Why no legs/squatting in commercial gyms?
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Michael190lbs wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »thesupremeforce wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »I do squats once a week and not very heavy along with five other leg exercises, my legs are out of proportion to my upper body and I could give a sh1t what other than one woman thinks about the way I look. I ride a bike 400+ miles a month, extremely limber, long time martial arts/ gymnastics and could put my foot in some ones chin really freaking quick.. So to the people who verbally comment on other people's legs in public- be careful you never know when you might set someone off and get your butt kicked
Wait. Did you just (kind of) threaten people for making comments about something in which you'd already claimed to not care what other people think about anyway?
Nope I could careless what people think but I'm not against smacking someone for VERBALLY saying something to my face especially if its to bully me.. Its the irish german red head temper.
If you'd just squat, you wouldn't have that problem to begin with.
Now that is funny I have to squat (which I already do) to stop a potential negative remark-- No I prefer to just pound on the person..
But you could care less at the same time?0 -
This is pointless_incogNEATo_ wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »thesupremeforce wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »I do squats once a week and not very heavy along with five other leg exercises, my legs are out of proportion to my upper body and I could give a sh1t what other than one woman thinks about the way I look. I ride a bike 400+ miles a month, extremely limber, long time martial arts/ gymnastics and could put my foot in some ones chin really freaking quick.. So to the people who verbally comment on other people's legs in public- be careful you never know when you might set someone off and get your butt kicked
Wait. Did you just (kind of) threaten people for making comments about something in which you'd already claimed to not care what other people think about anyway?
Nope I could careless what people think but I'm not against smacking someone for VERBALLY saying something to my face especially if its to bully me.. Its the irish german red head temper.
If you'd just squat, you wouldn't have that problem to begin with.
Now that is funny I have to squat (which I already do) to stop a potential negative remark-- No I prefer to just pound on the person..
But you could care less at the same time?
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I'd just like to say that I am Not a Fan of this persistent shorts-as-culottes fashion thing for men. Back in my day, the lads didn't skip leg day because the world actually could see above the knee when you wore swim trunks or basketball shorts.
And, the cultural oppression of the Female Gaze was glorious. Down with clown shorts. Up with snazzy Don Draper shorts and nice quads.
That is all.0 -
wuhhhh?
Who is "virtually NO men"?
Who are the men I am talking about?
The men who populate commercial gyms i've frequented around the country for over a decade now since i've been out of college. I see virtually no men squatting to depth where I would call the movement a full squat, even less to ATG where MOST people without injury consideration probably should be squatting.
Country where you are from, because not in my country..
edited to add: I see you are in the country of Chicago... maybe it is this...
Just jumping in because I think the OP has an extremely valid point. I had no idea what full depth on a squat was before I joined Crossfit. I don't think I was the worst at my old gym, but I was probably going about 3/4ths of the way down at best.
The real reason I left my gym is the upper body bros he describes were always hogging the squat racks to do shoulder shrugs.
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_incogNEATo_ wrote: »thesupremeforce wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »I do squats once a week and not very heavy along with five other leg exercises, my legs are out of proportion to my upper body and I could give a sh1t what other than one woman thinks about the way I look. I ride a bike 400+ miles a month, extremely limber, long time martial arts/ gymnastics and could put my foot in some ones chin really freaking quick.. So to the people who verbally comment on other people's legs in public- be careful you never know when you might set someone off and get your butt kicked
Wait. Did you just (kind of) threaten people for making comments about something in which you'd already claimed to not care what other people think about anyway?
singing "isn't it ironic"
"don't you think?"
I think Alanis Morrisette didn't know the definiton of the word "ironic"0 -
bostonwolf wrote: »wuhhhh?
Who is "virtually NO men"?
Who are the men I am talking about?
The men who populate commercial gyms i've frequented around the country for over a decade now since i've been out of college. I see virtually no men squatting to depth where I would call the movement a full squat, even less to ATG where MOST people without injury consideration probably should be squatting.
