Top 5 gym pet peeves

Jem_Girl

I've actually grown accustomed to grabbing the bottle of disinfectant and a paper towel and wiping the machine down BEFORE I use it...and of course wipe it down AFTER I use it.

Yep, same here. After I had the light-over-the-head moment that I'd never seen the staff cleaning the machines (this was noticed after I took a look at the state of showers), I realized that if I wanted them to be clean, I needed to do it myself.

4GorgeousKiddos

My small town gym has four elliptical machines and five treadmills. There are two brands of each and I very specifically prefer a certain brand... if you are on one of my preferred brands you better believe I'm getting on the one next to you. If that bothers you that is *your* issue, not mine. I promise I couldn't care less what your stats are, I'm in my zone.

I prefer a smile and a quick hello from someone if they recognize me. I often give mostly women compliments when they've impressed me. While it isn't *why* I compliment them they often compliment me back and I'd be lying if I didn't find that motivational. I wouldn't pay the $39 a month to be part of a gym if it was full of unfriendly, non eye contact making people.

Danayle

#1 Peacocks! The mirrors are there so you can correct your form not gush over-yourself. That's what the mirror at home is for.

#2 Sub-par Personal Trainers!! It bums me out to see someone who is clearly new to the gym get stuck with a trainer who isn't giving them the support they need AND isn't correcting/demonstrating correct form.

#3 Negative Group Class Leaders- Getting up for group w/o at 4:45 is difficult enough without the instructor telling the class they feel tired! OR worse-- the latest of their child custody dispute. Please!!! MOTIVATE me.

#4 Using a SUPER loud machine when exact one (but quieter is available). Our gym gets behind on maintenance and some of the tread mills squeal REALLY loud!!!! Hop off that sweetie, I can't focus.

#5 Cellphone use- I don't want to hear your conversation! Hang up and work-out or go home.

I don't go to the gym, but I used to do water aerobics at an aquatic center, and I really didn't like this one instructor because she was negative and complained. I absolutely loved this one instructor who was so cute and perky and upbeat. Also, maybe this is just me, but if the instructor wants to motivate me verbally, it helps if they're at least moving a little bit too. I think it bothers me to be given instructions by someone who's just standing there.

Tarin626

OK - so after I wipe down my entire machine and yeah I'm gonna do my three sets with a pause between - why would i want someone else using the machine to get it all sweaty with their funk and why would they want to be on the machine with mine???

Let me do my three sets, wipe down after and leave - then you can have the machine!

Briko3

This isn't only at the gym, but why do people try to talk to you while you're peeing?

nettersaurus

Oh I absolutely LOVE when cutesie girls go to the gym with their hair down, cutesie clothes, make up, and walk on the treadmill at 3.0 mph without breaking a sweat. You're obviously here to get a good workout. NOW GET OFF THE TREADMILL SO I CAN USE IT.

I most definitely agree with this. There was a girl at my gym who showed up with SPARKLES on her face daily, hair done somewhat nicely and I don't recall her ever breaking a sweat. Ridiculous.

Screw you guys, I look cute at the gym and work harder than almost everyone else in there. By the end of the workout, I'm sweaty but my makeup (usually) hasn't budged. I work out in the morning, and just wear my makeup from the previous day. When I lift, I leave my hair down. Apparently there's some huge judgmental female rule against this. It f*cking hurts my head to lie on a bench with a giant lump of elastic digging into my skull. I wear cute workout clothes. It takes just as long to put on something cute as it does to put on sh*tty clothes. Why does looking good equate to weakness/laziness? I'm stronger than a lot of the guys and I have actually broken a treadmill while running at its top speed. There's so much hate on this site about makeup at the gym.

Before you go getting your panties in a knot, maybe you should read that we are both mostly judging the girls that get up to put themselves completely together before going to the gym and then DON'T BREAK A SWEAT. No one said that you had to look like a slob. I, too, go to the gym with the make up from the night before but I most certainly do not primp myself to go there. I don't care if your hair is down or up but it you look like you did it just to come to the gym and barely do anything, that's when you're being judged.

mani_r

How about when somebody wants to work in with you on a machine... changes the weight, but then doesn't have the decency to change it back when it's your turn. Not a biggie... but at least have some courtesy.

