1. My gym just got all new equipment for their free weight room starting today - yay! Instead of having one smith machine, one power cage, and one sucky squat rack we now have TWO smith machines, one power cage, and one sorta-but-not really-squat rack (which will actually work better than the old squat rack).
Guess which one are in front of the mirrors? You guessed it! The smith machines! The ones that actually NEED a mirror face the weight room instead.
2. So, I'm leaving the gym and I see this chick on the stairmaster machine - you know the kind that look like you're climbing a big escalator, not the pedal kind. I couldn't believe what she was wearing: FLIP.FLOPS. Like, $2 walmart flip-flops! OMGWTFBBQ! Dude, seriously?!? You chose flip-flops as the best thing to wear for your foray to the gym? Like, you don't even have some cheapo Candies to wear?
I worked with a woman once who dropped a weight plate on her foot and it pulverized her metatarsals so badly the best the docs could do is fuse her foot solid. She will walk with a cane the rest of her life. Not sure my gym shoes will give me much more protection, but I'll never go in flip-flops, that's for sure.
__________________
I teach the LSAT Test. The LSAT Test is not as hard as people think, just like hanging leg raises.
I was on the treadmill one day where it was really busy, and the girl I "handed off"my treadmill to was wearing CROCS. There a "shoe" with good support.
I saw a woman on the stairmill at my gym wearing Z-coil shoes. Those are the ones that have a large open spring on the heel. I could not watch her because I was sure any minute the coil would become entrapped and she would break her neck.
1. Does your gym have a suggestions box, where you could leave your suggestion about having the squat rack in front of the mirror instead? It's not likely they are going to see your complaint here
2. I don't find this weird at all *shrug* Maybe she got to the gym and found that she had left her trainers at home or at the office. I've done that before, and I've worked out in non-workout shoes. Or - shock horror! - the time when I left my leggings at the office, but really wanted to work out, so I did my lifting session in my jeans. I'm sure there was someone on a message board somewhere posting about the weird girl they saw lifting in her jeans (and let me just say, at first I was self-conscious, but then I thought MORE POWER TO ME for doing my planned work-out anyhow). There could be plenty of reasons she was on the stepper with her flip flops on - I doubt she just LIKES working out in flip flops.
I actually find the responses on this thread quite sad.
Someone will post a thread about feeling self-conscious at the gym, feeling like everyone is looking at them, and everyone will reply "Don't worry! Nobody cares about what you are doing! They are so absorbed in themselves". Then a thread like this comes along, where people are mocking the footwear of other women at the gym. Focus on yourself, not the footwear of others (and please don't roll your eyes at me when I do my lifting session in my little leopard-print flats when I've left my trainers at the office. I am well aware that I probably look silly, but give me credit for doing my workout anyhow).
Ok, I agree, at least about the occasional thing seen. Maybe you're right, she just forgot her workout shoes or something. But there are people I see in my gym who do the same dumb things every time I see them. What they need is proper training and guidance, not to be made fun of. Unfortunately I don't think we can go up to everyone who lacks the knowledge and say "hey, why don't you try getting some guidance, because what you're doing is dangerous/wrong/not getting you any stronger/etc."!
We can't fix everyone else, we can only fix ourselves and help others who want the help. The ones who don't want it, well, they're on their own.
1. My gym just got all new equipment for their free weight room starting today - yay! Instead of having one smith machine, one power cage, and one sucky squat rack we now have TWO smith machines, one power cage, and one sorta-but-not really-squat rack (which will actually work better than the old squat rack).
Guess which one are in front of the mirrors? You guessed it! The smith machines! The ones that actually NEED a mirror face the weight room instead.
Actually, doing squats in front of a mirror is not recommended. I believe Rippetoe says not to squat in front on a mirror in Starting Strength. For a while I was moving the hooks to the other side of the power rack in order to do my squats facing the gym, not the mirror. I don't do that anymore because it is too much trouble, but while our power rack faces a mirror, our squat rack does not and it enables me to really focus on feeling my form rather than watching what I'm doing.
I like to watch myself during squats in order to make sure I'm hitting parallel or lower. I can't always tell by feel. Why does Riptoe recommend not using a mirror?
