I’ve been noticing something kind of weird at the gym lately and wanted to see what you guys think. I see a ton of people doing stuff like bicep curls or side laterals where they stand with their feet super close together, bend their knees, and then basically "hop" or bounce to get the weight moving. It happens on everything from dumbbells to cable work.
Personally, I usually take a wider stance and try to stay as still as possible to keep the tension on the muscle. I might use a little bit of body momentum just to squeeze out those last couple of reps at the end of a set, but that’s about it.
So, are you a hopper or do you stay planted? If you do the bounce, is there actually a reason for it? I’m genuinely curious why so many people lift like that.
Haha the gym "hop" is real. honestly i think most people just dont realize they're doing it until they see themselves in a mirror. its like their body just naturally tries to make the lift easier lol
I’m definitely in the stay-planted camp. if im bouncing i usually take it as a sign the weight is too heavy and i need to swallow my pride and go down 5 lbs. gotta feel that burn!
oh man i used to do this so bad on side raises lol. my old trainer called it "dancing with the dumbbells." once i started keeping my feet wider and my core tight it felt like a totally different exercise. way harder but way better results
idk i feel like some guys do it just to move heavier weight so they look stronger? like yeah you "curled" 50s but your calves did half the work haha
huge props for cutting the weight down while dealing with injured wrists, that takes a ton of discipline
I stay pretty still for the most part but i’ll admit i get a little bit of a rhythm going on cables sometimes. nothing crazy but a tiny bit of momentum helps me keep the flow. probably looks a bit bouncy though if im being real -
The ego lift bounce!! lol i see it every day. i usually just stick to my corner and try not to get hit by a stray dumbbell. wider stance is definitely the way to go for stability though
guilty as charged... i do the little knee bend on overhead presses sometimes. its mostly just a habit i picked up. i didnt even think about it being "weird" until i read this haha. might try staying still next leg day!
man i see the "gym bunnies" doing that bounce all the time and it drives me crazy lol. i'm 100% in the planted camp- if you have to jump to move the weight you're basically just doing a weird vertical jump instead of a curl. i stick to a wide stance too cuz it just feels way more stable when the weights get heavy. save the hopping for the cardio deck
lol i call those "ego hops" because usually it means the weight is way too heavy for them to actually lift properly. i stay planted as hell because i actually want to feel the muscle tear. if you're bouncing you're just using momentum to bypass the hardest part of the rep which is literally where the growth happens! stay still and get those gains bro
honestly i used to be a hopper when i first started because i thought moving heavy weight was the only thing that mattered. now that im older and my joints hurt i stay planted like a tree lol. the only time i use a little "english" is on the very last rep of a heavy row or something. if you stay still the pump is ten times better anyway.
i think some people do it because they see "pro" bodybuilders doing cheat reps on youtube but they forget those guys already have massive bases. for us regular dudes it just looks like we're having a seizure in the middle of the weight room haha. i stay grounded- it's the only way to make sure the side delts are actually doing the work on laterals
it's funny u mention the cable work cuz thats where i see it the most. people treat the cable stack like a trampoline lol. i'm with u- wide stance and knees slightly bent but locked in. if your feet are moving then your target muscle is getting a vacation. keep doing what u're doing man- quality reps always beat bouncy ones.