RGv2

Another peeve is seeing someone who is heavier than me not doing the right things for their body. Saw a woman weight lifting A LOT of weight when it was obvious that she should be fat burning before adding muscle, but I don;t wanna say anythingcuz she might wanna be a heavy weight lifter and I don't wanna offend her but if shes trying to lose weight the way she was doing it was not gonna work

Possibly one of the most uninformed statements I've ever read on this site...and that's saying a lot.

McLifterPants

I have two for today:

1) Girls who change in the toilet stalls. THERE ARE ONLY 3 STALLS. SOME OF US ACTUALLY HAVE TO PEE. Have body image issues? Great. No one here cares, we're all too focused on our own, that's why we're working out and trying to improve our bodies.
2) Other girls who hog all the sinks doing their hair/makeup. THERE ARE OTHER MIRRORS. I just FINALLY got to pee after Ms. Insecurity 2012 finished changing in the toilet stall, and now I'd like to wash my hands before I go handle the weights. I understand that you want to look pretty, but your 45 minute beauty routine does not belong in front of the only 3 sinks in the gym.

Haha ok I feel better now ;-)

shutterbug21

I only have two, this is based on my years at the university gym and my current new gym which is actually huge so I dont have problems with crowding

1. People who talk in the steam room/sauna 2. Women walking around undressed for way too long and then have conversations. I am very uncomfortable with that.

helaurin

I've tried a few gyms before (LA Fitness, Bally's) and sure enough, there were pet peeves a-plenty from them.
Currently, my workouts are either when I walk with my dog OR when I work out at my employer's small gym - and I do appreciate the convenience of having the small gym at work, but I also have some pet peeves from there.

