Because you aren’t allowed to clobber people in this country anymore, I’m venting my frustration here.
Today I was barefoot deadlifting in the free weights room at my gym [sic]. It was fairly quiet, couple of other people in the room. Then this PT comes in with his client and keeps staring at me over 5 mins or so - I thought he might be watching my form or something. But then:
“You shouldn’t be barefoot.”
“Why?”
“You might drop a weight on your foot.”
“And a thin shoe is going to help that?”
“You might think you’re being smart (damn right I did), but it’s a general gym rule not to be barefoot around weights.”
“Well, I really don’t think that’s the case.”
At this point I just ignored him and carried on. He leaves the room. 10 mins later, a pair of droogs from the sports centre came in and told me I could either “put your shoes on, leave, or take it up with the manager. Health and safety.”
I took it up with the manager. He claimed that it was an insurance thing. I think it was just a knee jerk reaction against people without shoes.
I finished my session in nike frees, pissed off that I was having to lift extra distance on top of my already long legs.
Anyone else had experience with this? Does he actually have aleg to stand on with insurance / health & safety (I’m in the UK. The gym is the Oxford uni gym @ Iffley Road)? It’s not even a chromey cardio place. I’m trying to find a small gym.
I find it interesting that you’re upset about the added distance your Nike frees added to the lift. I prefer deads off a platform to add an extra 3 inches or so to the lift.
I wish my gym allowed barefoot deads and squats, but not for that reason.
I have come across the same problem. It happened to me at the university gym while I was in school, though, so I would just put my shoes back on until they quit looking, as there wasn’t a whole lot they could do about it.
I have a hard time believing the insurance bit, even though this was the same response I was given. I am sure you had to sign some papers when you joined. If you bothered to read them, you basically signed your life away while you are there. I.e. you have no recourse if you get hurt, unless you can prove it was because of the gym’s negligence. Obviously this is not the case. The funny part about it is that it’s not like a tennis shoe is really going to protect you from a dropped plate anyways.
Get some wrestling shoes or ballet shoes or maybe even flip flops (it’s funny, but I have seen them allowed), or find a new gym.
The gym I am at now doesn’t care, and I have always had good luck at YMCA’s.
Hmmm…pickle that is. I sympathize with your problem. Goes to show how much any kind of authority gets eventually abused.
Quick question though; how many sets do you do when deadlifting? I ask because the first guy in your story apparently starred at your deadlift for 5mns, left, and ten minutes later the “droogs” came in.
[quote]Renton wrote:
Ballin4Christ32 wrote:
Do you not have socks in England?
Socks? What are they?[/quote]
I think he means wait what does he mean?
It was during my warm up that he came over. 10 mins was a figure of speech meaning ‘a bit more than the 5 mins I mentioned earlier (which may not have been 5 mins)’.
Manager said no sandals either. Been looking at deadlift slippers.
[quote]el0gic wrote:
It was during my warm up that he came over. 10 mins was a figure of speech meaning ‘a bit more than the 5 mins I mentioned earlier (which may not have been 5 mins)’.
Manager said no sandals either. Been looking at deadlift slippers.[/quote]
Screw the manager! Go barefoot and if you get caught, apologize and put the shoes back on. You don’t deadlift everyday, do you?
While I was on the road in Seattle in a Gold’s, I was lifting wearing flip-flops. The manager told me that the rule was no flip-flops. It was clearly posted, I didn’t see it. Flip-flops was all I had. He let me finish my workout. Their gym, their rules.
At home, I never had that problem. There was no rule against flip-flops. At another gym I used to work out at the rule was “no work boots”. I don’t think that was a safety issue.
I always take my shoes off while deadlifting, not socks tho…
Makes me feel alot stronger, more grounded, my shoes are are very cushioned and have a slight downward angle. Accept for my converse but they are uncomfortable.
I used to always get shit for taking them off to deadlift, lucky for me they would usually tell me to pput them off after the loud crash of my heavy set hitting the floor once I finished so it wasnt so bad.
But its realy annoying that they call me on that with all the other bullshit going around.
Anyway I changed gyms and now no one gives me shit.