Country where you are from, because not in my country..
edited to add: I see you are in the country of Chicago... maybe it is this...
Just jumping in because I think the OP has an extremely valid point. I had no idea what full depth on a squat was before I joined Crossfit. I don't think I was the worst at my old gym, but I was probably going about 3/4ths of the way down at best.
The real reason I left my gym is the upper body bros he describes were always hogging the squat racks to do shoulder shrugs.
Don't get me started on hogging equipment when it comes to crossfitters coming in my gym
. It really makes me wish there were more 'boxes' where I live as much as I hate to say it. 0 -
enterdanger wrote: »Maybe it's cause Chicago has like the best food ever and they just can't squat cause they just ate an Ann Sather Cinnamon roll or at some yummy mexican at Frontera.
OMG! I thought I was the only one who liked Ann Sather! My wife says: "What? You want to go for Swedish food? Are you crazy?"
I live and work out in Sacramento, CA. I have been to many gyms. I agree with the OP. I would estimate that I see 10 guys benching or doing some kind of chest exercise to every 1 guy I see squat.
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As far as depth goes, I can speak from personal experience, it is fear (no one wants to fail at a rep), and ego (I can hit depth really well in my warmup sets and the first work set or two, but as the weight gets real heavy on my back, lack of confidence or that fear I mentioned earlier kicks in and I find myself wanting to stop before I hit parallel. I'm thinking of going a little lighter on the weight and switching to box squats for a while to make sure I start hitting proper depth on all my reps.
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Leg day is physically the most demanding and many out there don't like doing the challenging stuff. People are people, and choosing the easier option sometimes wins over. I have seen more than a few people with over sized bodies on matchstick legs and that's why I never skip leg day. Also, im lazy at heart myself and leg day is the quickest of my routines - I like that about leg day!0
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bostonwolf wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »thesupremeforce wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »I do squats once a week and not very heavy along with five other leg exercises, my legs are out of proportion to my upper body and I could give a sh1t what other than one woman thinks about the way I look. I ride a bike 400+ miles a month, extremely limber, long time martial arts/ gymnastics and could put my foot in some ones chin really freaking quick.. So to the people who verbally comment on other people's legs in public- be careful you never know when you might set someone off and get your butt kicked
Wait. Did you just (kind of) threaten people for making comments about something in which you'd already claimed to not care what other people think about anyway?
singing "isn't it ironic"
"don't you think?"
I think Alanis Morrisette didn't know the definiton of the word "ironic"
Which is somewhat...ironic. Also thank you for getting that song in my head...
To the OP: Stop frequenting Planet Fitness. Problem solved.0 -
Michael190lbs wrote: »
This is pointless_incogNEATo_ wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »thesupremeforce wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »I do squats once a week and not very heavy along with five other leg exercises, my legs are out of proportion to my upper body and I could give a sh1t what other than one woman thinks about the way I look. I ride a bike 400+ miles a month, extremely limber, long time martial arts/ gymnastics and could put my foot in some ones chin really freaking quick.. So to the people who verbally comment on other people's legs in public- be careful you never know when you might set someone off and get your butt kicked
Wait. Did you just (kind of) threaten people for making comments about something in which you'd already claimed to not care what other people think about anyway?
Nope I could careless what people think but I'm not against smacking someone for VERBALLY saying something to my face especially if its to bully me.. Its the irish german red head temper.
If you'd just squat, you wouldn't have that problem to begin with.
Now that is funny I have to squat (which I already do) to stop a potential negative remark-- No I prefer to just pound on the person..
But you could care less at the same time?
Yes, talking about beating people up for saying things you don't want to hear was pointless.0 -
thesupremeforce wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »
This is pointless_incogNEATo_ wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »thesupremeforce wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »I do squats once a week and not very heavy along with five other leg exercises, my legs are out of proportion to my upper body and I could give a sh1t what other than one woman thinks about the way I look. I ride a bike 400+ miles a month, extremely limber, long time martial arts/ gymnastics and could put my foot in some ones chin really freaking quick.. So to the people who verbally comment on other people's legs in public- be careful you never know when you might set someone off and get your butt kicked
Wait. Did you just (kind of) threaten people for making comments about something in which you'd already claimed to not care what other people think about anyway?
