tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post5312320874806773443..comments2024-03-28T12:22:11.704+00:00Comments on Macro Man: That Guy At The GymMacro Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324967552369915949noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-14216079125806741062008-12-11T17:14:00.000+00:002008-12-11T17:14:00.000+00:00Reminds me of a recent AA Gill column: http://www....Reminds me of a recent AA Gill column: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/eating_out/a_a_gill/article5207688.ece<BR/><BR/>"and men who worked in the financial-services sector and used to come in and prop the FT’s How to Spend It up on their cycles while gently pedalling the distance from Le Caprice to Harrods"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-33442156492387706332008-12-11T12:59:00.000+00:002008-12-11T12:59:00.000+00:00I forgot one other character: The Smelly Guy. You...I forgot one other character: The Smelly Guy. You know, the guy who is always at the gym and stinks like he hasn't showered since 1987. It's always tempting to point this guy to the shower and ask him if he knows what it does....Macro Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12324967552369915949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-44240782312426414812008-12-11T11:10:00.000+00:002008-12-11T11:10:00.000+00:00Ah yes, The Clanger. We have one who does superse...Ah yes, The Clanger. We have one who does supersets, and races back and forth across the gym, clanging and banging and dropping everything because he's going too fast to do a proper eccentric movement.Macro Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12324967552369915949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-54918900163901434702008-12-11T10:29:00.000+00:002008-12-11T10:29:00.000+00:00The Dropper - The guy who always has to drop the w...The Dropper - The guy who always has to drop the weights or machine loud enough to make a loud "clanking" sound so that the entire gym can look to see where the sound came from and then The Dropper feels good knowing that the entire gym now knows that he can lift heavy weights.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-36994693794132337502008-12-11T06:07:00.000+00:002008-12-11T06:07:00.000+00:00You forgot the Monica Seles wannabe. The boy/gal w...You forgot the Monica Seles wannabe. The boy/gal whose grunt is inversely proportional to the intensity of the exercise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-83338316409102825872008-12-10T23:32:00.000+00:002008-12-10T23:32:00.000+00:00I confess to yet another, for others, annoying ste...I confess to yet another, for others, annoying stereotype. <BR/><BR/>I am in lousy shape, probably because I hate going to the gym. Quite often, however, I find myself under intense persuasion from benevolent friends probably fearing that I drop dead from a major coronary before even learning to stretch properly. So I go to the gym for social survival reasons. Once there, I find every kind of excercise that does not involve a ball painfully monotonous. Therefore I use every opportunity to strike a conversation even with remote aquaintances that I would never waste a second on at any other venue. I change inte trining gear slowly, spend silly amounts of time at the water fountain, reading all the users guides for every piece of equipment to minimize the time I must suffer the gruesome boredom, fatigue and lack of stimuli that would appear had I ever had a proper work-out.<BR/><BR/>With that off my chest I feel much better. Now I will rest my fingers before I get a cramp.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-49217231122017622422008-12-10T22:14:00.000+00:002008-12-10T22:14:00.000+00:00What about the beginner at the gym who, granted, h...What about the beginner at the gym who, granted, has a lot to do to get back to shape and feels like an alien...but ...silver lining ..personal trainer is a huge laugh so he can zap out mentally from all the iron men and women around him...?<BR/>GAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-70284382871905296972008-12-10T20:03:00.000+00:002008-12-10T20:03:00.000+00:00I would be worth a fortune if I had a £ for every ...I would be worth a fortune if I had a £ for every time I am either putting my togs away or taking them out, in a completely deserted changing room, even at an off-peak time, and in comes a guy who opens the very cubicle right next to mine and blocks access... and piles his stuff all over the bench. <BR/><BR/>And what of the Sauna Sods who lounge all over the upper tiers forcing one to huddle in a corner on the bottom bench. Or the Water Carrier who marches in stands by the door and then sprays water on the stove so that those on the top rung feel they are closing in on the sun.Donlasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14400745649069349297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-10056821528611613522008-12-10T19:36:00.000+00:002008-12-10T19:36:00.000+00:00"* Oprah's Book Club..."Hey! I rese..."