Cheating to beat the girls

Tom Rawls · 02-07-2008, 08:01 AM

From an article in the NY Times about group training:

"Mr. Samuel said he was especially fascinated by how behavior breaks down by gender. 'Men want to win by any means necessary, even jeopardizing their form,' he said. For example, if the task is to complete two rounds of 20 push-ups, instead of doing the exercise properly, they’ll go halfway down to finish first, he said. His female clients, on the other hand, are usually slower, have great form and don’t cheat. But, he said, 'Their competitive spirit begins to rumble if they see someone cheat.'"

David Wood · 02-07-2008, 08:30 AM

Got a link to the full article?

Tom Rawls · 02-07-2008, 09:06 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/fa...tml?ref=health

full article on small group training. safe.

Emily Mattes · 02-07-2008, 10:34 AM

Ha! It's true! The solution me and my training partners use is to make the other person do the exercise over if their form is bad. Nothing more motivating than doing what you think is ten push-ups but having your spotter count them "One, two, three, three, three, three, three, four, five, six . . ."

Christian Gotcher · 02-07-2008, 10:37 AM

I don't know- I've worked out in teams of 5 where the bottom performer couldn't do jack and the top performer outperformed me by a long shot. We all scaled to our level, and when we finished, we cheered each other on. Simple as that. There wasn't really much complication, and the guy with the stopwatch constantly encouraged everyone to do the right form.

Thomas R. Stegelmann · 02-07-2008, 01:22 PM

Unless form is correct, repeat! Simple and effective

Lisbeth Darsh · 02-07-2008, 02:20 PM

I read the article this morning and linked it on our blog, even though the tone annoyed me: no mention of CF and then a sidebar with a psychologist talking about the negative effects of competition. Oh, please. Let's just sit in a circle and sing Kumbaya.

Anyhow, I wrote a letter to the NYT editor about the article -- we'll see if they print it. I plan to post it on our blog tomorrow, even if they don't.

Jeremy Stecker · 02-07-2008, 04:41 PM

I could defiantly see this happening. I've worked out with a few girls where I've been tempted. Just had to suck it up.

02-07-2008, 08:01 AM	#1
Tom Rawls Member Profile: Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bristol VT Posts: 224	Cheating to beat the girls From an article in the NY Times about group training: "Mr. Samuel said he was especially fascinated by how behavior breaks down by gender. 'Men want to win by any means necessary, even jeopardizing their form,' he said. For example, if the task is to complete two rounds of 20 push-ups, instead of doing the exercise properly, they’ll go halfway down to finish first, he said. His female clients, on the other hand, are usually slower, have great form and don’t cheat. But, he said, 'Their competitive spirit begins to rumble if they see someone cheat.'"

02-07-2008, 08:30 AM	#2
David Wood Departed Profile: Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,303	Re: Cheating to beat the girls Got a link to the full article?

02-07-2008, 09:06 AM	#3
Tom Rawls Member Profile: Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bristol VT Posts: 224	Re: Cheating to beat the girls http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/fa...tml?ref=health full article on small group training. safe.

02-07-2008, 10:34 AM	#4
Emily Mattes Member Profile: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 1,015	Re: Cheating to beat the girls Ha! It's true! The solution me and my training partners use is to make the other person do the exercise over if their form is bad. Nothing more motivating than doing what you think is ten push-ups but having your spotter count them "One, two, three, three, three, three, three, four, five, six . . ."

02-07-2008, 10:37 AM	#5
Christian Gotcher Member Profile: Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Annapolis Maryland Posts: 751	Re: Cheating to beat the girls I don't know- I've worked out in teams of 5 where the bottom performer couldn't do jack and the top performer outperformed me by a long shot. We all scaled to our level, and when we finished, we cheered each other on. Simple as that. There wasn't really much complication, and the guy with the stopwatch constantly encouraged everyone to do the right form.

02-07-2008, 01:22 PM	#6
Thomas R. Stegelmann Member Profile: Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: NYC New York Posts: 80	Re: Cheating to beat the girls Unless form is correct, repeat! Simple and effective

02-07-2008, 02:20 PM	#7
Lisbeth Darsh CrossFit Staff Profile: Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Santa Cruz CA Posts: 758	Re: Cheating to beat the girls I read the article this morning and linked it on our blog, even though the tone annoyed me: no mention of CF and then a sidebar with a psychologist talking about the negative effects of competition. Oh, please. Let's just sit in a circle and sing Kumbaya. Anyhow, I wrote a letter to the NYT editor about the article -- we'll see if they print it. I plan to post it on our blog tomorrow, even if they don't.
	__________________ CrossFit HQ lisbeth@CrossFit.com

02-07-2008, 04:41 PM	#8
Jeremy Stecker Affiliate Profile: Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Eugene Oregon Posts: 303	Re: Cheating to beat the girls I could defiantly see this happening. I've worked out with a few girls where I've been tempted. Just had to suck it up.
	__________________ Eugene Crossfit **

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