Is it rude to...

[didelydoo]

....point out other gym goers form faults? At the gym I train in on week days 99% of the people don't bench down to the chest, squat miles high and never deadlift. I keep much to my self but can't help notice these faults, particularly tonight. Now, I wish someone had pointed these out to me when I first started training (as I was guilty of most), but I'm also aware that some people maybe don't care or could take offence (and prefer to do partial reps with an ego boosting weight)

What say you?

[Ordinary_Chap]

To be honest, I get so focused on my own training I don't really care unless someone is obviously doing something wacky. Like the guy trying oddly to do some type of impossible curling with the lat pull down bar.

I'm friendly in the gym and always willing to help be it spotting or with some help over form (although I'm a long way from an expert) but I think it can be very rude to try to give unsolicited advice.

I often spot folk who ask me but I rarely give advice, although thats probably because I always feel I need to improve my own form and it would be daft of me to give advice when I'm working on my own form.

[douglasr]

I leave them alone. If its really bad form that risks themselves or others, then I may ask one of the staff to have a look.

[balders118]

I work in gyms and I spend my life at one (Leeds Uni gym) correcting peoples techique especially with squats and deadlift. I will give advice if they aren't training proprly etc if we get onto that, but even as an instructor I won't tell people they should be doing this and that instead unless the conversation swings that way. Why? Becuase they will say, yeah I should do more legs blah blah blah but will then continue with their bicep work out. This rings true with form too. When on shift I will correct form all the time if I see it, when I'm just working out I will usually only pipe up if it's dangerous looking form, but this does occur nearly every workout! However, I'll take them through it, give teaching points, fix their form only to see them next week lifting from their arched back with a twisting, jerking motion again. Actually thats not fair, 50% of people really do improve, 50% pretend to then pile the weight back on and revert to dreadful form. I'd say most appreciate the advice, or at least seem to.

In short - I can't imagine you'd ever get a hostile reponse from offering help, especially as you will look like you know what you're talking about . (I have seen gym "thinktheyknowitalls" with 26inch waists, 65kg frames and a bodybuilder vest giving awful advice to anyone that would listen - people generally think knob!) but be prepared to feel like you've wasted your time, and be preparred to spend a lot of time helping some of the less able. Some people REALLY struggle to deadlift proeprly, and they just cannot get it right!

[B3njamin]

Likewise, I wish someone had taken me to one side and made me deadlift, squat, do the Olympic lifts and banned me from doing the stupid exercises that I was doing when I started lifting.

I just make sure my own form is good and that I work with as much intensity as I can. I sometimes get people who come up to me and ask if I can explain to them how to do a certain exercise I am doing. The people who do this always seem eager to learn and try their hardest, which is nice and it's generally a joy to train with them. I'll happily help anybody who asks but I'd avoid approaching anybody unless they are doing something that seems immediately dangerous.

[BenM77]

If they look approachable and as if they are new to lifting I think they would appreciate the help

If they look like they have been training a while but just do it wrong, they might not like the hit to their ego.

One of the apprentices at work started the gym 1/12 years ago, he is only 5'6" and started off at 9stone7.

Some of the more experienced guys helped him with routine and form and saved him years of rookie mistakes, at 10stone7 he can bench 100kg for 2 reps and is in good shape with the strength.

Ben

[goldblum]

I only advise if I'm with a partner or client,or it looks like someone's about to injure themselves.

I don't think it's rude though,no.

[bazking69]

Keep your mouth shut. Most people will take criticism badly.

If they want criticism, they'd pay a PT to critique them...

[balders118]

bazking69 said:

Keep your mouth shut. Most people will take criticism badly.

If they want criticism, they'd pay a PT to critique them...

Generally not the case,

Like I said above I am a PT but give advise whether I'm working or not, and I have never had anyone take it badly.

[BlackVanDyke]

Depends how you do it, innit?

I know FA about gym stuff but when I was doing music teaching I'd often see other teachers on my placement massively struggling to demonstrate something to their kids, or just manage the class, usually because they themselves had not had good teaching in the early years... got quite good at catching them in a quiet moment and doing the "it looked like you were having a hard time with X, do you need a hand?" talk.