Nope I could careless what people think but I'm not against smacking someone for VERBALLY saying something to my face especially if its to bully me.. Its the irish german red head temper.
If you'd just squat, you wouldn't have that problem to begin with.
Now that is funny I have to squat (which I already do) to stop a potential negative remark-- No I prefer to just pound on the person..
But you could care less at the same time?
Yes, talking about beating people up for saying things you don't want to hear was pointless.
Nope. What is pointless is hounding people for not wanting to do something just because you think it's the BEST THING EVAHHHHHH. Some people don't like to squat. Get over it.
As for OP: Why do you care? I squat every time I go into the gym (okay, most every time). I always have my eyes peeled for when the rack is open. But I've never once noticed what another guy's squat looks like. EVER. If you gave me headshots of all the gym regulars, I wouldn't be able to accurately pick out one person I've seen in the rack.0 -
thesupremeforce wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »
This is pointless_incogNEATo_ wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »thesupremeforce wrote: »Michael190lbs wrote: »I do squats once a week and not very heavy along with five other leg exercises, my legs are out of proportion to my upper body and I could give a sh1t what other than one woman thinks about the way I look. I ride a bike 400+ miles a month, extremely limber, long time martial arts/ gymnastics and could put my foot in some ones chin really freaking quick.. So to the people who verbally comment on other people's legs in public- be careful you never know when you might set someone off and get your butt kicked
Wait. Did you just (kind of) threaten people for making comments about something in which you'd already claimed to not care what other people think about anyway?
Nope I could careless what people think but I'm not against smacking someone for VERBALLY saying something to my face especially if its to bully me.. Its the irish german red head temper.
If you'd just squat, you wouldn't have that problem to begin with.
Now that is funny I have to squat (which I already do) to stop a potential negative remark-- No I prefer to just pound on the person..
But you could care less at the same time?
Yes, talking about beating people up for saying things you don't want to hear was pointless.
Nope. What is pointless is hounding people for not wanting to do something just because you think it's the BEST THING EVAHHHHHH. Some people don't like to squat. Get over it.
As for OP: Why do you care? I squat every time I go into the gym (okay, most every time). I always have my eyes peeled for when the rack is open. But I've never once noticed what another guy's squat looks like. EVER. If you gave me headshots of all the gym regulars, I wouldn't be able to accurately pick out one person I've seen in the rack.
I never gave him a hard time for not squatting (nor have I given anyone a hard time for that). I don't care how people exercise. It's not my business.
I gave him a hard time for running around talking himself up as some randomly violent guy on the internet (over an issue he claimed not to care about anyway).0 -
As far as depth goes, I can speak from personal experience, it is fear (no one wants to fail at a rep), and ego (I can hit depth really well in my warmup sets and the first work set or two, but as the weight gets real heavy on my back, lack of confidence or that fear I mentioned earlier kicks in and I find myself wanting to stop before I hit parallel. I'm thinking of going a little lighter on the weight and switching to box squats for a while to make sure I start hitting proper depth on all my reps.
You know, I failed a squat for the first time a month or so ago. It was something that freaked me out, I didn't even know how that would work. But I was in the squat rack, and I had the bars at the appropriate height, and when I couldn't get up, I just let go and... everything was fine. It was such a non-event, I was actually glad it had happened so now I know it's really not the end of the world.0 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/view/one-workout-every_incogNEATo_ wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »I'm pretty new to weight lifting, but my small community gym has some guys that squat and others who do not.
