Top 5 Gym Annoyances
tim_fitbuilt4life
Posts: 301 Member
May 3, 2008 By Tom
Regular gym goers will know that in the gym there are little things that can really get on your nerves. When I was doing my workout today there were a number of things that really distracted me. This got me thinking and the more I thought about it, the more I realised just how annoying certain things at the gym can be. Now don’t get me wrong – going to the gym doesn’t make my blood boil so much that I go home angry. This post is just meant to be a slightly humorous look at the little distractions and annoyances that I encounter in this part of my life. So without further ado I present to you, in chronological order, from least annoying to most annoying…My 5 Top Gym Annoyances.
5) GRUNTERS:- Grunters is the term I use to refer to those people who let out a grunt, shout, shriek or other random noise whilst lifting weights. Granted, grunters do usually lift heavy weights, work themselves to their limit and generally perform a good bodybuilding workout. However, that’s no excuse for some of the strange noises that come out of their mouths. Not only is it distracting but some of the sounds are just downright disturbing. Besides in some gyms grunters even run the serious risk of setting off the “lunk alarm”.
(Note: This is taking the issue way too far but it does make a point about how annoying grunters can be.)
4) CELL PHONERS:- Cell phoners refers to the people who chat away on their phones mid-workout. It is not specifically people chatting on the phone that gets on my nerves here. The problem comes when the gym is busy and all the benches, machines and weights are taken. You would expect most people in this busy gym to complete their exercises quickly, allowing the people who are waiting to use the limited resources. However, as I stand around waiting for a free bench or some free weights, I regularly see some people sitting on a bench with the weights at their feet, chatting away on their phone. What’s worse is that when I have been waiting for some time and go over to ask whether I can use the weights for one set or quickly use the bench whilst they chat, I am dismissed with comments such as “Excuse me, I’m on the phone”. This can get rather annoying because people are compromising my workout time by chatting on their phone. If they want to chat fine, but why not do it on their own time or go talk somewhere in the gym where they are not disrupting other people’s workouts?
3) STARERS:- Starers are the people who glare at you whilst you work out in the hope that you will abandon your equipment and leave it free for them. I understand that at busy times people will want to use the equipment I am using. However, it can get really distracting when you feel their eyes burning a hole in the back of your head. In fact if I am exercising in front of a mirror and see someone doing this I find it almost impossible to continue. I would much rather the person staring at me would come over and ask whether we can share the equipment and do alternate sets.
2) BANGERS:- Bangers are the people who bang, clang and drop their weights regularly whilst working out. I am not so bothered about people banging weights whilst they are performing the exercise as this is sometimes difficult to avoid. It becomes a problem when people finish their set and then drop their weights with an almighty crash. The noise this makes is not pleasant and very distracting. Plus, there is absolutely no need for it. If these people can control their weights for multiple sets then surely they can control them for a few more seconds whilst placing them on the floor?
1) ANNOYING MUSIC:- This is the one that really grates at me in. I understand everyone has different tastes in music so I am not going to cause an argument by listing the music my gym plays here. However, the music played is constant, repetitive and loud so if you are not a fan of this genre there is no escape unless you bring your own portable music player. Thankfully, I recently got myself an IPOD so this is no longer a regular problem for me but on the days I forget my IPOD it is a disaster. Unlike the other distractions listed this music is there all the time. I would much rather the gym played no music. This would then give people the choice to listen to their own music without disturbing other people in the gym.
So there you have it. My top five pet hates at the gym. Still, it could be worse. I could have this guy disrupting my workouts.
Regular gym goers will know that in the gym there are little things that can really get on your nerves. When I was doing my workout today there were a number of things that really distracted me. This got me thinking and the more I thought about it, the more I realised just how annoying certain things at the gym can be. Now don’t get me wrong – going to the gym doesn’t make my blood boil so much that I go home angry. This post is just meant to be a slightly humorous look at the little distractions and annoyances that I encounter in this part of my life. So without further ado I present to you, in chronological order, from least annoying to most annoying…My 5 Top Gym Annoyances.
5) GRUNTERS:- Grunters is the term I use to refer to those people who let out a grunt, shout, shriek or other random noise whilst lifting weights. Granted, grunters do usually lift heavy weights, work themselves to their limit and generally perform a good bodybuilding workout. However, that’s no excuse for some of the strange noises that come out of their mouths. Not only is it distracting but some of the sounds are just downright disturbing. Besides in some gyms grunters even run the serious risk of setting off the “lunk alarm”.
(Note: This is taking the issue way too far but it does make a point about how annoying grunters can be.)
