Overheard in the gym - Share!

[Zorch]

add far as negative reinforcement vs good job... I much prefer negative over positive. positive doesn't get me anywhere. knowing my hard work isn't good enough makes me push harder.

 

I think this is unique to the individual.  Different people get motivated differently  - this works great for some people, but others will shut down when someone really gets in their face.  One of the hallmarks of a good coach/trainer is recognizing this and tailoring the feedback/motivation to the individual's personality.

[I-Jo]

absolutely agree.

I've work ed with quiet a few people and its usually the positive that gets them going. I don't understand it at all to be honest but I recognize its what works for quite a bit of people. A " good job... nice push" when the work out its done will suffice for me but during? no thanks .... push me. Lol. but yes it's highly individualized. you can't just assume someone is into negative reinforcement. that's a disaster waiting to happen.

[Irish Oisin]

I don't think it could ever be said to a woman in a gym, especially by a man. It's just too risky. I've had a woman complain to a gym worker because I looked at her. I used to wear glasses and I wasn't wearing them in the gym, and I was looking around, not seeing a god damn thing and apparently I looked at her...and pissed her off. I might have been pulling a face, and grunting. Which is perfectly acceptable in a gym...

[Artinum]

I think this is unique to the individual.  Different people get motivated differently  - this works great for some people, but others will shut down when someone really gets in their face.  One of the hallmarks of a good coach/trainer is recognizing this and tailoring the feedback/motivation to the individual's personality.

 

True. Anyone trying to motivate me with negative comments is going to achieve the exact opposite. By all means tell me when I'm doing something wrong, because then I can fix it, but putting me down will see me walking out. I've always struggled with self confidence. Hearing that I'm getting something right is encouraging. And being urged to push that bit further? That works too. I just agree with the "fat bastard = dumbbell in face" view.

[Elder]

I don't think it could ever be said to a woman in a gym, especially by a man. It's just too risky. I've had a woman complain to a gym worker because I looked at her. I used to wear glasses and I wasn't wearing them in the gym, and I was looking around, not seeing a god damn thing and apparently I looked at her...and pissed her off. I might have been pulling a face, and grunting. Which is perfectly acceptable in a gym...

 

What do you use instead of glasses now?  contacts? 

 

This happens to me also when I am not wearing my glasses (not in the gym though) someone will be like "What the hell are you looking at?"  And I'll say "I have no idea..."

 

It can get kind of awkward sometimes.

[Irish Oisin]

I got laser eye surgery! My profile pic is an old one, I haven't had many pictures taken since then really and I'm not on facebook or twitter (anymore) so there aren't many pictures of me knocking around.

 

Now I mostly just look at myself in mirrors in the gym, hahaha

[goodbyeharrison]

i cant see without my glasses (blind as a bat) and way too chicken to get the laser eye surgery. but i like how i look in my glasses (just not the whole being blind without them)

[Elder]

Laser eye surgery is on my list of things to do in the next year or so...it's so flipping expensive!  It's worth it and I just need to save my pennies!  Wait there are no more pennies in Canada....ok I have to save my nickles!

[Irish Oisin]

It's honestly the best thing I've ever spent money on. It was expensive but it was worth every cent!! I was able to take up rugby as a result and play other sports more rigourously, like football and squash, no more worrying about glasses flying off my face or getting smashed or having contacts pop out when I get tackled. I can't recommend it enough!!

[Timmy M]

i find both 'negative' and 'positive' 'encouragement' can help me... if bad (though i reckon that 'come on you fat bastard' would of been meant in the nicest possible way) then i'll either respond jokily or get set and think FU and do better, and the warm fuzzy feeling you get with positive feedback makes everything better of course

[I-Jo]

It's honestly the best thing I've ever spent money on. It was expensive but it was worth every cent!! I was able to take up rugby as a result and play other sports more rigourously, like football and squash, no more worrying about glasses flying off my face or getting smashed or having contacts pop out when I get tackled. I can't recommend it enough!!

110% agreed.

 

My contacts were at like 6-7% no.. negative 6-7% and it was the best day ever waking up to read my alarm clock clear without flailing about for the glasses or fussing to put lenses in... sweet jesus I look a billion times better without them too.

 

 

My man though- he's super hot with this on  

[Irish Oisin]

I've had a lot of female friends say they loved my old glasses and they miss them, but I just hated them! 6 hours after I had the surgery I could see almost perfectly and the morning after it I had 20-20 vision. Unbelievable!

[ScrabbleGirl]

TRAITOR!

[Irish Oisin]

hahaha!! I'm sorry ScrabbleGirl but I'm just much better looking without them and I need all the help I can get in that department!!! Plus, glasses flying off my face while playing squash is mega annoying!!

 

From what I can see from your picture, your glasses are fantastic and you wear them well!

[Anamal]

Then you also have a lot of young professional ladies who go before work, like I do. I get a lot of 'looks' from this group (my peers I suppose), I assume because I lift weights and then go change into my office clothes with Doc Martens and blue hair. But, they get a lot of 'looks' from me, for doing cardio with magazines and dangly jewelry, then chatting in the changing room about how maybe they should do Pilates so they can get stronger without building muscle (???) or maybe they should do the Spinning class instead because the guy who runs that one is cuter.

Sigh. I miss my old gym.

