Excellent Article on "Fitness Bullying"

CarsonRuns
CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
in Fitness and Exercise

"...I have also noticed another growing trend on the ol' Facebook timeline: A plethora of people bashing and belittling others for doing certain exercises or activities, ranging anywhere from bicep curls and lateral raises to distance running or Zumba. The powerlifters tease the runners, the runners make fun of the bodybuilders, the bodybuilders laugh at the fitness class attendees. Can't we all just get along?"

http://www.jencomaskeck.com/2012/07/fitness-bullies.html
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Replies

  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    Bump
  • beaner1st
    beaner1st Posts: 229 Member
    A great article. Thanks for sharing. We all workout different, have different goals and different knowledge. There is so much I just don't know.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Great article! I'm very much a 'to each their own' type person. Why do people care so much what others are doing at the gym? Shouldn't you just be focusing on YOUR workout?

    People like that are the exact reason why so many fitness newbies, including myself at one point, are terrified to go to gyms. They're afraid of being judged for not doing the "right" thing. I say it's all "right" as long as you're doing something good for your body!
  • OLFATUG
    OLFATUG Posts: 393 Member
    So thankful my gym is in my basement and my 'treadmill' is the open road! Great read. :)
  • mndamon
    mndamon Posts: 549 Member
    I don't think I've ever really noticed this before. At least not on my Facebook or at the gym we go to. I give my crossfit buddies grief and they give me mine but it's all in good fun.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
    That is indeed absurd.
    Thanks for sharing.
    People need to reach their goals doing what they ENJOY!
    I like swimming but hate running.
    I enjoy tennis over HIIT on a treadmill.
    Whatever.
    Just do some exercise based on your needs, goals and passions. And people who get dogmatic over fitness need to be BLOCKED right away.
    Such insecure drones are as bad as our resident food Nazi's.
    Fanaticism is the brother of doubt!
  • sho3girl
    sho3girl Posts: 10,799 Member
    ^^^^ ditto

    gotta find an activity you enjoy doing - then you will STICK with it
  • xxx_Pink_Princess_xxx
    xxx_Pink_Princess_xxx Posts: 875 Member
    Thank you xxx
  • AmandaLou4319
    AmandaLou4319 Posts: 73 Member
    Really enjoyed the article! Very relatable and thanks for sharing!
  • odditblue
    odditblue Posts: 34 Member
    LOL! I'm just happy to be there! The others I see who are more advanced really amaze me. The others who aren't yet to that level, like me, make me glad to see the effort and change happening in ourselves. Heck, I'm just glad to not be on the couch anymore. =)
  • Tricialew32
    Tricialew32 Posts: 96 Member
    Even more importantly...people have to be able to do what suits their abilities as well their ultimate goals.

    There are a few things I will never be able to do again because of past injuries, disc fusions, etc....but it shouldn't stop anyone from doing anything they are able to do...

    it doesn't make them wrong or inferior...it just makes them kicka$$!
  • TKHappy
    TKHappy Posts: 659 Member
    I read this on Facebook earlier!! It was well written and I too see it!!
  • sheila569
    sheila569 Posts: 269 Member
    Great article... thanks for sharing it!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    It's still ok to make fun of Shake Weights, isn't it?!
  • MicaelaFW
    MicaelaFW Posts: 63
    thank you! Awesome article and reposting!!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I hate running.

    It makes me pee.
  • slowturtle1
    slowturtle1 Posts: 284 Member
    What a great article! I actually teared up a little! It makes me feel so much better for doing what I do, and so much less guilty for not doing more! I like my routine. It makes me happy, it makes me feel good physically and mentally, and it never feels like WORK! It's nice to be validated, to know that is enough! Thanks for posting!:flowerforyou:
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Good article! This is definitely a phenomenon in the MFP community.

    This line made me laugh...
    "I deadlifted a new max tonight while the dude next to me did bicep curls. What a loser!"
    Personally, I still do bicep curls. I like them and I like the results I see in my arms.

    Also... I'm just going to come out and confess - I don't lift heavy anymore. I almost never talk about my strength routine here because the current thinking is seems to be that lifting heavy is the only thing that works, and if you do anything else you're probably wasting your time and you might be unwilling to listen to reason.

    I follow my own 'lift medium' program and it gets me the results I want. I tried lifting heavy for a few months, but honestly - even though I was stronger, my muscle endurance diminished and my legs started getting really tired on my long hikes and backpacking trips. My 'lift medium' plan means I do longer sets (three or four at 15-20 reps) at about 50-60% of my 1RM, rather than short sets of 6-8 at 80% of my 1RM. I do this 2, sometimes 3, times a week.

