5 Things Guys Just Shouldn’t Do In A Gym
Okay, time for me to get on my soap box. Everyone at one point or another has had a run in with “that guy” in the gym. Someone who you walk by and just shake your head and say “what a loser.” So, just in case you may be one of those guys or don’t want to be, here is my list of things a guy just shouldn’t do in a gym. I realize I spend most of my time in a college rec center , so there are an unusual amount of losers in there but this can apply to all gyms.
5) Put Your Phone Away and Get To Work
No phone call is important enough to take while you’re in the middle of a bench press and if it is, answer it and take it outside of the weight room. First of all, I don’t’ know why you would even have a phone in the weight room in the first place, especially with the cost of phones these days (it’s just asking for a crushed screen). It’s annoying to be mid-set when you over hear a conversation about you and your girlfriend and how you can’t understand why she doesn’t want to hang out with your friends.
4) Keep The Grunts To Yourself
Unless you are finishing off a 750 pound max squat, the grunting and yelling really isn’t necessary. To the best of my knowledge, there’s no research that says yelling can improve strength; all it’s really doing is making you look/sound like a jackass.
3) No One Wants to Hear Your Life Story
It’s okay to chit chat a little bit here and there; maybe a quick conversation at the water fountain but the weight room is no place to have a ½ hour conversation about how drunk you got last weekend or how you can’t find your econ homework. This especially applies to those who are using a machine. It’s not okay to sit on a machine and talk and talk and talk and talk; get on there do what you got to do and get off.
2) Don’t Lift What You Can’t Handle
No one cares how much you can lift so there’s no need to try and show off how much you can bench press and then later ask for help when the bar is dropped down on your chest, slowly squeezing the life out of you. It’s okay to lift heavier weights in an attempt to get stronger but just ask for a spotter instead of trying to get yourself hurt. This applies for other exercises as well. No one’s going to be impressed if you are curling 75 pound dumbbells, if you turn the exercise into a full-body swing in order to “curl” the weights.
And, the #1 thing a guy shouldn’t do in the gym:
1) Don’t Check Yourself Out In Front of the Mirror
The mirrors are there to make sure you use correct form and technique throughout a lift, not for you to sit in front of and check out your guns. Unless you are a bodybuilder practicing posing and have Lats like Ronnie Coleman, you shouldn’t be checking yourself out.
So there you have it. Keep in mind this isn't everything that you should avoid but at least it's a start!
