Huh??

Working out in a commercial gym lends itself to a lot of WTF moments. You know what I'm talking about... 4 inch squats, air humping bench presses, one handed overhead squats on a bosu ball, the curl boyz who flex after every set, etc, etc, etc. I see this stuff all the time and it doesn't even surprise me anymore. But recently I saw, well... heard, something that made me stop my workout and say, "Huh??"


I left my MP3 player at home on this particular day at the gym. I'll tell you, nothing fires me up for a good squat session more than some Journey. "Don't stop, believin. Hold on to that feel-ay-eya-en!" YEEAAAHHH!!! I was pumped! During the second set, just after the chorus, I catch one of the 'Fitness Consultants' showing a new member around the gym. It's your typical soccer mom. 35 years old with a few extra pounds to lose and a few dollars to burn.


The squat racks are in the back corner and one of the last places that are shown to prospective and new members. This is fine by me, because that usually ends up being the last place these people end up when they come in to workout. Just after I rack the bar, I hear the 'Fitness Consultant' talking about the freeweight section.


"And this is where all of the freeweights are. As you can see, we've got a couple squat racks, several types of benches, two Smith machines, and a pretty wide selection of dumbbells. This is where all the big boys come to lift. You'll want to stay out of this part of the gym. I don't want to see you get hurt. If you do end up exercising over here, stick to the Smith machine. It'll be far safer than using the freeweights."


"HUH??" I ended up cutting my rest period short. Seriously, my ears would have jumped out and punched me in the side of the neck if I had to hear another word that came out of this guys mouth. 'I don't want to see you get hurt? Stick to the Smith machine?' Oh. My. God. Could he have given this woman any worse advice? And she was happy to hand this guy a check.


Okay - I won't even go into the whole Smith machine thing what with the limited ROM you can use, it restricting you into a restricted plane of motion, wreaking havoc on the joints, etc. Nope, won't even go there. What got me was talking her out of using free weights for fear of injury. Either the guy didn't have a clue or he was just telling her what she wanted to hear to make a sell. Forget honesty. Forget the most important section of the gym. Forget injury prevention.


Any trainer or 'Consultant' should know and tout the benefits of freeweights versus machines. Here's a short list:


Movement in all planes of motion.
More muscle recruitment through recruitment of stabilizer muscles and prime movers.
Greater exercise variety.
Can mimic real world situations.
Increase in proprioception.
Increase in bone density

I was seriously dumbfounded. Goes to show you... Don't believe everything that you hear! Even if it is from a professional.