Top 5 Gym Annoyances

katw0man_

Hahah I don't go to the gym.. and you kinda just made me not want to.

Erindipitous

I go to the gym at my apartment complex's clubhouse to walk on the treadmill and study my notes for my exams.. Keeps me awake, increases blood flow to my brain, and it gives me the chance to completely focus on what's in front of me.

I have a major final tomorrow and I went off to the gym as I normally do, but there was a guy on his freaking phone, practically YELLING.

Apparently, the stack of notes in front of me, my heavy sighing and oh-so-obviously covering my ears wasn't enough of a hint to this dude to even take it down a notch. BIGGEST. GYM. ANNOYANCE.

When it took me a half hour to get through ONE page of notes because I couldn't concentrate and had to keep going back over lines repeatedly, I grabbed my stuff and bolted. I would have said something to him, but I live in an iffy neighborhood and didn't want to risk having my tires slashed. Ugh.

When you go to the gym: WORK OUT, or GET OUT. Especially if there are others there.

AHHHH. -- Okay, end of rant. I just had to vent.

jen0619

As a ton of people have mentioned the ones with the cells phones...REALLY? How is is possible that you do not get enough usage out of your phone already and for what about an hour you cannot live without it?! I was doing my usual two mile warm up and there was a man on the treadmill next to me just chatting it up. Mind you now I did have my headphones in and I can still hear you. I was very aggravated.

Also those who use a machine and I know to rest but when you walk 20+ feet away from the machine and I am not where near you when I come to use the machine then you get bent out of shape because I am now using it. There is no need to walk that far away from a machine to where it look like it is open.

Those people who walk around completely naked in the locker room now that is just something I do not want to see. So many would say well do not look but its quite hard when there are multiple nudies in the locker room.

People who sit in the steam room and make all sorts of disgusting noises. If you cannot breathe please don't sit in a room filled with steam!


I feel better now.

velix

3. ANYONE who rides a recumbent bike. I'm sorry, that's not a workout in any way.

I know that at my gym, most people (and myself) use the recumbent bike as a 10 - 15 min cool down after a hard workout. I do agree it's hard to actually get a 'workout' on one otherwise ;-)

My pet peeve is when people stand by you while your doing your cardio waiting for you to finish even though you have 8 minutes left on the clock - even though two identical machines are free beside me. Happened to me today - and when I was finished, the chick wouldn't even move when I was wiping the machine down..... and then later, I was on another machine, and she was complaining loudly to her bf that I was on the machine she needed (and I was on it for 2 sets of 12 - hardly a long time!).....

Or the people that keep watching you workout - it makes me feel like I have to hurry up or something - even if there is plenty of room / weights around me.

/rant off

srsimon

#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)

I have a friend who has a bad habit of not wiping things off. After a post-workout stretching session I saw my friend just standing waiting for me as I pulled out the sanitary spray. I flat out asked her if she planned on wiping off her mat. It's just gross.

The gym I use when I'm at home (as opposed to my school) is great for reducing the bangers and grunters. On occasion you hear the "lunk alarm" go off throughout the gym. One of the gyms at my school however is really bad, I hate going in there to run or use the elliptical and I have these huge guys grunting and dropping huge weights on the floor.

mishamae

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 LOL

Lmao so true! I was just at the gym and saw both of these situations happen. The social group that used the bikes and mostly say their talking. The young guys lifting the heaviest weights avaliable, doing 1 rep, putting them down then starting at the arms/body for 10mins lol...too funny.

Alioth

Heh heh. These are great.

One I haven't seen brought up yet are the trashy tv show watchers. I HATE Jersey Shore and terrible Lifetime movies playing up in my face while I'm working out. I don't need a dose of incest, rape, sex with strippers and drunk vomiting while I'm struggling to keep pace on the treadmill. And does it need to be blasting at THAT volume? If a person has their headphones turned up full blast and the tv full blast at the same time, how can they pay attention to anything at all? I don't get it.

My favorite person at the fitness room in my apartment complex is this Indian guy who comes in dancing and yodeling at the top of his voice in some Hindi or Farsi language with his iPod. He sings, dances, runs, watches all the tvs at top volume at the same time. He takes a really long and vocal bathroom break. Then lifts a bunch of weights really fast and leaves them strewn all over the place and all tvs on when he leaves. Just like a little kid.

There is also a psych major who is super-serious and wears all the special gear. He's in great shape, for which I admire the guy. But he has this bad habit of claiming the only working treadmill with his room key and water bottle. Then he stretches for about 15 minutes on the floor next to it and snaps at anyone who makes a move on the machine. I can jog a mile in 15 minutes and be on the elliptical by the time he's done warming up.

