Proper Gym Etiquette (OC)

This is kinda the etiquette that you'll find common at places like Planet Fitness. I agree with almost everything, but there's a few things that bother me. Everyone should feel free to lift as much as they want regardless of who is watching, whether you're benching the bar or 4 plates. Grunting may not be crucial to others, but it's sorta unfair to say that it doesn't add anything to the lift. If you're that bothered about someone grunting while pushing themselves hard, you should probably work out at home 'cause no one should feel "shamed" by someone else's success. And if you ever see someone doing a lift with terrible form or in a fashion that will only hurt them, you should feel obligated to let them know. When I started lifting I began experimenting with some different kinds of deadlifts. Someone was nice enough to come by and tell me that my form was off and I was putting all of the strain on my lower back. He didn't know me, but I was happy to take advice that would save me in the long run.

basically thats right...
but i would like to give my little feedback to three points:
1) with getting naked i see it the other way round. if you were in the military you showered with others naked too. dont be such a sissy when it comes to the human body.
2) often beginners appreciate it if you help them a bit. sure, there are jerks too. but some really dont know better and adapt fast if you give them tips or explain how things should be done
3) in a lot of gyms i or people i know were, there was quite a lot of flirting going on... of course you shouldnt annoy the girls. but its not like an absolute no go to get a flirt going on there...

Thanks for that clarification, I completely agree with that. some of these are offensive only to the casual gym goer who pays for the membership and goes once a week. The "no lunks" idea that gym inclusiveness means being antisocial and quiet is kind of annoying, grunting feels good, and when you are trying to go up in weight , having a friend encouraging you is motivational. Also if someone is doing something improperly to the point where it may be dangerous to their health you should tell them, most gyms have trainers that can help on form and settle any disputes that may arise anyway.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, a lot of these people are assholes who are unaware of the displeasure they are causing others. Keep up the good work!

P.S I do disagree with the one about giving others tips. They can be helpful and sometimes vital.

lifting is a total waste of time and effort, and unless you're a body builder I don't know why people would bother.

Because being healthy, attractive, and physically capable isn't worth the trouble?

There are far better methods for being healthy and attractive than lifting weights.
In fact, lifting weights doesn't really make you any more healthy.

because some people like to do things outside.. and play sports.. or be able to defend themselves... if you think that lifting weights in no way makes you healthier you have lost your mind

If you think lifting weights helps you defend yourself in a practical way, you're out of your mind.

so if somebody physically attacks you being stronger is not a benefit..

Not a noticeable one.
Just doing basic physical activity will give you enough strength in a fight to put fighting techniques to use if you learn them.

For being able to protect yourself and getting stronger, taking some sort of fighting class is much better.

> lifting weights is too much time and effort to be healthy
> take fighting/defense courses, because that takes no time and effort

what? I said it's not worth the time and effort, because simply gaining muscle doesn't make you any more healthy

I was talking about the retards that go to a gym just to lift weights and don't do cardio or other workouts

dependent on how you work your routine and if you are going natural, weightlifting gives you a lot of benefits including increased heart health and stress relief

I'm not saying that lifting is the healthiest method, but it's cardiovascular activity whether you like it or not. Most people who work out avidly also avoid negative health habits while adopting positive ones (better sleep schedule, eating healthier). Also, I'm not really sure what qualifies as an attractive body to you, but a tight and chiseled body is much appreciated than a lardball or a sack of bones. It shows dedication and motivation.

Same. Just got a membership now that most resolutioners are gone. Half the time I have no idea what the fuck anything does so I wait for someone else to use it. Or feel like a retard reading the pictures on the guided machines.

Yeah I don't have friends, let alone friends to lift with, so I just kinda adapt...

Most if not all gyms have professional trainers who you can ask how to use machines. The worst part about random people offering you advice is that you have no idea how safe or reliable it really is.

i find this comment horribly depressing :|

Nah. I mean I have a chemical imbalance causing anxiety and depression (inb4 red thumbs hurr durr claiming mental problems) and I'm looking towards lifting because a lot of people say it helps.

it definitely does help a lot of people. best of luck to you, if you can build yourself up to do it maybe try reaching out to somebody there to help you learn the basics, some people are shitheads but if you're really trying I always do what I can to help

I try not to bother other people minding their own business. I usually google shit I don't understand when I get home.

