Why do people at the gym insist on giving unsolicited advice?

[JJFigure]

Yes, this is another little rant. I was at the gym tonight doing an obviously intense leg workout - I was dripping in sweat, breathing hard, the whole works. In other words, not a pretty picture. The male trainer who gave me that wonderful advice on doing leg workouts every other day stops me and asks me if I'm doing a lot of cardio.

(I'm trying to hold on to my muscle as I'm dieting, so no, I'm not going overboard on cardio. I keep my sessions short (30 min or less), but intense, and I don't combine them with weights. This approach has been working pretty darn well - my upper body is shredded and my lower body is the leanest it's ever been.)

He then tells me I should do a lot of bike work because that will make my legs smaller. I had just been checking myself out in the mirror thinking I was looking pretty damn balanced, and then I have someone basically tell me my legs need to be smaller. THANKS A LOT!!

Because, after all, it is possible to spot reduce and only lose fat off my legs if I do a ton of bike work. LOL

I naturally wouldn't lose ANY muscle with this approach, either.

 

[BrickGirl]

Most likely he thinks you are cute and wants to talk with you, soooo he gives you "advice" on your training, even though he probably knows he is wrong as well, but, he did get to talk to you I would take it as a compliment that someone would go out of there way to make a dumbass out of thereselves just to talk with you

 

[wilson6]

He's jealous because you're legs are bigger than his.

W6

 

[SteelWeaver]

Ha ha ha ha - lol@ BrickGirl - good point. I've had some guys say some pretty dumb stuff to me lately since I joined this new gym - that's not too much of a problem, it's the STARERS who freak me out. There's one guy who watches me, like, all the time - it's starting to grate on me - wouldn't be so bad if there weren't mirrors all over the place.

As for unsolicited advice - I think it has it's place - it just depends - I mean, the other day I was in there doing legs. In the time it took me to finish my entire hamstring workout, I saw this plumpish woman sitting on the leg press machine - not the 45 degree - the machine thing. Anyway, she's sitting there, toes pointed in, duck style, close together, and she's doing about 150 million reps with NO weight!!!! She had the pin out altogether!!

Anyway, so I watched this for a while - decided not to say anything - none of my business and all that, yeah - but when she was STILL there by the time I'd finished abs and stretching, I knew I couldn't leave her there in her misery.

So I strolled over and asked her if she wouldn't mind a suggestion. Well, she could hardly say thank you enough - she really had NO IDEA what she was doing. After I told her what she SHOULD be doing, she said that was EXACTLY the opposite of what some guy had told her (he had told her to do what she was doing when I saw her, idiot). I was, like, darling - your legs carry more weight than that around every time you stand up, so why shouldn't they be able to do it on a machine DESIGNED for the purpose of pushing heavy weight???? She wanted to lose the fat on her hips for a wedding that's coming up, so I enlightened her a bit on the spot reduction myth and told her to cut out the sugar.

Anyway, she was happier and I felt good that I'd overcome my reluctance to hand out unsolicited advice. I've only done that maybe once or twice before, mostly because what I was seeing was making me cringe badly.

 

[Gladiola]

My latest fav moronic quote in the 'unsolicited advice' category.

Forced to do my olympic lifting workout at my regular tennis club/spa gym one Saturday. Warm up with some light squats, GM's & power cleans, move on to cleans, some push jerks with a snatch grip, & then front squats. --> Monopolizing the one squat rack the WHOLE time (fortunately no one else wanted to use it anyway).

Guy comes over, "You know that move you were doing earlier?"
<<yes, I had done a total of at least 4 moves the past 30 minutes - & he had been near me all this time.>>
"Um, which?"
"The clean & jerk. Well you--"
"--Actually I was doing just a power clean, not the entire clean & jerk"
"Well you can combine it with a military press & then but the bar on your back & squat & it's really effective that way."
He doesn't even know what the Olympic Lifting moves are called & he's telling me an effective way to combine them? I front squat more than I clean anyway. I think he got the picture to bug off after that.

 

[JJFigure]

Don't you just love it when men do that to you, Gladiola? Thanks, I'l run that by my coach and see what he/she has to say. That usually shuts them up.

I got a starer at the gym too yesterday - a nice, creepy one. I was doing stiff-legs w/ 30 second rest intervals, so I was basically having a heart attack between sets. This guy is staring at me and then tells me I'm in really great shape (as I'm puffing and panting). And keeps staring....

Luckily, I was finishing up so I just said thanks, racked my weight, and walked away as quickly as possible.

 

[smoknjilly]

I can't even begin to start with the comments I get..

"need some help with all that weight"

"you train like a man!"

the worst culprits are the damn trainers!! The ones at my gym truly have NO IDEA what they are doing, and they always have some comment for me. There's a blind lady with a seeing eye dog who uses them, that's about the only good use they have. I often do a double take when I get a glimpse of the dog in the gym

and on...and on

It's a tough call, every day I see women doing exactly what steelweaver said, and various other useless things. I don't want to offend them...if someone asks me something I;m always happy to tell em what I know..

actually, women are starers too, especially in the locker room. I just stare right back and smirk, cause I'm thinking "you wish you
had some muscle, bitch"

OK, I;m sorry, my PMS aggression is taking over me...

 

[NY Muscle]

You girls amuse me..as if you should be so lucky….how about this…would you rather be a fat fuck and have people laugh at you as you walk by and NEVER talk to you..or look the way you do (or some of you claim you do) and accept what comes with the territory of having a great body….what’s the matter…you don’t think guys like ME haven’t heard even worse comments from girls about my body…like “wow your shoulder are bigger than my head” or “you’d crush me in bed” or “damn what id do to you” (the older chics aka MILFS are notorious for comments like that or “you could bench press me”. or the most overly asked question “wow how many hours a day you spend in the gym” I mean stupid little shit that on the surface isn’t very annoying at all but when you here it almost every damn day, yeah sure it gets annoying…but to be honest..i wouldn’t trade it in the world…the stairs and comments I get from guys and girls… its something I’ve learned to live with as long as I can remember and sometimes will wear a big shirt just so I don’t have to see people talking under their breath or looking at me in the mirror out the corner of their eyes…but like I said..i wouldn’t trade it for the world..and you people take it for granted and mock the people who admire your body and yes make kinda stupid comments.

You girls are so quick to say things and think “oh wow I cant wait to tell the people on EliteFitness what I heard today in the gym from soem schmuck”

Seriously people…stop complaining and making fun of these guys, who knows how many of them are actually making fun of you..

 

[NY Muscle]

This guy is staring at me and then tells me I'm in really great shape (as I'm puffing and panting). And keeps staring....

Oh God no? He didnt actually compliment you? Shit what is this world coming to....God forbid that ever happend to me..I would freak out!!

 

[smoknjilly]

im sorry, but if people continuously came up to you, and INTERRUPTED YOUR TRAINING to make dumb comments, you wouldnt like it either