A rant- feel free to contribute for lets say, a week and then lock it

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Ian Coe

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Right, I don't usually rant, but a quick one today as I seem to be in a grumpy mood.

This morning I was doing deads, nothing major as getting back into it yet again.
A teenager started doing high front squats, but the weight looked like it was all in his wrists and he was putting most of the weight onto his toes.
During a rest period after I watched him do it a couple of times (struggling at 60 for 5's going to if I'm generous parallel), I turned around (he was behind me in the squat rack) and asked him if it was hurting his wrists.
He says yes, but it's good. His flexibility was poor because he hasn't done it in a while.
I said well the weight should really be on your clavicals, the weight should be taken by the body and not the wrists.
His response [now dubbed dummy] was 'but I'm doing it for my delts'
Me-but it's not for your delts
Dummy- yes it is
Me- well if it is hurting your wrists, you're doing it wrong
Dummy- No I'm not
At this point I look at the weight and say, yeah, with this little amount I doubt it.
Take my headphones and what not off, unrack the weight and step out of the rack after stepping back and having to ask him to move as he was just standing there (he was inside the rack 'squatting' so didn't know why I was stepping all of the way out, deer and headlights I guess).

I drop down to the bottom of the hole and stay there for maybe 20 seconds holding the stretch and basically say this is how it should be done and that he will injure himself if he carries on the way he is going.
I casually come back up and say to him, it's supposed to be a squat and work the legs, core and posterior chain, which is why it is called a front squat, not a front delt lift.

He mumbles something about his wrists are fine, I look at him, shrug and go back to deadlifting.

Now the question is, was I doing the right thing in trying to correct him, or being a dickhead about it.

I think I started off trying to help, but when he got defensive and told me I was wrong about what the exercise was for, I got pissed off so showed him up quite convincingly.


Maybe I should not pay attention, or go to the gym even earlier to avoid these people.
On a side note- his friend came in shortly afterwards and about 1/4 squatted 80kg for maybe 8 reps and was quite straining with it.

I kept doing my landmines with 25kg for 15's.
 
If I see somebody doing something effective in the gym (squats, deads, cleans, etc.) and I think i can help (like you did) I'll usually chime in. if they reject my help, all logical arguments, and any reasonable assertion on function and form... then fuck it, it's not my fault they're an asshole.
 
The way things seem to work is that you're a bad person for not telling people the correct way to do things and letting them injure themselves; or you're a bad person for trying to tell somebody what to do.

It's not a bad thing to try and give somebody pointers, but especially in a gym, a lot of the guys will think you're trying to be some sort of elitist weightlifting master and take it the wrong way. Let them hurt themselves, more space for you.
 
If I see somebody doing something effective in the gym (squats, deads, cleans, etc.) and I think i can help (like you did) I'll usually chime in. if they reject my help, all logical arguments, and any reasonable assertion on function and form... then fuck it, it's not my fault they're an asshole.

People who refuse to acknowledge help and learn are not assholes, their idiots.
 
It's annoying. I've all but stopped giving advice at the gym because it usually always ends up in a "who the fuck are you, and what the fuck are you on about" look which pisses me off. If I notice a glaring problem (like back rounding) that is sure to cause injury, I'll still try and chime in.

I think it arrises from the fact that a vast majority of "gym rats" go to the gym in order to try and establish an alpha-male aura, which gets in the way of acknowledging that someone other than yourself may in fact be superior (or more capable) in a weight training excercise. So they brush you off as "odd".
 
Anyone else deal with people who haver "personal trainer syndrome"?

My girls brother is a certified PT, and every chance he gets he tries to give me workout advice, and frankly its pretty much all retarded. He's one of those people that are naturally pretty strong, just not very big. So has decent numbers on the big lifts, although I haven't seen how he squats, so he feels the need to let everyone know how to workout the "right" way.

He told me that all you really need for cardio is about 10 minutes of solid work, that anything more doesn't do much for fat loss and hinders muscle gain. He tries to tell me how to get bigger, while he's spent about 3 years putting on about 20lbs or so. I was about 170-ish and went up to about 195 within 6 months, and I would say most of it was lean. But he still knows best.

I brought up overhead squats, and he said that he does them AFTER heavy lifting, because they target your stabilizer muscles, and those are neglected when you do your main lifts like squats, etc. He said yeah overhead squats, squats on the wobble board, whatever, use your stabilizers so I do those after my main lifts. Kinda ruined OHS for me.

He's just kinda lost in the bodybuilding craze I guess. I told him about the 20 rep squat program, and he was like Yeah that wouldn't work, it goes against everything I've ever been taught. I just facepalmed a little.

Not just him though, even average gym bros give out shitty advice like candy. Its stupid how much retarded info I get from these people. Other than the standard just skwats r bad and deadlifts break your back, I've heard some stupid shit. 3 different types of bench press and 10 different curls to isolate the different muscles of the biceps and chest, what?