I'm with you on that one. I rather lift alone and I'm lucky that my place of employment has a gym in the plant. I usually go at times where no one is around just so I can be alone and do my work out at my pace.

fair enough, just better to get an idea of what you're doing and why you're doing it at the time rather than getting hurt. your best bet is to do a little research on the main muscle groups you're trying to improve and form yourself a workout based on those needs

Welp I'm assuming you lift, so I'm hoping you can help me out here.

Basically advice on what I should work on/workouts I should do? Also the areas circled in red (no idea what the fuck those are called), how can I tone/do something with them? They're kinda just... there?

I'm also pretty skinny, like, my ribs stick out grossly whenever I bench. What ways would you suggest to bulk up and fill out certain areas to make it look less starved? (I have a really fast metabolism. I can eat garbage all day long and not gain a pound). What would you suggest eating to help?

I'm not looking to become super-hulk jesus christ lift4days, just more comfortable/ fit.

If you can help, much appreciated. If not, no biggie!
(pardon the paleness, we can't fix that, I'm a ginger)

as far as the ribs sticking out when you bench, a lot of times thats tough shit, its the way your body is built. I'm 6'5 300lbs and my ribs stick out when I'm benching. can't do anything to fix your bone structure. the biggest thing you need to focus on right now is establishing a routine and learning what you can about the way certain muscle groups interact with each other. say if you lift monday-friday each day has an assigned task - monday upper body tuesday lower wednesday core thursday alternative upper friday alternate lower. from a nutritional standpoint, you don't need to go in to GNC and wipe out the whole store. since your metabolism is crazy fast just to start out I'd recommend some basic minimal additive whey protein. Try to start making yourself eat more meals but smaller meals throughout the day. at the end of the day we are still animals and designed to graze throughout the way rather than gorge ourselves three times a day. things that are readily available to add to your diet for gains are eggs, lean meats, fish, peanuts, almonds, peanut butter, make sure you keep a healthy mix of vegatables and fruits too or all the protein will stop your ass up

the areas circled are called the obliques, you can and should work them with any core workout. typically lifts and movements that cause you to torque your upper body are beneficial here. medicine ball twists, directional situps, etc. another thing you can do to work those (*note, you will look like a shithead) is hold a dumbell in each hand, doesnt need to be too heavy, and essentially move your torso back and forth so that the weights are going up and down without using your arms, simply use your core by dipping one shoulder at a time, the weights should be moving up and down roughly 6-12" depending on arm length, not over exaggerated motions

I'm a nutrition science major at UGA and a fit person. For a beginner, it doesn't really matter that much. The harder you work, the better your results. Bodybuilding.com has plenty of free workouts and advice. (I would avoid any type of supplementation, including protein. For 99.9% of the population it's unnecessary.) do some research on the matter.

Much appreciated! Forming a workout routine now to work out all areas, thanks!

there's doing something WRONG and potentially dangerous , and just doing something not that person's way

I gotta agree here, big muscly dude came up to me when i was benching once and showed me the proper way to do it. feels more natural now and i'm actually gonna improve more. Some people may be dicks about it but i sure as heck appreciated it.

Is that handsome Squidward's dance??

i agree. have a thumb

Agreed. Some guy helped me do rows and it probably saved my friends shoulder.

If you don't want to injure yourself, ASK someone before you use it. Take a 20-30 min introduction course if necessary, almost all gyms offer this service and you'll probably learn more than a few useful tips

I know, but people are extremely stubborn and always think they are right. I've seen so much bad form in my gym. One guy was doing incline presses and put 225 on the bar and went down not even half way. The guy that was spotting him asked him what the hell he was doing and I could clearly see that the guy got offended and thought he was right. This content is showing you what to and not to do in the gym to prevent yourself from looking like an asshole, no matter if are in the right or wrong.

Yeah, it sucks when you just want to help someone out and they pull that crap. I workout at on a Air Force Base so everyone there has to have a good attitude or we get in trouble. They are on your ass if you forget to wipe your seat, at least for us little airmen, lol

"Have fun in Spins class!"


"I don't need to do situps! the PT test is CRUNCHES"

"I'm totally fit, I got an 80 on my PT test"

I'm proud of you, son

Yeah, I feel bad for those who don't have that much motivation. The day after New Years I saw a mother and her overweight son come in and it was clear they didn't know what they were doing. I never saw them again and the down payment in that gym can be up to 200 dollars.

This video made me lose all sympathy for fatties.

