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Things that make you cringe...
Generally, I try to be a helpful person because I want people to be helpful towards me. I realize that while I appreciate any advice I get at the gym, it is totally unwelcome for most people. Now that I have a decent knowledge base, I often find myself cringing and trying to look away. These are the things that make me cringe:
-Terrible form on the basics like when their knees are going over their toes during squats and lunges
-Someone who is obviously trying to spot reduce. I'm talking about the apple shaped people who spend 20 minutes on the abs machine. I really feel bad because this was me growing up. I felt like a failure for being chubby with a stomach so I spent a huge amount of time doing sit-ups/crunches and obviously never saw a difference.
-And more of a pet peeve: gym classes that lack symmetry. That is when you do the exercise on just one side or an unequal amount of times on each side.
What makes you cringe? Have you said anything (to not a friend)? How did it go over?
Re: Things that make you cringe...
I try not to judge people too much at the gym. Sometimes I see people doing something that is obviously whacked but I keep my lips zipped.
Form -- well, we have trainers who walk around and they generally will lend a hand to people who may be doing damage.
As for spot reducing, you never know really what people are doing at other times. I lift at the gym, I never do cardio unless it is raining pretty hard/hurricane winds etc. But I run outside 4 times a week. If someone came up to me on a legs day where I primarily am working on my glutes and told me "You know, if you really want to slim that area you should be doing cardio", I would probably smack them.
My cringes are more diet related and people who talk about cleanses, fad diets, pills, and how they are "tricking" WW or manipulating the points etc. But I keep my mouth shut. No one wants to hear unsolicited advice, and these mistakes always come out in the wash = lack of success.
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I agree with the lack of symmetry thing. I do Jillian's NMTZ, and I think she works more on time than reps, however some things aren't equal. I count my own reps and make them equal.
The only other thing that I can think of that makes me cringe is people like a co-worker I have. Every week she has a new "diet" that she is on, and she is the expert on it. She knows everything there is to know, and this one is going to solve all of her problems...until next week when she chooses a new one. During a conversation with her one day, I was telling her about this site and that there is good info on it, and two days later, she started lecturing me on clean eating. I had all I could do to walk away. The next week she was on another diet anyway, so it wasn't worth wasting my breath.....
I'm one of those people too, that would appreciate correct, helpful advice. But I've learned to shut my yap most of the time because who am I? I don't have any technical training on most fitness subjects.
unsolicited advice makes me cringe.
remember when we were kids, and we used to tell people to "MYOB"? yeah. that.
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I'll be honest, I do notice almost everyone in the gym and what they're doing. I'm getting my masters in exercise physiology, so it's like my lab setting
Nothing makes me truly cringe, but I do sometimes wonder what people are thinking when they're planning their workouts. However, I would never, ever offer unsolicited advice.
and, btw, it's ok for your knees to go over your toes during squats and lunges.
Really? Because I find that if I try to keep my knees behind my toes I am easily knocked off balance. By the end of a set, find that my knees are at least parallel, if not slightly in front of my toes. Could you elaborate, because I am really interested in this.
Your knees naturally go past your toes during every day activity so to try to prevent it during exercise is unnatural. The effects of squatting aren't limited to knee joint action. What happens in one joint influences those near it. Basically, restricting movement in your knees transfers that force to your hips and lower back at a force 10x greater. So while you think you're protecting your knees, you're actually posing a greater risk to your back.
This is why I try not to judge other people at the gym/their fitness routines unless it's something totally off base, and I defintiely don't go around offering unsoliticed advice. Everyone is on their own journey and what works for you, or you think is helpful might not work for me. You don't know the history of someone's health, current ailments, other fitness outside of the gym to give unsolicited advice, IMO.
Just like the PP who runs outside of the gym and may appear to be a "spot reducer" I have a conditiont that limits what I can and can't do, both with exercise and my diet. If anyone came up to me at a gym (outside of an employee/trainer) to give me advice on something without my asking, I'd get pretty annoyed too.
When I first opened this I thought it was going to be NH&FR and full of random tidbits (for example, the word 'moist' makes me skin crawl!)...
...but to keep with the theme, I normally dont really pay attention to others at the gym, but it does make me cringe when I see people working out in jeans just because I think it must be SO uncomfortable! That, and when girls are in full on make-up.
Hmmm...apparently I am feeling shallow today. Oh well!
zachary happens!
That's the only thing I cringe about. My inner monologue is, "Your pores! You're clogging them! Let your skin breath!". But of course, I just keep my mouth shut.
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OH! Me, too! I cannot stand that word. It's like touching raw cardboard or hearing nails on a chalkboard.
I try not to judge people at the gym while they are working out, as much as I can - because like PPs said, you never know what ailments or goals that person has. The only things that I cringe over is things that are either disgusting or rude: Not cleaning your machine when you're done with it, turning the fan away from someone else who is working hard (this happens a lot in our gym's 'cardio row'), or talking to a friend in the middle of a class. Dude - just go in the hallway if you need to have a conversation.