I was in the gym yesterday and I saw a “newbie” come in. We get a new one every other day. Sure, I’ve only been going to the gym for almost the last two weeks, but I’m considered a veteran at this point. With the exception of a few people, I’ve rarely seen the same person come into the gym twice in my two week span (assuming they come in at the same time everyday).
Anyway, back to my story. This lady comes in, probably 400 pounds or so; she looks extremely uncomfortable. I know the feeling, it’s not about being nervous or afraid on your first day at the gym, it’s about knowing that you don’t “belong” there. She comes in, doesn’t do any stretches, and sits on the ab crunching machine. She did ab crunches, continuously, for about 10 minutes. No sets, just nonstop — then she left the gym.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen someone do this. Another person I’ve only seen once, a kid probably 16 or 17, comes in, sits on the ab machine, does about 70-80 fast reps on a low weight, then leaves.
I wanted to say something briefly to them along the lines of “You have to lose body fat first to see any abs,” but that’s just not my style. I don’t correct people when they do an exercise wrong, as I don’t exactly look like a shining example of proper diet and exercise.
Spot training so doesn’t work. You can’t focus on one body part like abs and expect a few crunches to give you a six-pack, regardless of what the late night infomercials tell you. You gotta lose that fat first, man.