I wish that was true. gym here is still a shitshow of people with no idea what the hell they're doing

Except making fun of stupid people in the gym is different than confronting someone for having bad form in the gym and annoying them...like my content clearly said.

making fun of "stupid people at the gym" on the internet....instead of confronting them in person (ex helping them out with form, which, is more constructive than posting a comp).

>be me
>see bottom of this post
>Get the same Idea as you
>Scroll down in comments to make sure someone hasn't done it yet
>allislostmoment.png
>mfw

I was actually surprised someone didn't do it before me. But one day, your time will come.

Yeah, you're lucky. Also, When that day comes, it will be proud.

Protip: This content is bound to be reposted. Why wouldn't a comment?

that reminds me of that scene in spongebob
PHOTOSYNTHESISSSS

Oh, i forgot to add this to my rage comment above. I involuntarily grunt all the time and dont give a shit if others do it too.

tinyurl.com/l7sfjms Here is an article on how grunting can actually improve your performance. I also found grunting while climbing to actually help me.

agreed. sometimes i have my headphones on so icant really how loud im grunting, sometimes its even involuntary.

"LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME IM LIFTING HEAVY LISTEN CANT YOU HEAR ME GRUNTING LOL SO HEAVY IM SO STONG LOOK AT ME."

Only attention seeking faggots grunt. A little involuntary "ah!", sure but "OOOAAHH!" like some cunts do is totally unnecessary, forced, and attention seeking.

sometimes it just kinda comes out on a 1RM

Most gyms have trainers that can show you all that and point out mistakes. Also we live in age of internet. Use it. That's how I learnt about most exercises.

if you're serious about going to the gym you'll do some research

Because people can be asses about being correctly, like was said.

If you really want to learn proper gym etiquette, lift with a friend or trainer.

Introduction classes. Usually around 30 mins and the staff teach you how to use everything in the gym. You wouldn't drive a car / use a welding torch / go parachuting without being taught, why should the gym equipment be any different.

Best way is to get friends to help you out or read up on lifting.

^^ he's right, ya know.

You should never drop rubber weights, though. They can bounce into someone if they're on a bar and break bones/damage things.
Seen it go through a glass door once and somebody's leg another time.

That's not to be confused with the bumper plates that look like this. I've seen these dropped a million times without accident.

www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Lifts/Dropping_weights.html

Many oly lifters that are actual oly lifters simply put the weight on their hips and guide the weight down. Spreading false info is my biggest pet peeve in regards to weightlifting and you are managing to be one of the most wrong individuals yet.

Thumbing down the person talking to you? What are you, 12? How about you actually have a rebuttal next time before acting like other people agree with you. It's actually sign of well trained athletes and oly lifters to control their weight down. Make sure you go spread "Bruh, that's 135 right there! Don't control that weight, you have to slam it down man. Listen to me, my max is 200"

I'll let you feel a little special for a while.

1. I know for a fact I'm stronger than you unless you can bench twice your bodyweight, squat three times your weight, and deadlift 3.5 times your weight. Don't tell me what I do in the gym as I haven't curled in a gym since 2012. I'm still right, just because it is accepted at the gym doesn't mean you should be throwing weights around. Even when you are oly lifting, you shouldn't throw weight down unless you are reaching up into heavy weights, which I guarantee you that you're that idiot who cleans only 185 and throws it down because it's "bad" for you. Guess what? People hang clean and you hold the weight the entire time and it's one of the best lifts you can do. I rep 225 on hang cleans without dropping it so don't tell me you should be throwing down anything under 250. Once more, it destroys the equipment even if they have rubber mats and plates, so it's still an asshole move and there is still no reason you should totally let go of your weight.

2. I've explained this already. It's not people changing that piss people off, it's old men that do nothing but come to the sauna and sit in there naked and will literally have entire conversations while standing their nude for almost half an hour. I don't like having to avoid nude people chatting it up in the locker room, especially when they are old and fat. It's common courtesy to put on at least briefs or wrap a towel around you. No, these guys sit on the bench butt ass naked smearing their ass juices on the bench.

3. No, it's not perfectly legitimate. It's a squat rack and people want to squat, not watch you do some dumbass accessory lift in it. Quit wasting people's time and find another location to do your accessory lifts.

4. Grunting is not part of lifting. I've never grunted in my lift and I bench 120 pounds over my bodyweight. Don't bring in your dumbass ," Bruh, it's broscience to scream while lifting. It helps you. Nah, it's just like breathing out but you have to make a lot of noise".

