To give or not to give (advice that is!) - UK-Muscle Body Building Community

RAIKEY · 29-07-2005, 04:06 PM

Some feedback on this would be apreciated folks,the amount of frustration i feel sometimes regarding this subject is unreal, To create the scenario....

You're happily getting on with your body part of the day when you cant help but notice a guy/girl doing some excercise you know (or think!) is in really bad form and could create a problem, or at the very least will have no benifit whatsoever.

It happens in gyms everyday i know, but what do you do? what is the correct etiquette in such a situation? i dont think there is a strict rule is there? a lot of factors apply:-

will he/she take offence?
is their technique some new sh*t i never saw?
am i qualified/experienced enough to give advice?
will the gym trainer take offence?
why is'nt anyone else saying something?

Its a tricky one, i know, but all these reasons are negative, what about the positives:-

you could prevent a nasty injury/strain/accident
you could make a new freind, making contact with someone who is more than likely shi**ing themselves and ultra intimidated by being there in the first place is going to putthem at ease, while at the same time smashing the idea that your a stereotypical bbing "meathead"(smashing? mmm probly not the best descriptive to use in this case...."gently and intelligently dismantling"the idea that your a meathead would be better methinks)
you feel good, not clever or superior, just good that you helped someone.(unless he turns out to be a Muay Thai expert fresh from Bangkok doing some wierd stretch and tells you to fcuk off)

I know a lot of you are qualified, litterally as in "certificated" to give this advice in the gym so this probly dont apply to you.But for those of us who arn't ,What would you consider the responsible action in this scenario?
also given the social climate today regarding personal injury claims etc,and the rising "i'll sue your ass" culture what legal position are we in to give advice? (Hacksii,Winger and the other US guys probly have a different outlook to ours on this bit, not having a dig guys)

Anyway enough waffle, my question is....what do you guys do?

JEES! SORRY FOR THE TINY TEXT TOO, DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THERE!

samurai69 · 29-07-2005, 05:10 PM

Even as a qualified trainer, unless its really dangerous form i tend to ignore people, the trainer at the gym i train at will usually pull someone up if form is out and i dont want to step on their shoes, admittedly it winds me up when trainers/instructors walk past people or worse actually teach bad form, but if its in someone elses gym I am not covered by insurance etc

With my own clients I always make sure their form is good, again because i am covered by my own insurance etc etc

shovel man · 29-07-2005, 05:21 PM

ive watched a trainer give advice then within minutes theyve done the same exercise the way there freinds are doing it because they can use more weight so i tend not to bother giving advice unless asked

verve · 29-07-2005, 05:22 PM

I would say give them the advice. If the person has a brain they'll realise that you are saving them from injury. Definetly is the person looks like a newbie, as they might be too shy to ask advise.

29-07-2005, 04:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
RAIKEY Please do not feed the Raikey, it may bite.!! Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Deepest, Darkest , Yorkcestershire,...Ayup See thee!! Posts: 3,378	To give or not to give (advice that is!) Some feedback on this would be apreciated folks,the amount of frustration i feel sometimes regarding this subject is unreal, To create the scenario.... You're happily getting on with your body part of the day when you cant help but notice a guy/girl doing some excercise you know (or think!) is in really bad form and could create a problem, or at the very least will have no benifit whatsoever. It happens in gyms everyday i know, but what do you do? what is the correct etiquette in such a situation? i dont think there is a strict rule is there? a lot of factors apply:- will he/she take offence? is their technique some new sht i never saw? am i qualified/experienced enough to give advice? will the gym trainer take offence? why is'nt anyone else saying something? Its a tricky one, i know, but all these reasons are negative, what about the positives:- you could prevent a nasty injury/strain/accident you could make a new freind, making contact with someone who is more than likely shiing themselves and ultra intimidated by being there in the first place is going to putthem at ease, while at the same time smashing the idea that your a stereotypical bbing "meathead"(smashing? mmm probly not the best descriptive to use in this case...."gently and intelligently dismantling"the idea that your a meathead would be better methinks) you feel good, not clever or superior, just good that you helped someone.(unless he turns out to be a Muay Thai expert fresh from Bangkok doing some wierd stretch and tells you to fcuk off) I know a lot of you are qualified, litterally as in "certificated" to give this advice in the gym so this probly dont apply to you.But for those of us who arn't ,What would you consider the responsible action in this scenario? also given the social climate today regarding personal injury claims etc,and the rising "i'll sue your ass" culture what legal position are we in to give advice? (Hacksii,Winger and the other US guys probly have a different outlook to ours on this bit, not having a dig guys) Anyway enough waffle, my question is....what do you guys do? JEES! SORRY FOR THE TINY TEXT TOO, DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THERE! __________________ I used to have a large gay following.......but i hid behind some cars and lost him!!* Last edited by RAIKEY; 29-07-2005 at 04:16 PM.

29-07-2005, 05:22 PM	#4 (permalink)
verve 666 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: At work, probably. Posts: 674	I would say give them the advice. If the person has a brain they'll realise that you are saving them from injury. Definetly is the person looks like a newbie, as they might be too shy to ask advise. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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29-07-2005, 05:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
samurai69 Banned Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Mid Portugal - by the sea Posts: 3,076	Even as a qualified trainer, unless its really dangerous form i tend to ignore people, the trainer at the gym i train at will usually pull someone up if form is out and i dont want to step on their shoes, admittedly it winds me up when trainers/instructors walk past people or worse actually teach bad form, but if its in someone elses gym I am not covered by insurance etc With my own clients I always make sure their form is good, again because i am covered by my own insurance etc etc

29-07-2005, 05:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
shovel man Looking Freaky Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 666	ive watched a trainer give advice then within minutes theyve done the same exercise the way there freinds are doing it because they can use more weight so i tend not to bother giving advice unless asked