Worst gym experience is when they lead tour groups of prospective students and their families (apartment=campus housing). There's nothing like being sweaty and horribly embarrassed to be seen working out anyway and having about 30 gawkers shuffle in to stare at you and interrupt your workout with a barrage of questions. I am not Exhibit A on the tour!

Floricienta

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

OMG! there is this girl who comes to the gym wearing tons of make-up and always, always, mid workout goes to the changing room (I have seen her while I'm done with my workout and packing my things/ready to shower) and sprays some sort of perfume/body spray and combs her hair! I have even been able to smell her gross perfume while working out next to her, it's so disgusting!


I would have to admit I'm one of those who stare, but only when people just sit at the machines doing nothing for minutes and minutes and don't get that other ppl want to use them. If they want to rest they can sit on the floor!!!

mark996

My annoyances will likely be different from everyone's here since we lift for different reasons and such, but I'll play. I've been lifting competitively in powerlifting and strongman for the past 4 years, I'm a grunter, screamer, etc, but I don't work out at 24 hour fitness, and I've been kicked out of Planet Fitness just to get some good footage for youtube several times. I found a gym that fits my needs as a lifter, and that's Metroflex, and my garage.

In no particular order:
Equipment Abuse-the only allowance of this is when you're pressing dumbbells over 100lbs, that's fine, drop them, but anything lighter you better be setting it down unless your shoulder pops.
Equipment holders-use one piece of equipment, don't put your towel on anything your not using as a place holder, I'll move it, give you the stink eye, and that'll be that.
For Christ's sake, wipe your *kitten* sweat off the seat son...that's just nasty. Sweat from anywhere else I'm personally ok with, but sweaty *kitten* crack has no place in the gym.
Social Hour-Walk outside to talk to your buddy or flirt with the chick who has no interest in your and who has busted her *kitten* twice as hard as you have all day, don't walk around the power rack having a conversation unless you're griping at your self for not going deep enough on your last set.
Curling in the squat rack-Don't do it...seriously...just don't.
Kids who use 3 spotters to press 135lbs, with about a 4 inch ROM then get up slapping *kitten* because they think they've done something worthwhile. Pride and ego checks at the door please.
Under Armor...nuff said.
Ab monsters- I got no problems with abs, just don't ask how to get them overnight or how to get them over summer while eating like ****.
Gyms that prohibit the use of chalk because they'd rather sacrifice safety for cleanliness.

I'm a no BS lifter, I don't go to talk, I don't go for social hour. If someone comes to me with a legit question, yes I'll stop my set and discuss it, I'll spot and critique in the gym, but my workout comes first in the gym. Cell phones have no place there unless you're using them for music, however that requires discipline to not text, many don't have it. I like my music loud, the weights heavy, and the body sore after a workout. To me my garage is a sanctuary, a building stone to raise my temple. It's a discipline many don't come to understand, it's an addiction. I don't wake up at 4AM because I like to, or make sure my carbs and proteins are evenly distributed. I don't down supplements because they taste good either. And my 3 hour session 6 times a week isn't a field trip.

greengold

ok, here's another one: hogging multiple machines and then getting pissy if someone wants to use one of them. I admit, I will use two at a time (i.e. leg curl and leg extension) and hop between them for supersets WHEN THE GYM IS NOT BUSY AND NO-ONE IS WAITING and would give up the one I'm not on if someone came over. My beef is with someone who leaves their towel or water bottle by one machine while working out on another and then gets annoyed when I step in to use the unattended machine. Happened just yesterday - woman who had been using another machine came over while I paused between sets and whined "I still had another set to go on here". Like: get a life! You weren't here, I am - wait till I'm done now! How long does it take to do 12 reps after all?

andreacord

Definitely when people don't wipe down their equipment.. and then there's the ladies in like their early 60's who come in and listen to their oldies with the volume blaring, it wouldn't be a big deal if i didn't have to crank up my music and i could hear it still over my own music.
Definitely the starers. There's this one lady who goes to the gym around the same time i do at like 9 pm (our gym has an acess code that you can pay for if you want after hours acess) and she sits and stares at me on the treadmill until i pause it to go to the bathroom or go fill up my water bottle and she jacks my treadmill!

wanderinglight

I had to resurrect one of my favorite threads because today's gym visit brought about one of my all-time top pet peeves.

We have a "cardio studio" -- big, airy, lots of mirrors -- which often is empty during the day when classes aren't scheduled. Lots of folks work out in there (especially women) because you can use the lighter weights, resistance balls, etc. that are for classes. Anyway, today I was in there working out on my own, and sweating up a storm, when one of the personal trainers came in with her client. She walked straight over to the stereo and put on music really, really loud (bad music too)!

I said "do you really need to do that?" and she said "Yes, I'm doing a session." So I said, "It's really really loud and annoying -- I can't even hear my iPod!" And she said, "It's not that loud." and then walked away. I was so angry!

I went straight downstairs and complained to the manager. So rude!!