Biggest Pet Peeves at the Gym

jerber160

Well our gym had a staph bacteria MRSA (short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) scare a year ago so I would rather be safe than sorry.

Well then you are going to need barrier protection at the gym then. Those wipes and wimpy little spray stuff gyms have will not kill the bacteria. I understand wanting to have people clean up after themselves because of the "gross" factor, but you will have better success cleaning yourself (washing hands, not touching face, sitting on a towel, etc) then you ever will be at trying to clean off the machine.
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oh, and wouldn't throwing your own towel over benches and stuff help?

marz42

One thing I don't have a problem with is girls wearing makeup at the gym, especially if they're lifting heavy weights and not just on the treadmill for hours or otherwise have no idea what they're doing. I used to be judgmental about makeup at the gym, but then:

a) I started working out after work, which I put on a bit of makeup for, and what's the point of washing it off before going to the gym if I'm just going to have to wash my face again afterwards anyway?

and b) I regularly wear a silicone lotion base on my eyelids that make my makeup practically bullet-proof, because it's damn hot at work.

If the makeup-less ladies rolling around on the bosu balls and curling 5lb dumbbells want to look down on me as I deadlift 225 lbs just because I've got some eyeliner on, have at it.

What is the silicone lotion base? That sounds like handy stuff.
I love it when I see women lifting really heavy weights, even though I'm no where near that. It's a great inspiration.

JennedyJLD

Women that come in with no make up and any old shirt they pull off the floor.

people that stare at me when im on my phone ....seriously f off

Wow, we wouldn't get along at the gym! I'm there to sweat and get a little bit gross, so I definitely don't put on makeup or wear super cute clothes to go take care of business at the gym... and it's annoying to me when people have loud conversations while others are trying to concentrate on their workout so we all know THEY ARE BUSY AND IMPORTANT.

murphy612

oh, and wouldn't throwing your own towel over benches and stuff help?

Yes, it helps.
I'm kind of more on your side jrossmrv, people go a little overboard with the sweat on the machines paranoia. I empathize with the 'gross' factor of it but I just wanted to point out that the quick little swipe with a little disinfectant cloth doesn't kill the bacteria anyway, so if you really are concerned and need to protect yourself you need barrier protection, and keep yourself clean (wash hands before after, etc.).

marz42

It's not a pet peeve, but I don't understand why some guys workout in jeans and boots. That can't be comfortable.

This is my husband. He runs in Jeans too. Its weird but whatever...lol

I'd rather workout in jeans, depending on what I'm doing, but my gym has a strict no jeans rule. I have these jeans made out of a very thin light stretchy fabric that I find far more comfortable and breathable than most knit pants used for exercising, and I really hate going out in public in "sweats". If I'm going to be doing something on the floor like yoga or certain exercises, I need to wear yoga pants or sweats, but if I'm just going to go in and walk at a moderate speed on the treadmill and do some of the machines, it seems silly to have to change out of jeans into yoga pants. It's hard to find petite yoga pants in my size too, but with jeans its no issue.

rachgolds

The excessive grunter!!!

NBabi91

Women that come in with no make up and any old shirt they pull off the floor.

people that stare at me when im on my phone ....seriously f off

Sorry I go to the gym to sweat and not look pretty. Thus no makeup required.

maraq

Asthmatic here. People who put on perfume or cologne right before getting on the treadmill next to me. Seriously, just put on some deodorant - you don't need perfume at the gym! If your sweat smells that bad, no amount of perfume is going to cover it up and you're just making it hard for everyone else to breathe.

AmyBecky74

Cell phones is definetly the biggest pet peeve, also not taken the heavey weights off the equipment ( I can't get them off myself and always have to bother someone to help me)

ChristyRunStarr

Share yours, but here are some of mine.

2. Guys that go to the gym, and whose top priority is to pick up girls. I'm pretty sure the young lady came here to workout, not listen to your pick-up lines. (Although I do enjoy watching this from time to time. Some of the funniest rejections I've seen happened at gyms.)

I HATE when guys try to hit on me at the gym! A-I'm sweaty and look gross (in my opinion) and B-I want to work out not get hit on every 5 minutes. Please just let me do my thing :smokin:

And I definitely don't put makeup on before the gym...by the time I'm done, it'd be all messed up and wasted anyway lol

MellyGibson

Anyone who talks on their cell phone for more than about a minute needs to get the hell off the equipment or end the call.

