To some extent, we are all guilty of goofing off in the gym. Maybe we’re just not in the zone, not “feeling it,” or have had a stressful and distracted day, and just need to go through the motions to get it over with. We all have had those days.

But there is a certain segment of the gym population who take it about ten steps further, and treat the gym like their home away from home. They act like it’s time to hang out, chill with their friends, and chit-chat. Below are several dumb habits you can observe in most any gym. Ask yourself if you’re guilty of any of these, and read on for some simple fixes.

The Pretend Superman

Lifting heavy is a must to attain goals, reach objectives, and even to compete, for some. It’s often a prescribed practice to stretch your capabilities just past what you think you can do. Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone, as the old saying goes. But how far is too far? I see a whole lot of lifters attempting things they shouldn’t even touch. For them, injury is a certainty, not just a possibility. If you overreach your overreach, even if you don’t get hurt, you aren’t going to make progress like you should.

The remedy: Dial it back a little. Make a deal with yourself. Decrease the weight by 10 or 20% and focus solely on form and function. Clean up any breaks in technique and get back to feeling each lift the way it was meant to be. Aim for perfection on every rep. As for that guy you know is about to drop the bar on his throat; if it’s a dangerous situation, don’t just sit back and laugh to yourself. Help them. Use your knowledge to lead them down the right road.

The Cell Phone Addict

Unfortunately, phones in the gym are a part of the scenery now. Call me old-fashioned, but I remember a time before cell phones, when you just trained in the gym. No selfies, and no scrolling. Now, picking up their phone seems to be everyone’s accessory lift between every set. You’d think everyone had a pregnant wife about to go into labor any minute, with how often they check their phone.

The remedy: The short answer here is to simply leave your phone at home, in your vehicle, or in a locker. The world will not blow up if you haven’t checked your phone for an hour or two. If you do manage to suppress your addiction for that hour, you’ll experience more focus during training. And who knows, you might a human for once in the gym.

The Expert Tracker

There is now literally an app for everything. They’ve become our little helper elves, enabling us to do amazing things with our lives. Or enabling us to play games and waste time. Now, there are several gym-appropriate apps that have merit when used correctly and appropriately. But let’s face it, do you really need to track every single, rep, set, pound, carb, protein, fat, step, heartbeat, belch, hours spent Netflix-and-chilling, times you said the word “literally,” or sighed? Tracking major training variables: great. Tracking every nuance of life: too much! Stop it.

The remedy: One thing many lifters do not realize is that meticulous tracking takes time away from training. You lose pace in the workout because you’re obsessed with recording every move. Put the phone away, train hard, and then input all of your data later. You’ll be surprised at how your workouts may evolve once you break free from the uber-strict scheduling and programming you’ve followed like a robot all those months.

The Wallflower

This is for both the newbie and the experienced lifter in every gym. We’ve all seen the look on the face of the classic intimidate newcomer at the gym, especially around this time of year. They shuffle around and avoid eye contact, scared to get too involved. They are shy, new to the atmosphere, and look downright lost. They tend to observe from the sides of the room, without any real plan of action, much less actionable commitment. Normally, the regular members like to shake their heads and laugh, as they relegate the newbie to taking up space and nothing else.

The remedy: If you’re the newbie, don’t be afraid. No one will bite you. It isn’t the jungle where everyone has to mark their territory. You have every right to be there and train just like the juiced-up meathead that has a look on his face like someone just ran over his hamster. If you’re the seasoned gym stud, it’s your responsibility to help. If you think you know a lot about training, then pass it on in a polite, tactful way to those newbies. Be a solution and a contributor, instead of a roadblock.

The Campaigning Politician

As with anything in life, things can go too far. Helping others is a great trait, but being a know-it-all is quite another. Fitness, training, nutrition, and all subtopics in between are ever-changing and evolving subjects. It seems like new research surfaces daily on methods, results, and techniques. Acting like a politician at a debate won’t boost your trustworthiness as a knowledgeable person who can be relied upon for help.

