You can get both on the internet, but in my gym, hard-core has given way to soft-core. As I have written in the past, Met-Rx has accommodated more diversity in training styles than any gym in the area. If cardio equipment is your thing, there is plenty of equipment to train with. Almost 9,000 square feet is jammed with machines to work just about every muscle in isolation. Swiss balls, med balls, cable machines and dumbbells are always in use. We have two squat racks and a safety squat rack which is what the hard-core members use for heavy squats and deadlifts and everyone else for knee raises and bicep curls. I had brought in two sets of rubber bumper plates for use in the Olympic lifts and they got plenty of use by those who knew what they were meant for.

Nothing stays the same, however. Met-Rx is now Club Z and the most hard-core of the hard-core, members of the Freak Factory, the strongman athletes, have been given their “termination” papers and I have had to remove my bumpers from the gym.

A few months ago, we all lamented the imminent closing of Met-Rx which was bailed out at the 11th hour by a member who was also a well-known bodybuilder in his day. The gym remains open under new ownership and changes are afoot designed to bring in new members, especially women, according to the new owner. He alleges the heavy lifting and dropping bumpers going on in the corner somehow intimidates and scares off those women. I don’t know which women, but none that I know!

In any age, making a gym profitable is a tough thing and this economy is making it tougher still and so changes are being made to increase the membership rolls. One of the first things done was to put out nice patio furniture outside. Why, I have no idea. The next thing was to get rid of the “extremists” who “do powerlifting”. Actually, what they do is what people have done in gyms long before the age of the shiny chrome and fern gyms of the 80’s and 90’s; they lift heavy, train hard, make some noise, drop some iron, sweat and go home.

Hardcore? Not!

They are dinosaurs though and had to become extinct to make room for more trainers and their out-of-shape clients who are needed in large numbers pay the bills to keep the joint open.

Crossfit saw this trend back in 2002 and labeled them “Globo Gyms” and “boxes” and people who wanted true fitness left the boxes in droves and never looked back.

Pretty!

What we had at Met-Rx until recently was the ideal but the ideal wasn’t bringing in revenue so the transformation will be another yet another gym for the masses.

Those of us who train “old school” have to go back to the garage until another facility opens that welcomes the type of training that really makes people strong and fit.

Steve Belanger’s Old School Garage Gym

Steve Belanger, Crossfit, hard core, Globo Gym, squats, deadlifts, strongman, powerlifting, Olympic Lifting,

Here is a funny animation from Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist and animator, Walt Handelsman for all of us baby boomers working out like maniacs. For a Christmas present, I received from Valerie, 3 sessions with kettlebell instructor Steve Belanger, RKC, of Old School Barbell Club in Westminster, CA. His Kettlebells and Beyond website can be accessed here. I met Steve about a year ago when he was an instructor at a Crossfit Kettlebell seminar at Valley Crossfit. This combination stoked my interest in kettlebells and it made sense to seek Steve out for some training. For my first session today, we went through the mechanics of the swing and the snatch and will spend more time the next session on the clean and the clean and jerk and whatever else Steve has in mind.We concluded the first session with a nice cardio rip.

5 rounds of 10 two-handed swings with a 28 kg kb and immediately over to 16 kg snatches, 5 each arm. Rest 30 seconds and get some more.         

I am looking forward to the next session with Steve. He is a very personable guy and a good coach. Thanks Val!A few hours later, if the KB stuff wasn’t enough, I went to the gym and lubed up with 3 rounds of the Burgener warm-up before doing some light Oly lift work.

Power Snatch + Full Snatch + 3 Overhead Squats: 45/45/45/65/65/65/65.        

Power Clean + Hang Squat Cleans + 3 Front Squats: 65/95/115/135/135/135/115. 

I admit there was a little guilt for my Christmas Day indulgences, but I had plenty of energy for the stuff I did today. 

Steve Belanger and the Old School Barbell Club convened today at 10:30 in Steve’s garage, jam-packed with the tools and implements of heavy lifting. Without a doubt I was the lightweight there along side of Steve, Andy and Jonas, but they made me feel more than welcome. Brent, you would LOVE this! (Steve had a really complimentary way to describe you to the other lifters, by the way).

My goal was to deadlift and pick up some pointers from these guys, which I did. I had “eyes on” for virtually all my lift from these guys which was great.

I warmed up with 135×3/135×5/185×3/185×5/.
My heavy stuff went 225×3/275×3/315×1/335×1/225×3/225×3/

Here are some pics:

Steve Belanger, RKC