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Gym Etiquette.

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VulgarDisplay

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So I was at the gym today and I saw some younger kid doing deadlifts off the power rack in our gym. On the power rack the lowest you can go has the bar about 16 inches off the ground. I jokingly said, "Ah, c'mon man you're cheating." I just wanted to tease him a little to maybe get him to ask for some help, and the little bastard got pissed off.

I was just trying to be helpful because he obviously had no idea what he was doing. I just remember when I was new to weight lifting and I was too stubborn to ask for help. Looking back I wish people would have just spoke up and stopped me from doing certain things. Do any of you offer advice to people in the gym without them asking? Was I just being as rude as he seemed to think I was?

Thread has been derailed into a pissing contest between know it all noobs and know it all has beens living in their past glory

Anandtech Admin
Red Dawn
 
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nah, screw that.. if someone asks me for advice i give it. i don't care about what other people do in the gym, not my problem.

unless your a personal trainer that works in the gym i would mind your own business, or you'll be that guy pissing off everyone at the gym with your advice, even if it was given with the best intentions AND is absolutely correct technical wise.
 
He may have been doing rack pulls which are a perfectly legitimate exercise.

As for gym etiquette, I never offer advice to strangers. If they ask, I'm more than happy to help, but otherwise - unless I see something blatantly dangerous - I let them do their thing.
 
brikis98 said:
He may have been doing rack pulls which are a perfectly legitimate exercise.

As for gym etiquette, I never offer advice to strangers. If they ask, I'm more than happy to help, but otherwise - unless I see something blatantly dangerous - I let them do their thing.
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Yeah, the first thing I assumed was that they were doing rack pulls. Those are done to overcome weaknesses on certain parts of the deadlift. Firstly, make sure you're trained enough to know you should or should not give advice. Since you didn't consider that he was doing rack pulls, perhaps you are not as experienced as you think. If you are thoroughly convinced you can help, you need to approach it a different way. Don't be the douchebag to tell someone they're doing it wrong by laughing at them. You need to come in and ask them what they're doing and if you could give them advice. I've learned to do this after helping probably 6-8 people at my gym. Then again, I know what rack pulls are and would've left him alone unless he had a terribly rounded back.
 
Who cares what other people do in the gym? If you're gym is anything like mine 99% of the people are just screwing around accomplishing nothing. So you'll go crazy if you pay too much attention to them.

Saw a trainer making their trainee do rack pulls the other day. Never seem them do actual deadlifts though. Why do they do advanced exercises and forgo the basics?
 
SociallyChallenged said:
Yeah, the first thing I assumed was that they were doing rack pulls. Those are done to overcome weaknesses on certain parts of the deadlift. Firstly, make sure you're trained enough to know you should or should not give advice. Since you didn't consider that he was doing rack pulls, perhaps you are not as experienced as you think. If you are thoroughly convinced you can help, you need to approach it a different way. Don't be the douchebag to tell someone they're doing it wrong by laughing at them. You need to come in and ask them what they're doing and if you could give them advice. I've learned to do this after helping probably 6-8 people at my gym. Then again, I know what rack pulls are and would've left him alone unless he had a terribly rounded back.
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Terribly rounded back lifting 300 lbs. When he came up to me and was mad he called it a deadlift. I then asked him why he didn't do it form the ground and try a manageable weight.

This is the same guy I've seen doing squats where he unracks the weight. Then he goes down and sits on a bench that he's put into the power rack, and sits for a second. Then gets back up.

I wasn't trying to be a douche, I honestly wanted to stop him from getting hurt.
 
This is the same guy I've seen doing squats where he unracks the weight. Then he goes down and sits on a bench that he's put into the power rack, and sits for a second. Then gets back up.
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...which is called a box squat.
 
VulgarDisplay said:
Terribly rounded back lifting 300 lbs. When he came up to me and was mad he called it a deadlift. I then asked him why he didn't do it form the ground and try a manageable weight.

This is the same guy I've seen doing squats where he unracks the weight. Then he goes down and sits on a bench that he's put into the power rack, and sits for a second. Then gets back up.