1. Not wiping down equipment when done with it. I don't care if you used the equipment for 30 seconds. I've no idea if you are sick, maybe covering it with medicine, or maybe you're feeling healthy, but your kid or significant other at home is sick and you're carrying the germs around. Wipe your equipment down, whether you sweated or not. If you want to use your towel first to soak up any major sweat drips first and then use the disinfectant wipe, that's fine. Just remember the wipe should be the last thing you touch the equipment with.
2. Properly dispose of the damn disinfecting wipe after using it - don't be so lazy as to not walk the wipe to the trash can! Really!
3. Makeup - if your makeup is staying on, fine. But if you're heavily made up, dragging your hand across your sweaty make-up laden forehead - pulling off both sweat and makeup - please don't fling the sweat/makeup from your hand across the machine or floor of the facility and especially don't leave it there to soak into a carpeted floor.
4. Hogging any limited resource. Meaning, if there is only one water cooler, please fill your water bottle and move on - don't stand there drinking half of it down while others are stuck behind you. Ditto for the restroom and shower - our gym has ONE ladies restroom, with a single curtained shower stall. I went to work out before work one morning - wore my work clothes in (the best way to make sure I have everything) and figured I'd change in the restroom. Unfortunately, someone had decided to lock out access to the entire ladies' restroom for their thirty-minute shower/hair drying/dressing routine by locking the door from the inside - and either didn't hear or refused to acknowledge others knocking on the door. Sorry, but the shower area has it's own curtain for privacy, the toilet stall has it's own door, only leaving the sink area as the "common" area. You really shouldn't need to lock the entire women's restroom/changing area so that only you are in there. As there was no one in the actual gym at the moment (and that door does not lock), I ended up having to skip my workout and change into my work clothes in the actual gym, hoping no one of the opposite gender would walk in.
5. Using the other gender's facilities - I also found out that the guys tend to like to use the ladies' restroom and shower area. The placard on the door does say LADIES. The next time I walk into the LADIES room and see some guy peeing - and not even bothering to shut the stall door - I don't know what I'm going to say, but it won't be polite.
6. Pushy trainers (from the LA Fitness & Bally's days) - I'm sorry, but if you're charging $60/hour for personal training time, ask me once if I'm interested. I say no, please move on and stop trying to sell to me.
7. People who can't bother to be polite, both inside and outside. At the gym, I might say "hi", just to acknowledge that you're there or to let you know that I'm waiting for a machine. Doesn't mean I'm hovering, if you are on the only one of a particular machine, and it's the thing I'm there to use, I'll wait a respectful distance away - but close enough so that anyone else arriving after me realizes that there's a wait for the machine already. Outside the gym, if I'm walking with my dog, I'll typically call out a friendly "Hello" to anyone approaching us - it's both my way of being polite and letting you realize that I have a dog with me so that you can give us a bit of distance. But please, don't STARE and SCOWL at my dog - you're signalling to her that you are potentially a dangerous person. Likewise, if you are running up from behind us, the damn street is about 25 feet wide and there's almost no traffic on our road. Do you really have to come running up behind us and try to pass within one foot of us?
8. People who are walking and not paying attention to where they are walking or what's in front of them. I am short and due to knee problems, I tend to take smaller (shorter) steps than most people. One woman actually walked directly into my dog from behind us, kicking my dog's rump with her knee, because she was staring at some piece of paper while walking and causing my dog to leap forward to avoid being hit by this woman's legs again.
9. Walking on the stretching mats with filthy footwear. There's a sign that clearly states that the stretching mats require either socks or indoor-only footwear. If I can see grass stains, grease and dirt on your shoes, there's a good chance that they are NOT indoor-only footwear. People use these mats to do pushups, stretches, etc. We don't want to be putting our hands and faces on the mats if you're tracking in debris from the road or yard.
10. Being judged because I walk slow or take a couple minutes between sets. I walk slow because it reduces the impact on my knees, which you can't see have no cartilage and kneecaps that don't sit where they are supposed to, predisposing them to dislocation. If I feel that a 2.75 mph is my limit, but my goal is to walk, say, two miles, don't judge me. Don't presume I'm lazy or not willing to work out; I am just at a different level. Your level may not be appropriate for me. I'm 50; when I was in mid-20's, I was told I would be lucky if I wasn't in a wheelchair by the time I'm 40 due to the damage done to my knees from an injury in high school. I'm not in a wheelchair and I'm on my feet, so cut me some slack.

jynxxxed

Oh I absolutely LOVE when cutesie girls go to the gym with their hair down, cutesie clothes, make up, and walk on the treadmill at 3.0 mph without breaking a sweat. You're obviously here to get a good workout. NOW GET OFF THE TREADMILL SO I CAN USE IT.

I most definitely agree with this. There was a girl at my gym who showed up with SPARKLES on her face daily, hair done somewhat nicely and I don't recall her ever breaking a sweat. Ridiculous.

Screw you guys, I look cute at the gym and work harder than almost everyone else in there. By the end of the workout, I'm sweaty but my makeup (usually) hasn't budged. I work out in the morning, and just wear my makeup from the previous day. When I lift, I leave my hair down. Apparently there's some huge judgmental female rule against this. It f*cking hurts my head to lie on a bench with a giant lump of elastic digging into my skull. I wear cute workout clothes. It takes just as long to put on something cute as it does to put on sh*tty clothes. Why does looking good equate to weakness/laziness? I'm stronger than a lot of the guys and I have actually broken a treadmill while running at its top speed. There's so much hate on this site about makeup at the gym.

Before you go getting your panties in a knot, maybe you should read that we are both mostly judging the girls that get up to put themselves completely together before going to the gym and then DON'T BREAK A SWEAT. No one said that you had to look like a slob. I, too, go to the gym with the make up from the night before but I most certainly do not primp myself to go there. I don't care if your hair is down or up but it you look like you did it just to come to the gym and barely do anything, that's when you're being judged.

...And that makes it okay to judge them for their makeup? Seriously, you don't know that girl's physical capabilities, whether she has any current injuries or if she just hasn't worked out in a very long time and for her, that is a SERIOUS effort.
Assuming she's just a lazy attention seeker who is there trying to look cute is ridiculous.