* Oprah's Book Club..."<BR/><BR/>Hey! I resemble that remark!<BR/><BR/>I'll have you know that I can keep a 145 bpm heartbeat for 45 minutes while reading the WSJ & the NYTimes.<BR/><BR/>No - I won't be challenging for the yellow jersey anytime soon, but I do burn ~300-400 cal. while digesting the daily fishwraps.<BR/><BR/>To me, that's good multitasking...<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/><BR/>-GAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-54298956521740811782008-12-10T16:14:00.000+00:002008-12-10T16:14:00.000+00:00Okay you got me. I've spent most of my adult life ...Okay you got me. I've spent most of my adult life in muay thai and BJJ gyms. My observations:<BR/><BR/>The Spaz - After five years he still makes exactly the same mistakes as day one. He will follow the instructors advice the first two reps but the moment the instructor walks off he's back to his ill-coordinated improv. Never spar this guy, he ALWAYS finds a way to poke his finger in your eye<BR/><BR/>The Vengeful Bully Victim - This skinny shitbag has spent his whole childhood resentful of his athletic peers. He spends his adult life trying to zero in on polite training partners who will not call him out for breaches of gym etiquite. He then proceeds to hit them as hard as possible, usually against the rules of the drill.<BR/><BR/>The Pacifist - In sparring this is the guy who runs backwards the whole time. A 300ft ring isn't big enough. In drills, it's the guy who aims to miss so you never learn to slip the punch<BR/><BR/>The Karate Guy - He's the one who can't accept his black belt in Nin Ten Do means nothing to you. After peppering him with clean shots for three minutes expect him to spend the break advising you of your technical errors. Usually a short dude.<BR/><BR/>The Wrathful Feminist - She's the one who is repaying centuries of patriarchy by hitting you as hard and often as possible knowing full well you'd feel bad about hitting her back<BR/><BR/>The Warrior - This is the guy who never ever taps. When you let him go (rather than break his arm) he reckons he escaped. He will also continually hit too hard in drills to "make it more real"<BR/><BR/>The Angry Chav - First ten seconds of light sparring is all tippety-tap. Then he gets frustrated, flips out, and starts bombing away. You cover up, tell him to calm down. Repeat the cycle.<BR/><BR/>The Biter - Somehow you always finish a sparring/rolling session with bites, scratchmarks and a thumb in the eye. You always know him: in wrestling he wears shoes. In kickboxing he has wafer-thin shinpads. And 10oz gloves.<BR/><BR/>The Superfoot - This is the spin-kick / jump-kick guy who refuses to throw a normal punch. He spends his time bouncing up and down between stances (hands by his sides), then falling over everytime his flash move fails.<BR/><BR/>Sorry these aren't especially funny.Nick von Miseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03985951853422897135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-80967678597632553022008-12-10T15:49:00.000+00:002008-12-10T15:49:00.000+00:00Thanks for the response MM.By impaired versus unim...Thanks for the response MM.<BR/>By impaired versus unimpaired I didn't mean the situation currently but post recession.<BR/>With the understanding the time to buy will be at least 9 months or so before the true turn occurs whenever that may be.<BR/>I am thinking which businesses have and countries will be well positioned for the next cycle.<BR/>The timing of investing in them is a different issue.<BR/>Of course the key assumption I am making is that globalization as a trend will re assert itself in the next cycle (i.e this is not the onset of multi decade depression).<BR/>They key long term impact of what is happening would be a decline in the share that finance have and a reduction in the velocity of money compared to the past cycle post 1991. Also, more state intervention, public debts, more household saving etc.<BR/>I am pretty light on positions these days so guess letting my mind wander a bit from day to day risk managment and trading.Manc Traderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15419060899207287530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-73511766574280678452008-12-10T15:25:00.000+00:002008-12-10T15:25:00.000+00:00Nick, LFY, very good.Richie, yeah, I am probably M...Nick, LFY, very good.<BR/><BR/>Richie, yeah, I am probably Mr. Dirty Look who rolls his eyes and cast aspersions in the direction of transgressors. I don't have any issue with sartorial choices, however (well, except in the case of Naked Guy.)<BR/><BR/>Anon @ 1.49, I am old enough (37) and small-framed enough that I'm not going to be setting any records. I tend not to try powerlifting or maxing anything out; rather, I generally do a lot of supersets or things like dumbell presses while standing on a bosu ball. I do, however, keep a record of everything I do so that I can shoot for personal bests (i.e, squeeze out one more rep in the 4th set of a given e exercise, etc.)