Sparky's Life
Sparky's Life
EP 22 Gym Etiquette and Morning Workout Insights
This episode dives into my gym journey, highlighting personal observations, the importance of gym etiquette, and the humorous interactions with fellow fitness enthusiasts. Listeners will discover valuable lessons about respect, community, and the joy of exercise.
• Observations of gym culture and personal interactions
• Lessons learned from experiences in Canada and local gyms
• Importance of gym etiquette and mutual respect
• Integration of technology like the Strong app for tracking workouts
• Insights from renowned bodybuilders and their impact on gym experience
• Humorous stories and creative nicknames for gym regulars
• Emphasis on community spirit within fitness spaces
• Quote of the week reflecting strength through hardship
Don't forget to share this podcast with your mates who are electricians or who are involved in the tradie world!
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Hello everyone, welcome to Sparky's Life. I'm your host, grant Dilko. Today on the show we'll be talking about my exercise and gym journey and the quote of the week and some nice royalty free music to end off the show. So let's get the show started. Let's get the show started.
Speaker 1:I have been observing people in the gym on the days that I go. I enjoy going in the mornings it's a lot cooler and there's not many people in the gym. All the gym goers are polite and courteous. Everyone respects each other's personal space. There's no equipment hogging, everyone has a towel and everyone uses the wipes that the gym provides to wipe down the equipment after use and everyone puts the weights and equipment back in its appropriate spot equipment back in its appropriate spot. I remember going to Gold's Gym in Canada. I was very confused on who and who wasn't using the equipment Over in Canada. The Gold's Gym was located in Vancouver. The patrons there don't use a towel on the machine while they're using it, so it makes it hard to know what machines are available, because I didn't want to be rude and start using a piece of equipment that someone else was using and they're taking a rest before their next set. So there was a lot of observing of other patrons and their whereabouts. They tend to wipe the machine down after they've finished with it at the end.
Speaker 1:And another time I was at the World Gym at Penrith. There were some hardcore bodybuilders at that gym, you know the ones with no necks and tree trunks for legs. I was wanting to use the plate loaded leg press machine, but it was in use so I proceeded with other leg exercises until the machine became available. The patron finished his leg workout and just walked away without unloading the plates and this machine was stacked. There was no more room on it for any more plates. This guy was huge and looked very angry, like he would have roid rage and probably snap me like a twig just by flexing his biceps. So I didn't ask him to unload the machine. I valued my life more than that, so I had to unload it myself before I could use it. Now that was a workout in itself.
Speaker 1:Now a lot of people work out with earbuds or headphones on listening to their favourite music or podcast during their workout, so there is a lot of mobile phone use. This is something I do, using this time to listen to my favourite inspirational podcasts while I'm working out. I've tried the Apple EarPods and headphones. I prefer the headphones. The headphones stay on my head as the earbuds keep falling out. I have Dr Beats headphones and I'm pretty happy with them.
Speaker 1:I have recently got into Audible. For those who don't know about Audible, it's like an audiobook read to you either by the author or someone else. It's great, as you can still be active, use both your hands or feet and still listen to a book. Audible is subscription-based with an app and is controlled by Amazon. You get so many credits a month to obtain the audiobooks and keep them in your very own library, the gym that I go to, which is your Life in the Sovereign Hills Complex. It has Wi-Fi access, which is a blessing because that part of Port Macquarie doesn't have good mobile phone reception.
Speaker 1:I have been using a mobile phone app called Strong to keep a track of my workouts. I've been using the app Strong for a few years now. I find it's the best one for me. You can preload your workout to make it up on the go. It measures, reps, sets, weights and has all the body type exercises you'll ever need, already pre-loaded. Just select from the menu and add and you're on your way. It has a diary feature which also displays your workout days and workouts that you have done on any specific day. I used to use a very small diary for this, which I observed someone doing the other day, so I'm taking advantage of technology and using it to my advantage for my workouts and gym sessions.
Speaker 1:There is an Australian bodybuilder by the name of Lee Priest. I have seen a few of his YouTube interviews on what it was like in the gyms in the US when he was competing. He described the gym as a temple or church. There was no sound, no begging of weights, no obscene grunting or yelling. It was just quiet. He's trained with the best, such as Arnold, tom Platz and the rest of the entourage of other well-known bodybuilders. He said you would get thrown out of the gym if you carried on like that. A well-known Melbourne gym owner, tony Doherty, has recently put together a series of what not to do in a gym on his social media pages. It's called Gym Etiquette. Every week he comes up with different tips. A big issue is patrons bringing their own cameras and tripods into the gym to film themselves for either their own social media pages or for their coaches. The camera tripods are getting in the way of other gym goers. So he is suggesting that they book a private media gym session time for this activity.