MizKittyB

This one I HAD to mention:

Ladies~~~~~you know the machines we use to work our outer and inner thigh.......the ones with the padding on the outside and the padding on the inside of the thigh area?

The CREEPY guys that sit on the machines in front of you and just watch you workout on those machines!!!! Blech! :huh:


I had a guy do that yesterday to me and I wanted to be sick! I could not finish using the machines....I had to get up and walk away.

THIS. There are more than a few that fit the old creeper persona at the gym by my house. I've found that meeting their eye contact and giving them an ice cold stare-down tends to drive them off. Apparently, they want to creep discreetly.

naculp

Ok, I'm gonna try to bring some freshness into this topic and bring up some peeves that haven't been mentioned 1,000,000 times.

1) 35 lb plates - I hate these with a passion. They take up lots of space, and are easily replaced by the more common 25 and 10 lb plates

2) 1/4 ROM - I will admit that I've lost strength due to not lifting in the past couple years, but it's so damn aggravating to see people benching/squatting with a very limited range of motion. It's not effective at all.

3) Smith machine - I despise my gym for having so many of these craptacular devices. They easily double the number of squat racks and power cages where I lift. The Smith machine limits the body's natural movement, and is more likely to induce injury than a well-performed lift.

That's as far as I'm getting for right now. Got myself worked up about these petty things!

FoxyMcDeadlift

Everyone who's not me x 5

helaurin

Odd.

No one so far has agreed with any of my pet peeves. Perhaps I listed too many, but I guess my top pet peeves:

1. Hogging any resource.
2. When one person decides to lock everyone else out from the entire ladies room (which includes the curtained off shower stall and the toilet stall) for thirty minutes, leaving any other female unable to change, shower, etc.
3. When men decide to use the women's toilet - and don't even bother shutting the stall door.
4. People who drop their weights all over the floor.
5. People who take off the various bowflex attachments and leave them in disarray all over the floor.

MsMartyMac

And those who think that wiping the equipment down with the same sweaty towel they wiped their face off with counts as cleaning! NO!!! You are just smearing your own sweat around. You need the paper towel AND the disinfectent to clean the machine.


Ok...done...thanks...

This is the BEST statement EVER!!! I am so grossed out by other peoples sweat on my gym equipment and don't trust the gym to provides ACTUAL disinfectant that I BRING MY OWN CONTAINER OF CLOROX WIPES! True Story! I carry a travel pack in my gym bag with me from machine to machine. My friend loves to follow me on the machines she says, because she knows they are clean.!!!

Platypusimus

...

I also get irritated by the ladies I see wandering around and not working out. They try to look busy, but they just stand around or walk slowly on a machine while they text. Also the other girls I see who just follow their boyfriends around the gym. I don't have a problem with couples wanting to work out together or being lifting partners, but when they just stand there talking while their boyfriend is lifting? :shrug: What is the point of going to the gym?!

Oh and the people who don't wipe down their machines. Your head sweat all over the benchpress bench? No thanks, that's revolting.

I don't really see that at my gym. (yet?) But I DO properly work out with my boyfriend. Sometimes he and I are in completely different parts of the gym - but it's nice to take him along sometimes.

sshap21712

This one I HAD to mention:

Ladies~~~~~you know the machines we use to work our outer and inner thigh.......the ones with the padding on the outside and the padding on the inside of the thigh area?

The CREEPY guys that sit on the machines in front of you and just watch you workout on those machines!!!! Blech! :huh:


I had a guy do that yesterday to me and I wanted to be sick! I could not finish using the machines....I had to get up and walk away.

My gym deals with this by having those machines face the wall so no one can be in front of them! Clever!

Determinednoob

I don't really mind weight droppers. I make plenty of noise doing deadlifts and power cleans. However today I DID find it amusing when this teenage toothpick came in, went directly to curling 20s in front of the mirror, and dropped them to the floor after one of his many sets. He then proceeded to do flat bench DB presses with the same 20s. In my mind I was like "Good thing you're spending your time increasing your curl strength kid"