Personally I don't squat or work legs because I have made a plan that strengthens the muscles I need to strengthen with a particular activity in mind. Sometime down the road my goals may change and I might work on strengthening legs at that time. Maybe your goals are different than mine, and your goals require you to squat. Great for you! That doesn't explain why I should squat, though.
Ok so what if I told you that squats and deadlifts can overall make you stronger. Would you want to add that to your goals?
Not right now. At some point, I might be interested in overall strength. For now, I'm focusing on a few specific muscles.
Do you mind telling what your training is focused around and what you're training specifically for. What is your goal?
I am trying to get in shape for rock climbing. My shoulders are my weakest area and I need to improve upper body strength to be able to pull myself upward and to hold for longer times.
These are the types of exercises that I'm trying to start with: http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/view/one-workout-every-climber-should-do
you know what's funny I think DB (who is here but not here) was doing tons of squatting for this very thing.0 -
thorsmom01 wrote: »jediguitarist wrote: »thorsmom01 wrote: »Wow . Where are you? I'm at the Jersey shore, and I see men working legs and squatting all the time.
I'm on the Jersey shore, as well. I rotate between 3 different locations within the same chain of commercial gym and see people doing full range or Rippetoe depth squats all the time. Granted, there will always be plenty of people that don't go full range.
On leg day, I go to the location with a squat rack, squat cage, and two smith machines and I rarely have to wait for the rack or cage. As soon as I finish, someone always jumps on it.
Same here. I go to tilton and they also have 3 locations in this area.I've been to each depending on where I'm working that day. I see full range squatting often down here.
Must have something to do with living on the shore. Of course I've seen some dudes wearing leggings and no top at the beach during tourist season.0 -
As far as depth goes, I can speak from personal experience, it is fear (no one wants to fail at a rep), and ego (I can hit depth really well in my warmup sets and the first work set or two, but as the weight gets real heavy on my back, lack of confidence or that fear I mentioned earlier kicks in and I find myself wanting to stop before I hit parallel. I'm thinking of going a little lighter on the weight and switching to box squats for a while to make sure I start hitting proper depth on all my reps.
You know, I failed a squat for the first time a month or so ago. It was something that freaked me out, I didn't even know how that would work. But I was in the squat rack, and I had the bars at the appropriate height, and when I couldn't get up, I just let go and... everything was fine. It was such a non-event, I was actually glad it had happened so now I know it's really not the end of the world.
There was one time I was Squatting in the Squat rack and I hit the safety bars as I was going down. It threw off my concentration. I had to remove some of the plates, re-rack the bar, and start over. You're right, it is no big deal, but it is an ego thing. I started using the power rack after that so I could put the safety bars lower.
I've noticed many times in an effort to get low, I find myself bending more at the waist to bring the bar down lower instead of breaking parallel. There is a point in the squat that is close to parallel that it feels like the muscles being used changes. I can feel it in my lighter sets because I feel comfortable getting that low in them. Lifting can be quite a mental thing. I injured my shoulder once while benching, and since then, I have confidence issues when I bench, as well.
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As far as depth goes, I can speak from personal experience, it is fear (no one wants to fail at a rep), and ego (I can hit depth really well in my warmup sets and the first work set or two, but as the weight gets real heavy on my back, lack of confidence or that fear I mentioned earlier kicks in and I find myself wanting to stop before I hit parallel. I'm thinking of going a little lighter on the weight and switching to box squats for a while to make sure I start hitting proper depth on all my reps.
You know, I failed a squat for the first time a month or so ago. It was something that freaked me out, I didn't even know how that would work. But I was in the squat rack, and I had the bars at the appropriate height, and when I couldn't get up, I just let go and... everything was fine. It was such a non-event, I was actually glad it had happened so now I know it's really not the end of the world.
There was one time I was Squatting in the Squat rack and I hit the safety bars as I was going down. It threw off my concentration. I had to remove some of the plates, re-rack the bar, and start over. You're right, it is no big deal, but it is an ego thing. I started using the power rack after that so I could put the safety bars lower.
