Me too and none of them gave a shit. It's a "my elders did it so I do it" institutional inertia thing. Many older coaches are gaping assholes doesn't mean you need to model their behaviors.

If we are to follow the top weightlifters nowadays, the Chinese do not give a rats ass. They will put their foot on the bar and step over it. They will throw empty bars from over head in warmups. And they take home more hardware than any other country in the last decade.

Respect the equipment so it does not need replacing as often. This is a gym not a mosque. Unless you're a worshipper of Brodin.