I guess I had that too, though. But I would tell people about 5x5 and real strength training, whether they wanted to hear it or not lol. I'm over that, I mind myself and the gym and answer questions very vaguely.


/rant I guess
 
Cheers for the input lads.

I try and keep my head down during my training, but a few people have approached me and asked for input on things.
Then again, the people that have engaged in conversation have usually been in their mid 30's to 50's, so I guess they've got nothing to prove and willing to be told how to do something.
 
I lift at home so I don't deal with this, but I would not give any advice at the gym unless someone asked for it. If everyone gave advice for the simple fact that they thought what they were doing is right, then it would be a big clusterfuck. I'm sure there are guys who have a really strong bench without an arch that would say, "you shouldn't arch, it doesn't hit the chest as much."
 
I lift alone. The only advise I get is from the demons in my head.
 
I try my best to help people who look like they are just starting out with squatting/deadlifting. Sometimes I get some genuine thanks and they'll try their best to try what I say. And I'll keep offering them tips, nod in approval etc. Some people will be like, yeah okay what does this guy now. If they continue to ignore the advice, well, to bad.

And when someone comes to give me some tips, I'll always politely listen and if I agree with what they have to say, I'll tell them I'll look into fixing/incorporating it. If I don't agree, I may have a small argument, but it hasn't happened often (guy saw I was doing low bar squats and was like wtf, thats bad for your shoulders. :rolleyes: I'm pretty open to critique from anyone.

On the other hand, I don't try to help the people who are doing cleans or other exercises and also slam the weights into the rack/ground after a set, or drop plates onto the ground and shit. No matter how atrocious their form is, they just look like complete dicks so I don't bother trying to correct them.
 
Unless someone asks for advice or I'm on friendly terms with them I won't offer advice. I wouldn't want advice from a stranger (though if it sounded reasonable I might look it up afterward) so I shouldn't offer it.

That said, lately the PT's at my gym have been getting their new clients to do squat jumps with horrible form. I watched one lady let her knees collapse inwards almost to the point of touching and I want to point it out but I don't see anything good coming of it. After all, he's the trainer with the fancy shirt and certification.

Edit: If I was at a gym with a lot of strong lifters I would probably have a different attitude. Considering that I squat and deadlift more than any of the other regulars at my gym (sad, I know) there's not really anyone I look up to.
 
Generally appear pissed, don't talk to anyone unless they talk to you first, but be courteous when you're forced to communicate.

Beyond that, just lift correctly, fill your head with thoughts of mayhem and slaughter, and you'll barely even notice the ****s being dumb around you...

If someone has the heart to get through all this and ask for help, they are worthy of some advice.
 
On the other hand, I don't try to help the people who are doing cleans or other exercises and also slam the weights into the rack/ground after a set, or drop plates onto the ground and shit. No matter how atrocious their form is, they just look like complete dicks so I don't bother trying to correct them.

I hope you didn't over pay for those ballerina slippers you lift with.
 
I have to restrain myself lots. Its always tempting, but hey, people do their own thing.

What bothers me more is the friends I work out with. One guy comes like once a week, does garbage like "arms and chest" days, or "bis and tris", etc. And NEVER works out his legs. He can't do any pullups or chins, and he can't come close to benching his body weight. And he wonders why he never makes any gains, and gets frustrated that I can outlift the shit out of him being a fraction of his bodyweight.
 
I think you did right in telling him. I suppose cause a guy did the same for me. My squats were brutally bad and I didn't realise it. The guy came up and said that he wasn't being a dick but if I keep squatting like that I'm gonna do an injury. Then he went off and got one of the regulars to show me the proper form. It ended up that my glutes were not activating.

I'm not in a position to offer tips to anyone in that gym as they are all well advanced of me but I think IF I ever manage to get a bit of advanced knowledge and know my shit I'd have no problem giving someone my opinion if I saw they were doing something that might potentially injure them down the line.
 
Generally appear pissed, don't talk to anyone unless they talk to you first, but be courteous when you're forced to communicate.

This describes it perfectly.

Agreed, though instead of looking pissed I try to look focused. My iPod is my best friend at the gym. I just put it on and turn it up and most people leave me alone.
 
I think you did OK telling him. But I also think you shouldn't be emotionally invested in whether he takes your advice (quickly) or not. I go to a GREAT gym and I welcome the strong guys who try to help me, but sometimes their help has led indirectly to me hurting myself or to me having to rethink what I'm doing. I look at this activity like it's a journey. I'm not going to do it perfectly at the start, but am constantly looking to improve. If this guy has been moving up in weight doing the exercise wrong, he will need to drop weight to start doing it correctly without injury.

I _especially_ hope that people let me know if my squats are too high, because that's hard to see. And of course, letting people know if they're going to get injured.
 
Honestly, you probably bruised his ego a bit. While he ignored your advice, I would not be surprised if he uses what you told him in the future. So, you may have helped him more than you know.
 
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