For those who go to the gym...

2

Replies

  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    i hang out in the free weight section. No new years people attempt free weights.

    Not true. Every year after new years I get back into the gym (specifically the free-weights section) for a good month or two.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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  • testease
    testease Posts: 220
    i hang out in the free weight section. No new years people attempt free weights.

    Not true. Every year after new years I get back into the gym (specifically the free-weights section) for a good month or two.

    I must just scare them away. I also make them feel shame so they never come back to the section.
  • thedreamhazer
    thedreamhazer Posts: 1,156 Member
    Plan for your workouts to take longer until the hubbub dies down, and be prepared with a back up workout plan if you can't get to the equipment you need. The latter can really suck, but it's better than doing nothing.
  • _Bob_
    _Bob_ Posts: 1,487 Member
    I act like I'm new and tell everyone that I'm just here for a new years resolution so they won't see me in a month or 2. then I ask people that look confused how to use the equipment
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I don't get home from work until 7 so by time I eat dinner and get ready and get to the gym it's at least 8pm and hardly anyone is there anyway.
  • DebraYvonne
    DebraYvonne Posts: 632 Member
    I'm stopping gym for financial reasons in Feb. next year. I am doing work-out tapes at home and other forms of exercise.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I thank them for paying my membership for 50 weeks out of the year and run outside and let them have their 2 weeks.
  • bellydancer124
    bellydancer124 Posts: 248
    I'm planning on just glaring at them in a menacing way.
  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
    Put in some pop music, and every time one of them say 'yeah', 'no', or 'oh-oh-oh' bark real loud like a dog. You'll be able to get on anything you want.

    You'll probably want some sort of throat lozenge. Seems like pop music is pretty much those three words repeated ad infinitum.
  • Yaya1976
    Yaya1976 Posts: 357 Member
    I already started seeing an influx of newbies, but they will not stop me from going to the gym. Sadly most of them will drop it in a few weeks to a month.
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    I go early enough in the morning that there is a HUGE influx of people who say "yah! Gonna get up at the 5 am and go work out, woo!" and that lasts about 3 days, and then everyone realizes that's stupid early and it's back to normal. I am really hoping Sit On The Bench and Drink Coffee Guy is going to decide it's too crowded and stay home, though.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    I'm gonna scream and drop weights.


    But, I'll most likely not pay any attention to them unless I know them already.
  • postrockandcats
    postrockandcats Posts: 1,145 Member
    When the new year approaches and all the new gym newbies with all their new resolutions start invading, how do you plan on handling it? I tend to skip the gym altogether which makes me fall off from my own health goals and I don't want to do that this year...

    I'll adjust my times appropriately. Frankly, I hope they stay- I'd love to see this area become healthier. At one point, I was that person that people glared at as a newbie who got in the way.
  • djames92
    djames92 Posts: 990 Member
    theyll be gone in 3 weeks 4 tops
  • jr1985
    jr1985 Posts: 1,033 Member
    I'm kinda selfish in the fact that I want to get on the machine I want to get on, when I want to get on it, and stay on it as long as I want to... So I generally go either early in the morning or kind of late at night anyways to avoid the crowds... might just work out on the equipment I have at home though if the gym is still too busy for me until things cool down.
  • Mutant13
    Mutant13 Posts: 2,485 Member
    I stare at people and make robot noises. They stay away
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Last January, I dealt with it by nursing a stress fracture and not going to the gym. :grumble: By the time I was ready to go back, the resolution crowd had dropped off.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    When the new year approaches and all the new gym newbies with all their new resolutions start invading, how do you plan on handling it? I tend to skip the gym altogether which makes me fall off from my own health goals and I don't want to do that this year...

    Maybe welcome them in as new members and applaude them for wanting to take the first steps to health.

    sounds like a waste of time 99% of them will quit with in the week...

    because they are not made to feel welcome? Gyms have changed these days; used to be more inclusive. Shame really.

    No, because most of them joined on a "New Year's Resolution" and not because they dedicated to making a change. I've seen it every year I have ever been a member at a gym. It'll be busy until the end of January, then it'll taper off.

    How am I supposed to make someone "feel more welcome". I pay for my membership, get in my workout in the morning, and go home barely paying attention to anyone else. I was unaware the gym was to be treated as a kindergarten class.

    To answer the OP's question. I'm in the gym from 4:30-6, so I don't have to deal with it too much. By that time I'm done with my cardio and am into the free weights.
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,151 Member
    I do find January frustrating - because I'm a gym-regular and all of a sudden "my space" is being invaded by all these newbies!!

    I work-out over lunch-hour, however, and there aren't too, too many persons on the weight-side of the gym, at that time. I will be glad when February arrives, though - the crowds DEFINITELY thin by then!
  • ptjolsen
    ptjolsen Posts: 365 Member
    I work at one....trust me they don't last long. