There is little-to-no need for phones in a gym. There may be some exceptions.
You’re on call for work or have to pick your kid up from practice and trying to get a workout in? Reasonable. Doing a straight cardio workout and hearing your personal playlist that pumps you up helps you bust through the monotony? Makes sense.
However, chatting on your earpiece as you “train” is a distraction to others. Taking selfies as you flex makes you look like a horse’s ass unless you are posing for a magazine or training for a competition.
Generally, if you are doing either of the above, someone is there to take photos of you. If you are taking a photo of yourself in the gym and most other places in life, it is frivolous and likely unnecessary.
While I respect those who don’t care what others think of them, someone who photographs himself in the gym is the epitome of one who cares deeply what others think of him. I know this from my days of having more aesthetic fitness goals in comparison to the more performance-based goals I have today.
Though even then, I could never have flexed for a selfie in the gym with a straight face. I can picture myself hearing a close friend of mine yelling at me what a tool I am.
Then there are those just chatting on Tinder or Instaface or whatever. This prolongs the time someone spends on a piece of equipment that others may be waiting for.
If you are training heavy and need 5 minutes between sets, by all means take it! Nobody is EVER annoyed by the guy dripping in sweat on the same bench for 45 minutes unless THEY feel inadequate.
However, if you are going through the motions and making your rest period 3 minutes instead of 1 to look at Suzie’s new bikini, you are an unserious person making this country more unserious than it already is by holding up the progress of serious people with serious goals attempting to maintain a polite society. In other words, please leave your phone in the car or just stay home with your jar of Vaseline.
And let me let you in on a little secret: if you have a phone in the gym, chances are you are not working hard enough. Regardless of your specific fitness goals, could you imagine bringing a phone to practice in high school?
Not only would the coach not tolerate it (who knows now?), it would be a complete distraction to your workout. Imagine checking your phone during a water break and you see a text that your girlfriend wants to break up? Practice is ruined.
I am sure many men I see on phones are texting with their wives. You can’t be unavailable for an hour as you try to become a better man? Are you consulting with her if you should move from the 10-pound dumbbells to 15s on your next set?
Some will say they have their phone to listen to music. Most gyms I have been to already have music playing.
Personally, whether training conventionally or in a combat sport, I don’t even hear the music. I am far too concerned about form, not getting injured, success or failure on a given set, technique, fatigue, pace, etc. to even think about whether or not I like the song coming from the speakers.
The only time I ever used headphones was for road work. That is why I can understand using it on the treadmill.
Bottom line: phones were not in gyms for the first 30 years of fitness culture becoming mainstream. We don’t need them. None of us are that important.
We will get more out of our training and be done sooner with the phone in the car. Talk soon.
-Marksman