Gym Articles

North Scranton Barbell Club

HC Gym #18
North Scranton Barbell Club

Kenny Toth emailed me about North Scranton Barbell, and I was immediately captured by their motto: ?Don?t Show Your Teeth If You Don?t Bite!? I love this motto!
It reminded me of a lifter I haven?t seen in years ? we used to call him ?Bigs?. (I don?t remember his real name, so he?ll have a hard time complaining.) I worked at a gym at the time, and Bigs would always talk trash whenever he came to work out. I would make fun of his small/weak legs, and he would tell me what he intended to do for upper body strength. We laughed and argued everyday. He talked a great game, and he was pretty strong. At this gym, we took membership cards at the front desk ? and returned them when the lifters went home. One night I took his card, and while he was working out, I laminated a new one. It was an official card with his name and membership number on the front ? but on the back it said: ?If you can?t run with the big dogs, just stay on the porch and bark like a Chihuahua!? he didn?t notice the addition when he left, so the next time he presented the card, I was able to read him motto to everyone in the foyer. Bigs couldn?t believe it ? and had no idea how it had gotten on the card!
Back to the present, at North Scranton Barbell. Yes, they have a bulldog for a mascot ? and some really great looking heavy chains, too. (I?m jealous of those great big chains.) Kenny says ?it?s nice to some hard-core places get some press!? I?ll let him tell you about his place:
North Scranton Barbell?s motto ? ?Don?t show your teeth if you don?t bite? is certainly a hard core motto. The gym is located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, so we breathe the same air and share some of the same legends John Luc and Jim Williams did in their heydays, certainly HARD CORE. The gym is loaded with a wide variety of hard core training equipment including: 2 power racks, DBs 1-150lbs., 5000lbs. of free weight, variety of special bars, reverse hyper, bands, chains, 3 platforms and attitude, all in a 800 sq. ft. gym. NSB is climate controlled ? cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Do these things make a gym hard core, HELL NO! Hard Core is an attitude that a lifter is born with and carries in his heart. This attitude is that ?I?m here to lift regardless of the conditions around me, the type of bar I use, the type of shoes I wear, or the music on the radio is irrelevant.? Hard core lifters spend their lunch breaks writing workouts, dreaming about that heavy set later in the day. In the gym they are focused, the weight on the bar is the only important thing; this is life?s battle ? their struggle for survival in the iron arena. With a quick first look at NSB one might say the lifters are all old men, women, and children. The members range in age from 9-75. One who knows the Hard Core Mentality might say children and old men; how could that be hard core? Let me tell you about a few of the lifters and you can decide.
Joe Amendalaro, 75, ?King Joe?. This man is totally hard core. He has been a lifter since the mid-40s and has won numerous titles: Pan American, National in Olympic Lifting. He currently could surpass most of the national age group records in his weight classis powerlifting if he chose to compete. What makes Joe hard core? For one, he works on a water truck for 40 hours a week, loading and carrying 5 gallon jugs of water. Then he reports to the gym as usual often in his work clothes. So what? Joe never complains about being tired or how the physical work affects his workout. Joe is a leader, no excuses (you had better not make any around him either). He is an old school, hard core lifter, who is an ambassador from the iron game, continually encouraging young lifters to join the sport. HARD CORE.
Bob D?Angelo ? ?The Butcher? as Joe calls him. Bob is a 60 year old ex-marine who is as tough as nails. How tough? Bob spends most of his fall and early winter at his ?hobby? as a deer cutter. Last season Bob cut approximately 700 deer for many appreciative hunters in the area. Along with his full time hob he still managed to get his workouts in. bob even bought a bar and weights for his full time job so he could lift during breaks and lunch hour. Bob competes, all round- odd lifting, and just about anything else that might come up. One story comes to mind: after winning his age group at a recent bench contest, I went congratulate Bob. I found him at the gym working out; he didn?t want to miss his scheduled workout. HARD CORE.
Lou Cap, 38, Olympic Lifter, who trains hard despite the conditions inside or outside the gym. Lou never complains about the temperature. Why? Well, Lou works for the city as a sanitation worker. He can be seen jogging behind the truck (to get his cardio in). Lou is one of the strongest, most focused men in the gym. He is a student of the iron game. His idea of a great day is getting a lifting video in the mail and spending the evening dissecting it for technique and pointers. This old school hard core attitude will break him into elite status in the near future. HARD CORE.
James Simerll, 41. James is the six million-dollar man: a martial artist, runner, Olympic Lifter, powerlifter ? James does it all. He is certainly the fittest man in the gym. James?s workout regimen would make most mortal men cry. He instructs in Brazilian Jujitsu, practices his art, runs, and trains in the evening. If this isn?t hard core, you can tell him so. HARD CORE.
Darlene Toth, 42 (my wife), has been a competitive body-builder, a runner (competing in two marathons ? NYC 2000) and attaining her 3rd degree black belt in karate. The latter two achievements in the last two years. She has trained in a few commercial gyms, but has always been disappointed by their plastic attitudes. She finds that progress can be made at a faster pace in a place where ?the attitude? is in the place. HARD CORE.
Kyle Toth ? 10 years old. Can a 10 year old be hard core? Come and watch Kyle lift in the gym or at a contest. Kyle is an American record holder in the WNPF 66lbs. class in all three lifts and total. HARD CORE.
Kyle Toth ? 43, Kenny has been a powerlifter since the mid 70s. He has competed in over 100 meets. Best lifts: 725 415 665. Recently, he has competed in Highland Games and Olympic Lifting?? Kenny has been a ?garage gorilla? most of his life, with a few brief stints in hard core training holes in 70s-80s. Most of those gyms are gone now. Kenny has competed in malls, parks, and on the back of trucks. Being hard core gives a lifter an advantage in less perfect conditions that sometimes occur at contests. When others begin the complain about meet conditions being less that perfect, the hard core lifter smiles because he knows he now has the advantage - ?the attitude?. Hard core lifters are everywhere. The attitude is old school ? the methods eclectic. Some use periodization, some Louie Simmons. What methodology you follow is important; how you approach training makes all the difference in the world. So when you look at a gym, don?t judge it quickly and say all they have is old men and children. The old men are hard core and are passing the message onto children. This will preserve ?the attitude?, allowing the old ways to be passed down to a new generation.
Sounds great Kenny, and congrats on a great Hard Core Gym! Also, I love the bulldog. (The best thing about bulldogs is that if you grind them up and add enough beef ? they taste just like pork!)
Keep those photos and letters coming, and remember: teach your children ? if you can sit on a toilet without pain ? you need to squat heavier.
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