4) CELL PHONERS:- Cell phoners refers to the people who chat away on their phones mid-workout. It is not specifically people chatting on the phone that gets on my nerves here. The problem comes when the gym is busy and all the benches, machines and weights are taken. You would expect most people in this busy gym to complete their exercises quickly, allowing the people who are waiting to use the limited resources. However, as I stand around waiting for a free bench or some free weights, I regularly see some people sitting on a bench with the weights at their feet, chatting away on their phone. What’s worse is that when I have been waiting for some time and go over to ask whether I can use the weights for one set or quickly use the bench whilst they chat, I am dismissed with comments such as “Excuse me, I’m on the phone”. This can get rather annoying because people are compromising my workout time by chatting on their phone. If they want to chat fine, but why not do it on their own time or go talk somewhere in the gym where they are not disrupting other people’s workouts?
3) STARERS:- Starers are the people who glare at you whilst you work out in the hope that you will abandon your equipment and leave it free for them. I understand that at busy times people will want to use the equipment I am using. However, it can get really distracting when you feel their eyes burning a hole in the back of your head. In fact if I am exercising in front of a mirror and see someone doing this I find it almost impossible to continue. I would much rather the person staring at me would come over and ask whether we can share the equipment and do alternate sets.
2) BANGERS:- Bangers are the people who bang, clang and drop their weights regularly whilst working out. I am not so bothered about people banging weights whilst they are performing the exercise as this is sometimes difficult to avoid. It becomes a problem when people finish their set and then drop their weights with an almighty crash. The noise this makes is not pleasant and very distracting. Plus, there is absolutely no need for it. If these people can control their weights for multiple sets then surely they can control them for a few more seconds whilst placing them on the floor?
1) ANNOYING MUSIC:- This is the one that really grates at me in. I understand everyone has different tastes in music so I am not going to cause an argument by listing the music my gym plays here. However, the music played is constant, repetitive and loud so if you are not a fan of this genre there is no escape unless you bring your own portable music player. Thankfully, I recently got myself an IPOD so this is no longer a regular problem for me but on the days I forget my IPOD it is a disaster. Unlike the other distractions listed this music is there all the time. I would much rather the gym played no music. This would then give people the choice to listen to their own music without disturbing other people in the gym.
So there you have it. My top five pet hates at the gym. Still, it could be worse. I could have this guy disrupting my workouts.
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Replies
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People that stare! Oh, that's just creepy. My biggest pet peeve is overcrowding in classes really. The noise stuff doesn't bother me since I usually have my mp3 player blasting my broken ear drums out.0
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#6-People who don't wipe off the equipment after they use it!! Ewwww. We should all be sweating our butts off at the gym and should all be wiping the equipment down.
(btw-our neighbor ended up with a staph infection a few years back. The docs think he got it from using sweaty equipment at the gym that penetrated a cut on his hand)0 -
Love the post- some of my annoyances also. But my number 1 is kids. Our gym is "family friendly". I don't mind the kids who are there actually working out and acting like normal human beings. But there is a very annoying ex-Marine who brings in his two Grandsons who run around like banchees swinging on machines like they are jungle gyms. I just want to spank them and punch him.0
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You forgot PERFUMERS.....usually women but sometimes men, these people wear too much of whatever they have chosen without realizing when they heat up the perfume starts to really smell, especially the cheap stuff. Wipe that stuff off BEFORE working out, or better yet, don't wear it at all. My mother once told me you wear perfume when you want to be close to someone and the only person who should be able to smell it is someone you want that close to you. I do not understand the need for daily perfume wear. The only thing that might come close is farters, but farts at least fade, the perfume sticks in the air like a skunk.
Just saying
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I just dislike having to pick up towels from the floor when there are baskets that they go into. Also, I had someone answer their phone in the middle of my class, and then talk IN THE ROOM while the rest of the class was going on.
I just turned the music up. High.
Passive aggressiveness, gotta love it >;)0 -
Totally agree about the "bangers"...good grief!!
I'll second the crowded group classes too....if you are late don't bother coming, argh!
And I'll add a bit about temperature control: yes, it is cold in the middle of winter, but the AC should probably be ON in the gym!0 -
There are 3 regulars at my gym that do all the above:explode: ,
a muscle head that grunts so much it sounds like hes...well you know. He also slams weghts,
I have another that SINGS (i turn up my music on my ipod until i my eardrums are ringing just to drown him out) and dances while working out. He sadly thinks i'm watching him because he gets on the machine to my left and i was looking out the window to see if my gym partner had pulled in yet. ick:noway: .
