Athlekinetix Blog

Gyms are full of experts. Some are paid professionals like personal trainers that actually have to pass a grueling exam in order to be accredited and then continue to keep their certifications current with  continuing education classes. You would think these are the people that would hold the “weight” in the weight room when it comes to fitness advice. Unfortunately, weight rooms in gyms are the one place in particular that expert advice is most often given not by experts but rather by people who think they are experts.

The ‘know it alls’ are the most dangerous types of experts in my opinion. And perhaps the most interesting thing about them is they are the first and loudest to dispense of advice to anyone that will listen. What I particularly like about the ‘know it alls’ is that no subject when it comes to fitness is out of their range of expertise. Weight loss, nutritional supplements, vitamins, periodization, and weight lifting of course are all within their domain.

It makes me cringe when I hear these personal trainer wannabes in action because the people they are talking to are hanging onto every word. There are several problems with taking fitness advice from people who are not trained in fitness. Besides the fact that your body will not yield better results because you followed this advice, the biggest problem people face is they are opening themselves to injury. Just because Joe the Expert has big guns, doesn’t mean Joe has any idea about proper form or what exercises are best for you given your physical limitations and abilities.

In fact, most often in weight rooms, the people with the biggest muscles have the worst form. Is it really worth injury to expose your vulnerabilities to these people? Bad advice even occurs from the well-intentioned exercisers at times. Just the other day, a person who has been a regular hard core exerciser for the past 25 years gave what she believed to be innocent advice to someone about an exciting new exercise she recently discovered and has had positive results with.  This well-intentioned exerciser simply wanted to share the exercise with someone else that was interested in adding it to  their exercise routine. Even though this avid exerciser had done this exercise herself at least 100 times, she had apparently been doing it 100 times incorrectly. By then demonstrating this incorrect form to someone else, she was inadvertently passing bad advice on like a bad chain letter that keeps going and going. The point is the intention doesn’t matter. Bad fitness advice equals bad form and bad form equals injury.

The other problem with being the master fitness expert is that what works for you might not work for somebody else. It is just like with diets. Some people lose weight on a high protein diet whereas others lose weight on a strict vegan diet. Fitness is not one size fits all. By pretending to have the magic formula for building muscle mass, losing weight, or toning problem areas, these pseudo trainers are setting people up for disappointment and failure.

The best advice for when you are at the gym is to pay attention to your surroundings. Notice other people’s bodies and workout routines and use that as fuel for what you want to look like and what you plan on doing to achieve it. But, instead of using these people as role models and experts, go to a real fitness expert and make an exercise plan that is right for you. A personal trainer can tailor a program specifically to meet your needs and goals while at the same time showing you how to properly use the weight equipment and maintain good form in order to prevent injury.

A ‘know it all’ in the gym might be fun to share a protein shake with, but that’s about all.