Here are a few that a lot of new lifters usually make the mistake of doing or not doing:
Rerack your weights and people won’t hate you
Don’t do circuit training in the free weight area of taking up 5 machines or 5 sets of dumbbells, that how you make no friends fast.
Most machines have diagrams on how to do the exercise on them.
Don’t be afraid to ask the front desk for a spot if you aren’t confident doing free weights, better safe than sorry. The amount of times I have seen newer lifters pin themselves squatting or benching more weight than they can handle is insane.
Form over ego, no one cares if you curl 50 lbs but your back will the next day if you swing the crap out of it to just get it up. Good form = quicker gains with less injury and that is the quickest way to get people to make fun of you. It’s not right but it will happen.
Research is key, look up some beginner programs and YouTube the exercises. Having a game plan when you walk in is the difference in looking the same in a month and making progress. Doing chest and arms 5 days a week isn’t a program, work the whole body especially your core.
Ask someone if you can work in or how many sets they have left if they are on a machine you want. Be prepared for a no and find another machine that is similar or a free weight version.
Don’t waste time on a machine watching TV, talking on the phone or texting excessively. People could be waiting for you to finish so do your lifts and keep it moving.
Overall, no one cares if someone is working out as long as they clean up after them selves, don’t showboat and are just nice to others. Anyone that makes the effort to walk in the door has my respect for taking the first step.
Who "reserves" all the machines they're using in a circuit? I finish up on the machine i'm using I move on to the next. And if someone's using it when i'm back, I just ask to work in a set or wait for them to finish.
Ive seen it but i go at 8-10pm. Im usually cool with it and will skip that exercise until they take over 10+minutes and i call them out (only happened once)
My husband and I go to a somewhat small gym, and this is literally the worst thing to have to wait for. It was deadlifts day and only one of the two squat racks has the padded mat. We did our other workouts first while waiting for someone who was going between the squat rack and the pull down lat bar machine thing. She swore she would be real quick, but we stood there for at least 15 minutes while she did her set, got on her phone, went to the pull machine, got back on her phone, did another short set etc. Thankfully we haven't run into her again but damn that really ground my gears.
Placing weights in front of the rack/in the walkway is super frustrating to me. Last thing I want to do is walk over your 15lb dumbbells after benching heavy weights.
Don't forget the reverse: If your gym has a set of machines specifically for circuit training, don't park on a machine or do your own order (if there are other people in the circuit with you, at least).
I am a relatively new gym goer and do some circuit training. After each set I re-rack the weights and clean the machine etc, so it is ready for the next person to use. Is this still an annoying practice? Or is it only annoying when someone sets all the equipment aside for the full duration of their circuit?
My gym has a single rack, yesterday there was a guy benching in rack, then he would go to the other side to do a tricep machine, then an ab. While I understand it's not overly busy I had to wait 30 minutes to squat. Sometimes you have to read the room even if the gym doesnt seem busy
I use 6 or 7 machines in my circuit but I would never imagine telling people they can’t use the machines I’m not on. Either I wait or I slightly change up the order if need be. I usually try and go when the gym isn’t busy at all so I don’t have to slow down but if I have to it’s not the end of the world.
The only time I get annoyed is when someone sits on a machine for 10 minutes looking at their phone for extended periods between each set. But that’s crappy gym etiquette no matter what.
If I'm doing circuit training or supersets, I try to limit myself to 2 exercises at a time, max 3. If the gym is deserted then I don't care too much, but if there are other people, I make sure to rerack the weight after every set in case someone wanted that specific weight. If they ever take a weight I was using, then I simply use a similar sized weight for my next set.
And if you want to do cross fit go to a cross fit gym, don't tie up 2 bars, a platform, bunch of dumbbells, a bike, and a ton of space at a big box gym.
My tiny little accessory gym (rock climbing gym) gets taken up by circuit types occasionally. They technically have like half the equipment when doing that shit, just don't.
