What Makes A Gym Hardcore?

It’s been while since we done a traditional Bastards of Iron style post but we are now back.

As most of you will know the Bastards have grown, we now have a home at Northern Strength & Performance which opened on the 1st September 2019 in Hartlepool, North East England. I co-own this gym with Adam Marshall and Daryl Millar. We all have different backgrounds regarding training and the sports we have competed in or are still competing in. But one thing we wanted was a gym that was more than a gym. Since opening, people who do not know the members find it a little intimidating up on entering but when they speak to staff or members they are put at ease and love it. People often refer to us a hardcore gym.

But what exactly is a hardcore gym?

Now I’m not going to name names of gyms that I have visited and some I have reviewed for this page as hardcore. What I’m going to do here is go through some components that people may think makes a gym hardcore. Some might be true, some are a bit off. With this topic I have got some feedback from followers/subscribers/Bastards so let’s get stuck in to what some people think makes a hardcore gym (These are in no particular order).

Serious Lifters

I would agree with the sentiment of this one. People who are serious and committed to their training. They’re not just working out and going through the motions. They are getting in the gym and pushing themselves. I like how people associate lifting weights and not cardio to hardcore gyms. Cardio/conditioning is the dirty secret of hardcore gyms. Cardio/conditioning might not be top of everyone’s training but they know the importance of it.

Heavy Weights

To an extent I agree with this one. But heavy, for me, is relative to the person lifting. I have found that some of the gyms I would deem hardcore no one really looks or cares what or how much you are lifting but rather that you are lifting it with good technique and pushing yourself. Its these environments that attract the ‘heavy weight lifters’. The environment that pushes one another. I was surprised this was not mentioned, but I find that the most hardcore gyms have healthy competition and people push one another.

Heavy Duty Equipment/Just Plates and Bars

I would agree with this one, but all of the heavy shit, bars and plates are loaded. You pick the weight yourself, and as mentioned above, no one gives a shit about the amount of weight you are moving as long as you are doing so effectively. But you have to be honest with yourself in these places, are you pushing yourself, because if you’re not then is a hardcore gym for you? I also have contrasting thoughts on the amount of equipment/machines that hardcore gyms have because some of the most hardcore gyms are bodybuilding ones and they have an abundance of machines and then I’ve been to some places that are more training facilities but they are hardcore as hell and have the best machines and equipment can buy. And then I’ve been to shit holes which have the basics but have that edge that pushes you.

Small and Dirty

Sounds perfect to me… But seriously, this is what some people think makes a hardcore gym. I’ve been to gym where members use dust as chalk and some that I would happily lick the floor of and know my tongue would be cleaner for it. I think that one comes down to a preference. With regards to size, I am more inclined to think the more hardcore gyms are not necessarily small but tight. Machines, platforms, racks quite close together, creating that intense atmosphere. I love it. But again, there’s one place in particular that is a facility and not gym that is as hardcore as they come. But in the main, tighter gyms, so to speak, create that something special for me. An extra to that, a lot of the stereotypical hardcore gyms have the walls covered in all sorts of artwork and posters. Making it more than just a box.

Fear Factor/Macho Male Dominant

I get the fear factor element. I like to think I fear no man, but one gym I went to I didn’t know if I would come out alive when I stepped through the door. But as soon as I spoke to the owners and a few members it was the friendliest gym I’ve been to. It’s definitely in my top 3 and it is hardcore as it gets. But do you need to fear for your life when you first go? no way, but you should be excited to get in there.

One person mentioned that hardcore gyms are male dominant. I think that we still live in an age that strength training is still predominantly male but this is changing and changing fast. Some of the most hardcore lifters are women and you can see that on social media, not the insta wannabes, the proper lifters. And I for one love the fact that women are getting more and more into strength training and do not give a fuck when going to a so called hardcore gym. So no, I don’t agree with that for a gym to be hardcore it has to be male and why we at Northern promote women strength training. Our female members are strong.

Small Tight Knit Crew

I would agree with this as well. But in the main I feel that this due to the fact that hardcore gyms are independent gyms, if you go to a commercial gym it is not hardcore (some members might be and they need to get their arses out of there). With independent gyms you tend to get the loyal regulars and obviously you’re not going to have thousands of members, so the best gyms are more like family. To outsiders this looks like a clique, but it really isn’t. The small tight knit crew adds more to a hardcore gym than you can imagine, as long as they are not dickheads.

So, that’s just some of the feedback as to what others think makes a gym hardcore and I expanded on their feedback. But I think it really filters down from the owners to the members. They build the gym with an image, they promote a certain atmosphere, make the gym appeal to a certain type of person. But its all great an owner having a vision, its the people that step through the gym door that makes the gym hardcore or just another box.

Got any thoughts on what makes a gym hardcore? I know we have missed some shit out. Let us know in the comments or call us out on Insta.