As I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed this morning I came across yet another video of someone in the gym performing an exercise completely incorrect, perhaps a little bit inappropriate and without a doubt somewhat odd looking. I then noticed that this particular video had already received over one thousand “likes” on Facebook within a couple of hours from when it was first posted. To further my distaste for this post there were countless rude, ignorant and nasty comments about the person performing the exercise in question in this video. Frustrated with the post I decided to leave my own little nasty comment. However my comment was not directed towards the person in the video, rather it was addressed to the original poster himself.  Seriously, when is all this social media bullying going to stop?!?!?!?

Okay, I’ll admit I lost my cool a little bit earlier and should have obviously not added fuel to this erupting fire however I could not contain myself. I felt like the poor guy in the video needed to be defended and the original poster needed to be shamed. Within a few minutes I found myself in a war of words with both the original poster and his fellow hyenas, er…umm…I mean “friends” defending the post and telling me “to chill out”. Well I eventually will “chill out” but not until I get a few things off my back when it comes to this type of behaviour.

As a Personal Trainer I travel around and work in many different gyms throughout Downtown Vancouver so believe me when I tell you that I’ve seen ALOT of strange looking exercises and/or odd behaviours occur in the gym throughout the years. Sometimes it’s hard not to pass judgement, especially if I know that someone is doing an exercise wrong or incorrect and can lead to the possibility of an injury. However I can honestly say that I have never felt the urge to whip out my camera phone and snap a photo or take a photo of the person to shame and embarrass him or her while doing their workout. I mean what gives me the right or anyone the right for that matter to do such a thing? It’s mean, hurtful and in my opinion completely distasteful.

Where my frustration grows at times with the people who make and post these photos and videos online is that they don’t know the full story of the person they are filming. I mean what if the person has certain genetic limitations, a disability or is currently recovering from an injury that prevents him or her from performing the exercise correctly or with perfect form? Or perhaps the person is completely new to the gym and has absolutely no clue as to what they are doing. Again, who are we to judge?

Did you know that I have some clients who have been working with me for over ten years and still forget how to do certain exercises or have no idea as to which weights they should start with and which ones they should finish with? And I mean really why should they? This is why they have me and continue to come and see me. Should I be expected to walk into a Lawyer’s office once or twice a week for a few months or even a couple of years and be able to just start practicing law?

Ofcourse not! So to those people I suggest that they get their complete story straight before they start recording their fellow gym members. Where one person might expose his or her weakness lifting weights, that very same person might be able to whip your ass at a game of Basketball or run circles around you in business school. And just think how you would feel if someone were to record you failing some test or appear confused and perhaps a bit disoriented for the world to see.

Finally, I’ve always found myself wondering why exactly these bullies are so fixated and concerned as to what other people are doing in the gym during their own workouts. The person might be doing something incorrect but the bully is the one standing their filming them. How is what he or she doing any more useful or beneficial to his or her own workout? Quite simply, it’s not.

When it comes to your health and fitness it needs to be a lifetime goal. Therefore I believe it’s extremely important for all of us to support one another so that we can all stay on track with our long term goals and continue to succeed. If you see someone doing something incorrect offer a piece of advice, or a tip. If the advice is unwanted then just leave the person be or inform a Personal Trainer at your gym that you are concerned for the person’s safety.

It’s not anyone’s job to police the gym unless ofcourse someone is doing something that could endanger the lives of others. However I can tell you with over fifteen years of experience training in different gyms I’ve yet to see that happen. So let’s just remember to all play nice, continue to support, motivate and respect each other and leave the Gym Bullying videos where they belong – In the Garbage!

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove