Hey, heyjoe…izzat a chip I see there on yer shoulder?
damn skippy
Dropping the weights damages the weights. Ever see a 100 pound dumbbell fall apart as a person was lifting it over his face? I have. (Thank goodness the weight wasn’t directly over his face when it happened.) The wanna-be he-men at the gym dropped those dumbbells all the time prior to this.
heyjoe,
The OP specifies:
All the respondents in this thread have taken this caveat under consideration, and our responses are geared toward specific people who annoy us in the gym. In point of fact, I am 6’2", 220 pounds. I bench 295, yadda yadda yadda. I also have a high IQ. Big hairy deal. I still recognize that there are lifters out there (my gym is populated with them) who fall into every single one of the “bad lifter” categories that people have posted.
As far as your question goes, here’s my take. Most people can’t be bothered to develop both their minds and their bodies. Not enough energy to go around, I suppose. This, I suppose, is an oversimplification, but it not only partially explains the “dumb jock” myth, but also the “skinny nerd” myth. As usual, there is a grain of truth here. People distribute their energy differently.
I suppose that I suppose that I suppose that I use the term “I suppose” too goddamned much.
That, and I am really lax about editing my posts.
Bleh.
I was on the fencing team in college, and as such, had access to the athlete’s weight room. Before being able to use the equipment there, one of the physical trainers would give us a walkthrough. We were given specific instructions: do not drop weights. If you are lifting something too heavy to put down gently, get a spotter. There were some specialized stations which were designed to take the impact of falling weights, and dropping weights on those was okay. But in those cases, you won’t hear the sharp clang of metal on metal.
I in no way wanted to imply that all big guys (or gals) are stupid — most aren’t. But there is a small subset of them who are obsessed with increasing their muscle mass to the point of exercising in ways that not only are detrimental to their bodies, long term, but also damage the equipment.
Punoqllads, Green Bean-
i was refering to the stations Pun spoke of. they’re raised platforms, specially reinforced to take such impacts. the weights that are generally used on them are rubber or have a strip of rubber a few inches wide around the iron. yes, dropping weights is usually bad, but in this case, it’s planned for. there is nothing a spotter can do (unless you enlist the help of 3 very quick moving and very strong individuals) to help set the weight down. most people probably aren’t familiar with such exercises because most private gyms don’t have the equipment. They also don’t have trainers who recommend such exercises becasue they can be dangerous. very easy to throw out the back on snatch jerk, power clean, dead lift, etc.
chris