RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Summer is here and so my gym has a bunch of new patrons all signed up trying to get their beach bodies ready before their vacations.

It's so aggravating because the majority of them aren't taking it seriously and are getting in everyone else's way. I mean why dafuq would you sign up for a gym membership just so that you can sit on a machine for ten to fifteen minutes chatting or texting on your stupid phone? Go the **** outside if whatever conversation can't wait. Or just stop coming to the gym if you can't even be arsed to follow general gym etiquette.

Meanwhile, read the goddamn signs and put your ****** weights away. This goes double for those guys who overload the machines with way more ****** weight than they can actually handle so that they can stroke their egos with the 5% ROM that they can just barely manage to push or lift. Dude, you're NOT accomplishing anything with that. You're just going to hurt yourself and put yourself out of commission.

Stop using the benches as your personal lockers. There are actual lockers where you can keep your crap in.

Also, you can't actually reserve multiple machines for your own personal use. This isn't  your home, it isn't your equipment, and other members have just as much right to use those machines as you do. If you're not currently using it, others can, and you have to wait to use it later just like the rest of us.

AND ANOTHER THING, STOP USING THE MACHINES AS YOUR PERSONAL STRETCHING AREAS. GO TO A CORNER AND USE THE ****** WALL LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOES. DON'T BOTHER GIVING ME A LOOK WHEN I TELL YOU TO ****** MOVE SO THAT I CAN USE THE MACHINE WITHOUT CATCHING YOUR FINGERS IN THE GEARS, JUST ****** MOVE.

 

I'll never forget the king of gym douchebaggery. He was a short, bald pumped-up little ajjushi, who resembled humpty-dumpty.   
Instead of working out, he'd spend most of his time chatting to women who were attempting to work out. He'd try to convince these ladies to train with him. They'd set up mats in front of the largest mirror, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SQUAT RACK, and do  these weird aerobics.

Afterwards, he'd get some Paris Baguette pastries from his bag, give them out to his female squad and setup a picnic area in the very place they were working out... IN FRONT OF THE SQUAT RACK.

I really don't want to be "That guy" at the gym, policing everyone around, but unfortunately, that's just what you have to do if you're interested in getting through your workout within a reasonable timeframe. Luckily, most people won't put up a fight if you tell them to "GTF out the way" if they're lollygagging on the bench or if you tell them to take their crap off the equipment.

Luckily, most people won't put up a fight if you tell them to "GTF out the way" if they're lollygagging on the bench or if you tell them to take their crap off the equipment.

In my previous apartment gym there was this one guy in his 20s who, apart from the fact he'd have conversations with the tv, used to spend most of his time not exercising.  Like, he'd be on the running machine, then he'd put his feet either side of it, and then use his phone sometimes for up to 10 or 15 minutes with the belt still running.  What's the point of going to the gym if you're not going to work out?   Sometimes, I see people sitting on the mats using their phones or taking pictures for 15 or 20 minutes and just not get it.  It's not like they're doing some strenuous workout and have to take time out.  That is one part (apart from Korean driving) of Korea I absolutely detest, which is being glued to their phones.  If you go to the gym, work the fukc out, don't do what you do all day anyway.  Put down the phone and do something else for a change.   

Luckily, most people won't put up a fight if you tell them to "GTF out the way" if they're lollygagging on the bench or if you tell them to take their crap off the equipment.

In my previous apartment gym there was this one guy in his 20s who, apart from the fact he'd have conversations with the tv, used to spend most of his time not exercising.  Like, he'd be on the running machine, then he'd put his feet either side of it, and then use his phone sometimes for up to 10 or 15 minutes with the belt still running.  What's the point of going to the gym if you're not going to work out?   Sometimes, I see people sitting on the mats using their phones or taking pictures for 15 or 20 minutes and just not get it.  It's not like they're doing some strenuous workout and have to take time out.  That is one part (apart from Korean driving) of Korea I absolutely detest, which is being glued to their phones.  If you go to the gym, work the fukc out, don't do what you do all day anyway.  Put down the phone and do something else for a change.   

Maybe so they can get away from the wife/kids for a while while also impressing them by spending a whole hour 'working out' in the gym. Two birds with one stone.

I do see a lot of inexperienced people come in and really try hard, too, though. So that's nice. Starting out at the gym is hard and scary for a lot of people, so like, I get that not everyone's going to be focusing on etiquette from the start but... yeah no, like a lot of it is literally just common decency and not being an an inconsiderate idiot.

Yeah, absolutely no problem with newbies still learning the ropes, you can always tell which ones just don't know any better but are willing to learn (they tend to be a lot more conscientious of themselves and will look around at others a lot to help figure things out) vs. the ones who're there just to take the piss.