The remedy: Take the perspective of helping others, versus making yourself look good. The goal should be to pass on your knowledge, help where you can, and then get honest feedback from the person you’re trying to help. It isn’t a green light to brag, boast, and try to impress everyone in the gym. They’ll get more out of the experience (and so will you) if you create a two-way road of communication and stay humble.

The Exercise Extrovert

Have you seen this man? That guy over by the pull up/dip station doing a human flag? Or how about the guy getting ready to bench press a mountain, flanked by three (yes, three) spotters? Or how about the ultimate functional fitness master, who overhead squats, throws around a kettlebell, and then runs over to sprint on the treadmill, while staking his claim on all three stations? Point is, don’t be flamboyant just to impress.

The remedy: Don’t be that guy, but also don’t make enemies. If you see someone going crazy in the gym only for recognition or to impress others with their incredible superhero abilities, then let them be and move on with your workout. As long as they aren’t going to hurt themselves or someone around them, they have every right to act like a clown.

The Social Club With Barbells

Believe it or not, there are many lifters who do not know the difference between a gym and a bar (the kind where they serve drinks). They are there to scope out the hotties and catch up with the bros. Additionally, they use this time to socialize, either on the phone or in person. Whether you’re the type who’s guilty of this mindset, or just one who witnesses these train wrecks, they belong elsewhere.

The remedy: It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you sit on, it’s important to cultivate an atmosphere of respect and camaraderie. This may come as a shock, but most women go to the gym to train, not to meet guys. A word or two between sets or before or after training is fine—you don’t want to be Mr. Serious all the time—but know when to say when. Be friendly, but respectful.

Learn and Practice Gym Etiquette

This all isn’t to say that you need to become a hermit and keep completely to yourself. The gym should be a community. We should help each other, talk training and nutrition, and be generally friendly to each other, regardless of age, experience, sex, or training style. Treat the gym as if all the members are your roommates. We all pay rent, should be respectful to each other, and get along. Cultivate a helpful atmosphere to breed mutual success.

Just getting into this gym life?

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I believe the main reason people fail is because they do not feel welcome. Whether it is a gym or a diet group, they don’t fit in, and the gym never becomes a habit.

Remember When You Were a Beginner

My first gym experience was so amazing that I still enjoy lifting fifteen years later. The gym didn’t have the best equipment, and if five people were there, it was a crowded day. But it had the most powerful thing a gym can have: I felt welcome.

Mark and Al were the gym owners, and they both looked like they could be Justin Bieber’s bodyguards. I could have easily been intimidated, lasted one day, and never come back. But right from the start I could tell they genuinely cared about seeing me succeed. When I was trying to put the trap bar over my head, they would kindly come over and suggest it may be better lifting it from the floor. When I started to see results, they would notice how much I was changing.

Sadly, too many people have the opposite experience.

Shaming Is a Socially Learned Behavior

Let’s say an overweight woman walks into a gym. She can tell by looking at the faces of most of the regulars that she isn’t welcome, and she probably feels this is due to her weight. The first thing she does is bolt for the cardio machine. She does her thirty minutes and gets out quickly. Diet pills and unethical fat-loss programs also rely on this vulnerability to make sales.

“If someone shows up in a gym, they want to get better. Unfortunately, 98 percent of the time this doesn’t happen.“

And the sad thing is, it doesn’t just happen with adults at the gym. A study in New Zealand showed that toddlers as young as 32 months displayed anti-fat prejudice.¹ The mother’s attitude toward obese people was a strong predictor of how the toddler reacted. This shows us what we already knew in older children and adults: fat shaming is a socially learned behavior.