I wasn't trying to be a douche, I honestly wanted to stop him from getting hurt.
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Both of the things he's doing are common in powerlifting training. I do a variation of rack pulls, and box squats, all the time. I also get scolded by various members of gym staff/patrons from time to time, for different things, by people that clearly know a lot less than I do.

I'm not saying he definitely knows what he's doing or anything, or that you're in the same position as the people I say scold me. Just that those exercises DO have uses.

I personally do not give unsolicited advice to anyone in the gym. Its not my place.
 
VulgarDisplay said:
Terribly rounded back lifting 300 lbs. When he came up to me and was mad he called it a deadlift. I then asked him why he didn't do it form the ground and try a manageable weight.

This is the same guy I've seen doing squats where he unracks the weight. Then he goes down and sits on a bench that he's put into the power rack, and sits for a second. Then gets back up.

I wasn't trying to be a douche, I honestly wanted to stop him from getting hurt.
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Different people have different definitions of "terribly rounded." Those who train in CrossFit say any rounding is terribly rounded. Others, like powerlifters, allow some rounding since they are well-trained and their ligaments can accommodate to the stress.

Also, as others have said, the movement he was doing are called box squats. They are used to elicit greater hip drive and strengthen the posterior chain. Although these are more advanced lifts, there is nothing wrong with utilizing them to address weaknesses.

Some people have to get hurt before they understand what they need to do. It's not your place to laugh at him and tell him he's doing a movement you don't understand wrong.
 
I never volunteer help unless I know for a fact someone is about to hurt themselves. And since I am usually paying more attention to myself than anyone else, that doesnt often happen.
 
There's a small group of people of varying levels of fitness and expertise in the gym that I've gotten to know pretty well. Those people I feel free to give unsolicited advice to, but they also give me advice and suggestions from time to time. If I don't know someone, I don't critique their form period unless they ask me, even if they're obvious novices. Generally people who are serious about lifting will watch others and compare their form and ask questions in their own time. Very often I'll have people ask me about stuff they've seen me doing after I've seen them in the gym a few times.
 
There will always be people doing things wrong at the gym. It's none of my business and not my job to stick my nose in and tell/teach them what to do. I'll be more than happy to offer my advice if they ask but short of that, I best stay to myself and avoid any potential liability. What if you told someone what to do and they hurt themselves in the process?
 
How would he interpret that to mean you are willing to help him? He is probably a noob to the gym and is self conscience about being there to begin with. He probably could use some help, but he definitely does not need his balls busted.

Atleast he is attempting to deadlifts. Most young kids use the power rack for curls.
 
The only time I ever "corrected" someone at the gym was when some dummy noob decided to walk within about 1' of my bar while I was doing benches so he could get a plate. I was like seriously? You can't wait 10 seconds and avoid risking injury to me?
 
OP that doesn't know what exercises are should not be giving advice. I was doing rack pulls just yesterday. If someone told me I was deadlifting wrong I would laugh at them.
 
Lamont Burns said:
OP that doesn't know what exercises are should not be giving advice. I was doing rack pulls just yesterday. If someone told me I was deadlifting wrong I would laugh at them.
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true dat however if he is doing a rack pulls @ 300lbs though I am still gonna assume he is an idiot assuming he is a normal sized male


Also what is the consensus on doing shrugs in the power rack? It annoys the hell outta me since we only have 1 power rack but there is plenty of space on the floor to do stuff like deadlifts and there is also a trap bar.
 
mchammer187 said:
true dat however if he is doing a rack pulls @ 300lbs though I am still gonna assume he is an idiot assuming he is a normal sized male


Also what is the consensus on doing shrugs in the power rack? It annoys the hell outta me since we only have 1 power rack but there is plenty of space on the floor to do stuff like deadlifts and there is also a trap bar.
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i hate douchebags taking up the power racks to do foooking curls. wtf is it with n00bs doing curls in the gym. guess they think their 10'' arms are gonna get swoll if they curl 55 lbs a couple hundred times.. during peak hours, the power racks should be used for squatting exercises only.

ok i'm done with my rant. carry on.
 
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