<BR/><BR/>ANon @ 2.27, I can imagine there must be a few amusing characters there; modified versions of Nick's Next great Champ, perhaps?<BR/><BR/>Manc Trader, Germany is the world's largest exporter. World trade volumes are collapsing. They're in big trouble.Macro Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12324967552369915949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-75905787299878205212008-12-10T15:05:00.000+00:002008-12-10T15:05:00.000+00:00LOL great stuff. I used to be a gym rat and can re...LOL great stuff. I used to be a gym rat and can relate to this.<BR/>Sigh, I no longer seem to get to work out at a gym anymore.<BR/>MM impaired versus unimpaired seem to be buzzwords these days.<BR/>Despite your distaste for the Eurozone monetary policy do you think it is possible that Germany's economy may be relatively unimpaired versus say the UK and even to a lesser extent the US.Manc Traderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15419060899207287530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-47887510705509254302008-12-10T14:27:00.000+00:002008-12-10T14:27:00.000+00:00I go to a martial arts gym (jiu jitsu/muay thai) s...I go to a martial arts gym (jiu jitsu/muay thai) so we have totally different cast of characters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-83170359712697872012008-12-10T13:49:00.000+00:002008-12-10T13:49:00.000+00:00Macro Man, what are your best lifts? Any goals?Macro Man, what are your best lifts? Any goals?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-6611662512244166222008-12-10T12:30:00.000+00:002008-12-10T12:30:00.000+00:00What about Mr Tut Harrumph - The guy that takes pr...What about Mr Tut Harrumph - The guy that takes private offence to all the above. The livid red face and beads of sweat on his brow must not be mistaken for the result of exertion as they are only the physical manifestations of an internal rage so great that only the odd "Tut" or "Harrumph" manage to escape from his taught visage. These characters can also be found in most "We have to have standard's and those socks are off-white not White so you cant play here" golf clubs and the first-class compartments of most commuter trains. <BR/><BR/>Though I didn’t know they also wrote blogs….. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-24742903775207732932008-12-10T12:26:00.000+00:002008-12-10T12:26:00.000+00:00MM, It's been a few months since I started reading...MM, <BR/><BR/>It's been a few months since I started reading your blog, todays is the funniest yet.<BR/><BR/>I am on the verge of joining a gym but have had worries about bumping into 'characters' like the ones you mentioned. I used to be fairly fit (triathlons and one Ironman) but never a gym muscle-boy.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01187416648160477630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-46653227632827703952008-12-10T10:52:00.000+00:002008-12-10T10:52:00.000+00:00How about the Sunday Stroller - the chick who come...How about the Sunday Stroller - the chick who comes in every single day, gets on the tread mill/tread climber straight away and yet 1 hour later when you are leaving she is still there, walking like she is in a park at the weekend<BR/><BR/>LFYAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-8338119450746357072008-12-10T10:38:00.000+00:002008-12-10T10:38:00.000+00:00In the UK the Meathead would be called a "carpet c...In the UK the Meathead would be called a "carpet carrier" as a visual metaphor on how he holds his arms as if delivering rolled-up carpets to a store.<BR/><BR/>I've also heard them refered to as "little boys in gorilla costumes"<BR/><BR/>Don't forget the Bouncer Bully who arrives in his long black coat and skinhead, with a big fat belly and huge chemically enhanced back and chest. The belly is because he took so many steroids that his ligaments didn't strengten as quickly as his muscles and he's put his back out, stopping him from doing any real training.<BR/><BR/>There's the Pencil Neck Titan who thinks crazy benchpresses and bicept curls are the only exercises to do and thus has a widely disproportionate body shape, usually with a tiny neck.<BR/><BR/>His slightly smarter cousin is Fist of the North Star (so-named due to the character design of that famous anime) who has the upper body of colossus and then these weird slim legs and no arse. Very Chippendale-like.<BR/><BR/>Last is the Next Great Champ who thinks lifting weights makes you a tough guy and thus after every set on the squat rack will wander over to the solitary heavy bag and unleash the fury of a ten-punch combination of extremely weak shots, look around to see who watched his terror-inducing performance, then move on to the bench pressNick von Miseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03985951853422897135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34323687.post-43965964542537614762008-12-10T10:37:00.000+00:002008-12-10T10:37:00.000+00:00fess up MM which one are you?fess up MM which one are you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com