Hail to the Dinosaurs!
As promised, here are the top responses we received from readers in response to the contest to Name the Scariest Things in the Iron Game. I was going to compile a top 10 list, by I found so many good ones that I complied a top 30 list.
My FAVORITE is number 1, although there were some close seconds.
Other than number one, I didn’t rank these in any particular order, so consider them all to be top 10 material!
THE 30 SCARIEST THINGS IN THE IRON GAME
30. Barbell curls that look like you’re trying to do the limbo with a barbell in your hands. (Suggested by numerous readers)
29. Beginners who try to follow the Program of Champions in the latest issue of Intergalactic Mega Muscle or any other mass-media muscle mag. (Suggested by numerous readers)
28. Using isolation exercises to build strength and muscle mass. Or rather, TRYING to use them for that purpose. (Suggested by numerous readers)
27. 1 legged RLD on a bosu ball using DB'S and bands. (Suggested by Derek Sebeck)
26. Jumping overhead squats with way too much weight. (Suggested by Theodore Williams)
25. Person was doing clean and jerk with a spotter in both sides of the bar actually holding the bar as it was cleaned. (Suggested by Theodore Williams)
24. Super supplements. (Suggested by numerous readers)
23. Article in a bodybuilding magazine I read when I was in high school.
"Add 1 inch to your bicep in 1 day!"
It was a 12 hour workout you including insane amounts of sets and reps with 10-15 different lifts. It layed out an entire "nutritional" guide that called for 2 dozen eggs in the morning and the latest products for the extra pump. It allowed several breaks for lunch and snacks. Had a friend (Scarily dumb friend) who tried it. He hurt himself within 3 hours...
(Suggested by Shane Eslit)
22. It's scary that most lifters don't know who George Jowett is. (Suggested by Stu Mason)
21. It's scary that most lifters only lifted kegs in college. (Suggested by Stu Mason)
20. It's scary that most "modern gyms" have no thick bars or Trap bars. (Suggested by Stu Mason)
19. Tanning salons in gyms. (Suggested by Pablo Garcia)
18. When I was younger, someone tried to convince me that the proper way of doing barbell squats was to drop your head and look at your toes at the bottom of the squat and raise your head back up as you finished the squat. (Suggested by Lawrence Otero)
17. Smith machine snatches. (Suggested by Mikkel Staargaard)
NOTE BY BROOKS: I’m trying to picture this – unsuccessfully.
16. Following advice from the mainstream muscle mags. (Suggested by Peter Jensen)
15. Doing bench presses underwater in a swimming pool to help build breath control and mental toughness. (Suggested by Wayne Smith)
14. The newbie who loads the bar WAY TOO HEAVY and tries to do squats with it. (Suggested by numerous readers.)
13. The personal trainer who said, “Don’t worry about form on the deadlift. Just pick it up – you won’t get hurt.” (Suggested by Chuck Clark)
12. Any exercise where you stand or kneel on a stability ball and try to lift a barbell, kettlebell or dumbbell. (Suggested by numerous readers)
11. Doing bench presses without a spotter or outside the power rack so you get pinned under the bar if you miss. (Suggested by numerous readers)
10. The shake the weight thingie. (Suggested by numerous readers)
9. Bench presses to the neck (a Vince Gironda favorite) – sometimes referred to (rightfully) as “the guillotine press.” (Suggested by numerous readers -- in fact, this may have been the single most popular -- or unpopular -- scary exercise.)
8. Teenagers hogging the power rack to do curls. (Suggested by Keith Supernavage)
7. The guy who put lotion on his hands to prevent calluses – and then tried a set of power cleans with a 65 pound barbell that ended up sailing across the gym. (Suggested by Tony Suvie)
6. The personal trainer who saw me do a set of 20 rep breathing squats followed by breathing pullovers, and told me not to superset exercises that send the blood to different parts of the body! (Suggested by Dan Baker)
5. The people who say, “Don’t do squats – they’ll wreck your knees.” (Suggested by David Sutton)
4. Thumbless reverse grip bench presses. (Suggested by Ira Reid)
3. Using steroids because “you can’t be strong/get big” without them. (Suggested by numerous readers)
2. The guy who tried to do a set of 20-rep breathing squats while smoking a cigarette. (Suggested by Nick Gibbons.)
Note: Hardgainer author Mike Thompson saw this happen once, as well.
1. The number one scariest thing in the Iron Game – coming home from work and heading to your basement or garage gym for a hard workout – and finding that your wife has used your power rack to hang the laundry! (Suggested by Nick Gibbons)
NOTE BY BROOKS: Thanks to everyone who entered the contest, and CONGRATULATIONS to Nick Gibbons, our prize winner! He gets a free Dinosaur Training t-shirt!