And I get really irritated by the women who use the treadmill or elliptical (or any other equipment) at the gym and proceed to chat LOUDLY the entire time, never getting their heart rate up and distracting me from what I'm doing. I don't GAF about your kids, husband, or work drama. Go somewhere else!

And sometimes the dudes in zumba class- some of them are okay, but if you're not even remotely going to follow the routine and just kind of run in place, what is the point? I haven't noticed other women doing that.

Not to be a jerk here - but I did have to make a comment about the dudes in Zumba class. I'm a Zumba instructor - I have 2 guys in one of my class as regulars. One guy TRIES to follow the routine and ends up looking like he's being stung by a swarm of angry bees (but we all love him!). The other guy is VERY big. Not just heavy, but very tall, too! He's been a regular at my classes since I started teaching at this gym. He can't do the routines - but he loves the music, he finds the other participants motivational, and he's now able to do things he hasn't been able to do in 12 years because he's getting more fit. He can grasp his hands behind his back now. He can "hop" with both feet off of the ground now! He tries to stay out of everyone's way.

Now for my biggest peeve - it involves classes, not just the equipment. I teach a ZUMBA class at 2 different gyms, owned by the same company. One location has what I refer to as "Zumba Nazis". They have taken Zumba classes from Instructor A, so that anyone that does it differently is NOT doing Zumba! They proceed to tell me how I should organize my class! Seriously? Honey, I'm licensed in this *kitten*!
The other location is the exact opposite! They're fun and laid-back. We are all friendly with each other - and motivate, encourage, and joke around with each other - 3 of them are now on MFP since I told them about it!

brentdaniels

Not a pet peeve, just a funny observation....Michael Phelps Olympic swimmer guy-equipped with speedo, swim cap, and racing goggles. He shows up on Sunday afternoons when there are about 500 families using the pool and gets pissy when someone dares get into "his lane". Our gym does give generous time to the swimmers(I swim some too) but there is family time reserved too. I see him most every morning at 6, so Sunday is not the only time he can come.

MandaKayMakesIt

Women that come in with no make up and any old shirt they pull off the floor.

people that stare at me when im on my phone ....seriously f off

My two biggest pet peeves right here: talking on your phone and girls who show up dressed like they're going out instead of sweating it up at the gym. Leaving the makeup and totally done up hair at home. There's no need for it here.

GorillaNJ

Last night at the gym I was pissed off... My workout now I am doing supersets, three exercises back to back. Yesterday was Squat, shoulder press and single leg deadlift.

There is only one squat rack in my gym, it was occupied - so I used one of the three smith Machines instead. I set up my weights on the smith machine, got my dumbells ready. And a guy asks me how many sets i have. I told him 3 but it is going to take like 15 minutes. He walked away. I was not done with my first superset and he and is buddy are standing next to me watching me. There are two other smith machines, no one is using... these two *kitten* are staring at me.

Middle of my second superset, this guy asks me again how many more sets do I have... I told him one more... and he rolls his eyes like I am inconveniencing him. almost threw my dumbbell at his head.

I finish my squat portion of my third superset, and take my dumbbells tot he side of the smith machine so they can get in there... He HAS to walk right through me as I am doing my other exercises to load the machine, instead of walking around the front of it to load on his weight...

Moral of the story... this guy was a *kitten*.

DangCharming

As long as others wipe down the equipment, all is good.

soontobeskinnysara

I think I'm one of the creepy starers. The crosstrainer I use is awkwardly placed in a corner, and I'm facing out to the rest of the gym. I zone out a lot while exercising and I think I mindlessly zero in on people without realizing. No one has ever said anything but I guess this thread has made me more aware!

That being said, I don't really have any gym pet peeves. Just kinda gross when people don't wipe down machines when they're done. Other than that, who cares what anyone else is wearing? It's a gym, not a runway at Fashion Week.

Matt_Wild

On a piece of equipment talking on the phone. Now I'm not one of those mega serious guys who don't use the phone at the gym ever, I'm not that dull nor is the gym a church. HOWEVER sitting on a piece of equipment esp whilst its busy with a phone whilst its busy is a big big no no. Like I said to a guy who did that last night, GET OFF! LOL :laugh:

Ayla70

i dunno if this is really a pet peeve, but i don't understand walking on a treadmill... wouldn't it be more interesting to walk outside? you can walk pretty much anywhere, and theres the whole bonus of a changing environment to keep you interested. i realize you can run outside too but its so much easier to push yourself with the treadmill going at fixed speed.

