I started working-out at a new facility just over a month ago and this morning I was told to keep it down. When the worker first approached me I simply replied “okay” but after thinking about it I asked him what he really meant. He said that it’s was a little loud and I could crack the weights, but I wasn’t dropping the weights, do you think my form is bad?
When you do deadlifts do you:
Gently set the weight down trying to make the least amount of noise possible with complete control.
Lower the weight with control at about the same speed as it was raised but unconcerned with the amount of noise.
Let the weight down with some control, but not necessarily a drop with no concern of noise.
I would probably say I am a type B, but as I fatigue I start to drift into a type C. The gym has rubber floors, is their really a chance the weights would crack or is this guy just pulling rank because it’s morning, it’s quiet, and I am the only person making noise? I have been doing deads for nearly two years now and I have never had anyone approach me like this.
Because I lift in my basement, I tend to try to lower with a little control, even though I have two layers of rubber matting and a 1/2 inch of plywood on the floor. It does go down a little harder toward the end of my sets, but I never, ever drop the weight.
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
Tell the guy it's a gym, not a F'ing health spa. I guess kickbacks and DB curls would be a better idea in his mind.
I personally would tell him to STFU, but I also have anger issues when it comes to this stuff. Bottom line is, if you paid money to be there, and your not causing damage, you should be able to DL and make some noise. If not, ask for your money back and find a real gym.
One more note. If the gym has a real set of collars (like Oly wedges or locking collars), use them, and the plates will not rattle.
Good Luck. Sounds like you could teach these guys how to lift!
So funny someone brings this up. I was working out at my friends gym yesterday and it was so quiet. I started banging plates a bit just to liven it up some.
__________________
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
Tell the guy it's a gym, not a F'ing health spa. I guess kickbacks and DB curls would be a better idea in his mind.
I personally would tell him to STFU, but I also have anger issues when it comes to this stuff. Bottom line is, if you paid money to be there, and your not causing damage, you should be able to DL and make some noise. If not, ask for your money back and find a real gym.
One more note. If the gym has a real set of collars (like Oly wedges or locking collars), use them, and the plates will not rattle.
Good Luck. Sounds like you could teach these guys how to lift!
I have not had a lot of experience with gyms or fitness centers since I workout at home, but just about anywhere I went while traveling had a separate room for free weights.
As for startling the other patrons, tell them that they just might wake up and actually turn the treadmill to something higher than a crawl.
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
i dont drop them but i do lower them with authority. helps me count em out and keep my focus if theres a good bang at the end of every rep. some people do give me a weird look though when i do it.
to put it on the chart i guess im a mix of B/C. B in the early reps and closer to C on the last couple.
personally i think that if youre gonna be lifting something like that the choices are either sexual groans or dropping the weight a little. I dont care to know what everyone at my gym sounds like in bed so the weights rattle a little instead. :shrug:
You could tell them off, but I wouldn't if you want to stay working out there. Make sure to read the fine print on your contract. If I read mine, if likely reads things like:
No dropping or banging weights
No Snatches
No DB Snatches
No Olympic lifting
No Deadlifting
No Denim
There are only a couple of things on the list that I'd really agree with, but that's just me.
They put these things in for a variety of reasons. Mostly to cover their butts, but sometimes, they really don't want things loud. Their floors aren't setup for big drops of big weights. My gym's isn't.
My gym doesn't really enforce these rules often. Usually, just a new employee who doesn't know how to handle a situation.
Some people would say to go to a real gym. That's a fine statement, and maybe someday I will. But, currently, I'm happy sticking with paying $5.99 per month for the privelidge of using any 24 Hour Fitness center I can find while I'm on the road.
No Denim
.
.
.
Some people would say to go to a real gym. That's a fine statement, and maybe someday I will. But, currently, I'm happy sticking with paying $5.99 per month for the privelidge of using any 24 Hour Fitness center I can find while I'm on the road.
F'n fashion police...
We have a "no jeans" rule at my gym, too, but I see people breaking it all the time. One kid even shows up with no gym clothes at all: jeans, flip-flops, and a button-down shirt. I've never quite figured out why it's so important to have rules about that.