Aside from that, a lot of what's classified as gym etiquette can also be classified as general etiquette and can be applied to pretty much any social or community setting. Literally just common decency stuff, like you said. For these things, I don't give passes.

Luckily, the types of guys who ignore the rules, feel entitled to disregard everyone not themselves, and refuse to conform to at least minimum expectations usually don't last at my gym. I see them gone after anywhere between one to three months, either because they don't have the discipline to maintain a workout regimen, or because they get too many people calling them out and they don't want to pay to get "harassed" lol.

What's the point of going to the gym if you're not going to work out?   Sometimes, I see people sitting on the mats using their phones or taking pictures for 15 or 20 minutes and just not get it.

This has become a lot more common with instagram and such. A lot of people will sign up for gym memberships but will only go to the gym for "photoshoots". Then they leave. Literally doing it for the 'gram.

I saw a guy spend the ENTIRE TIME he was at the gym talking on his phone out in the stairwell. He was there before I go there, I spent a good two hours in the gym, and he was still there when I left. Perfectly styled hair, wearing clean workout clothes... never stepped foot in the workout area. And he was just having a full-on nonsense conversation with his friend, it was nothing important. I later asked the trainer working that day if that guy ever worked out? Nah. Spent hours on his phone, then left and never came back.

But... at least he stayed out of the workout area, lol.

Not to mention the dumb things that go on in the locker rooms and showers - untidy, no sense of person space and many other annoying things.

I can't handle the showers. I went in once. Never again.

I'll never forget the king of gym douchebaggery. He was a short, bald pumped-up little ajjushi, who resembled humpty-dumpty.   

Gawd, this flashes me back to the morning King Adjusshi at my old gym. Had buffed out arms but saggy and flabby everything else, would strut around the gym trying to leer at women's crotches, and did nothing to hide the fact that this is what he was there to do. He's the main reason why I got into the habit of covering my lap with a towel whenever I need to sit or lay down to use a machine. He's not the only one who did it, he was just the most open and obvious about it.

Would literally spend half of his time at the gym just running around being a ****** pervert. I stopped going in the mornings because of mainly him since gym management refused to do anything about him.

I can't imagine anyone plopping themselves down in a gym to have themselves a picnic, though, wtf hahaha. I wonder if anyone ever called him out just for that. Food and drinks other than water aren't even allowed in the workout area in my gym.

Maybe so they can get away from the wife/kids for a while while also impressing them by spending a whole hour 'working out' in the gym. Two birds with one stone.

Ding ding ding.

Wife/gf/friends sign you up/pressure you into going to the gym. You basically go there, take a few shots, and spend the rest of the time watching something on Netflix.

I am not a gym rat, but if I ran a gym, I'd set up a special program specifically for the henpecked and lazy that was centered around "15 minutes of appearances and just enough to keep her off your back+45 minutes of you doing nothing"

On a lighter note, it's strange that the French or Germans, for example, can sound sexy or adorable when mispronouncing English words as a result of their native language's phonetic conflict. When Korean's use Konglish, it just sounds sh*t, pretty much 100% of the time.

Sometimes has to do with gender. Think your stereotypical OUTRAAAGGUUSS French accent and the French laugh. Sacre Bleu! Night and day with seductive French. Same goes for Asian accents. You can get a really velvety kind of one or you can get something really jarring. 

On a lighter note, it's strange that the French or Germans, for example, can sound sexy or adorable when mispronouncing English words as a result of their native language's phonetic conflict. When Korean's use Konglish, it just sounds sh*t, pretty much 100% of the time.

Sometimes has to do with gender. Think your stereotypical OUTRAAAGGUUSS French accent and the French laugh. Sacre Bleu! Night and day with seductive French. Same goes for Asian accents. You can get a really velvety kind of one or you can get something really jarring. 

That's true, I find the Arabic accent when females speak it to sound incredibly mellifluous, while men generally sound fairly unpleasant... unless you're Mishary Rashid Al Afasy.

Luckily, most people won't put up a fight if you tell them to "GTF out the way" if they're lollygagging on the bench or if you tell them to take their crap off the equipment.

In my previous apartment gym there was this one guy in his 20s who, apart from the fact he'd have conversations with the tv, used to spend most of his time not exercising.  Like, he'd be on the running machine, then he'd put his feet either side of it, and then use his phone sometimes for up to 10 or 15 minutes with the belt still running.  What's the point of going to the gym if you're not going to work out?   Sometimes, I see people sitting on the mats using their phones or taking pictures for 15 or 20 minutes and just not get it.  It's not like they're doing some strenuous workout and have to take time out.  That is one part (apart from Korean driving) of Korea I absolutely detest, which is being glued to their phones.  If you go to the gym, work the fukc out, don't do what you do all day anyway.  Put down the phone and do something else for a change.   