Speaker 1:Because I observe people in the gym between my own sets, I create nicknames for other regular people. I see, this is just for my own entertainment, of course. So, for example, I see the same female that comes in and does squats all the time, so I call her Squat Girl. There's a guy that wears a flannelette gym shirt, so I call him Flanny Guy. And then there's a few people that look lost, so they're called wrong doors or missed flights. You can always tell the newbies. They wander around without a clue, randomly bouncing off or from one machine to another, like a metal ball in a pinball machine, I call those people tilted it's a bit of an 80s term from one machine to another like a metal ball in a pinball machine. I call those people tilted. It's a bit of an 80s term for when you tilt the pinball machine to manipulate the metal ball. The newbies, or tilted people, like to grab weight plates off the machines that you're actually working on. They're just oblivious to what's going on around them.
Speaker 1:Just last week I was on a plated ISO chest machine. I just finished a set. I was entering my reps into the Strong app before starting the next set and I see one of my plates walking away. I was still sitting on the machine. It was like I was invisible. It was a retiree looking fellow walked off with one of my plates that I was using. He had no clue that I was still on the machine and the plate was on the workout load centre and not the storage load centre. So I had to get off the machine and get another plate to replace the one that went walkies.
Speaker 1:As I mentioned before in my returning to podcasting monologue. That's why I train early in the morning, so no one else around to annoy you or get in the way of your workout. I also increased my training time. Now I work out for about an hour. I used to train for 45 minutes, then it went to an hour and sometimes an hour and a half. In that time I definitely get all my workout done and completed.
Speaker 1:Each exercise I do between six to eight sets and the reps vary depending on the weight. I always include an ab session on all my workout days. I tend to get grumpy when I don't go to the gym, so going to the gym every day is my grumpy medication. It's an awesome start to the day. I can now face today, which is also a song the Australian rock band the Angels. You should Google the lyrics to that song or even have a listen Very meaningful. I also enjoy a coffee to start the day at breakfast. It's like Mother Nature's beverage of the day.
Speaker 1:Hi there, I'm Grant Doolko. If this is your first time here at Sparky's Life, welcome. It's great to have you here. And if you're back here for more, welcome back and thank you for your loyalty and support. If you like what you hear on today's show, make sure you share this podcast with your mates who are electricians or who are involved in the tradie world. I want to reach out and help as many tradeses as I can with this podcast. I want to help tradespeople break through to the next level in their career and in their lives.
Speaker 1:Now it's time for Quote of the Week. This week's quote is from a favourite of mine, which is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Strength does not come from winning your struggles. Develop your strength when you go through hardships and decide not to surrender. That is strength. So that's all for now, folks, but before I go, if there is anything you'd like me to talk about on future episodes, maybe want to ask a question or be on the show? You can do this by contacting us on any of our media sites. I'll put the links to these in the show notes, and don't forget to follow the show and leave a review. Thanks for listening to Sparky's Life. I'm your host, grant Doolko. Keep safe and catch you on the next.
Speaker 1:One fades away, cause I'm growing up, falling in love. Giving you all might not be enough. Just trust your head and your heart. That's what my mama said. I wish I could freeze this moment. Just never let it end. Walking through the snow when you're taking my hand, all of those late nights on your couch when we just talked until midnight, I just wish I could freeze this moment, babe.
Speaker 1:Weeks and months and years they pass, and I knew it wouldn't last. When tears turned down my face, my mama said All the nights that end in heartbreak Gonna pay off someday and the pain that you're feeling Gradually fades away, cause growing up and falling in love. Giving your all might not be enough. Just trust your head and your heart. That's what my mama said. Weeks and months and years they passed, but then I found something I knew at last, just like my mama said, gradually fades away. We are now at Upper Session Road and the pain that you're feeling gradually fades away, cause growing up and falling in love. Giving your all might not be enough. Just trust your head and your heart. That's what my mama said. That's what my mama said. That's what my mama said you.