Be a Champion of Change

Overweight people know they are being judged, whether it is direct or not. A gym is simply a more concentrated setting for this to happen. But we can change this. Here’s how:

• Pay It Forward: When you see someone who looks lost, help them instead of acting annoyed or ignoring them. Do it in a way that lets them know that you were the same when you started, and it won’t take long to start learning some of the basics. Remember the people who helped you.
• Relate to Others: When someone asks you what diet you are currently on, don’t write down a list of every lean protein and broccoli. Explain that it takes a while to get it all right but when you started, there were just a few things you focused on. You must relate your reply to their current situation to make a difference.
• Be a Teacher: If you see someone go directly for the cardio machines day in and day out, spark a conversation. Tell them that cardio is great, but for you, the results really came when you learned how to lift. Teach them, instead of posting snarky comments on Facebook.

Our Entire Culture Must Shift

None of this is ground-breaking or complicated, but it’s easy to forget. If someone shows up in a gym, they want to get better. Unfortunately, 98 percent of the time this doesn’t happen.

Our entire culture has to shift from shaming to welcoming. Even if that person you encouraged or said hello to quits in a week, he or she still had a positive experience. Maybe on their third try it will become a habit. We have to do everything in our power to give those around us the opportunity to succeed.

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• Gym-timidation: Just Say No
• Relax and Enjoy the Ride: Advice for the New and Passionate Athlete
• 8 Perspectives on Gender in the Gym
• New on Breaking Muscle Right Now

References

1. T Ruffman, KS. O’Brien, M Taumoepeau, JD Latner, and JA Hunter. “Toddlers’ Bias to Look at Average versus Obese Figures Relates to Maternal Anti-fat Prejudice.” Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 142 (2015): 195-202.

Photo courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography.

The post A Gym Culture Shift: Stop Shaming and Start Welcoming appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Anyhow, here’s my list of what drives me nuts about some of you at the gym:

I’d just as soon that some of you not you come to my gym. Between those of you who aren’t friendly and those of you who smell like you bathed in a vat of cologne, I’ll probably end up with a fairly small gym membership by the time I’m done compiling this list of gym no-no’s and deal breakers. Then again, it will be a pretty sweet gym even if my deal breakers only allow for a few of you to join. Just sayin’.

Anyhow, here’s my list of what drives me nuts about some of you at the gym:

1. You leave your stuff lying all over the place.

I got a late start in fitness. I didn’t get serious about working out until college. While I was a late bloomer, I am grateful for what I did learn back then. One of the biggest takeaways from my start in and around the gym was the concept of discipline. At my university, the man who ran the weight room ran a very tight ship. He had an office with a big window overlooking the weight room and he watched it like a hawk. If you left the weight rack with plates still on the bar, even for a second to get a sip of water, he’d be out of that office yelling at you to put your weights away.

That little weight room Nazi was harsh, but it reinforced in me that self-discipline starts with your environment. If you leave your towels lying on the floor and your weights on the rack, then you don’t have respect for your environment (or for yourself really). So, I have some choice words for you people – suck it up, have some respect, and put your sh*t away.

2. You wear cologne or perfume at the gym.

What is this, Night at the Roxbury? Is this a gym or a nightclub? I know, sometimes there are pretty blurry lines with that question. Seriously though, let’s say for argument’s sake that you’re at the gym literally to pick up chicks (or dudes), do you think lathering up with tons of cologne or perfume makes you more attractive to a prospective mate? Here‘s a tip – if you walk off an elevator and that elevator still smells like you after you’ve left it, then you are wearing way too much cologne (or perfume).

Here’s an idea, it’s a gym – you don’t need to wear any cologne. If I had to choose between the gym where I worked out in Austria during my junior year of college (where it smelled like B.O.) and one that smells like tons of your cologne, I’d take the smelly Austrian B.O. gym. It’s a gym, for Pete’s sake.