Go do a max clean, catch all the weight without dropping the bar, post a video. Or shut up, I can guarantee it won't work for you or you will have to drop to. Watch an olympic event, they ALLLL drop the weight.. but they are obviously wrong because you are the real expert.

No, they're not wrong. They have special bars specifically for that and they're not in a public gym, hence proper gym etiquette. You're telling me you're too weak to hold up your clean?

So when you said there is never a time to drop the weight?? Also no I can't catch my clean and JERK* if you can you obviously don't have a strong one. And as i stated you can't say "these are gym rules" they may apply to your gym, but my football gym has bumper plates and platforms meant for people who can lift big weight, and drop it so you don't end up with a slipped disk.

There isn't a time you should completely drop the weight unless you are involved in competitions or on a competition level, which is like .1% of the people in the gym and that is even if your gym allows it. This comp is clearly for people who want to get into lifting or who are lifting. Most of them probably don't even know how to power clean or even deadlift. I linked you an article to read that shows you why it is accepted now. Also, you shouldn't 1RM more than three times in the year so quit using oly lifters going for their 1RM or those who are in a private gym. I also love how you make content about lifting and for some reason you have hundreds of kids coming out of the waterworks that act as if they can squat 600 or bench 450. Would love to watch your 205 clean sometime.

training heavy and catching your weight will get you injured, you're wrong, deal with it.

Except I'm not wrong. You drop your weight after hang cleaning one rep? You drop your weight after doing a single upright row? You drop your weight after a single OHP? There is absolutely no way you can't control weight under your max.

acting like an asshole when someone disagrees with you isn't helping your case here.

Because I've seen around twenty kids in here trying to give advice to new lifters when they don't know what they're talking about.

What makes you so special? mikefj is completely right in the fact that rules differ from gym to gym, and I've seen plenty of people drop the bar when they needed to. Its completely understandable in most cases.

The fact that I have been lifting for over seven years, have had numerous personal trainers, numerous weightlifting coaches, and worked out with someone who competed for ten years. I'm not debating that rules differ from gym to gym, I'm simply discussing etiquette. They allow yelling at my gym, but that doesn't make it not annoying.

Maybe you're just a tad bit too irritable then? All I'm saying is, I'm sure that a lot of these other guys have probably been lifting for years as well, but they aren't listing their maxes every time you reply to them.

I haven't listed my maxes once. I'm pissed off that some kids have the audacity to say you should drop weights because guys who are jerking 300+ pounds are doing it. Might as well tell new lifters that you can round your back on deadlifts because top end lifters do it when they are trying to get their 1RM. Sure, dropping the weight IS the right thing to do if you are competing, but I can promise you maybe two or three guys/females on here have competed and the rest think they are certified trainers due to them lifting for a few months and looking up a few youtube videos.

Some people grunt in everything they do, everytime I lift, I grunt, its just natural. I don't go out of my way ot make it heard, but there isn't a day where I go and lift that I won't grunt. Hell, I do it lifting pretty much anything from the ground.

Exactly!

What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? Ill have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and Ive been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and Im the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. Youre fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and thats just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little clever comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldnt, you didnt, and now youre paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. Youre fucking dead, kiddo.

First you say you can bench twice your body weight. Then you say you can bench 120 pounds over your body weight. Only way that both of these statements would be correct is if you weighed 120 pounds. What are you, a girl? Go grow a pair ya pussy

I can bench 1000 pounds, holy shit, do you even lift phaget?

Are you actually trying to get thumbed down or what?

*standing there

You can't deadlift at planet fitness?!

You make a single sound of weights hitting the floor and they kick you out. Half of them don't even have barbells.

That's shit.

i agree some of these seem like they are just preferences that op has, i also kinda disagree with the squat rack one, although you shouldn't use it for shit that really doesn't need it for, there are some exercises that are much easier and safer in a squat rack.

There should've been an asterisk there at that one.

I knew a guy who would grunt super loudly while curling like 30 pound dumbells. Our gym was probably like 4x7 meters or something. It wasn't that big and I had to sit there and listen to this guy curl everyday I went to the gym.

If this guy was deadlifting like 4 plate and he was just starting it, sure, grunt loud because that'll help out probably, but not when you are doing the most negligible work out ever.

30 pound
4x7 meters
what country are you from?

Haha, canada, but I live in a very small town.
We have a bunch of cardio shit outside of the weight room.

This is a gym for the entire town.

Don't you lift in metric then?

