, it was her and I didn't even recognise her until she spoke. It was leg day for her and she repped a 155 squat with perfection, she was on vacation and trained with me for 2 weeks, the rest of her lifts were flawless, there was absolutely nothing I could see worth improving. She is doing awesome. It's quite evident that she had really put her work in.

Not all youngins we see in the gym are goofs. The majority are but there are a few that really want to be there.

Nice post. Good stuff. I have actually had some nice encounters with a few youngins, male and female. A young guy and I worked in together on some inclines, and he goes out of his way to acknowledge me now. I have fist bumped a few younger and not younger ladies who completed a legitimate set when I was nearby. I always try to encourage females lifting free weights. There aren't enough of them.

[mtpockets]

[DustinTheHuss]

LMAO ^^^^. I do cringe when I see my permed hair from the 80s. Ugh.

[SPP1]

Did they specify gen z's or just an email in general?



Every generation going back many decades think the generation following them had many faults. Yet we still seem to be making advances.

There are advances in some areas, but they don't make movies like Kelly's Heroes anymore.

[DustinTheHuss]

The Zoomers haven't improved in the gym. They still crowd the benches and machines for 10 minutes each place making TikToks and looking at their phones while swearing and acting like.....well, teens.

I can't believe we pay $200 a month for this place (swim and racquet club).

[Gabbar99]

There's a trend where girls make TikTok videos of themselves scantily clad in the gym and pretend to be outraged and call out guys who glance their way.

LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!
That guy looked at me, I'm so offended!

This guy does a good lampoon of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ye...annel=RyanLong

[DustinTheHuss]

There's a trend where girls make TikTok videos of themselves scantily clad in the gym and pretend to be outraged and call out guys who glance their way.

LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!
That guy looked at me, I'm so offended!

This guy does a good lampoon of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ye...annel=RyanLong

That's hilarious! I've seen the videos where girls dress wearing bra tops and short shorts in the gym and complain to the camera that guys are staring at them.

Seriously?!

[Karl_Hungus]

This thread is suddenly relevant to me. Prior to the pandemic, I went to a gym that was open 24-hours. I would go during the off hours (after 11 pm) which meant only a few people were in the gym. Those that were there were pretty focused. One of the female regulars used to do weighted pullups, which is something I had not seen previously. However, as they say, all good things must come to an end and the arrival of Covid shut down my gym permanently. After 2.5 years of home workouts, I decided to try a gym that was close to my house. I've been at it about a month now and it is a radically different experience than before. A few observations:

Crowds: This one is rough. I'm not used to crowds in the gym, so had to get used to waiting for equipment and also having people hovering over me while I am using the equipment. The gym closes at 9 pm, so the only way to avoid crowds is if I go at 5:30 am when they open (and there is a zero percent chance of that happening).

Zoomers: Gym is absolutely packed with zoomers. A common behavior is gathering in small groups around equipment while dicking around on their phones and callng each other "bro". A response to any declarative statement is likely to be "f'real?" followed by "that's sus" if the listener is skeptical. Zoomer females have decided to buck the trend of wearing exercise clothes in favor of painted on stripper-wear as they jump from one piece of equipment to the next in no discernable pattern. To each their own I guess. On the plus side, most of the zoomers are pretty respectful, and a lot of them take their workouts seriously. Hell, I saw one kid squat 405 for 10 reps at a bodyweight of 168. I was seriously impressed.

Overall, it isn't quite as bad as I'd imagined, but I would still like to have my old gym environment back.

[Karl_Hungus]

That's hilarious! I've seen the videos where girls dress wearing bra tops and short shorts in the gym and complain to the camera that guys are staring at them.

Seriously?!

And they do so while they are posting these videos on tiktok so that potentially millions of guys will stare at them. Or even worse, they complain about being sexualized while also having an OnlyFans account. In other words, don't sexualize them unless you pay them first... otherwise, they will be traumatized.

[Bando]

Hell, I saw one kid squat 405 for 10 reps at a bodyweight of 168. I was seriously impressed.

Last week we had a kid maybe 150 lbs work singles up to 365, he was using a Texas Deadlift Bar so it was bent to an impressive curve. He got the 365, then ground out another rep. In my mind I was thinking "don't do it bro" but he attempted a 3rd and collapsed gloriously onto the safeties.