The other one sits and watches me until i move (which i don't until i'm done with my sets , if she asked nicely I would share but she just stares!).
but another annoyance :grumble: to add to your list are the ones that use so much weight they lift like once or twice and then have to get up and 'walk it off' leaving the equipment occupied with their towels/water. but wont get off long enough for someone else to have a chance. They get annoyed if you ask to share, or if they realize you want to use that one. (one guy will do extra if he sees me waiting. jerk:explode: )
ummm, whats a lunk alarm?0 -
and burpers & farters. Ickkyyyy. I cannot run on a treadmill next to someone who has just stunk up all my much needed air!0
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My old gym in Florida had one of those Lunk Alarms and it actually ticked my husband off because it is hard to lift those heavy weights WITHOUT some sort of grunting. One day he was weight lifting and the employees set the alarm off for the heck of it, he almost dropped his weights on him! Not really sure who decided that was a good idea to put in alarm like that, guess they wanted the opportunity to possibly injure the people lifting weights.0
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This is too funny! I hate the starers. I wanna yell WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE LOOKING AT...0
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builders bums!!
the gym i used to go to was lovely except for the few fellas and a women who couldnt get proper fitting pants and revealed the top 2inches of their bum crack to the world..or in the womans case the top of her thong..
im all for people wearing thongs or no underwear but please...at the gym not everyone wants to see your smelly sweaty butt hanging out!!0 -
My number one annoyance (spelling??) is people that don't wipe off the machine they used... It is not just disgusting, but downright dangerous! People should realize this. Now the gym I go to has signs everywhere warning about MRCA etc, but there are still people that just walk away from their machines... gross
I don't really care much about music, mostly because my gym doesn't play the annoying, eardum-pounding techno most gyms do. I do occasionally find people that have their MP3-player on too loud, but I do the same thing, so it's kinda unfair if I'd complain
Never encountered starers, thank God! That would be too creepy. I did end up, after a couple weeks, with a guy who asked me out... I explained I'm married, but still, whenever I run into him the flirting begins. Kinda uncomfortable.
Weight dropping in this gym is against the rules, so if you do it too often you'll get a warning from the trainers etc. I think they should implement this in other gyms as well if this is such a problem with you guys.
Those are my peeves. Fortunately, it doesn't take the fun out of my work-out
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Love this thread!
My pet peeve are the stompers on the treadmill! Some people just don't know how to run and they slam their feet down like they are killing giant cockroachs!
I also don't like the starer/comparers, the people that are next to me on a machine and trying to figure out what my settings are at and how long or how far I've gone. Do your own workout and focus on your goals!
But my number one has to be the crackberry addicts. My gym has signs all over saying no cell phones or hand held or imaging devices and a big one at the entrance of the locker rooms. Yet there are women that you see sitting in the locker room texting or reading emails/texts. It's so annoying! The rules apply to everyone!
Karen0 -
Nothing is more annoying the the cacklers. These are the people who come to the Gym as a social outlet, walk on the treadmill at .5 MPH and just play and laugh and joke around. UGH it drives me nuts. Then there is the pretty boys. Maybe in jealous I don't know but. I hate when someones on a machine near a mirror and they do 1 set then stare and pose in the mirror for like 10 minutes before they do they're next set. My god get your sets done and move on. Great topic and i feel better now LOL0
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Definitely wiping down the machines.
The gym I go to has a younger couple that works out around the same time I do and the boyfriend likes to do leg presses with his girlfriend as one of the weight.0 -
Nothing is more annoying the the cacklers. These are the people who come to the Gym as a social outlet, walk on the treadmill at .5 MPH and just play and laugh and joke around. UGH it drives me nuts.
One of the last times I visited the gym at least five people were just strolling on the treadmills. What a waste of time. These are the people that go to the gym for an hour, talk on their cell phones, walk on the treadmill @ 2.0 mph for 10 minutes, and stand around socializing then at the end of the month wonder why they are not getting results.0 -
I have been lifting for a long time so you learn to deal with the stares ect. However the two things that drive me nuts is people who don't clean the weights off equipment and put them in the RIGHT spot. We are all here to exercise why not do the extra work and remove the weights. Then we have people who sit on equipment forever. I have done entire workouts in the time it takes some people to do chest flys. Its a peck deck, not a park bench. If you need 10 minutes between sets thats fine, but stand up and move so others feel welcome to use it.0
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1. Super skinny girls that do the elliptical oober slow on level 1 for 10 minutes and then leave.
