Tunnel Vision
I happen to lift in a university/college setting, which is a step above a commercial gym but isn’t as hardcore as a private strength compound. I’ve lifted and worked as a personal trainer in a “big box” commercial gym for the majority of my “training years,” and I’ve wasted a lot of energy, not from my own training but from getting frustrated after witnessing the absurd acts of the other “gym goers” around me.
It’s very common to walk into a commercial gym or fitness center and see the most asinine movements being demonstrated without any rational purpose. Being educated and also a little temperamental, it’s been extremely difficult to hold back my rage. I mean I’ve seen multiple people attempting triceps kickbacks while standing on a Bosu ball on one leg!
I wouldn’t be so concerned if this stuff wasn’t being performed right in front of the beloved dumbbell rack. Seeing “curl off” 2011 going on in the squat rack next to me also makes the hair on my arms stand up. I mean, dude, you have two and a half pounds on each side of the bar. And stop flexing your 11-inch pipe cleaners.
Coworkers
Personal training in a fitness center is even more difficult, not necessarily because of the members but because of some of the personal trainers that are considered your “coworkers.” Seeing trainers sitting “Indian style” and texting while their clients perform endless sets of crunches really chaps my ass. I’ve seen trainers take clients through training sessions and perform exercises that are absolutely pointless and sometimes dangerous. For example, having an elderly man who just had shoulder surgery perform a squat into an upright row as a first exercise (without any warm up) could be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Sometimes trainers get paid to talk while their clients are doing “pointless” 10-minute walks on the treadmill for a warm up. I often wonder if clients purposely perform exercises with horrible technique just to see if their trainers will correct them (usually their trainer is just staring at the clock). Providing your client with all your attention will make you a much better trainer and your clients will take notice.
The Solution?
So what’s the solution to all this insanity? Throw a 45-lb plate across the gym? Stab every Bosu ball with a steak knife? Slap the “Jersey Shore” wannabe across the back of the neck? Those all seemed like logical resolutions, but honestly, just thinking about this stuff increases my blood pressure. The most rational thing to do is have tunnel vision.
Go into the gym with 100 percent focus on your training session or your clients. You really can’t control the ignorance going on around you, but you can control how much intensity you bring to your next set of deadlifts or the instruction you give your client on how to perform a proper squat.
Tunnel Vision
Having tunnel vision will help you avoid wasting energy on stuff that, at the end of the day, really doesn’t matter. What does matter is the effectiveness of training sessions and striving to achieve greatness every time you step foot in the gym.
Next time you’re tempted to drop a dumbbell on some idiot’s head or slap a cell phone out of another trainer’s hand, refocus your efforts on to breaking that squat PR or training your client to move some serious weight. You’ll be better than your best in no time.
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Damon Brobst, CSCS, trains at emerywellness.com and teaches physical education for the Broward County school board in South Florida. He is a “former fat boy,” who is trying to achieve maximum strength and power to perform at his all-time best whatever the competition. 
Or do what I did and open up your own facility.
I wish I would have read this before I went to my gym tonight. Nice article!
I too have to train at a fitness center fro time to time. The benches were designed by an italian interior designer, I believe. The real badge of honor for me is when I’m doing db presses with 125lbers is when I set them down, I get the “members, please do not drop the weights” over the intercom. Love it.
100% agree. I sometimes get strange looks for not talkin to anyone but he one guy i know to train right.
And if you don’t open up your own facility do what I did and join a real gym like the one here in Phoenix, AZ, it’s a serious strongman training gym, no mirrors, and lots of chalk and heavy weights at Desert Strength Gym.
Perfect article. I used to get a kick out of the SOYG rants and almost wrote one of my own. Then I realized I would just be complaining like everybody else. I will not let what someone else does in the gym affect what I do in the gym. You might be strong, but how much stronger could you be if you stopped thinking about what everyone else in the gym is doing? I respect all my iron brothers and sisters. I’d hate to see someone miss a lift because they weren’t focused.
Currently a trainer at a commercial gym. Seven months in, I must say I haven’t seen many of the atrocities one reads about online. That’s not to say I’m still pure of some silly sights though…
@ David Allen- opening my own facility is a long term goal of mine. Your gym, NBSFitness, is pretty bad ass! I really enjoyed your interview, keep getting people strong!
I’d like to thank you guys for the complements, glad you enjoyed the article!
good post man. good post.
It took me some time to develop that tunnel vision. I have to humble myself and realize that I’ve been in some of their positions before. One I got to that point I could focus on just me in the gyms. It’s easy to lose focus of you and judge others.
I try to do this with my clients, I always go into “work mode” and get the job done as best I can. No cell phones in my studio, no mirrors, just 100% focus on moving weight
Good article. I completely agree. I’ve been a personal trainer at a commercial gym for a little while now. I adopted the tunnel vision you write about pretty quick. Now, everyone leaves me alone, my clients progress well and I do my own thing. I don’t fit with the mold, I’m cool with it and my clients get a good laugh when I kick the curl brothers out of the squat rack. I wish I felt you could be more than a mediocre trainer to be successful at a commercial gym but it’s not the case. BUT, clients learn to appreciate what you do, you develop the loyalty, relationships with people and that in itself really helps retain some sanity.
What I always wanted to see, was a trainer following his client around with some variation of a boom box blasting PanterA while training his client.
Talk about tunnel vision!
Best solution: (Slap the “Jersey Shore” wannabe across the back of the neck? ). I like it
I always hear about guys complaining about commercial gyms. The majority of guys that bitch and complain about their “commercial gym hell” have a real gym within an hour of where they live. If you’re really so upset with your shitty commercial gym go find a real group of guys to train with. Trust me, most “REAL” gyms are barely able to pay the rent because of all you guys that go to shitty gyms and complain about them. Fuck having tunnel vision at your planet fitness. Get off your asses and go find better people to train with. You think guys train at places like WESTSIDE or BIG IRON because they live down the street? If you’re really so pissed off than a little tire wear and some gas money is a small price to pay for a better training environment.
Great article. I just left a personal training job at “The Globo Gym” in Manhattan. Wow! You nailed it. I used to stand there and wonder where some of the movements being performed came from. Then there were a couple of Crossfitters that acted as though they were Elite Lifters. I didn’t know whether to laugh or puke. Trainers also seemed to be both therapists and trainers. And they were paying a fortune. Mostly one percenters. Horrible environment!