Scrutiny at the gym-Stonglifts 5x5

LisaPower123

My mom & I started the strong lifts 5x5 program 3 weeks ago. We are under constant scrutiny at the gym. Not sure if it is because we are women, (I am overweight, she is in her 60s) or because it is something different, but people look, the gym supervisor suggested we get a trainer & implied we should switch our program. We are not even lifting very heavy yet, but I suspect we will have to change gyms once we are because they will not be able to handle it.

It is hard enough to be overweight & go to the gym, but to be under a microscope is really tough. We had one of the regulars, part of a clickie large group of women tell us we were squatting wrong. We are squatting like it says to do in the book starting strength, as our goal is to get strong. I ended up hurting my knees and back trying out what she wanted me to do. She actually said to me, you are not strong enough, take the weight off the bar.

Short of changing gym, how would you deal with the scutiny, and "advice" of people? I told the gym supervisor she should look up the book starting strength, and that we would be happy to go with a trainer that knows the Stong lifts program.

Anyone else have this experience?

LovenderNurse

Bravo to you both for really making an effort to lift!!! I love seeing women pushing themselves and their fitness goals and not jet walking on the treadmill for 45 min and call that their workout. It could be a problem with your form and maybe they were just trying to help.... my personal opinion though is that ALOT of people give bad or misinformed advice. I would ask your gym's personal trainers to watch your form and ask for suggestions/corrections from them. I doubt others are out to make you feel bad but more just concerned you may get hurt if you don't have proper form. Ask a professional and if they say you are doing it correctly then just ignore those people and keep doing what you are doing! If it becomes a real problem then go talk to a manager.

beesareyellow

Seriously, just ignore them. Put on some headphones and do your thing. That's usually a sign that you don't want to "chat". I was being approached by quite a few "advice givers" when I was forced to change gyms a few weeks ago ( old gym closed). At first I tried to smile nicely and engage a bit, but, eventually, on went the headphones. Now, if I am approached, I make quite the show of slowly removing my headphones and looking at them inquisitively. Then they usually feel awkward for having interrupted my workout, and back away, lol:)
And yes, this is a real male oriented gym, I am usually the only woman in the weight section. The women are all slogging away on the ellipticals, some of whom give me quite bizarre looks, let me tell you. Hey, I don't judge others and don't care what anyone else thinks of me either.

LovenderNurse

Oh and if you are just beginning it is better to use as little weights to no weights just to make sure you have got the proper form before trying to jump right in and tackle something your body isn't used to. Proper form will be the key to making sure you won't get hurt and you will get the best results from your exercises.

amcsouth

Unfortunately I also experienced this when I first started lifting. In my case the gym staff were worried about a female lifting as well as me being overweight. In my opinion it's no ones business what you are doing unless you are obviously lifting with terrible form, doing something that could cause injury to yourself/others or generally being disruptive.

Regarding squat from, there are lots of good YouTube videos you can watch with your mom. Between the two of you, you should be able too figure out if you are using proper form. If anything hurts then definitely DON'T do it! It might be a good idea to look into getting a trainer if you can afford it, even for just a few sessions.

If someone gives you advice then decide for yourself if it is actually helpful or not. If I disagree with what they say, I usually just acknowledge their advice and do my own thing anyway Most of the time people do not really know what they are talking about.

_HeartsOnFire_

I'd make sure you have proper form - as the above poster stated, have you and your mom watch youtube videos and then watch each other, or hire a trainer for 1 session and have them watch.

After that, if it keeps up, to the other gym goers thanks, but I got this. To the gym staff, I'd politely let them know that if they don't stop you may be forced to talk to even higher ups about how they are treating you and if that doesn't work maybe a lawyer for harassment or discrimination.

High five to you and your mom for starting SL! I just started it myself. I love it!!!

Are you doing any warm up reps? My friend sent me this link and said it really helped her with her progression. It is a lot of bar work, but I figured if it helped her with her progression, I should give it a shot.

http://warmupreps.com/

Keep at it! You rock!

randomtai

I would tell them to mind their f-ing business, but I am not one for holding my tongue.