I walk on the treadmill, because I'm not ABLE to run yet. Some of us have a lot of weight to lose, and our fitness isn't great, and this is the start we need. Seriously :-/

Ayla70

The thing that annoys me the most, is when the trainer accompanies his/her client, sits on the exercise bike next to them, and neither of them actually do anything. We only have 2 bikes in our gym. Or the trainer stands around, getting in the road as you're moving about the place from machine to machine.

And something that makes me chuckle...is seeing men (especially teens) who have absolutely no muscle at all, sitting on benches, talking to themselves in the mirror, preening and checking themselves out. The gym I go to is small, we're mostly middle aged and overweight. The women come in, they work their butts off, sweat up a storm, and go home. The men come in, they never warm up first, they get stuck into the weights, preening in the mirrors, and are still there when I leave

FiercelyBeautiful

People who sit and text or surf the internet on the equipment I am waiting for! UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Matt_Wild

i dunno if this is really a pet peeve, but i don't understand walking on a treadmill... wouldn't it be more interesting to walk outside? you can walk pretty much anywhere, and theres the whole bonus of a changing environment to keep you interested. i realize you can run outside too but its so much easier to push yourself with the treadmill going at fixed speed.

I walk on the treadmill, because I'm not ABLE to run yet. Some of us have a lot of weight to lose, and our fitness isn't great, and this is the start we need. Seriously :-/

I fast walk on the treadmill. I keep my heart rate sub 130bpm. I burn tonnes of fat and get sub 5% body fat. Running isnt needed.

So thats a pet peeve I guess, people running on a treadmill IF they are looking to lose fat and not do CV.

Ayla70

i dunno if this is really a pet peeve, but i don't understand walking on a treadmill... wouldn't it be more interesting to walk outside? you can walk pretty much anywhere, and theres the whole bonus of a changing environment to keep you interested. i realize you can run outside too but its so much easier to push yourself with the treadmill going at fixed speed.

I walk on the treadmill, because I'm not ABLE to run yet. Some of us have a lot of weight to lose, and our fitness isn't great, and this is the start we need. Seriously :-/

I fast walk on the treadmill. I keep my heart rate sub 130bpm. I burn tonnes of fat and get sub 5% body fat. Running isnt needed.

So thats a pet peeve I guess, people running on a treadmill IF they are looking to lose fat and not do CV.

I walk as fast as my chubby little legs will carry me, and always have it on a big incline. It's easier somehow, to walk 'uphill' than it is to walk flat.

My heart rate is usually quite a bit higher than yours lol...

Matt_Wild

No need to run if burning fat

Jkmumma

TODAYS pet peeve: THE LOCKER ROOM IS NOT FOR NAPPING

Matt_Wild

Munters who complain about attractive women wearing make up...

laurin2010

Well men or in some cases women who forget the DO for the BO! noone wants to smell that ****..and I don't know that this is a pet peeve but more so a distraction when the larger of the men that are workingout are either making what sounds like to me as mating calls very loudly as they slam the weights! Easy Killer!! haah

mackie121

Guys who openly stare at girls *kitten*! Like seriously they will pick machines specifically because they are behind girls running and make no attempt to hide that they are staring at the girls’ *kitten*! I thought this was bad at my college gym but then I came home and started noticing it at my local gym, college guy ok, but old men! Come on! A lot of times the girls are wearing like regular athletic shorts and t-shirts so you can’t even say that they’re asking for it or something, which is sometimes the guys excuse if a girl is wearing spandex

Kwika

Poeple who come into the pool and stand at the end of a lane and chat the entire tome and maybe do a couple laps here and there. Seriously????? If you want to have a bull session, go to your local coffee shop but not the pool.

koalahugs

Guys who think they're showing off by doing some heavy weights but can't even execute them in proper form. I saw a guy swinging his arms while doing curls with a weight too heavy for him. He looked like a noodle.

torygirl79

Virtually all the elipticals were in use and there was one guy standing on one, not using it, wearing a shirt, cuff links and suit trousers.... Watching the tv...