Nope, I only know my weight in pounds. I bench in pounds and such. The weights have both Lbs. and Kgs. on them though.

Canada has this weird mixture of Metric and Imperial.

but thats wrong, he was holding a knife trying to stab people heres source
You need to login to view this link
planmet fitness isnt that bad. mfw youre more wrong than these lyrics.

i didnt make it lol planet fittness memes are funny

I fucking hate the fact that place exists.

i knowww screw that place

"we're the cheapest gym around! except you can't make noise, or look like you have any muscle definition, or know what you're doing, or we'll throw you the fuck out!"

I've never been in one of them personally, but if i did i would set off there lunk alarm just for shits

awful awful awful place.. a friend wanted me to go with them to teach them.. it was free because he had the gold pass or whatever.. it took about 3 minutes for one of their workers to come give me a "warning"

a warning for doing what?

pretty much for lifting.. they said that I was "making other patrons uncomfortable" - not being loud, no slamming weights, basically was just told to GTFO for being big (not in a douchey self absorbed way, i'm over 6'5 and sometimes people get intimdated) and for having any idea what I was doing

I heard that they don't allow deadlifts



Wtf kind of gym doesn't allow deadlifts? That's like one of the basic exercises

yep no deadlifts. some of the smaller branches have no free weights at all

hah. haha. No free weights. But that's the best way to work out (imo) because it works all of the tiny muscles just to keep the weight balanced. What is this bullshittery

nigga thats the only way to work out! basically its not a gym. its a haven for people that have no idea the fuck they are doing to feel good about themselves by accomplishing nothing

glad we share similar views/opinions.

I only started lifting a little over a month ago and I used to be one of those machine people too; essentially I had no idea wtf I was doing. But then I went on the internet and read some info and now all I do is squats, deadlifts, bench press, pullups, pushups, and crunches. Free weights ftw

I started as a sophomore in highschool and that was damn near 8 years ago.. life gets in the way sometimes but I do wonder sometimes how big I would have got if I never had to take breaks for injuries and final exams and things of that nature

Oh I have no hope for that now; I'm 19, 5'10" and 140 lbs. I have a ridiculously fast metabolism so it's damn near impossible to put on weight, no matter how much I eat or whey protein I drink. I'm just working out to get cut cuz that's the only thing that happens to me

regardless of your metabolism do the right workouts and take in the right amount of protein and your muscle fibers have to repair themselves regardless. no reason you can't gain 20-25lbs of muscle within a couple years

I'll keep at it! All just a matter of time now.

Question; do you take preworkout? Given my stats that you now know, do you think that I should? I know what it does, I'm just wondering if you think I need it?

personal preference. I never took anything for preworkout, the less crap you put in your body the better. basic creatine or whey protein post workout is fine but a large majority of other products are unhealthy as shit

I had creatine but stopped taking it because I read that it mainly just makes you put on water weight.

I've also tried various whey proteins but for some reason they all taste so bad to me that I very nearly puke; I dont know if maybe Im lactose intolerant or something. I've tried vanilla and cookies n cream; next one I'll try is triple chocolate. If taht doesn't work, hopefully I can find a strawberry one or something. Whatever, I just need the protein to help me bulk.

in the short term creatine does add to your water weight, long term however it helps your system recover and rebuild the fibers faster, which is your goal. as far as the whey making you just about puke, its not supposed to taste good but thats interesting its affecting you that way. mix with water instead of milk and just chug it down, look for the most generic brand you can, no extra flavors etc needed.

www.gnc.com/GNC-Pro-Performance-100-Whey-Protein-Naturally-Unflavored/product.jsp?productId=13164543&cp=3593186.3593187.2108294

something like that, 100% unflavored whey. tastes like ass but does what its supposed to

What's planet fitness?

I about cried at that photo. No, I lift at LA Fitness.

i htink he meant on EVERY rep... on the last one or two it may help but I've seen guys who literally scream on every rep and its annoying as fuck

i dunno man, 2 guys i nicknamed Goku and Vegeta worked out on saturday, they started powering up (if u know what i mean) during warming up

lols where had all around

No offence (lol jk every offence intended), I hate people like you, grunting is unnecessary and off putting. When I'm in the gym, headphones in, listening to the mellow sounds of my music, the last thing I want to hear is the sound of a fully grown man attempting to shit out his intestines whilst lifting weights

I think it's completely unnecessary, I used to go to a gym where one of the rules posted on the wall said "Absolutely no grunting or yelling"