Well, here's a direct quote from page 32 of Starting Strength (older version):
Quote:
Squatting in front of a mirror is a really bad idea. Many weight rooms have mirrors on all the walls, making it impossible to squat without a mirror there, within eyesight, giving the trainee its bad feedback. A mirror is a bad tool because it provides information about only one plane, the frontal, and depth cannot be judged by the trainee under the bar from the front. Some obliqueness of angle is required to see the relationship between patella and hip crease, and a mirror set at an oblique angle would produce a neck twist. Cervical rotation under a heavy bar is just as bad an idea as cervical hyperextension under a heavy bar. But the best reason not to use a mirror in front of any multi-joint exercise is that the trainee should be developing kinesthetic sense of movement by paying attention to all the sensory input provided by proprioception, rather than focusing merely on visual input from a mirror. "Learn to feel it, not just see it," is excellent advice.
Thanks, Kathy. That's really interesting, and makes sense.
I am one of those who was standing side-on to the mirror and turning my neck to check on my form.
In my gym there is a mirror on the wall perpendicular to the wall the machines are on and I have to admit that I want to glance over to see if I'm going low enough, and sometimes I do. But when I do I can feel immediately that it wasn't the best idea and try to go by feel as much as possible. If you're using a power rack you can set the safety bars just below where the barbell hits when you're at or just below parallel. So, if the bar is coming very close to the safeties, you know you're going deep enough.
I actually find the responses on this thread quite sad.
Someone will post a thread about feeling self-conscious at the gym, feeling like everyone is looking at them, and everyone will reply "Don't worry! Nobody cares about what you are doing! They are so absorbed in themselves". Then a thread like this comes along, where people are mocking the footwear of other women at the gym. Focus on yourself, not the footwear of others (and please don't roll your eyes at me when I do my lifting session in my little leopard-print flats when I've left my trainers at the office. I am well aware that I probably look silly, but give me credit for doing my workout anyhow).
I think this was taken out of context and was meant to be a fun thread. I am quite sure that everyone, even guys, have felt a bit weird at the gym doing something. Shoot...I have! But I think the intention of this was to have fun and comment on odd/funny things in the gym. Seeing someone in crocs and flip flops would have made me wonder, too. I'm sure I have done something crazy, but it is a bit difficult to go to a gym and not "see" what everyone is doing when there are mirrors around. I am always aware of my surroundings.
As far as the squat rack, I think it is a matter of preference. I like to look at myself from the front and side on any workout to ensure my form is correct. Now, I don't stare at myself the entire time when I look left, but I check quickly and proceed. My preference.
And to help balance the world so no one feels they are getting picked on, and to keep the humor rolling, I will tell my own personal STOOPID gym story (which is better told face-to-face for demonstration purposes):
When I was in college, my roommate and I decided to hit the treadmills and we had some newer and older treadmills at our gym. Well, only an older one was available so I stand on the treadmill and hit the up arrow to increase the speed. Well....the treadmill did not move. I said to myself, "Hmmmm....let's hit the speed up some more." It still did not move (I am laughing as I type this right now). I jerk my legs back like I can ACTUALLY make it move and hit the speed up some MORE (sheesh) and that treadmill refused to move. How could that be?? Then I heard something winding up then.....BAM! I am running like a bat out of you know WHAT trying to keep up with this treadmill and I can't! Reaching for the stop button did not come to mind....I was just trying to stay on the darn thing. So, I am literally doing my darnest to keep up with a speed that the road runner couldn't maintain. BOOM! I fall on the treadmill and it tries to throw me off. THE AUDACITY! So I try to stay on while I am sprawled out on this treadmill, but it wins, catapults me back, and takes some skin off of both my legs. I looked both ways to see who saw me.
I couldn't cry......
I couldn't get mad......
Heck, I couldn't THINK!
While miserably in pain with ooze running down my leg from treadmill burn, I LAUGHED MY BUTT OFF! I could only imagine what I looked like!!! It was the FUNNIEST thing ever!! No one in the gym said anything (except my roommate), but I'm sure, my story has ended up on a post like this.
I hope this made someone laugh insanely today
(And yes, our fine treadmill was put out of commission for a bit to have surgery).
LESSON LEARNED: Hey Wonderwoman, why not put your legs on the side of the treadmill when cranking that speed up. Better yet.....for you....NO MORE TREADMILLS! LOL!!!
__________________
Go Get What's YOURS!!
Last edited by wonderwoman : 06-21-2009 at 01:11 AM.