5.99/month is CHEAP!! Can't argue with those kind of rates.
I don't make a great deal of noise when I DL, but I'm sort of self-conscious about that.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
I wouldn’t say that the weight is out of control at all, but there’s no way in hell that I could come to a screeching halt half way through lowering the weight. Naturally weight is easier to control when lifting then it is when lowering as gravity assist in pulling the weight to the floor. Just so we are clear, I wasn’t working with a whole lot of weight, I had 135lbs on the bar when he approached me. This guy is there four out of five days, I don’t know if I should talk to the gym mgmt. or risk another confrontation. I don’t want any trouble, I just want to workout and be left alone, what should I do?
You could try lowering onto two towels or onto one of those mats that people use when they're laying down at the gym. And, use the collars so they aren't so clanky.
If he complains at that point, it seems inevitable that you'll never be able to deadlift under those conditions and should politely talk to the manager. At another time, so it's not a confrontational issue.
You could try lowering onto two towels or onto one of those mats that people use when they're laying down at the gym. And, use the collars so they aren't so clanky.
If he complains at that point, it seems inevitable that you'll never be able to deadlift under those conditions and should politely talk to the manager. At another time, so it's not a confrontational issue.
the towel idea is great, also has the added effect of not letting the bar roll away from you inbetween lifts. Not sure about your gym but the floor of mine isnt exactly even so the bar will just sorta roll around some if i dont have my leg on it.
I'd have to be there to see if you were being too loud or not. As a rule on the deadlift I don't lift something I can't control.
Copy that Gobbla...if you have to drop it at the end of a set, chances are you're lifting more than you can control...IMO
__________________
Two Bears Dadda? Two Bears Benno, just two. ______________________________ ___________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
using 135 I can't help but wonder if you were doing some sort of speedier lift. *normally* I'm a lot more cautious about setting down the bar with a heavy load than a light one. Is it possible that you *might* have been letting it bounce a little?
Eric has said that most deadlift injuries happen during the descent, that many people try to lower the heavy load and hurt themselves. So, that being said, you have to know what you and your gym can deal with.
If you have to lower slowly and silently, then that will determine what your max lift is for you and that gym.
If you can lower more quickly and noisily, then you will be able to lift heavier. I'm not saying to just drop the weight, but if you're too concerned with a soft landing, you may end up hurting something.
Like a good pilot, be concerned with a safe landing, not a smooth landing.
I like that quote...but isn't a smooth landing a safe one?
A smooth landing CAN be safe, but a hard landing is generally safer. Solid and noticable contact with the ground, less runway needed, and less time with fewer than the maximum contact points between your plane and the ground. The closer you are to the ground, the less room for recovery, should something go wrong (wind, for instance). Once you're close, get down ASAP. You don't want an "issue" with only one or two wheels touching the ground.
A smooth landing CAN be safe, but a hard landing is generally safer. Solid and noticable contact with the ground, less runway needed, and less time with fewer than the maximum contact points between your plane and the ground. The closer you are to the ground, the less room for recovery, should something go wrong (wind, for instance). Once you're close, get down ASAP. You don't want an "issue" with only one or two wheels touching the ground.
A smooth landing CAN be safe, but a hard landing is generally safer. Solid and noticable contact with the ground, less runway needed, and less time with fewer than the maximum contact points between your plane and the ground. The closer you are to the ground, the less room for recovery, should something go wrong (wind, for instance). Once you're close, get down ASAP. You don't want an "issue" with only one or two wheels touching the ground.
I thought you were talking about deadlifting and was sitting there . Then it sunk in
So funny someone brings this up. I was working out at my friends gym yesterday and it was so quiet. I started banging plates a bit just to liven it up some.
OK, I deadlifted this morning and did this exact same thing. That just cracked me up. Sometimes you need to liven a place up! Slamming the weight collars on to "make sure they're tight" just sorta gets you ready to lift the big weights, lol. And sometimes it just makes a noise when it hits the floor. It just does.
Nobody says anything to me though, cause I AM the trainer, hahahahahaha. :p
But if you just want to be nice and get along, then I like LD's towel idea.