Maybe so they can get away from the wife/kids for a while while also impressing them by spending a whole hour 'working out' in the gym. Two birds with one stone.

That's exactly what they're doing, hiding from the world for an hour or two. As long as they're sitting on some stupid piece of machinery that nobody should be using, like the leg-extension machine, then they're doing the rest of the gym a favour.

Luckily, most people won't put up a fight if you tell them to "GTF out the way" if they're lollygagging on the bench or if you tell them to take their crap off the equipment.

In my previous apartment gym there was this one guy in his 20s who, apart from the fact he'd have conversations with the tv, used to spend most of his time not exercising.  Like, he'd be on the running machine, then he'd put his feet either side of it, and then use his phone sometimes for up to 10 or 15 minutes with the belt still running.  What's the point of going to the gym if you're not going to work out?   Sometimes, I see people sitting on the mats using their phones or taking pictures for 15 or 20 minutes and just not get it.  It's not like they're doing some strenuous workout and have to take time out.  That is one part (apart from Korean driving) of Korea I absolutely detest, which is being glued to their phones.  If you go to the gym, work the fukc out, don't do what you do all day anyway.  Put down the phone and do something else for a change.   

Maybe so they can get away from the wife/kids for a while while also impressing them by spending a whole hour 'working out' in the gym. Two birds with one stone.

That's exactly what they're doing, hiding from the world for an hour or two. As long as they're sitting on some stupid piece of machinery that nobody should be using, like the leg-extension machine, then they're doing the rest of the gym a favour.

The leg-extension machine? Is that for shorthouses?

The leg-extension machine? Is that for shorthouses?

I believe it's the machine that people use when they're too much of a wuss to exercise this way:

Some moron had the brilliant idea of connecting the wall fans, in the English room, in the same circuit as the lights. This means that you can't turn on the fans unless the classroom is light up like the cosmetics section of a department store. It's a 30 degree sunny day and I'm struggling to ignore the natural common sense that it's completely unnecessary to turn on every light when so much natural light is already entering through the window.

That's exactly what they're doing, hiding from the world for an hour or two. As long as they're sitting on some stupid piece of machinery that nobody should be using, like the leg-extension machine, then they're doing the rest of the gym a favour.

What is with all the hate for leg extension machines, lol?

The leg-extension machine? Is that for shorthouses?

I believe it's the machine that people use when they're too much of a wuss to exercise this way:

It's the machine you use when you're looking to injure yourself by doing a completely unnatural motion.

Kyndo, I think you're confusing the Leg-Extension machine with the Leg Press.

That's exactly what they're doing, hiding from the world for an hour or two. As long as they're sitting on some stupid piece of machinery that nobody should be using, like the leg-extension machine, then they're doing the rest of the gym a favour.

What is with all the hate for leg extension machines, lol?

Quote from Jeff Cavaliere

"I’ve written before about this one, but it bears writing about it again (especially because it’s my least favorite of them all). The leg extension is one of the most unnatural and impractical (meaning…nonfunctional) exercises you can do in the gym.  It’s trying to strengthen your knee to extend or straighten, but it does so with your legs flying freely in the air!

At what point are you straightening both legs at the same time in the air?!?  Unless you’re working on a flying trapeze for a living…the answer is never!  If that wasn’t bad enough, it’s the damage that is done to your knees that makes this one brutal!

With a shearing force that is up to 8 times the amount of weight you’re attempting to lift, being borne across your knee joint on each and every rep…it’s no wonder how just a few workouts of these can take even the healthiest knee and reduce it to a nothing more than a clicking, aching, creaky hinge joint that even the Tin Man’s oil can’t fix!"

Isn't that only really a problem if people are lifting too heavy on the machine, though? They're meant for high rep, low weight.

My mom used it a lot as part of her rehabilitation to help strengthen the muscles around her knees. She was always instructed to use it one leg at a time, though, and not to use too much weight.

Isn't that only really a problem if people are lifting too heavy on the machine, though? They're meant for high rep, low weight.

My mom used it a lot as part of her rehabilitation to help strengthen the muscles around her knees. She was always instructed to use it one leg at a time, though, and not to use too much weight.

What do you mean by "too heavy"?

The purpose of any exercise, particularly for rehabilitation, is to add resistance to retrain or reinforce the correct movement pattern. In other words, the true purpose of the back squat (for athletes) is to teach the body to utilize the correct muscles and move in the correct way to make athletic movements as efficient as possible.

