doogie
Funnily enough I have been doing exactly that (getting membership at a gym), or at least visting a few to make a selection. I did 'Body Combat' last night with my girlfriend. God, I used to race MTB's and I am sooooooooooo un-fit in comparison, being utterly sedentary these days.
By the third of four 10-minute sets I was blowing, and I had to cruise the final one. Good fun though. I was relieved (afterwards) to find I can still go at 80% of max HR for 20 minutes on a stationary bike without blowing. They have spinning classes which sound like exactly the sort of thing I regard as fun... although maybe not as fun as sitting on someone's rear wheel until you know it's time, and then slipping by and keeping the pressure up until you hear them falter from their attempt to get on your wheel, and then kick a little bit more to get some clear road between you and them. Serving them their lungs on a plate, great fun.
I am insanely competitive on two wheels; I see a bike in front, I chase it down. The number of times I have TT'd to a speck of a bike on the horizon to find 500m out I was chasing down a granny on a shopping bike... ... but the times when you get someone who reacts and have a ad-hoc race through city traffic... ooo, that's fun, I've been handed MY lungs on a plate a few times by guys who liked the same games as me but were far better...
I've not been to a gym in ages before this week and one pleasent change I noticed was that the free-weights hadn't been nabbed by a group of guys who glare at you if you look interested in using them. I've run into the 'Gymier than thou' crap before.
As I have said (but some have no interest in), I was far too non-specific in the way I initially said things. Logically I know the vast majority of people interested in 'strength sports' must be just like the next guy. My personal experience however is vastly different from this, and it could well be that I just knew a really unpleasent group of body builders who don't represent the majority.
kls
Your son just looks FIT. The people I am talking about are far closer to Mr My-biceps-are-bigger than-your-chest pictured above.
144
Another effort to bash bodybuilders
Nope, just pulling your string, rather effectively; watch 144 dance! As for wanting to get fitter, yes; this would not involve looking like the extreme examples I have been talking about or that have been pictured in this thread. So your little theory about me being envious of the BB'ers I critisize is wrong; that's not what I regard as fit. KLS's son looks fit; it's just when someone talks about a BB'er being in a fight I can SEE the sort of guys I used to know as BB'ers (super large and aggresive), as this is my experience. I've already said I'm sorry I upset people by not being clearer, but as I thought, this makes no difference to your attitude.
If we assume the accuracy of your assertion that 10% + - a few points of bodybuilders use steroids and are extraodinarily aggressive as a result of such steroid use,
I didn't say that, so you're not worth talking to further.
Big Dog
Fairly said sir! Like I've said, I can see how my intial comments could spark someone.