Last week I was in my local gym and saw a guy (maybe in his late 20s) performing barbell squats with 135 lbs. Everything about his form made me cringe because he looked like an accident waiting to happen. His knees buckled inward, his lower back rounded out, and his movement was choppy and fast rather than smooth and controlled. Probably the only reason this guy was getting away with his terrible form was that he is still pretty young. So what did I do or say? Nothing.
While I am not a trainer, I certainly know biomechanics and understand mechanisms of injury, so I feel qualified to instruct someone on such things as squatting form. But in my 10 years of being a practicing physical therapist, I've NEVER offered unsolicited advice. This goes for settings outside of the gym as well. Another example of seeing something without saying something is when I see a person using a cane that does not fit them properly. I see it all the time, a person walking down the street, his or her shoulder hunched up because the cane is too long. The cane may be offering stability, but in the long run that person will likely end up with shoulder and neck pain. But again, I've never stopped anyone and offered advice.
After my observation of the poor form squatter, I asked a few patients and two fellow therapists what they would do in a situation like the one I described. The responses among this small sample size were very mixed. One of the patients said, "Yes", they would absolutely appreciate if someone intervened with the good intention of injury prevention. Another responded that their pride might make them put their guard up if approached unsolicited. One of the therapists said he would never say anything because what if, god forbid, the stranger took your advice and ended up getting hurt anyway? I found it interesting that the responses varied so much, and it made me more curios. Hence this blog.
I would love to hear from you what you think. Would you appreciate unsolicited advice on injury prevention? Or would you find it annoying to be approached? I suspect that your responses will also be varied. My suspicion is that most guys would respond, if approached in the gym, "Thanks, but I'm good." Maybe the women might feel like they were simply being hit on. I've definitely seen that happen and it's usually a cringe-worthy moment.
So I'm asking for your thoughts on this topic. If approached in the gym (or elsewhere, for that matter) by a physical therapist or another healthcare professional familiar with biomechanics, would you be open or closed to advice?
I'd appreciate it. But you'd have to ID yourself right away as a professional. But I imagine guys wouldn't be as patient with the advice. You'd probably have be extra apologetic and avoid saying, hey, I noticed your form is terrible. To avoid the ladies thinking you were hitting on them, you could say something like, hey I noticed you're doing the exact same thing wrong my wife was doing when she first started...
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