Observations from the weight room

I am a Fitness Leader at the Wellness Center and I have advice for those who are patrons at the facility.
For all you guys, Under Armor does not look great on everyone. Just because athletes wear it does not mean you look like them or will ever look like them. You should also not wear a weight belt whenever you are lifting light weights on squats. What you should do is strengthen your core. Do not wear it to other stations that do not require it because you look ridiculous.
For the ladies, baby T-shirts and rolled shorts are not for all of you. If you have a visible “skin belt” where there is extra skin hanging over your shorts this style is not for you. Makeup is also not applicable for the weight room.
For all of you who persist in entering the weight room and engaging in loud cell phone conversations or you have an obnoxiously loud ring tone, everyone hates you.
If you can maintain a phone conversation while on a machine you are not working hard enough. If you are on an elliptical machine, Stairmaster or Stepmill and lock your arms you are cheating yourself. Those bars/handles are for balance not to support you so that you may trick yourself into believing that you are in better shape than you really are.
If you use dumbbells, please use correct form. If you do not know how to perform something correctly, please ask. Your back should not hurt after bicep curls. If you need to drop weights I suggest you do it elsewhere. You may think that others care about how much you are lifting or how loud you grunt but they don’t. You’re just being annoying. The reasons for not dropping dumbbells include not damaging the equipment, not hurting yourself and not hurting others around you because the weights roll after they bounce off of the floor. If you can’t place the weight on the floor, you need to reduce the weight.
Also, your friend is not a fitness guru. Just because he is muscular does not mean that he knows anything about proper technique. The weight room is on the campus of an academic institution; don’t leave your brain outside. Ask for advice from someone qualified or do the research yourself. Always choose quality over quantity.
To make a weight room run smoothly all you have to do is be courteous. Wipe off a sweaty machine before you leave it, don’t occupy multiple machines simultaneously, re-rack your weights and please don’t engage in conversations on equipment you are not using.

Vontilla Steven can be contacted at vontilla@miami.edu.