Mirrors have been a mainstay in dance classes and gyms for decades. For any gym goer, looking at themselves in gym mirrors while working out is a job of mental satisfaction. It is said that a workout with mirrors can potentially improve your performance. Is it true? Do you really need to look at yourself in mirrors while workout?
Some fitness coaches believe mirrors are anything but essential, and leaving them out of fitness spaces can help you get more out of your workouts, both physically and mentally.
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Why Do Professionals Emphasize Mirrorless Workouts?
For mirrorless work out, professionals have a lot of reasons. Here we discuss some of these:
Mirrors Can Make People Self-Conscious
Due to busy schedules, most fitness seekers go to the gym in the evening or at night. During the daytime, 80% of clientele are women, specifically busy moms between 35–55 years old who want to slim down, tone up, and have enough energy to keep up with their kids.
Mirrors only make this worse for them and most people. Especially those new to group exercise or any public gym environment. Mirrors make such moms very self-conscious despite any motivation or improvement in the workouts.
When lifting weights, it is vitally important to feel the movement. It applies whether you are learning a movement or are experienced. But if you watch yourself in a mirror while you exercise, you have a physical separation between what you feel and what you see. It is like watching another person lift but in reverse! This is distracting.
Your brain tries to equate what it sees rather than just focusing on the movement. If you can’t feel what is going on, you won’t know how to move differently to improve it, and you won’t know what it feels like when you get it right.
You need to focus on the feel and form of the exercise and the muscles doing most of the work. You cannot truly be focused if you are worried about what you look like and focusing on an opposite reflection of yourself in a mirror.
Using A Mirror Makes Your Workouts Worse
The Mirror Lies
The view in the mirror is quite likely not a good view of the exercise at all. In the big, important multi-joint exercises like the squat, Les Mills, pushup, or overhead shoulder press, the front view is not the optimal angle to see what is going on in the exercise. The side and back views are much more relevant.
So, watching yourself from the front could result in you not seeing any issues in your form. And you can miss the larger problems. Having a personal trainer or coach to watch and instruct you is so beneficial. Also, different kinds of mirrors and lighting show you different kinds of reflections. Some flattering, many not so much.
Filming yourself and watching it back or having a coach or friend watch your lifts are good ways to monitor form and technique, but your ultimate aim should be to know by feeling what is going on in the lift.
Sport Never Happens In Front Of Mirrors
Moving in the gym should carry over to moving with strength and energy in real life; whether it’s organized sport or hiking with your family, it’s not done in front of mirrors. You must develop the nervous system and coordination to move through space in all directions on your feet and down on the floor for true functional fitness.
Looking in the mirror doesn’t let you train your nervous system to use your optimal potential. You can get much stronger when you can just push through the earth instead of using the mirror to decide if you’re lifting correctly.
What If Mirrors Are Everywhere?
What if you train in a gym surrounded by mirrors? A common but unfortunate scenario! A simple solution is to turn around and face the center of the room. It might feel weird at first, and you might get odd looks, but it is a much better position to lift in.
Sometimes the mirror is simply unavoidable – for example if the squat rack is right in front of a mirror and you cannot squat facing the other way. In cases like this, the best thing you can do is try not to look at yourself. Focus on a spot on the wall in the background and tune out the image of yourself in the foreground. With enough concentration, it is possible not to notice yourself.
When To Work Out With A Mirror
Of course, mirrors aren’t inherently evil, and they may be useful in some cases. Some folks who are new to exercising may be unaware of how their bodies move in space; during a lateral raise, for instance, the individual’s arms may be at completely different heights at the top of the movement, yet they may not realize it. So, you may use the mirror so they can see what’s happening, and that can be a really helpful tool to correct the form.
A visual reference of your form can also be helpful during large, in-studio yoga classes. During these sessions, the teacher may not be visible for students to model their pose after or available to provide one-on-one adjustments, so a mirror can help folks check their postures and tweak as they see necessary.
Mirrors can also be motivating. Who doesn’t love to see the mastering pose they’ve been working toward for a long time?
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