I've noticed many times in an effort to get low, I find myself bending more at the waist to bring the bar down lower instead of breaking parallel. There is a point in the squat that is close to parallel that it feels like the muscles being used changes. I can feel it in my lighter sets because I feel comfortable getting that low in them. Lifting can be quite a mental thing. I injured my shoulder once while benching, and since then, I have confidence issues when I bench, as well.
It's totally mental. I have a mental block on deadlifts because I hurt myself doing one once. When I hit a certain weight, I'm suddenly terrified and I'm having a tough time getting past that weight.
And I also have the same thing with squats - just because failing once wasn't so bad doesn't mean I want to find out what happens if I go too low and my knee gives out or I lose my balance and fall backwards. After reading this thread I'm also a bit concerned I'm not getting deep enough, even though I know I'm trying.0 -
As far as depth goes, I can speak from personal experience, it is fear (no one wants to fail at a rep), and ego (I can hit depth really well in my warmup sets and the first work set or two, but as the weight gets real heavy on my back, lack of confidence or that fear I mentioned earlier kicks in and I find myself wanting to stop before I hit parallel. I'm thinking of going a little lighter on the weight and switching to box squats for a while to make sure I start hitting proper depth on all my reps.
You know, I failed a squat for the first time a month or so ago. It was something that freaked me out, I didn't even know how that would work. But I was in the squat rack, and I had the bars at the appropriate height, and when I couldn't get up, I just let go and... everything was fine. It was such a non-event, I was actually glad it had happened so now I know it's really not the end of the world.
There was one time I was Squatting in the Squat rack and I hit the safety bars as I was going down. It threw off my concentration. I had to remove some of the plates, re-rack the bar, and start over. You're right, it is no big deal, but it is an ego thing. I started using the power rack after that so I could put the safety bars lower.
I've noticed many times in an effort to get low, I find myself bending more at the waist to bring the bar down lower instead of breaking parallel. There is a point in the squat that is close to parallel that it feels like the muscles being used changes. I can feel it in my lighter sets because I feel comfortable getting that low in them. Lifting can be quite a mental thing. I injured my shoulder once while benching, and since then, I have confidence issues when I bench, as well.
It's totally mental. I have a mental block on deadlifts because I hurt myself doing one once. When I hit a certain weight, I'm suddenly terrified and I'm having a tough time getting past that weight.
And I also have the same thing with squats - just because failing once wasn't so bad doesn't mean I want to find out what happens if I go too low and my knee gives out or I lose my balance and fall backwards. After reading this thread I'm also a bit concerned I'm not getting deep enough, even though I know I'm trying.
I used to go ATG, but I could never do a lot of weight because I would lose my balance. It turns out my form was way off, and my knees started getting really sore. I had a physical therapist help me with my knee problem and he also helped me work out my issue with my form. I just can't seem to go to where my hamstrings hit my calves anymore like I used to. I also have to bend down a lot at work. My lower back would get sore, so I started squatting down, instead. I believe it is helping with my form, but If I don't flair my knees out, they get sore. If I do, I can feel it in my hips.
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Michael190lbs wrote: »I do squats once a week and not very heavy along with five other leg exercises, my legs are out of proportion to my upper body and I could give a sh1t what other than one woman thinks about the way I look. I ride a bike 400+ miles a month, extremely limber, long time martial arts/ gymnastics and could put my foot in some ones chin really freaking quick.. So to the people who verbally comment on other people's legs in public- be careful you never know when you might set someone off and get your butt kicked
Well, someone brought up aesthetics, and that squatting wasn't helpful for that because no one sees legs. So several people responded that, yes, it does make a difference for aesthetics (at least in our point of view). And yes, I mentioned one person's legs as an example because it illustrated my point, but he certainly wouldn't be remotely identifiable to anyone, so I figured it wouldn't be an issue.
I'm glad you are happy with how you look. And congrats on the training and flexibility to get a kick that high. Now you can go back to not caring about our conversation here...0
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