People get embarassed and therefore arsey when you do stuff like that in earshot of a third party, so pick your time carefully.

[Countdown]

I think there's a difference between one of the Instructors giving advice and some other gym user giving advice.

The former is professionally trained/paid/employed to give advice. the latter is not. I would avoid it.

[Tiggsy]

Unless what they are doing exposes them to immediate death, dont waste your time. If they are female they'll think its a line and if its a male you might as well be shouting small cock at them in front of a room full of other men.

Yesterday I was working out opposite the leg press, lass was doing 20kg with 2" of range of motion while...wait for it...on the fking phone! Chill, and ignore!

T (was an instructor for years and it wasn't much better then....and when you advised a female, it normally was a line

[didelydoo]

Oddly- some one came and asked me to critique their squat today, which was odd. Never happened before.

I don't really care about giving advice, that's why I don't- just a thought that it would have saved me time and effort in the beginning.

[Meoricin]

didelydoo said:

....point out other gym goers form faults? At the gym I train in on week days 99% of the people don't bench down to the chest, squat miles high and never deadlift. I keep much to my self but can't help notice these faults, particularly tonight. Now, I wish someone had pointed these out to me when I first started training (as I was guilty of most), but I'm also aware that some people maybe don't care or could take offence (and prefer to do partial reps with an ego boosting weight)

What say you?

Personally I don't, but I don't think there would be an issue if you did - you seem switched-on enough here, and your lifts are high enough that presumably you're obviously not a beginner (in appearance - I don't think I'd get good results if I approached someone, because I'm not big/ripped enough).

However, the examples you've used are quite awkward ones. Not benching down to the chest is something a lot of regular gym-goers do, because it lets them put more weight on for an ego-boost. These sorts won't take kindly to advice in actually training properly.

Squats are contentious - again because no ROM = higher weight, but also because of the Daily Mail-esque myth that 'squatting low will damage your knees!' that some people freak out about.

Finally, not doing deadlifts is surely a preference thing - there's a fairly major gap IMO between offering advice on form, and offering general advice on routine. I'd see advice on a routine as being a little interfering - especially since it implies you've been watching their routine long enough to know it, and privately considering that they're doing it wrong.

[didelydoo]

To clarify, I'm not examining any particular people; just that generally, these are things I notice when at the gym. I've never given advice unless asked and am in know way qualified to, other than through my own experience of what works for me as I'm now at a reasonable strength level.

I also have no intention of preaching to anyone in the gym, as I don't care one way or the other. Just musing over the subject as it crossed my mind.

[Meoricin]

didelydoo said:

To clarify, I'm not examining any particular people; just that generally, these are things I notice when at the gym. I've never given advice unless asked and am in know way qualified to, other than through my own experience of what works for me as I'm now at a reasonable strength level.

I also have no intention of preaching to anyone in the gym, as I don't care one way or the other. Just musing over the subject as it crossed my mind.

I get that - but it's worth considering how they'll see it if you do decide to approach someone. It's not a rude thing to do, but it is a sensitive subject which needs to be very carefully approached.

I'd consider myself a very humble/approachable person in general - but I know that when I moved gyms, and started squatting again (after a 6-month break), I actually felt quite insulted when someone approached me to point out my form was off. I'd always prided myself on squatting, as it was my primary exercise - form was important to me, and I really had got it down. But at some point over that break, I changed slightly - he was right when he suggested the change to my form, but because I had so much confidence in my squats I really couldn't see it immediately, and once I realised this, I felt it was necessary to go and thank him for it, and apologise.

IIRC my initial response was something like 'Are you sure? I'm quite confident in my form for these' in a very doubtful tone - I made it clear I felt he was interfering and that I knew best. I am grateful he stuck with that conversation though - I could very well have ended up injuring myself but for that one seed of doubt he planted that made me double-check.

Just an example there of how unreasonable some of us can be about things like gym advice, even when it's right Remembering that has put me off offering advice to anyone else, because I'd rather not deal with the potential awkward situation.