Its for this very reason that I don't miss my old gym! As a recent college grad I'm so happy my new gym doesn't have as many of the women who come to the gym in full make up to slowly walk on the eliptical and then "stretch" for 20mins of the mats hoping to be seen by some frat bro. I took to waking up at 5am and going to the gym because, in college, everybody is too hung over every day to be up that early. But seriously, full make up? And they would match their sports bras to their shoes.... gah, I can't even.... ugh mad just thinking abou it!

[pandraztic]

So, one bad, one good to add to this.

 

Bad first. A couple of weeks ago I was in the squat rack banging out a pyramid starting at 85 for 10 and working up to 115 for 4 and down again. Well, there is this cluster of lanky squishy looking guys who had been showing up every other day for about two weeks (I haven't seen them for the past two weeks thank god). They were set up doing bench presses behind me and talking general Broversation when my ears picked up on it. Well, they're talking about chicks at the gym, which is probably why I started noticing it. Well, needless to say the pack leader points at me and says, "Yeah, I hate the gym chicks here. Like her... She is only like a two. You'd have to pay me so much to hit something that gross." *sigh* Way to be a jackass. Chucklehead friend one who was standing around chuckle his agreement saying how nasty I am, but, at least their buddy who they were spotting for had the decency to look really embarrassed when he stood up. He is actually a polite kid and we'd talked before on our mutual appreciation of VFF previously. Needless to say. I was frustrated, livid, and mildly wanting to discus throw a 35lb plate into his face. Instead, I just kept doing my workout.

 

Now the good. I have a new hero. I saw him yesterday while I was doing squats (Mondays are squat days). He'd been on the bench doing some reps for a little while, but I didn't really pay attention. Then, as I was adding weight I saw how much he had on there. Guy is about 5'6" maybe 5'7", I'd guess 280. Fairly normally sized and shaped. He was doing QUALITY sets of FIVE at 365lbs and barely breaking a sweat. I saw him do three sets at that weight. Then he kept reducing the weight and adding reps. Seriously though. The bar had a BEND in it it was so heavy. FUCKING HERO STATUS. Seriously though. BENCH PRESS SETS OF 365. Hero.

[Irish Oisin]

Those guys who were bad mouthing you, you should have confronted them or complained to someone in the gym. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, should be made feel bad about themselves when they're kicking ass in the gym. If you choose to confront, I mean it in the meanest, most foul-mouth and loudest (SHAME THOSE FUCKERS) way possible. If I heard anyone talk about someone in the gym that way, I'd call them on it. Fuck. That. Shit.

[ColbyWan]

The whole getting bad mouthed thing is one reason I don't go to the gym. Extreme social anxiety/ low self-esteem. But a week ago the guy I lived with talked me into joining him at our college's gym, said no-one would be there except us. I decided to go the 20 seconds of courage route and go once. For the most part he was right, only us and two other guys. I noticed they were in the squat rack (at least I think it was, ignorance showing) doing deadlifts. These guys though, had more weight than they could lift, they would do one deadlift, and at the highest point just let go of the weight and let it drop. Only to pick it up and try again. Once they were done with that, they started stacking benches. Once they had five stacked in some elaborate pyramid, the hopped on, and started doing this upside down bench press (laying on stomach pulling the weight to them, instead of pushing up). The exercise made sense, but again, they'd pull the weight to them a couple of times, and then just drop it. Because they were on top of these stacked benches though, they were dropping the weight a good 4 feet. I'm honestly surprised the floor or weights didn't crack.

[Nicks_Scotland]

Not something someone has said (although there's been plenty of that), but strange noises!?    There's an older guy that goes to my gym, he seems pretty fit and quite well built.  But the noises freak me out!!

 

The first time I came across him there was only him and me in the gym, I was warming up on the stationary bike, he was on the eclipser machine,  I couldn't figure out what noise I was hearing ontop of my music, I took my earphones out and decided it was the machine he was on, it was kinda like a metal on metal swishing noise (which kinda made sense).  Only when I'd done my warmup and was walking over the rower did I realise that it was him making the noise, not the machine, every time he breathed in it was like "oooooooosh".  and not quiet either.  Strange.

[The Mouse]

Not so much the gym, more my marketing class.

 

Two of the three business pitches who have presented this morning are all about "healthy" options. The first is a bakery which caters to celiacs, vegetarians and diabetics - but they haven't done any research into alternatives to traditional wheat flour or anything. They're also way off the mark in claiming that organic = immediate health. While I understand the benefits, it's really frustrating to sit here and listen to them blather on about how organic wheat flour is the fast track to overall health.

 

Second is the smoothie bar which defines health as a low-fat, high-carb, high-protein diet... I know, that works for some people and this is just a business presentation. More so, it's just really annoying to sit here while these guys blather on about nutrition when it's painfully clear that they haven't done an ounce of research. GARKJALKKLJRALKJ!

[pandraztic]

Soooo, while this isn't an actual overhead in the gym, I feel this is worth sharing as it is something we all feel strongly about. Specifically, the 2:12 mark. That should get the rack rage + the gut busting laughter going. 

[Irish Oisin]

hahahahaha!! 

I LOVE THIS GUY!!

[Elder]

Hillarious!  I could watch for hours!

[Nicks_Scotland]

RAFL.   Ready an hour early for my mini-break  (Big smoke London, cocktails, afternoon tea and hard rock cafe shots here I come!)

 

Anyway, I think I've found what to entertain myself with for the next hour.

 

Too funny.  

[cracked_belle]

Soooo, while this isn't an actual overhead in the gym, I feel this is worth sharing as it is something we all feel strongly about. Specifically, the 2:12 mark. That should get the rack rage + the gut busting laughter going. 

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!