Your first gym...

[That Guy]

It's been over 20 years that I've seen a privately owned gym. Every gym is subscription based owned by corporations and everything is color coordinated.

I walked into my first gym at 14. An older kid used to go and took a few of us with him. It was small by today's standards. Maybe 2000 sq ft. The guys in there were huge, there was a stench of sweat and it was hot as balls since it was in the summer and it has 1 fan. I eventually joined when I was 19. It was an igloo in the winter. When I was trying to swing around weight that was too heavy for me, the older power lifter looking guys would walk over and showed me how to have good form using lighter weight. The walls were falling apart but it was covered up by pages from body building magazines. There wasn't any distractions like tv or extremely hot chicks wearing leggings that are practically see through (not that's bad lol). Heavy metal was being played and my ID card was a hand written business card. The benches were either ripped or repaired. The equipment was really old. No treadmills it cardio machines. The owner didn't look like he was making much money. It seemed more like a hangout where guys got together to train than a business. They eventually closed because the building was sold and turned to condos. That was my favorite gym.

The gyms now are surgically sterile compared to my first gym. What I miss was there were no distractions. You went in for one thing. Work out and leave. Now 2/3rds of the gym is cardio equipment, there's hydrochairs, and a ton of people and not enough weight training equipment.

What was everyone else's experience with their first gym?

 

[calist181]

That sounds what my first gym was like. Very bare bones.

 

[Ruger]

It's been over 20 years that I've seen a privately owned gym. Every gym is subscription based owned by corporations and everything is color coordinated.

I walked into my first gym at 14. An older kid used to go and took a few of us with him. It was small by today's standards. Maybe 2000 sq ft. The guys in there were huge, there was a stench of sweat and it was hot as balls since it was in the summer and it has 1 fan. I eventually joined when I was 19. It was an igloo in the winter. When I was trying to swing around weight that was too heavy for me, the older power lifter looking guys would walk over and showed me how to have good form using lighter weight. The walls were falling apart but it was covered up by pages from body building magazines. There wasn't any distractions like tv or extremely hot chicks wearing leggings that are practically see through (not that's bad lol). Heavy metal was being played and my ID card was a hand written business card. The benches were either ripped or repaired. The equipment was really old. No treadmills it cardio machines. The owner didn't look like he was making much money. It seemed more like a hangout where guys got together to train than a business. They eventually closed because the building was sold and turned to condos. That was my favorite gym.

The gyms now are surgically sterile compared to my first gym. What I miss was there were no distractions. You went in for one thing. Work out and leave. Now 2/3rds of the gym is cardio equipment, there's hydrochairs, and a ton of people and not enough weight training equipment.

What was everyone else's experience with their first gym?

There was a sign above the door in my first gym that said: ALL ARE WELCOME....COME ON IN....TRAIN HARD, SWEAT, SWEAR, BLEED OR GET THE FUCK OUT AND GO TO GOLDS

 

[That Guy]

I used to pay $89 a year. I walked into a golds and they wanted 500. I asked if that came with some one that lifts the weights up for me. Back then 500 was allot but people paid it.

 

[CountryGains]

First gym….

Golds Gym in Kona, Big island of Hawaii. I don’t think it’s open anymore.
I remember as a teen there were tons of big boys there. Funniest memory was watching synthol start leaking from a guys calf mid set of stiff leg deadlifts.

 

[BelleInHell]

First gym….

Golds Gym in Kona, Big island of Hawaii. I don’t think it’s open anymore.
I remember as a teen there were tons of big boys there. Funniest memory was watching synthol start leaking from a guys calf mid set of stiff leg deadlifts.

small world bro. Its pacific island fitness now and its more or less the same. Still hot as fuck last I was there

 

[AlexDavis43]

Sounds like my current gym. Bare bones bodybuilding and powerlifting. Rusty nails and shit. Tbh I prefer Nautilus and Hammer Strength machines, general hygiene, etc.... but that gym is like 15 miles away.

 

[CountryGains]

small world bro. It’s pacific island fitness now and it’s more or less the same. Still hot as fuck last I was there

Pacific island fitness huh? We’ll I’m happy it’s still a gym at least
Hahaha man, it was ALWAYS hot as hell in there. Lots of big boys in there back in the day

 

[DieselXT]

I remember my first workout like when I got my first BJ. Hooked ever since

 

[zebradelt]

It was a fucking dream gym. 7 squat racks, 10 something benches, every machine you could imagine, well organized, and was around $20/month.. I remember watching a deadlift tutorial wondering wtf "driving your heels through the ground" meant then I went to try my first set ever and it immediately clicked. Squats took me forever to feel confident in and bench somewhere in the middle. I somehow stumbled across a site selling gear and I felt like a kid in a candy shop, I was in awe. It's kind of sad looking back, but I didn't know better. Of course I ended up starting gear barely a year into lifting, despite everything I read telling me not to. Fast forward 10 years and here we are

 

[progressiveoverload]

High-school gym, playing football i got into lifting. First high i ever had in my life... went into powerlifting, broke my wrist.
Wasn't able to work out, got hooked on bad drugs, for awhile... near the end of nearly a 7 year addiction, I started back working out, got clean three months later, been back working out almost 7 years.. now I'm on that natural high baby.

 

[calist181]

Glad you were able to pull yourself back from that. Yeah that gym high is something. You get all the feeling but still able to function.

 

[Arail]

My High school gym was my first real introduction to a gym. Began lifting at a very young age at home after seeing some classic Arnold movies haha. The first gym I joined after going out into the real world was a classically sterile commercial gym. This was where I had my first experience with seeing what gear could turn people into and then I started on my own way down the same path.