Happy to work out around guys like that no matter what age they are.

[Karl_Hungus]

Last week we had a kid maybe 150 lbs work singles up to 365, he was using a Texas Deadlift Bar so it was bent to an impressive curve. He got the 365, then ground out another rep. In my mind I was thinking "don't do it bro" but he attempted a 3rd and collapsed gloriously onto the safeties.

Happy to work out around guys like that no matter what age they are.

For sure - I overheard this kid mentioning that he was training for his first powerlifting meet. Given the numbers he was moving, I have no doubt that he will do well.

[Mark1T]

There's a trend where girls make TikTok videos of themselves scantily clad in the gym and pretend to be outraged and call out guys who glance their way.

LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!
That guy looked at me, I'm so offended!

This guy does a good lampoon of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ye...annel=RyanLong

Man, that is very accurate in every way.

This thread is suddenly relevant to me. Prior to the pandemic, I went to a gym that was open 24-hours. I would go during the off hours (after 11 pm) which meant only a few people were in the gym. Those that were there were pretty focused. One of the female regulars used to do weighted pullups, which is something I had not seen previously. However, as they say, all good things must come to an end and the arrival of Covid shut down my gym permanently. After 2.5 years of home workouts, I decided to try a gym that was close to my house. I've been at it about a month now and it is a radically different experience than before. A few observations:

Crowds: This one is rough. I'm not used to crowds in the gym, so had to get used to waiting for equipment and also having people hovering over me while I am using the equipment. The gym closes at 9 pm, so the only way to avoid crowds is if I go at 5:30 am when they open (and there is a zero percent chance of that happening).

Zoomers: Gym is absolutely packed with zoomers. A common behavior is gathering in small groups around equipment while dicking around on their phones and callng each other "bro". A response to any declarative statement is likely to be "f'real?" followed by "that's sus" if the listener is skeptical. Zoomer females have decided to buck the trend of wearing exercise clothes in favor of painted on stripper-wear as they jump from one piece of equipment to the next in no discernable pattern. To each their own I guess. On the plus side, most of the zoomers are pretty respectful, and a lot of them take their workouts seriously. Hell, I saw one kid squat 405 for 10 reps at a bodyweight of 168. I was seriously impressed.

Overall, it isn't quite as bad as I'd imagined, but I would still like to have my old gym environment back.

Very interesting, Karl. I would have the same expectations going in. I have found that the Zoomers are more at night or late afternoon when any gym would be toe to toe. But, the Zoomers are a different breed with different conditioned behavior.

The best time for me to miss any crowd is 4:00am. It starts to pick up at 5am for the pre-work workout people.

[Karl_Hungus]

The best time for me to miss any crowd is 4:00am. It starts to pick up at 5am for the pre-work workout people.

I wish I could do that...you morning people are a special breed.

[Mark1T]

I wish I could do that...you morning people are a special breed.

Covid changed that for me. When Covid hit, the YMCA I was a member of for 30 years shut down temporarily and when it did open, members had to reserve time-slots only online, masks were required and this lasted for a good while. The Y also changed its open time to 5am instead of 4. This is probably similar to a lot of gyms. I had to stop going to the Y and it was a major bummer.

I started going to a local Planet Fitness since they were open 24 hours. Very different crowd of locals even at 3:40am. Now, I workout at home.

The government put us all through some shiit that wasn't necessary.

[Bando]

Covid changed that for me. When Covid hit, the YMCA I was a member of for 30 years shut down temporarily and when it did open, members had to reserve time-slots only online, masks were required and this lasted for a good while.....

The government put us all through some shiit that wasn't necessary.

Masks in the gym caused me to have acne that I'm just now getting rid of with a strong medication. I'm not totally blaming the gubmn't, I should have been washing my face every time I left the gym

For sure - I overheard this kid mentioning that he was training for his first powerlifting meet. Given the numbers he was moving, I have no doubt that he will do well.

This fella squats in socks and was squatting yesterday. I have some squat shoes I don't use so asked him if he had shoes and what size shoe he wears, alas not everyone has manlet sized feet.