Where’s the Bar?

  

      Do you ever look around your gym and notice how little things change there? I’m not talking about the equipment, I'm referring to the people. Almost every gym has them; the guys who workout year after year and just don’t change. They’re still benching the same weight, they still look the same weight, and they still misuse the weight. Yes, every gym has ‘those guys’, but how many of those guys are in YOUR gym should concern you.

      If your gym has more people who defy change year after year in spite of their regular attendance, you might want to look for another gym. Every gym has an auro, a vibe. It’s this ‘vibe’ that tells you where the bar is set for all the lifters in the gym. If you’re in a gym where no one is pushing themselves hard enough to make regular and noticeable gains, the bar at that gym is set too low. Everyone is moving at the same pace and no one is working at a level of intensity that results in progress. They just mill around the gym floor, chat a little, sit on a machine for a few reps, then meander around the gym floor a little longer and engage in more chatting. The bar at that gym is so low it’s on the floor!

      Contrast that scene with a gym that is home to a competitor or two. A gym where athletes train. Here is a place where the bar has been set by those whose primary goal is to make gains, not conversation. The vibe in a gym like that is work oriented, not social. As a result even those who don’t compete are compelled to work harder. Gains are expected. Hard work is expected. And a sense of community is extended. This is a gym with a ‘high bar’. This is a gym that expects success.

      So, if you’re frustrated about your current level of success in the gym, look around the gym you’re in. Where’s the bar? Is it a great place to catch up on the local gossip while sharing a leg press machine with a few friends? Sounds like the bar is pretty low. Look for  a gym where making gains is the reason you walk in the door and the only reason to walk out the door is you’re exhausted. Find a gym where the bar is set as high as you’re willing to work. Do you want to make gains or conversation? Look around your gym...where’s the bar?