No rubber mats or bumper plates at my gym....I have to lower them ninja like - does that mean I can add 20kg to my PR to allow for this terrible handicap?
__________________
Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. -- Sidney J. Harris
No rubber mats or bumper plates at my gym....I have to lower them ninja like - does that mean I can add 20kg to my PR to allow for this terrible handicap?
Not a chance!
Just get some rubber mats and towels for your PR test day. :p
You know, it would be one thing if you were dropping the DL from waist high to the floor (or a snatch from over your head lol). It's another to lower the weight in a fast yet controlled fashion. When I bench or row or any exercise that involves a barbell weights clank and make noise. A gym isn't a library and shouldn't be run as one.
__________________
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
As a fitness center manager (Golds and YMCA) there is a difference "where" you are dropping the weight. When I was at Golds, it was accpetable to drop the weight during DLs because the music overhead was loud, energy was flowing, and the big boyz hung out in a isolated section of the gym floor. Now, they were dropping serious weight 315, 405, 495, 585, and up. It was "acceptable" by the clinetele of members.
Now, my time managing the Y's fitness center was differnet. It was NOT acceptable to be deadlifting and dropping the weight becasue it is an intimidation factor to the 90% of members that don't deadlift. From a manager's standpoint--"you are hurting my club's success by lifting the way you want because although it makes you and possibly 3 other people happy, it makes it uncomfortable for the 10 or so members that have a problem with it. Those 10 or so members are likely baby-boomers that shop hard for a gym and recommend the center to friends and families. That is $$$ in my pocket and if you are scaring them away wih heavy deadlifts, you are ruining my business. So...if the staff trainer came to scold you, most likely its coming from management or policy.
Moral of my post? Forget going to the management and asking it if's ok to drop the weights, unless you a friend of his/hers.
You know, it would be one thing if you were dropping the DL from waist high to the floor (or a snatch from over your head lol). It's another to lower the weight in a fast yet controlled fashion. When I bench or row or any exercise that involves a barbell weights clank and make noise. A gym isn't a library and shouldn't be run as one.
Funny you should mention snatches, because I was putting my overhead squats down from, well overhead, in a safe but not smooth landing and no one complained, but I'm also a trainer at the gym can't beat the "I work here" excuse.
That said it's damn near impossible to put down a heavy deadlift quietly.
I use some folded up carpet padding that I duct taped together. As noted, it keeps the bar from rolling and I guess it helps kill the sound, but its only about 1.5" thick between solid iron and concrete, so its still loud. No matter, it dont bother me
__________________
"Rust on a nail builds tetanus. Rust on a barbell builds character, strength, and attitude." -EC
"Don't spend your life wishing. Spend it doing." -FishrCutB8
"You're a mutant, like a snake with two heads or a cat shy one nipple. Be thankful that your mutation is helpful." - LD
at my gym, I saw a guy doing deads with like 315bs....he was using two brand knew airex pads underneath the weights and nobody at the gym seemd to care. WTF? It's okay to destroy two brand knew $60 airex pads but it's not okay to hear some weights touching the ground? ALso, what about the guy using the 100+lb. DB's who drops them from arms length after his set of DB bench?
__________________
Robert dos Remedios, MA, CSCS,
HCC (Hartman-Cosgrove Certified)
Director of Speed, Strength & Conditioning
College of the Canyons, CA http://www.canyons.edu/departments/pe/strength
"NO CHAMPION HAS EVER ACHIEVED HIS OR HER GOAL WITHOUT SHOWING MORE DEDICATION THAN THE NEXT PERSON; MAKING MORE SACRIFICES THAN THE NEXT PERSON; WORKING HARDER, TRAINING, AND CONDITIONING HIM / HERSELF MORE THAN THE NEXT PERSON; ENJOYING HIS / HER FINAL GOAL MORE THAN THE NEXT PERSON"
I wouldn't say I drop the weights, but they clank. I mean, come on...It's metal on metal. If you want to lift in peace and quiet, go to the library.
However, with this said, I get irritated at people who beat dumbbells together doing DB bench presses or shoulder presses. They aren't rubber plates and they aren't one-pieces. This damages and loosens them.
Deadlifts = Noisy?
:p 
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