    It seems to get me the results that I personally am working toward. I'm glad other people have found programs they enjoy and believe to be effective.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Great article, thanks for sharing!! :smile:
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    Well, as a climber, I think weight lifters doing abstract, pointless, non-functional exercises are losers. I mean, so what if you can deadlift 300kg? When was the last time you had to pick up a bar weighing 300kg and then immediately drop it in the real world? Eh? EH? *runs*




    You know what, I commend anyone who is doing any exercise, sport or physical activity with an aim to improve their fitness and health. Take a bow. Pat yourself on the back. You deserve it - although, you're probably already experiencing to various degrees the only reward you need.
  • SlimSammy2012
    SlimSammy2012 Posts: 893
    We can only be bullied if we allow it, in my oppinion. block them, Ignore them, don't comment, etc. I had an idiot doing that to me on FB. What did I do? All I would do is type "hahahahahahahahaha!" everytime he made a stupid comment. This went on for about three days and guess what? He stopped commenting about anything! He left! LOL
  • TrishaGuy
    TrishaGuy Posts: 63
    I just do my own thing. Anyone who bullies someone else is showing a lack of maturity for sure and they just look foolish to me. I don't really care what anyone says ....I am 53 years old though and way past giving a darn about other peoples negative opinions. If you have something constructive to say I am all ears (old dog can learn new tricks) so help me out :) . After all we are all trying to improve our health and have strong bodies so lets just play nice :)
  • Pspetal
    Pspetal Posts: 426 Member
    Thanks for this article. She's so right! Everyone should do what they have fun doing. I love my Zumba classes for cardio and I love my strength training classes at the gym. If it were solely up to me, I wouldn't have the motivation to do all those weights and body weight exercise by myself. I can't afford a personal trainer either. So I'm glad I go to a strength training class where the instructor yells her head off and gets people to do all the exercises with her. And you know what? I'm actually starting to see the beginnings of my dream body! Weight loss, definition and endurance! So b***s to the 2 people I didn't even know at the gym who laughed at me for attending a strength training class when I should have been in the weight room with them.
  • AmyLRed
    AmyLRed Posts: 856 Member
    great article. thanks!
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    I see the judging all the time at the gym, and people don't seem to understand that everyone has a different exercise schedule.. sure you maybe doing deadlift and the guy might be doing bicep curls.. but how do you know he didn't deadlift yesterday? Everyone jumps to conclusions or makes fun of people cause they want to think they are doing the right thing..
  • iron_jj
    iron_jj Posts: 446 Member
    There's idiots everywhere! I'm glad people at my gym are awesome and very friendly and supportive. Everyone has their own pace, way of doing things.. I really cant understand stuff like that, very sad. :frown:
  • Pspetal
    Pspetal Posts: 426 Member
    I see the judging all the time at the gym, and people don't seem to understand that everyone has a different exercise schedule.. sure you maybe doing deadlift and the guy might be doing bicep curls.. but how do you know he didn't deadlift yesterday? Everyone jumps to conclusions or makes fun of people cause they want to think they are doing the right thing..

    So true. I heard someone the other day making fun of this one lady who regularly attends zumba classes. They were saying something about her being the cardio queen. I know for a fact that she does a lot of strength training. Just because they hadn't seen it, they jumped to a stupid conclusion. Any anyway, what someone else does at the gym is none of your business right? I just don't understand people that judge other people's exercises. How does it matter?
  • MisScorpio
    MisScorpio Posts: 39
    Funny, people judge me if i skip a work out but then when i do work out, they yell that i work out too hard.... i only worry about me
  • y0mbo
    y0mbo Posts: 43 Member
    It's still ok to make fun of Shake Weights, isn't it?!

    Yes, yes it is.
  • chuisle
    chuisle Posts: 1,052 Member
    Great article. She brings up a lot of good points. I find myself guilty of some of those attitudes...'look at that exercise, how silly' And I do remind myself that it's none of my business and that their goals may not be the same as mine etc.

    That said, I still find it frustrating that people want results and don't know how to get them, often because of misinformation from 'fitness experts'. If you are running on that treadmill for hours because you training for an endurance event, or like it, or get good results then go you. But if you are running for that treadmill for hours hoping to see muscular definition in your thighs then I get upset that you don't have the tools to do what you need to get what you want *in most optimum way*. I think that might be where some of the vitriol comes from - frustration with the industry and lack of good information.

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