When suffering, for example, an ankle injury, you walk with a limp. This is because the muscles required to perform the particularly movement patterns of walking are out of commission, thus, your body recruits the help of the "plan B" muscles to walk... This plan B muscles have limited mobility and load bearing potential and thus, shouldn't be relied upon for extended periods of time to perform a movement.

Resistance is deemed "too heavy" whenever it's too much resistance to perform the movement pattern correctly, forcing the body to rely on plan B muscles thus increasing the risk of injury, so... ANY exercise that has too much resistance is a bad idea.

During a knee injury, effective rehabilitation requires one (after swelling and pain has subsided) to re-strengthen and retrain the weakened muscles and tendons to perform the movement it struggles to perform by breaking down the movement pattern into parts and training each part, with progressively more resistance as strength returns. So, for example, single leg assisted balancing, moving onto single leg balancing, moving to single leg hops etc.

The leg extension movement is simply not part of the 7-movement patterns and adds a dangerous amount of stress to the knees. Think of using a long stick to wedge up something heavy. Where is the stick likely to crack? Right in the middle. It's the same for the leg extension, all the stress hits the knee.

The knee problems your mom had likely made it difficult for her to walk or run, so, it makes sense to break down the motion of walking and retrain each motion with resistance. I doubt your mom was complaining that, while watching T.V, she couldn't raise her feet off the ground for someone to vacuum under them.

Kyndo, I think you're confusing the Leg-Extension machine with the Leg Press.

I get the difference more or less, but I couldn't find a funny picture that deals specifically with Leg extension gizmos. I figured, who'll notice and/or mention the difference, right?   I should've known better!

Isn't that only really a problem if people are lifting too heavy on the machine, though? They're meant for high rep, low weight.

My mom used it a lot as part of her rehabilitation to help strengthen the muscles around her knees. She was always instructed to use it one leg at a time, though, and not to use too much weight.

What do you mean by "too heavy"?

Pretty much as you said, using more weight than is appropriate or safe, usually for a number of reasons.

I've been told that the most common mistake that people make on the leg extension machine is using so much weight that the muscles around the knee aren't capable of lifting it without putting too much pressure and strain on the knee.

But apparently, there is a right way to use the machine, same as any other machine, and there are valid reasons for why people might opt for it. I haven't really given it much thought or research, though, because I don't use it myself (I'm a squatting monster), but I also I always thought it was funny how much shit this machine gets in general. I mean I assumed it must have its benefits if they were making my mom use it as part of her physical therapy (isolated motion, yadda yadda yadda), but even so, the hate is real.

Maybe it's best for people who need to do rehabilitative exercises and/or who aren't capable of doing things like squats, especially the elderly, but I've seen guys with incredible thighs use it to help shape their legs, too, so I don't know.

Maybe it's best for people who need to do rehabilitative exercises and/or who aren't capable of doing things like squats, especially the elderly, but I've seen guys with incredible thighs use it to help shape their legs, too, so I don't know.

In my apartment gym yesterday, I went to use the leg extension machine and I usually have it at around 15 kgs, as I think more is not really that good for me, but the guy before me had it on 50kgs.  Surely, that can't be good like Aristocrat explained.  My sister told me I should concentrate more on IT band exercises and stretching which seem more useful and less punishing on the legs.

Maybe it's best for people who need to do rehabilitative exercises and/or who aren't capable of doing things like squats, especially the elderly, but I've seen guys with incredible thighs use it to help shape their legs, too, so I don't know.

In my apartment gym yesterday, I went to use the leg extension machine and I usually have it at around 15 kgs, as I think more is not really that good for me, but the guy before me had it on 50kgs.  Surely, that can't be good like Aristocrat explained.  My sister told me I should concentrate more on IT band exercises and stretching which seem more useful and less punishing on the legs.

Yeah, I guess a lot of the controversy surrounding the machine has a lot to do with its rampant misuse and the fact that they have other exercises that can workout the same muscles with less risk of injuring the knee, although there are lots of people who might find those other exercises too difficult and/or won't provide them with the resistance that they need. Whenever I see it getting used by one of the more buffed out guys who clearly don't have that problem, though, they always use it one leg at a time, like how my mom was instructed, and they're doing those really slow, light-weight reps on them (like the same as you, no more than 15kg, but I've seen it as low as 10kg). They're not even bringing it up all the way, either. Like maybe up to around 45 degrees? And moving it reeeaaally slow. I think it takes them fifteen seconds to move it one way or the other.

And then I'll watch another guy get on, set it to 60-100kg, and pump it like an action shotgun during a zombie apocalypse. Clearly not the right way to handle any machine, but there it is.