Sick of Your Gym Alternatives: Basements, Garages and Back Yards


I’ve seen many horrible gyms. There have been plenty of times where I walked out of an awful gym and drove an hour to a favorite gym no matter how busy I was. I’ve experienced countless “Sick of Your Gym” clown acts. I’ve seen guys read the newspaper while doing leg presses and guys sitting on their partner’s chest while their buddy did lying extensions with 60 lbs. I’ve had too many gym owners telling me not to drop bars, dumbbells, use chalk, wear boots or yell too loud. I know you’re feeling my pain because you’ve been there as well.

You begin to wonder why, with all of the gyms out there, you can’t find a gym with the atmosphere and equipment that you need to express yourself and lift freely without rules and restrictions. I have seen and been to a few such places, but they are certainly hard to find. Some disappeared into thin air, while others still hide in dangerous corners in dangerous towns that are frightening to drive through unless the sun is shining! Back in my bodybuilding days the owner of Diamond Gym, John Kemper, never told us to be quiet or to not drop weights. He knew this was our gym and our “art”.

The members parked their motor bikes in front of the gym on the side walk, just like the cowboys “parked” their horses in front of the old western saloons. There was no radio station playing; it was all CD’s so there was never a commercial to break your concentration. There were no elevator tunes blasting loud like so many of today’s gyms. The music was loud as hell; loud enough that it discouraged “coffee talk” and encouraged PRs and pushing through pain. There was no such thing as a bad day or feeling tired. When a CD was being changed you heard plates clanking together, heavy bars being dropped and the floor shaking. People grunted as they blasted out the last few reps of their set while their partners shouted and cursed words of encouragement. There was little talk of the weekend, women, or work.

Imagine a dark, dingy building. No sign out front because we don’t want to attract the locals. Word of mouth travels through the hard core lifters in the area and those are the only people who come to this gym. The locals pass by with fear and dare not stop by to look inside, it’s too scary. You’ve heard through the grape vine about this gym. You decide to take the 1 hour trip to the gym with two of your buddies. You find the place through luck because you see a jacked dude sitting out front pounding down his post workout shake. You park your car nearby and as you approach you can hear the music pumping through the walls.

You have goose bumps. You and your buddies grin at one another yet nothing is said. This is much more serious than you thought and you all realize you’re going to have to step it up a notch. You KNOW you’ve found a gem and there may not be many places like this in the world. You open the door and the smell in the air hits you smack in the face! It’s the smell of intensity, desire, dedication and passion. No one looks at you because they didn’t even realize you walked in. Who cares if you weigh 250 lbs? So does 75 % of the gym, nobody cares here. You pay your daily fee; it costs you $5, not the $30 fee of today’s health clubs.

Every one in this place has the eye of the tiger. Even the guys who don’t seem to know what they are doing are pushing hard. It’s the unsaid law, “Train hard or get the f**k out.” No matter how little sleep you had last night, no matter how stressful today may have been, it has all been forgotten. The walls are lined with black and white photos of the strongest and biggest men from decades ago. Their spirit lives on and breathes fire in your eyes making you an animal.

You warm up with your training crew and no one needs to say a word. You are nervous and excited because you know you’ve come to this dungeon and want to prove yourself. Your friends are feeling the same thing. You catch a few glances from the regulars as sweat pours off their faces. They are making sure you’re not going to come in their house and train half ass. It’s time to step it up. Feed off of their energy! Feed off of the energy that pours from the walls on the photos straight into your soul. Feed off of the pumping tunes that blast through the speakers spreading through the entire gym.

You’ve warmed up and your adrenaline has gotten the best of you. Your blood is pumping and your heart is racing. Your body is tight and you feel like a team of Mack Trucks racing at 140 MPH! You’re ripping weights off the floor and blasting through one PR after another. Your partners shout words of encouragement but you don’t really understand or hear what they say, you’re possessed now and everything is a blur to you. You feel as if it’s just you and the weights, you’ve lost yourself yet you’ve found yourself. You’re in the zone, a zone you’ve never been to before, the ground shakes each time you drop the weights and no one comes by to complain about a bar bending or worries of the floor being damaged. In fact, the regulars love what you’re doing and you start to get a few nods signaling that you are accepted here. This is because this is YOUR HOUSE, you are welcome here any time and you can do anything you want, whenever you want!

Still, you must earn your respect here. You can’t rest on your laurels. You have to get stronger, faster, bigger and tougher. If you lose the eye of the tiger all respect is lost. Step up and fight back or you’re never going to forgive yourself. I KNOW you can do it otherwise you would be somewhere else. You have a garage, a basement, a back yard, or the local park. The cold weather doesn’t stop you, it only makes you tougher. Icicles will grow off your face and you’ll forge ahead.

It’s your time to go down in the history books and make your way to the walls of another dungeon somewhere on the other side of the world. Your spirit will pass energy onto another warrior and gladiator. You want to leave your mark don’t you? Yes, YOU DO! What are you waiting for? The clock is ticking and we’re waiting for you. Where have you been?

There are those that do and those that don’t Those that will and those that won’t

Which type of person are you?