Mirrors in compound movements

[vic86]

I was speaking with my friend who has some  respectable lifts under his belt,he normally squats and deadlifts without the help of an mirror also he states mirrors can be very distractive.At times even I felt it while doing these compound movements,but mirrors are essential to focus and get it right. how many of you are not used to it?

[Montague]

Distractions can be dangerous.
Even more dangerous, IMO, is turning your head to check your form from the side.

Much safer to get someone knowledgeable to observe your form and offer feedback.

[jpm101]

Agree with Montague. Mirrors are better suited for BB'ing, if at all. Helps, with moderate weight &  form, to establish a better connection to the  vision of you doing the exercise. Been to a garage gym where the owner had a overhead mirror above the bench rack, which kind of threw off the whole  exercise for me. Also had a 3 way mirror, like in department stores.   That worked kind of well.

 Best to have someone who knows the lifting game  observe your lifts. The best option would be a video , both side and rear views. Good Luck.

[tbombz]

sometimes i wish the gym had no mirrors at all... normally on these days i also would prefer it if there wasnt any music playing either,...

but somedays i like the mirrors and wish there was much more of them... usually on days when i would prefer to have some loud music of my choice playing..

[Zach Trowbridge]

My squats and deadlifts both got better when I started doing them facing away from the mirrors.  90% of the time guys don't use them to check their form but to check their pump.  Great if that's your bag but useless from a safety standpoint.  I'm actually considering pulling the mirrors off the wall at the new place I'm running because it just fucks people up.

[Beefjake]

Zach:

Could you just make some kind of curtain thing in front of the mirror.
People could just close the curtains if they don't want to use them.

Best for both worlds?

[chaos]

We have mirrors all over the walls, rarely ever look at my form in them.

[FREAKgeek]

The only time I ever found a mirror useful is to see if I'm going low enough in doing dips.

Staring at women's asses indirectly is what they are really for.

[benchmstr]

my eyes are closed when i am lifting......

my mental check list..

1)tell yourself it's ok to pass out.....you got a spotter or two anyways...
2)grab the weight, and get tight
3)close yor eyes, grit you teeth, and go
4)STOP COUNTING YOU DAMN REPS!!!!!

bench

[dyslexic]

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most effed up of them all?

[benchmstr]

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most effed up of them all?

mentally?......me, without a doubt.....

bench

[JasonH]

Yep - mirrors are distracting - especially during squats.

At Temple Gym our power rack is very close to a narrow mirror (you've probably seen it on Youtube clips when Dorian is training Mark Dugdale) and it's a pain in the arse to see yourself in it whilst squatting. Deadlifts isn't too bad because there isn't a balance issue involved but sometimes I move the mirror out of the way and just focus on a point on the wall about a foot above eye level to help keep my balance during squats.

[Yev33]

Lateral raises are the only movement where looking in the mirror is beneficial when you really pushing the weights and trying not to let your form go completely out the window.