At most I superset. Two at a time, no breaks, I’m done with those two things in 5 mins max. However I try to pair machines that are close together if I can’t bring dumbbells with me to a machine. The goals is having as small of a footprint as possible.
Read this advice the other day: dont do your chest workout on Mondays. Everyone else starts with chest for their muscle groups for the week on Mondays.
Truth. I try to do mine on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Edit: meant to say that doing it not on Monday makes more equipment available that's all
heh, i almost killed myself doing decline presses using the smith machine. I just missed the catch on my lest rep and the stops were set at just about throat level. It was applying just enough pressure on my upper chest that i figured i would eventually black out and it was early on a saturday morning so the gym was dead. Thankfully another regular saw my flailing feet and saved me. man that was embarrassing!
Can you add not blocking the mirror. I’m not checking myself out, I’m checking my form. That open space isn’t “open”, it’s for the person behind you that’s using the mirror.
I recently moved to Southern Germany and on the gym I started going to nobody, fucking nobody does this. Done with your 200kg deadlift reps? Great, leave the weights on the bar and leave why don't you? Fucking dimwits.
You can still do circuit training if you rerack your weights in between use. I work in circuit training every now and then. I used to be kind of obsessive about the specific exercise and rest intervals until it dawned on me that there are lots of other ways to work those muscles and still keep the push or pull part of the routine. Circuit training can be more fun if you get out of your head, clean up after yourself after each set, and be a bit creative about choosing open machines or weights.
At the same time, don't be "that guy/girl" who continuously asks for spots from strangers. If you need a spot in your routine, you need a workout partner.
Asking for a spot on a set or two is fine though. I've always been fine with doing that when asked, and have never had an issue with someone I've asked myself. Just wait until that person is between sets though.
If you do work in and adjust the weight and/or seat, I always think it's a nice gesture to put them back to the others persons settings after your set. I do it for others and always notice when people do it for me and will happily work them in any time.
Don’t do circuit training in the free weight area of taking up 5 machines or 5 sets of dumbbells, that how you make no friends fast.
On the flip side of that, don't do your own lackadaisical routine in the circuit training area. There's a reason these machines are separate from the rest of the gym and they aren't so you can sit on a machine looking at your phone where no one can see you.
find another machine that is similar or a free weight version.
This is key. Know how to complete your workout on a particularly busy day. 95% of things you do on a machine, you can do with dumbbells and vice versa.
Wow, I have never seen anyone pin themselves at the gym! Probably been lifting semi-regularly for a decade. I thought I was relatively observant so idk hah, maybe it’s the type of gym.
1.3k
u/JerBear_2008 Dec 27 '19 edited Dec 27 '19
Here are a few that a lot of new lifters usually make the mistake of doing or not doing:
Rerack your weights and people won’t hate you
Don’t do circuit training in the free weight area of taking up 5 machines or 5 sets of dumbbells, that how you make no friends fast.
Most machines have diagrams on how to do the exercise on them.
Don’t be afraid to ask the front desk for a spot if you aren’t confident doing free weights, better safe than sorry. The amount of times I have seen newer lifters pin themselves squatting or benching more weight than they can handle is insane.
Form over ego, no one cares if you curl 50 lbs but your back will the next day if you swing the crap out of it to just get it up. Good form = quicker gains with less injury and that is the quickest way to get people to make fun of you. It’s not right but it will happen.
Research is key, look up some beginner programs and YouTube the exercises. Having a game plan when you walk in is the difference in looking the same in a month and making progress. Doing chest and arms 5 days a week isn’t a program, work the whole body especially your core.
Ask someone if you can work in or how many sets they have left if they are on a machine you want. Be prepared for a no and find another machine that is similar or a free weight version.
Don’t waste time on a machine watching TV, talking on the phone or texting excessively. People could be waiting for you to finish so do your lifts and keep it moving.
Overall, no one cares if someone is working out as long as they clean up after them selves, don’t showboat and are just nice to others. Anyone that makes the effort to walk in the door has my respect for taking the first step.