Was it dangerous to bail out of my squat with my hair like this? (See image)

J

johnmarsten

New member
I was squattin' some some beefy weights today in a small HIIT/Weightlifting class today. Well I had to bail on a back squat. No biggie, I've bailed a lot, but never at this particular gym. No one was behind me. I gave a verbal warning. It was loud and of course everyone had to stop what they were doing to pay attention to me. I'm good friends with everyone at this gym. They all immediately said, "Oh good bail!" And it was all good and groovy.

But later one of the guys came up, gave me a good warning that I was going to catch my hair in the bar. He touched my neck to make an emphasis. Said, how I should be more careful. I don't think he knows I had to train and practice at another gym how to bail and it wasn't my first time having to do that. And now the slightly embarrassing moment I could have moved passed from (I hate having the attention on me) turned into a rage inducing suck fest. (I've seen the same tiktoks he probably has, where the long hair drags someone to the ground as they bail on a lift.)

My hair is short, barely touching my shoulders and doesn't really stay in a medium-high pony. (I feel like a low pony is more of a hazard) At the start of the workout all my hair was in the ponytail, but by the time this lift started some of it had fallen out around my neck. (See picture) (Note, I was not wearing a hoodie when lifting. I threw it on right after.)

So for future squats, am I unsafe with this level of hair loose? Am I in danger of having it snag? Was he right, or can I fume at his un-needed advice in private.

https://imgur.com/a/JtzioqJ
 
@johnmarsten One thing that's helpful for me (as I get soo down in the dumps when someone draws attention to me in public, like rage shitting on myself) is to try and assume positive intent. That DOESN'T mean they're correct, but maybe they were looking to keep someone in your shared community safe (i.e. you).

He shouldn't have touched you, that wasn't okay. He's not necessarily a creep, but you'd know the vibe. There's a big difference between "concerned gym bro looking out for someone" and "just looking for a chance to touch your sweaty ponytail" ew.

Looking at the rest of the situation, it may have just been out of genuine concern. He saw others being supportive, but took the time to follow up later (when you weren't the center of attention) to privately mention that it could be unsafe given the closeness to your hair.

I'd take it into consideration, but not take it too seriously given you have practiced and you feel confident in the technique.
 
@johnmarsten His comment was unnecessary and he definitely had no right to touch you. However, he's likely seen videos of women getting their hair stuck as they bail from squats and confused the hairstyle. I wouldn't bother getting angry about it, his comment probably came from a good place even though it didn't come out like that.
 
@ashvell Am I crazy or does it look like her neck snaps back before the bar actually catches her hair? I feel like so many of these clips are exaggerated.

My hair is almost down to my butt so it usually doesn't get in the way, but I have felt a little pull on my shorter strands - never enough to pull my whole neck back, though.
 
@johnmarsten It’s mostly bullshit. You might feel a snag here and there over the years.

Dude wanted an excuse to touch you that he could defend when you yelled keep your fucking hands to yourself, stranger.

All these dudes need to do is motion and ask if they can show you exactly where the bar and hair connect. Which they won’t ask, and cannot show because it’s not that likely with your hair length.

I’m a massage therapist and I ask permission to touch the people paying me to touch them for therapy.
 
@johnmarsten guy just wanted to mansplain. your hair wouldn't have caught. maybe a few baby hairs but i doubt it, it'd need to be way longer/thicker yo catch around the bar with gravity pulling weight down
 
@johnmarsten I expected to open this picture and see hair down to your waist..... not what I just saw. Long hair yes, I've had my own snag before, but yours, I would not be concerned no. Dude just wanted to talk to you. Maybe he meant well, maybe he is a creep, but as a coach I wouldn't be worried about your hair at all.
 
@johnmarsten I don't lift heavy (yet) but I take a low weight class (bodypump). I have really long hair. I never considered that my hair could be so dangerous! So while I am sorry you had a bad experience, and the pointer didnt really apply to you, I am thankful for the info. Sincerely, girl who is looking into new gym hairstyles........
 
@johnmarsten Alrighty, so first of all you got no chance of that snagging on your hair unless (again, super conditional and unlikely) you had a bar cushion, which isn't my personal choice, but some people may need it.

You were doing a back squat, from my understanding it was a simple bail. Your hair in that picture is at best going to curl around 1/4 of the bar (if it's a standard 28mm bar or if in USA 1.1") which is nowhere near enough to "tangle" and throw your head back like a mannequin in the front seat of a jet-fuelled Porsche. A usual bail is hands locked in the upward position with a minor rear lean to let the bar do the fall. No chance in hell this would snag.

However, if you did have a foam cushion, depending on the brand and type, there's a miniscule chance it may snag on your hair (depending on it's surface, it would be like pulling a rubber band on your hair - yikes) and potentially snag you a bit, but you'd need to be bailing with the bar at the base of your skull from the way your hair was tied up.

I'm gonna assume you're not that silly to squat with your head reared back like some sort of screeching reptile staring at the ceiling. If you are, then, you're a trailblazer and all the best to you.

This dude be creeping and looking for an excuse to boost their (obviously overflowing) ego and preach some bull**** to try and look like "that smart guy at the gym".

Touching your neck too? Yeah, he's trying to show off and touch you. Absolutely gross. Dude needs to be reported.

As for you, keep up the hard work and good luck with the beefy weights.

The Temple of Iron is not meant to be tainted by people giving s*** advice and touching other people without actual reason. A motion to demonstrate would suffice, yo.
 
@chonnette I love your math and engineering thought process. Its exactly why I immediately took a picture of my hair after the workout to see what the heck he was talking about.
 
@johnmarsten No. There's a video floating around where a girl with long hair bails on a squat and it looks like the hair gets snagged and pulls her over--but if you slow down the video it becomes clear that the bar caught her belt because she didn't get her hips out of the way. Nothing to do with her hair.

(Not saying it can't happen, but the fact that thousands of people squat with long ponytails every day and there are only one or two videos of this supposedly happening...sure doesn't sound like the kind of thing you'd need to harass strangers about for their own safety.)

Anyway, no, that's a perfectly fine hairstyle and dude's a creep.
 
@johnmarsten The fact that he touched you entirely invalidates everything he said. I don’t think your hair is long enough to get caught. I wouldn’t worry, the instructor or anyone else would have said something if there was reason for concern.
 
@jay1984 WHYYYYYY did I have to scroll so far down to find this? I don't even lift so I hadnt thought about hairstyle, but as soon as I read he touched her neck I'm like NOPE. Fcuk this guy and whatever else he has to say, it's all irrelevant. Urrrgh *shudders*
 
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