Unsolicited advice at the gym

flowerhorsey

I almost gave out unsolicited advice last night. But I remembered this thread and stopped myself!!

Davidsdottir

I gave unsolicited advice recently. A guy was squatting next to me and was looking at his feet during the movement. Almost fell over. I mentioned that he might be a little more stable if he tried looking straight instead of down. He tried it and thanked me.

rheddmobile

Hawaiian_Iceberg wrote: »

I wouldn't offer unsolicited advice. It would make most people feel more foolish I think. Generally speaking from what I see most gym goers I see are a lot more switched on and knowledgeable than when I started training in the 90s.

That said there are always some people you just wish you could "help".

There's a guy I see every morning. This is his complete routine everyday at 5am:

1. He swings two dumbells like he's a town crier all body movement almost no biceps,
2. Next he holds two dumbbells in front of his chin and does this weird movement where he contracts his shoulders so they end up by his ears,
3. He climbs into the inverted sit-up station and just moves his head up and down (no crunch at all)
4. He climbs on a stationary bike and reads a newspaper while slow turning his legs.

I've no idea what his goals are or his background is but for all his dedication getting his *kitten* out of bed every morning I wish he'd do himself a favour!

I like the guy who does one arm bent over rows like someone trying to start a lawnmower.

farsteve

I think we could start a whole thread on "unusual" techniques and exercises we see in the gym.

mom23mangos

There is a poor girl at my gym that I'm so tempted to talk to. But she's usually with a dude and from what I've overheard I think she's paying him to "train" her. He's not a trainer. She was on the elliptical with one of those plastic suits designed to make you sweat and miserable the other day. Then, he had her row one day and I've never seen worse form in my life. She was just kind of tugging the handle up to her face and mini bending her knees. It's obvious she needs help and has turned to the wrong person. But I don't want to stick my nose in the middle of it either.

PAFC84

I wouldn't offer advice unless people ask; learning from your own mistakes is a far better lesson and more well received than unsolicited advise, unless they are putting their lives at risk.

Sadly, in an increasingly litigious society I'd be wary of offering advice unless you are qualified AND have insurance in place. I realise that that goes against what I said above but it is something to bear in mind.

elskeleton

I try not to give unsolicited advice unless I've gotten to know them enough to get a grasp on what they really need and can work on.

jiggyj9

JaydedMiss wrote: »

does it count as advice when i saw a girl repeatedly struggling to find out how to lift the bench so i showed her how lol. She kept spinning the knob off vs pulling the knob poor girl would then sit down and do weird thigns with the bench to try and play it off lol she looked so uncomfortable

This does not count. I’ve always appreciated it when someone would come help me out when I couldn’t figure out how to adjust something.

Other than that, I prefer to be unsolicited and I treat people the same! I’ll just think it to myself (unless someone is clearly going to injure themselves, and then I would get a trainer or something).

mom23mangos

It was so hard to keep my mouth shut today. There were a couple of guys lifting together this morning(you could tell they both were pretty new). One was deadlifting and was breaking at his knees first going down that so that his knees were in the bar path and he had to make this B shape to get the bar down. You guys have trained me well. I said NUTHIN!

ImChipper

If I want advice, I'll ask the people who work there for advice. If they give me advice that is substandard, or seems off, I also go to forums, Google, watch Youtube videos. I don't go to the gym to be bothered, and I don't like bothering other people. I like to help by example. Like if I see a girl struggling to keep up in our HIIT class, I don't go over and point it out, I'll maybe flash her a friendly smile and modify the workout so she can see there are other ways to do it.

tulips_and_tea

jiggyj9 wrote: »

JaydedMiss wrote: »

does it count as advice when i saw a girl repeatedly struggling to find out how to lift the bench so i showed her how lol. She kept spinning the knob off vs pulling the knob poor girl would then sit down and do weird thigns with the bench to try and play it off lol she looked so uncomfortable

This does not count. I’ve always appreciated it when someone would come help me out when I couldn’t figure out how to adjust something.

Other than that, I prefer to be unsolicited and I treat people the same! I’ll just think it to myself (unless someone is clearly going to injure themselves, and then I would get a trainer or something).

Agreed. Particularly when it comes to equipment that is unfamiliar. At one of my gyms there are two long rows of cardio machines (all different types: treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, etc.). The back row are all electrical and plugged in so they are already on when you get on them. The front row are all the type where you get on the machine and start moving the then they turn on. When I see someone come in all ready to get in a workout and they can't figure out how to turn on the front row of machines I let them know right away. Some people get all flustered and start pressing every button or whatever and eventually that adds even more wear and tear to machines. I hate when there are several out of order at the same time.

breefoshee

A while back, I was following one of the programs on bodybuilding.com at the gym. I watched all the videos on form and it was an arm day... I can't remember the exact exercise I was doing.. but I wasn't doing it with bad form. Some guy walked up, who was super jacked, and told me that I should do a completely different exercise to workout my chest and help to lift my breast. I don't think he was trying to be a creeper... I really think he was trying to be helpful, but it was just annoying.

I've also had people encourage me to do squats or lunges while having an arm day or when I really just wanted to do cardio... I had done a hard leg day earlier that week and wanted to let my legs recover.

If it's just bad form... I don't mind it as much. But If you don't know someone's goals or their normal regimen, then don't give advice.

PokeyBug

ayson9 wrote: »

When I first started working out at the gym and probably several years afterwards, I used to think that those who give random pieces of tips and advices on the workout I’m doing are just obnoxious cocky and annoying individuals.

This is in regards to those people who look the part in knowing their *kitten* and having the results to prove it.

Honestly, I wish someone had stepped in and gave their tips and tricks when I first started training, it would have filled me in on a lot of stuff I used to do wrong, the injuries I didn’t need to suffer and the setbacks in weight lost that I didn’t know until I started being open about receiving advice.

The most likely cause in my first response to individuals who give unsolicited advice is most likely due to my insecurities and self consciousness about myself just trying to put up a front and assuming that every individual out there is an *kitten* telling me what to do and how to do it, when in reality, they were simply trying to help in making sure I’m doing things properly and effectively in regards to nutrition and training.

I also partly feel that it is just a social norm for anyone who has only begun their fitness journey to react to those unsolicited but most likely helpful advice.

What do you think would be a good practice or approach to be able to help beginner gym goers in offering helpful tips without making them think you’re just a cocky *kitten* thinking their hot *kitten*?

In my experience, I've had two guys offer me tips at the gym. The first was a guy who obviously knew what he was doing, and he helped me squat correctly. I appreciated the heck out of it, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't hitting on me. Just a nice guy who couldn't deal with how badly I was squatting. And I knew I was horrible, so I was grateful. The second guy probably really was hitting on me, but he couldn't have known I was married, so I was just nice and slipped in a comment about my husband. And that was kind of that. If you just walk up and say, "I noticed you were having some trouble with X. Can I give you some tips that helped me," I don't see how anyone can take offense or think you're hitting on them. You might be able to help someone, and you might make a new friend.