I am what you would define as a gym bro, through and through. I eat, breathe, and sleep physical fitness. I'm not afraid to admit that I have an obsession with my muscles. You have a better chance of making Kanye laugh than you do of seeing me wearing sleeves or a shirt that fits. When my little brother grows out of his tees, it’s a hand-me-down to me. As a fellow gym bro, this is painful for me to do. However, I feel it is my duty to write this article in an effort to earn back some respect for our struggling brotherhood. Fact of the matter is, the way some of you acting is giving us all a bad name.

Bro’s, it’s pre-workout, not meth. Don’t get me wrong, pre-workout is great stuff. The energy, the pumps, it always brings good times. But, let’s be real, the glory days of pre-workout are long gone. The government has banned everything that was worth a damn. Does a couple hundred milligrams of caffeine really get you that geeked? Yes, your skin is “crawling”. That’s beta-alanine, not magic. The placebo effect is real guys.Drink your pre, stop claiming you snorted it, and go lift some heavy weight without telling everyone that you have no regard for life because you took 2 scoops.

Bro’s, leave her alone. She doesn’t want to workout with you. That girl is walking a on a treadmill, she doesn’t need a spotter. Truth is guys, you blew it. Every girl is now going to the gym with their creeper radar set higher than Afroman. You wonder why they’re dating the skinny hipster instead of being your workout bae?That’s because they’ve heard all the horror stories of Beefhead Bill complimenting Sally Sweetheart on her yoga pants. Right, of course, I forgot your pre-workout makes you blackout and make poor decisions. Chill out fellas, I know your hormones are elevated and you just found a new forearm vein, but there’s a time and a place to make your approach.

Bro’s, leave me alone, and everybody else for that matter. I’m happy that you paid for an online personal training certificate, I really am. If I want your advice, I’ll ask for it. I’m all for discussing fitness with you when the time is right, a little back and forth is great. However, don’t you ever stop me in the middle of a set, make me put Ellie Goulding on pause, and tell me that I need to tuck my elbows in more during bicep curls.

Bro’s, above all else, just have respect for the people of your gym. Not everyone there is trying to get stacked, shredded, yolked, cut, peeled, ripped, down right diesel, Jerry Stackhoused, or become toy swoldiers. Some people just go for their health and well-being. It’s a very odd concept that I can’t wrap my head around, but that doesn’t mean I look down on them. Put your imaginary lats away, stop competing with that 15 year old on dumbbell bench, and be a good gym member.

I won’t tell you to stop flexing in the mirror, you’re not harming anybody and it’s beneficial to see areas that may need work. Go ahead and grunt if you’re pushing heavy weight, it does help when you do it with a purpose. Take progress pics and be proud of what you earned, but own it. Don’t get shirtless in front of a mirror and flex until you fart, then caption the picture with “Just trying out my new phone camera!” We shouldn’t be ashamed of things like that. Sure, some people won’t understand it and we will get hated on, there’s no preventing it. But my bros, there’s no excuse for some of the conduct that’s been going on. That is not who we are or strive to be. If you ever see any unnecessary behavior going on, do us all a solid and put an end to it. Earning back respect will be a long uphill climb for us gym bros, it’s a good thing we’ve all been doing our cardio!.... You have been doing your cardio, right?