Sometimes a break in your workout routine can make or break your gym session.
This was the case for a man who was told by staff at the ActiveSG gym in Clementi to stop doing t-bar rows with a barbell because it would “damage the equipment”.
Danie Dharma, personal trainer and former Mr. Singapore winner, took to TikTok earlier this month to address what he described as ActiveSG’s “backward and ridiculous draconian rules”.
“I was doing a set of T-bar rows at one of the ActiveSG gyms, when suddenly the floor trainer comes over and stops me, and he says, ‘You’re not allowed to do bar rows in T here, it will damage the equipment,'” he explained in the video.
The 36-year-old said he sympathized with the floor coaches as they were just doing their job, and instead took the matter to ActiveSG management for “all these ridiculous rules”.
“It’s ridiculous. You can’t damage a barbell doing T-bar rows because that’s the purpose of the barbell – to put weights on it and lift it.”
@destroyerdharma Calling Active Sg to start updating their retrograde and ridiculous rules #fyp #tiktoksg #tiktoksg🇸🇬 #activesg #gym #fitness #local #MrSingapore #fatloss #CoachDharma #PersonalTrainer #Bodybuilder #tbarrows ♬ original sound – DestroyerDharma
A row of t-bars is an exercise where the individual pulls the weighted end of a bar bell towards them while straddling it.
This exercise is usually done with equipment called the landmine, which anchors the bar bell to the ground and secures it, or with a suitable T-bar machine.
“For the management of ActiveSG, I think it’s time you stopped living in the 1980s. It’s already 2022. It’s high time you updated your rules,” he said. added.
“A lot of your rules really don’t make sense, and that bothers a lot of people.”
Speaking to AsiaOne, Dharma said he was “frustrated” when he was told to stop doing the exercise and the floor coach, although polite, did not explicitly state how the exercise damaged equipment.
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He told AsiaOne that he used a corner of the four-machine cable station to place the other end of the bell in place of a landmine. And that he didn’t feel the need to secure it because he “just needed to place [the bar bell] right” and perform the exercise with “strict form”.
“I have been bodybuilding for 21 years and have been to almost every gym in Singapore,” he said. “Only ActiveSG has such ridiculous rules. Other gyms have no such rules at all.”
Safety Hazard
Contacted by AsiaOne, a Sport Singapore spokesperson said Dharma had been ordered to stop because “the exercise he performed was a modified version using equipment that was not intended or designed for his specific training.
“The bar was placed against the base of a multi-gym station, which acted as an insecure stopper. The swivel end of the bar was not firmly anchored like on a proper T-bar machine,” said said the spokesperson.
“This could lead to unstable use of the modified equipment, which would pose a safety hazard to the user and other gym patrons. The workout also caused damage to the base of the multi-gym station in due to repeated lifting motion.”
ActiveSG is a national movement initiated by Sport Singapore.
The spokesperson added that ActiveSG “follows an organized set of rules and regulations that ensure the safety and well-being of gym users,” just like other gyms in Singapore.
“Modification and misuse of equipment can result in serious injury,” the board said.
Nonetheless, the spokesperson shared that ActiveSG “understands the feedback provider’s desire to perform their T-bar exercises,” and invited them to do so at other ActiveSG gyms with T-bar equipment. T appropriate.
This includes Jurong East Sport Center Gym and ActiveSG Park @ Jurong Lake Gardens Gym.
No part of this story or photos may be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
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