This thread should serve as snarky education. If someone happens by and they've done this stuff, they know to stop or at least re-think it. If something as silly as an Internet forum thread is going to boo-hoo them away from the gym, well, they have other issues to deal with. Most of what we see in the gym in pure ignorance--people just don't know what to do other than show up (and gyms bank on that). It's the ones who do the stupid stuff and claim some sort of superiority that should be a concern, like the dozen or so brotards hump-curling in the (only) squat rack or the bean-pole cardio bunny doing her "ten minutes of arms" by porno-blasting through bent-over two-pound DB triceps kickbacks.
I'm all for people getting/staying involved, but sometimes, stuff is just funny. Besides, without ignorance, how could we learn (and laugh)?
__________________ No Magic Pill (the log)
My Movember page (yes, I'm slacking on pictures)
How is the stuff that was mentioned by the OP an example of ignorance?
Yes, there are some people who ARE ignorant about exercise, and do the stuff that you mentioned. And then there are others who may wear - gasp! - inappropriate footwear one day.
Ignorance: n. Lack of knowledge, education, or awareness. In other words, just not knowing. How many people know that wearing flip-flops (and 99% of footwear in general) at any time, not just in the gym, is detrimental to posture, gait, and overall musculoskeletal health? Maybe a handful within the fitness community, to say nothing of the general public. It's just walking, right? And footwear is normal, right? Better flip-flops than getting ringworm, right? This person may not have known any better, but not-so-common common sense would say they did, hence "stoopid"--after all, there aren't a million other places to just go take a walk, shod or not, that don't require driving to get there or electricity to operate
You brought up the point about how the responses in this thread (all three of them at the time) are "sad" since someone to wander in and get self-conscious. In reality, it's the people on this and other similar forums who would be the ones to face self-consciousness since, by and large, we train intelligently and therefore abnormally. It's the yahoos on treadmills in flip-flops that are more "normal" than we are
Here's to being abnormal!
__________________ No Magic Pill (the log)
My Movember page (yes, I'm slacking on pictures)
My point was to point out that the person who was labelled "stoopid" may not have actually been "stoopid". There are plenty of reasons why someone might be wearing flip-flops on a stepper (and not because they thought they were the "best thing to wear", as the OP assumed). I just don't get the OP's shock and horror. Flip-flops on a stepper - BFD! Not all that amusing a sight, either (Wonderwoman's treadmill story on the other hand - THAT is humourous!)
I wouldn't consider myself ignorant or stupid because I have also worn non-work out shoes to work out in. Clearly, others might. Oh well.
Actually, I think it is pretty stupid to wear flip-flops to a gym, not to mention dangerous (and not for the dropping-a-weight-on-your-foot scenario). Thankfully, I don't have to worry about that at my gym because there's a rule you must wear athletic shoes. So, no stupid shoe sightings to be had!
Flip flops are only bad because of the potential sweat, rubber, and slippage issues.
I don't think this thread is all that bad if the flip flop wearer would stumble over it. They'd know why they chose to go for it anyway OR that flip flops are not a good choice.
Personally, if I was doing something dumb in the gym, I'd rather read about it here when someone posted a "dumb guy" sighting than not know.
1. If it was actually dumb, now I'd know.
2. If it wasn't dumb, and they just thought it was dumb, I'd ignore it.
BTW, wasn't trying to run anyone off. I know I'm ignorant of a lot of stuff--we all are--like checking to see that the gym owner/manager didn't just oil down the barbells (part of routine maintenance) right before you decide to do decline bench presses without collars, which becomes like the start of wrestling a guy outweighing you by 100 pounds (granted, I lost in both cases, but the start was still a cathartic moment). But c'mon, some stuff is funny and/or a head-shaker (both when said barbell goes flying off to the left as the rumble of plates hitting the floor reaches full intensity)
__________________ No Magic Pill (the log)
My Movember page (yes, I'm slacking on pictures)
BTW, wasn't trying to run anyone off. I know I'm ignorant of a lot of stuff--we all are--like checking to see that the gym owner/manager didn't just oil down the barbells (part of routine maintenance) right before you decide to do decline bench presses without collars, which becomes like the start of wrestling a guy outweighing you by 100 pounds (granted, I lost in both cases, but the start was still a cathartic moment). But c'mon, some stuff is funny and/or a head-shaker ("and" when a barbell goes flying off to the left as the rumble of plates hitting the floor reaches full intensity)
We were in the gym about two weeks ago, and someone unloaded all three 45s from one side of the barbell on the squat rack. It was loud.
Stoopid Crap Observed in the Gym Today...
Dude, seriously?!? You chose flip-flops as the best thing to wear for your foray to the gym? Like, you don't even have some cheapo Candies to wear? 
Linear Mode