3. You run on the treadmill when it’s sunny out.

I so don’t get this one. Just stop running on the treadmill when it’s nice out. Growing up, my aunt Gail used to always yell at us to go play outside. We lived in Central Oregon (the part of the state where it’s sunny) and she really did have a point to us getting outside to go enjoy it. I agree Aunt Gail, video games can wait when the sun is gloriously shining. In the same vein, running indoors on the treadmill when it’s nice out is like skiing on an indoor skiing ramp on a powder day. Just stop it. Go outside, people.

4. You read trashy gossip magazines while you “work out.”

The biggest benefit as far as I can see to exercising is to connect with your body, not distract yourself from it. Put down the Us Weekly magazineand pay attention to your breath and how your body feels while you exercise. If you need the distraction because you hate working out, then here’s an idea – quit. Find something physically oriented that you actually like to do so you can get you present with yourself. Try ballroom dancing, hiking, tennis, Ping-Pong, or anything. Find something you like to do physically and go do it.

Life is too short to do things (by choice) that you hate. We have to do enough crap that we hate already, so do yourself a favor and save the People magazine for the beach. If you still disagree, at least pick up a decent book and learn something while you work out.

5. You don’t make eye contact or say hello.

Look, I am an introvert. I don’t like big crowds of people or the energy of big events. But damnit, when someone says hello to me and smiles, you bet your ass I return the favor. It’s called karma, you non-smiling, non-friendly, non-saying-hello people. A smile might just make someone’s day, or turn someone else’s around. I hope you non-smilers and non-hello types trip and fall on the way to your car. Turn that frown upside down, suck it up, and smile.

6. You don’t understand the concept of working in.

Here’s the thing, people, it’s not your gym. It’s our gym. Way back in pre-school we all (supposedly) learned that getting along means we have to share and that includes you, camp-out-on-the-lat-pulldown-machine guy. When you see someone’s lurking in your vicinity, manners suggest that you make eye contact, smile, and then say, “Would you like to work in?” That’s the decorum. Stop monopolizing and hoarding things. You want a private gym? Go build one in your house. Otherwise, that guy waiting for the bench press has as much right to it as you do. Gotta share people.

7. You wear the exact same outfit every time you work out.

What is this, the Flintstones or Charlie Brown where every character wears the same clothes for eternity? You can afford a gym membership, but you have exactly one workout outfit. What is that? Surely, you wash your gym clothes – after every workout, right? Dude, go to Amazon and get some dryfit shirts, like four of them, one for each workout of the week.

8. You ride the elliptical a thousand miles an hour with no resistance.

For cryin’ out loud, the resistance is there for a reason. Plus, you look ridiculous spinning your legs at like 150rpms. Chill out a bit and crank up the resistance there, Sally.

9. You hang out in the locker room – a lot.

In my twenties, I worked out at a pretty swanky club in Portland. There was this dude always in the showers, who we nicknamed “Redbeard,” because, well, he had a red beard. The thing is, I saw Redbeard hundreds of times in my twenties, always in the shower or the sauna. Never once did I see him in the weight room. It was weird and somewhat-to-very creepy.

People, you should be spending approximately a minimum of three-quarters of your time at the club actually exercising. I think allotting one quarter of your time to changing, using the sauna, and taking a shower is actually a fairly generous ratio. Stop hanging out in the locker room and get your exercise on. Apparently Redbeard got run from that club not after I left for Seattle. His picture is probably on a wanted poster somewhere. Look out.

10. You stretch like you’re on crack.

Listen, people, the memo is out. Ballistic stretching is so 1950. In 2013 we actually know how to stretch. So why are you still hell bent on bouncing while you stretch? Stop stretching like a jackass and do your body some good with real beneficial stretching and maintenance.

Okay, hopefully I offended some of you, made others laugh, and maybe even evoked the will for some of you to perhaps change and buy a new workout shirt or clean up after yourselves. Regardless, some day, I’ll have my own gym and it will be sparkling clean with nice people who smile and don’t smell like cologne. You are all invited, so long as…

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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