Thought your gym behaviour was pristine and certain to attract the right kind of female attention? Think again. According to fitness and lifestyle expert Rita-best, men of all types fall into the same trap of displaying stereotypical 'alpha' behaviour when they hit the gym – and they all only serve to detract from a man's allure.
Rita-best pulls no punches in the following list of nine mistakes
men commonly make. I'm hoping that some of the points are slightly tongue in
cheek, as I know a friend who is guilty of at least three! ...
Ahh! the loud, testosterone fuelled, macho gym grunt. We ladies absolutely love it. It draws attention, gives us an excuse to look at you even
more than we are already, and shows us just how manly you really are Or not.
Ask the majority of women and they'll say that the ostentatious man grunt is one of the most annoying things men do in gyms. It's annoying, distracting, and largely unnecessary (otherwise surely you'd hear women doing the same). Breathe, by all means – we understand that. Using your breath to help you lift is a highly effective tool. But don’t grunt, moan, or generally let any kind of loud noise out of your mouth.
Ask the majority of women and they'll say that the ostentatious man grunt is one of the most annoying things men do in gyms. It's annoying, distracting, and largely unnecessary (otherwise surely you'd hear women doing the same). Breathe, by all means – we understand that. Using your breath to help you lift is a highly effective tool. But don’t grunt, moan, or generally let any kind of loud noise out of your mouth.
2. Mirror posing
You know when you do that thing where you lift your top a little
to show your 6-pack to ‘yourself’ in the gym mirror? Or that adorable bicep or
tricep tense that you perform just to see how much your muscles have developed?
Well, don't fool yourself: we know what you’re doing. And it’s kind of sad.
We’re not being mean here. You train hard, you’re at the gym doing
your thing, and you probably do have a mighty fine body. But – and here's the
key bit – you don't need to act like a peacock for us to notice it. We have
eyes and a sex drive. If we think you look good, we will probably check you out
on the sly. Pulling silly poses in front of the mirror will only ruin any
allure you may have.
3. Random shadow boxing
Straight straight. Upper cut upper cut. We’ve all seen ‘The
Fighter’. We’ve probably all been to a boxing class or two. So, safe to say, we
know the drill. But you’re not at a boxing class now. Practicing your moves in
front of the mirror in the weights section just looks a bit ... naff. More
knock-back than knockout.
4. Taking up an unreasonable amount of gym space
Weight areas are generally a little squashed. Benches, barbells,
dumb bells, The Smith, cable machines etc etc. Mix all that together with about
20 people and you’ve got yourself a hot, cramped, and sweaty mess. And we all
know girls just love a hot, cramped, sticky and sweaty mess to work out in.
So, when you don’t bother to put your weights back, leave your
towel, your phone, your keys, your wallet, some used sweat tissue and a barbell
lying in a lovely circle with a radius of 2 metres around you, it doesn’t go
down too well with us.
5. Dropping weights
This fabulous habit generally goes hand in hand with the loud
grunting, and it’s no less annoying. Dropping weights from a great height makes
one hell of a clatter – but more to the point it’s also pretty dangerous. There
have been many times when I’ve had to launch myself out of the way of a stray,
flying dumbbell, much to the amusement of the men around me. Hah Hah. Put the
weights down on the floor safely and save yourself a potential law suit in the
process.
6. Bad technique to lift too much weight to look 'strong'
Funnily enough, some of us actually know what we’re doing in the
gym, or are even personal trainers ourselves. When we see a man contorting his
entire body trying to lift, pull or push a weight that is just too heavy for
him, it’s not sexy, cool, manly or tough – it’s just a bit pathetic. It makes
you look weaker than you probably are, and just a little bit silly.
7. Inappropriate commenting on girls
Yes, this does
happen; no, it’s not nice. Just because we may be wearing tight clothing that strains
rather as we squat, deadlift and lunge, you do not have free licence to comment
upon it.
You may see this as gym-style flirting, but we see it as rudeness.
Stop.
8. Unrequested advice
This is one of my favourites. I go to the gym, on my own, a lot. I
weight train especially on weekends and I’m my personal trainer so I promise I do
know what I’m doing. But this does not stop men, almost daily, coming up to me
and trying to correct my form or suggesting other exercises I ‘should’ do to
‘really work that muscle’.
Guys, I beg you, unless the lady in question is doing something
that may cause her an injury (think squatting or deadlifting incorrectly), or
specifically asks your advice, leave her alone. Particularly if you don’t
really know what you’re talking about. We know you’re trying to help, or make
conversation, but it comes across as a bit condescending, annoying and
unhelpful.
9. Unreasonable gym requests
All sorts of people go to the gym: grannies, nerds, gym bunnies,
teenagers, bodybuilders, triathletes, and you. Each of these people will be
different, with a variety of likes, dislikes, needs and preferences. And the
gym facility has the very tricky job of trying to please everyone.
It's not an easy job, but gyms tend to deal with it pretty well.
Experience has taught them about the sort of music to play and what to have on
the TV. It's averagely acceptable – by which I mean that most people find the
environment inoffensive.
At the same time, few find it to be exactly what
they want. For example, there might be a Spurs match that you'd rather like to
watch while on the cross trainer. But before you go complaining to the staff,
remember: the gym isn't your private space. Making demands just makes you look
like a selfish brat. And anyway, if you want to listen to loud house music or
watch the football, just go home!
Need some direction with your
fitness efforts? You can request a bespoke exercise and nutrition plan from Rita-best @ebehrita
i'm guilty of some, well am so adjusting
ReplyDeleteWow! Guilty as charged. Definitely changing
ReplyDelete