Calliope610

IMHO, it is easier for trainer's to train to what they know and are comfortable with, rather than to train to meet the clients' goals. I haven't met many trainers (I live in a small rural town; I think most of the trainers - they come and go at the gym I belong to) who are really familiar with SL or SS (Mark Rippetoe, who???). I don't know if they are taught heavy lifting in online PT certification classes.

Join the SL5x5 women's group here. It's a great bunch of ladies who have experience and success with SL and SS (and other programs) and they are ALWAYS ready to share their knowledge with others. Here is the link>>>

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

LisaPower123

Thanks everyone! Nice to know we are not alone. I figure when we are putting on the big plates they will realize we know what we are doing. We love SL & we are progressing well, and slowly

We are very fussy about form. My mom especially because she is older & does not want to get hurt. We have both spent hours watching videos. & reading. We have taken videos to study our form at home. We are not new to the gym & have done the regular hours of cardio/machine routine for years.

We have both already joined the SL group. Still lurking there but will participate soon.

I think I will develop a strong skin and picture myself thin so I don't feel so self conscious

randomtai

We have both already joined the SL group. Still lurking there but will participate soon.

I think I will develop a strong skin and picture myself thin so I don't feel so self conscious

Jump on in.. we don't bite... mostly. :laugh:

ndj1979

is this gym a planet fitness by chance? Just curious….

neandermagnon

some people find it hard to cope with anyone doing something they consider to be outside the norm

stick at it, when they see you doing that as part of the normal scenery (i.e. it's lost its novelty value), they'll leave you alone

LisaPower123

is this gym a planet fitness by chance? Just curious….

Nope not a planet fitness, it is a locally owned & operated gym. They have everything we need for doing DL properly & 3 squat racks. The only thing they don't have that would help us women is plates lower the 2.5lbs. I can see 5lbs being hard too add sometimes.

LisaPower123

I'd make sure you have proper form - as the above poster stated, have you and your mom watch youtube videos and then watch each other, or hire a trainer for 1 session and have them watch.

After that, if it keeps up, to the other gym goers thanks, but I got this. To the gym staff, I'd politely let them know that if they don't stop you may be forced to talk to even higher ups about how

Are you doing any warm up reps? My friend sent me this link and said it really helped her with her progression. It is a lot of bar work, but I figured if it helped her with her progression, I should give it a shot.

http://warmupreps.com/

Keep at it! You rock!

I don't believe any of the trainers have experience with SL. I was joking with my mom that we may have to do a seminar or become certified personal trainers to show people what we know (in a couple of years)

We do do warm up sets. For squats we usually do 3 then our working sets, 2 for bench & OH press. Nothing for deads or rows

_HeartsOnFire_

I've been lucky, my gym hasn't pulled any of this. I get a funny look from ONE guy in the weight room. I go really early in the morning and there's only a handful of guys up there, and the cardio "bunnies" are all a go-go on the cardio machines. My first session of SL a guy saw me walk in and said "get on in here, don't be scared" I said I wasn't scared and that I was coming for it!

establishingaplace

I would recommend videotaping each other doing the exercises, and either watch and compare to videos on YouTube, or find people willing to watch the video and comment.

It's possible that your fellow gym-goers see something not right with your form, but it's equally possible that what they think is right is actually wrong.

LKArgh

Ask whoever is commenting what is the problem. If a trainer is concerned about form, or sees something else worrying him/her, you should ask for advice. I have been training on and off for 20 years in several types of programs, and would consider myself experienced. Just one week ago, I was trying a new routine involving a bosu, a trainer walked up to me, looked at me as if I were crazy and told me "look at the mirror and tell me if you like what you see". He was right, my form was so off, I would have ended up hurt, and I had no clue. So, this is a very probable scenario. If they cannot give you a good reason to change anything, then, ignore them.