helping or critizing?!

Toro · 02-Mar-05, 08:29 PM

Im not trying be a critical when people try to help other people in the gym but theres on thing i find somewhat annoying and thats when people with hardly any experience try to give advice to other newcomers to the gym. It fine helping other people and trying to introduce them to weight lifting but how much does it really help them to show them how to do it wrong? I just feel people need to have at least a minimum of a yr or 2 of experience before they can start critizing others of how they do there lift. Im still in highschool so i find that normally the loudmouths and the popular people tend to do this. they have been in there for the last couple months so they think there big shots and can be critizing other newcomers of there lifting ability.

**.V.** · 02-Mar-05, 09:15 PM

I would agree with that one. I've been doing this for only 1 1/2 years this time around - most of it wrong. I will give opinions, like "hey this really big guy showed me this", or "this little wormy guy who can squat 450 showed me this", but to give advice or put someone down - just not my place.

techie_man · 02-Mar-05, 09:46 PM

Just lift and don't say much. Most people come to me for advice

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Toro · 02-Mar-05, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by techie_man

Just lift and don't say much. Most people come to me for advice

:

ya advice on java

**beefcurry1** · 02-Mar-05, 10:37 PM

i usually dont give advice unless the person obviously doesnt know what they are doing or they are doing something unsafe. i think the most popular lack of safe weightlifting practices comes in the form of what i like to call the tip-toe squat. im sure you have seen this. when people are doing squats and instead of keeping the weight on their heels they completely go on their toes. i dont mean just raise their heels a little i mean full blown catcher stance (ya know, baseball catcher).

i might also let someone know if they are benching and one side is going down farther than the other, but, for the most part, everyone in the gym is an "expert".

yorkie85 · 03-Mar-05, 06:44 AM

I've only been training for half a year and I never criticise others, but it is tempting when someone's doing lat pull-downs behind the neck or doing leg presses with a ROM of about an inch.

techie_man · 03-Mar-05, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toro

ya advice on java

Yeah that too, but all the underclassmen always ask me questions. It's funny one guy I lift with always calls me a machine.

sicklyscot · 03-Mar-05, 12:42 PM

I try to help those people who seem completely disconnected with weight lifting. Most of it has to do with form, like when they bounce the weight off their chest or they do standing curls where they use their body weight to throw the weight up. Usually though, if someone is doing something "wrong" which could possibly be right, i discuss it with them. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes they are.

I also figure what goes around comes around. if I help some dude out, maybe someone will give me pointers.

Maclane · 03-Mar-05, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkie85

I've only been training for half a year and I never criticise others, but it is tempting when someone's doing lat pull-downs behind the neck or doing leg presses with a ROM of about an inch.

Whats wrong with lat pulldown behind the neck ?

If i did a pullup behind my head would you say their is anything wrong with that ?

I get the feeling that you are like those personal trainers who recommend people to benchpress only to the point where their arms are a 90 degree angle.

sicklyscot · 03-Mar-05, 03:11 PM

Actually, if you do lat pull downs behind the head, chances are you're going to yank it and hit the back of your neck which may lead to spinal injury later on.

I guess if you're careful, you dont need to worry about it, but it is a concern.

**midgetcop** · 03-Mar-05, 06:08 PM

I don't say anything to people in the gym...not unless they ask me questions.

I don't mind giving advice criticism to friends/family members...but then I've been lifting for 3 years and I've even taken a few fitness courses through college and the YMCA.

My biggest beef is the misinformation fed to women about fitness...and although I'll rant about it to my sisters who were all raised on the 'tone-don't-bulk' theory of weight-lifting, I won't get in the way of women in my gym who are attacking the 2 lb weights. It's not my place.

yorkie85 · 03-Mar-05, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maclane

Whats wrong with lat pulldown behind the neck ?

If i did a pullup behind my head would you say their is anything wrong with that ?

I get the feeling that you are like those personal trainers who recommend people to benchpress only to the point where their arms are a 90 degree angle.

Besides being bad for the shoulder joints, it places too much load on the biceps.

Blaze · 03-Mar-05, 10:11 PM

I haven't been lifting that long myself(I cant remember when I started exactly), but I have inhaled looooaaads of knowledge in the little time I have been lifting. Mostly thanks to DF, and to my coach.
Either way, I try to avoid giving advice for the most part, just cuz I dont wanna seem like an arrogant fool who think he's the man...Seem to find alotta those in the gym sometimes.
HOWEVER, I will try and correct a new lifter on form...bad form can lead to maaannny bad things. So when it comes to form(e.i. squats, cleans, etc) I will give my two cents just so people don't hurt themselves.

FYI-I take advice too. Anybody that's been lifting longer than me(even if it's a few weeks longer), I will take advice and correction, if it's in the right light, which it usually is if the person knows what their talking about

Maclane · 04-Mar-05, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sicklyscot

Actually, if you do lat pull downs behind the head, chances are you're going to yank it and hit the back of your neck which may lead to spinal injury later on.

I guess if you're careful, you dont need to worry about it, but it is a concern.

Chances are ?
I dont think there is any more chance of smacking the back of my neck with lat pulldowns than there is of cracking my skull with skull crushers

Then again, maybe i should stop doing those too, in case i do smash my head open.

Cort · 04-Mar-05, 03:24 AM

If someone's just asking to hurt themselves, let 'em know. Even if they take it wrong it might make them think twice and try to correct it themselves.

I just don't like it when someone asks for a spot and then I end up lifting all the weight for the entire set, I usually wont spot them twice if they wont drop the weight to something they can lift. Not that common, but it happens.