Why We Need To Stop Laughing At Gym Fails

I was browsing fitness videos on YouTube yesterday and I came across this:

If you don’t have time to watch, basically it is a guy making sarcastic and amusing comments of people working out – doing stupid routines, dropping weights, etc, etc.

I am not sure if I should laugh, because if you are a regular gym user you will have been there at some point.

That is why it’s not a good idea to be sat there and laughing, judging other peoples gym fails.

You probably have added some bizarre routine that you got from a fitness magazine/Internet/bro friend.

Or got carried away with how much weight you could handle

It’s just something that happens to the best of us.  In reflection we have all made mistakes or done something stupid at the gym.  But you just smile and laugh how dumb you were.

Personally I’m grateful that there wasn’t someone filming my gym fails – I also do question the culture of laughing at making mistakes at the gym:

1. It’s an invasion of their privacy.
2. They are trying to improve themselves.
3. It sets the stereotype for a person who has never been to a gym before that it’s full of judgemental meatheads, who will mock them.
4. You wouldn’t like it if hundreds of thousands of strangers where laughing at you working out.

But on the flip side…

…I can’t help but laugh. (except for watching the crossfit snatches – that just makes me wince).

I know I shouldn’t, therefore to balance my karma for laughing at others, here are three of my ‘gym idiot’ fails.

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Number 1 – Doing a weight routine that I had no idea what it was for

When I first started going to the gym I had no idea what I was doing with weights – most of my routines were copied from magazines, observing others or taking advice from some posturing bro.  So quite often I would be doing sets for a routine that had no benefit and/or could cause injury.  Usually I got the gym instructor giving a quiet word.

Lesson Learned: When starting weights make sure to have proper instruction to begin with to help you get the form for a routine.

Damage: A hurt ego.

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Number 2 – Pushing for personal bests

I was getting stronger at my squat every week, where I was slowly increasing the weight on the bar.  One week I decided I wanted to go heavy.  My body was covered in sweat and I was already pretty tired.  But this didn’t stop me making a massive jump in weight.

I went down – so far so good, but then as I went to go back up my legs started wobbling and the bar slipped off my back andcaught the edge of my hand.  All the weights came crashing down and everyone in the gym looked at me.

Lesson Learned: Pushing yourself is okay, but you need to know when to call it a day.

Damage: A hurt ego, time out injured from the gym and a hand that needed stitches (luckily it didn’t get crushed)

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Number 3 – Spartan Warrior in the gym!

When I began training for my first Spartan race I started doing a number of bizarre workouts to meet the requirements of a Spartan race – I would be crawling along the gym floor and everything!

This got me a lot of attention and in some ways I quite liked that I was being different to all the other gym goers.  For my next trick I decided to take a Viper Log on the treadmill with me and run with it on my shoulders.

There was no issue with what I was doing, but a gym instructor told me off and said I shouldn’t be doing it.  In reflection I probably did look stupid and if I had been recorded I probably would have ended up in one of the gym idiot videos.

Lesson Learned: There was nothing wrong with what I was doing, but I think some methods of training are best left in the privacy of a woodland area.

Damage: Ego – particularly more so as there was a group of teenage lads eyeballing me so I was showing off a bit.

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These are my biggest gym fails. What are yours?

What is your opinion on videos making fun of gym users?

Everyone makes mistakes right?

Wishing you the best in your success

James @Perfect Manifesto.

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