2. Also people that compare stats on their machine to yours.
3. Mega stinky people0 -
lol, all of these are very annoying... however, my top are definitely:
personal hygiene.. when people wear perfumes or DONT wear deodorant, I really can't breathe.. and it is digusting... especially when the gym offers deodorant in the locker rooms..
when people don't rereack their weights.. trainers are not there to clean up after members, it's part of (your) workout/responsibility to re-rack weights when (you're) completed.. it interrupts the workout of anyone else who needs to use the area where (you) were working out.
) 0 -
Love this! Don't forget the people who need to be seen. They walk around making sure everyone checks them out. Yes, you're ripped. I see you. Thanks for showing off the guns and abs. Oh and you, fake boob woman...yes we've all seen you. You're hot. Now can you both just get on with your workout. LOL.0
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Nobody mentioned the pee-ers in the pool?!? The one thing I hate the most is opening my eyes under the water and seeing someone in the lane next to me with a cloud of yellow around them :sick:0
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The loud talkers!!
There a few ladies that do this. They can't hear over the sound of the treadmill so they just have their entire conversation whilst they yell. I can hear them over my ipod with headphones in, and volume maxed. Not to mention, all they do is gossip about other people. It's quite annoying!! I call them the Gabbers!!0 -
Definitely the guy who racks a whole bunch of weights (some of them almost too heavy for me to move) on the machine, then has to get up and go use other equipment between sets while I sit there and wait and wait. Yeah, I'm soooo impressed....0
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I have been lifting for a long time so you learn to deal with the stares ect. However the two things that drive me nuts is people who don't clean the weights off equipment and put them in the RIGHT spot. We are all here to exercise why not do the extra work and remove the weights. Then we have people who sit on equipment forever. I have done entire workouts in the time it takes some people to do chest flys. Its a peck deck, not a park bench. If you need 10 minutes between sets thats fine, but stand up and move so others feel welcome to use it.
Stinky people=Not cool. There is one guy at my gym that smells like old chocolate,fish and diesel fuel all mixed together. Ugh0 -
Nothing is more annoying the the cacklers. These are the people who come to the Gym as a social outlet, walk on the treadmill at .5 MPH and just play and laugh and joke around. UGH it drives me nuts.
Recently I have been going to the gym and young teens are hanging in the parking lot.. then they come in holding hands, socializing and holding up machines. Hate that!!
Its like we all came here to work out.. not see yall make googlie eyes at each other..
And I dont like grunters or those who stare either.. that's just rude!
Most times I just turn my earphones as loud as they will go.. get my workout in and out the door!0 -
this post made my day...hillarrrrr! i would have to agree with Grunters...I cant stand people who grunt when doing cardio or lifting weights...SHHHH already lol...my add to the list would be the 1. "Gossiping Ladies" in the Locker room...2. The "Personal Trainers" who try to either get your phone number or ACT like they want to train you...im not here to be sold or get hit on im here to workout...furthermore im looking a hot mess so back off.....3. The Person next to me on the cardio machine looking over my shoulder to see how long ive been on the machine, how many cals ive burned or how fast im going....get back...let me do my thing... 4. When people do cardio and leave a POOL of sweat on the ground but only wipe off the top part of the cardio machine...ummm hellloooo do u not see this pig Dam/Lake youve created on the treadmill....wipe that up! lol ok im out...good thread0
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.....3. The Person next to me on the cardio machine looking over my shoulder to see how long ive been on the machine, how many cals ive burned or how fast im going....get back...let me do my thing...
LMBO... Love it!! I cant stand when people do that!!0 -
Funny, I can't stand the people lifting 20 lbs on the machines who look at me like I'm crazy when I grunt. Hell, I've only got 315 lbs on my back, you'd grunt a little too!
I'll let you guys in on the biggest pet peve of the hardcore guys; stop doing curls in the squat rack! Luckily people know not to do that crap in our gym, more or less.0 -
Yes that is funny as hell,you actually had me laughing in my office.
Here's one,the ones that think it's their responsibility to ask you or point out that you weren't at the gym yesterday,how the $%&* do you know I wasn't at the gym yesterday,was you up here all day,are you stalking me,WTF!!!!!!
These are funny as hell,by the way Ima grunter!!!!!!!0 -
Funny, I can't stand the people lifting 20 lbs on the machines who look at me like I'm crazy when I grunt. Hell, I've only got 315 lbs on my back, you'd grunt a little too!
I'll let you guys in on the biggest pet peve of the hardcore guys; stop doing curls in the squat rack! Luckily people know not to do that crap in our gym, more or less.
I'm with you on the people looking at heavy lifters for grunting but that might be because my husband and his best friend lift heavy.0
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