The Smith Machine!!?!! HELP
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lola05972
Posts: 1 Member
I know it's best to use free weights for SL but I do not like being stared at or have men saying little things to me about my body while working out. My gym has a woman's area but the downfall to that is that it only has a smith machine and dumbbells. I'm in week 2 of 5x5 SL and wondering will I still see RESULTS using the smith machine instead of free weights? My goal is to loose 10-15 pounds and tone up.
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i'll answer the men part of it first. that's reprehensible. your gym having a 'womens' area does NOT mean that any woman outside of it is fair game. why the *kitten* should you go lift in their little underquipped girl ghetto, damn it?
i'd raise hell with the management. they can either do something about the behaviour in the 'main' rooms or they can create parity in the women's zone. but they should do both. lifting in a 'special' area should be a genuine choice, not the only thing you can viably do if you don't want to deal with harassment and *kitten*.
had to get that off my chest. as far as the smith itself . . . the main objection most people raise to it isn't that it's ineffective for what you want. it's that it's dangerous. squatting in the smith forces your body into one single pattern and if it doesn't happen to be the right pattern for how you're built then over time it really isn't a solid option. others may have had better success or know some workarounds but i've never been able to use it at all.
goblet squats with the dumbbells would be a safer option.3 -
I agree that if people are behaving like that it should be addressed with the gym. I have been in commercial gyms for about 3 years now going to different one and even lift sometimes over in Hollywood. 80+% of the time a guy says anything it is "how many sets do you have left." The occasional compliment occurs whether heavy or on a deload week but that is about it. The gym should really handle things or better equip the area if they really feel some separation is necessary for the clientele.1
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and also the fact that goblet squats rock
sorry to sound so terse the first time. was late for work and pretty irritated by the dickweeds in your gym.0 -
The above says a lot about this group- we are getting irritated FOR you when you get treated badly.
But I agree with above - if you watch 10 people free squat, none of their squats will look the same. A smith machine assumes it will. Also, if you watch those same 10 people squat, I doubt any of the 10 will have a movement pattern that tracks like a smith machine does. Although we all could use some tweaks to our form, that is not the direction it should go.
But I stil am amazed folks are doing that to you. I am sure there are days that people in the gym look at me and wonder to themselves "what in the world is that crazy woman doing". But they seem to keep it to themselves. I literally have had only one recent experience with a guy talking to me unexpectedly and it was rare enough it startled me- but he was asking very sweetly if I would please wander into the women's area for him, and grab the 5lb dumbbells as the ones for the main area were nowhere to be found.
Speaking of, that's the only gym I've ever been at with a women's area, and it literally has cardio equipment and a small set of free weights.... it's more of a hotel gym type area....0 -
A "Womens area" ? That is super lame! That they have a special designated area for women but don't provide them equipment to do proper lifts because we are all so dainty and couldn't possibly do a real squat.
And I'm so sorry you have to deal with those men. I have NEVER had a guy say anything like that to me. Most of the time no one says a single word to me. I would definitely complain to management and if nothing is done find a new gym...2
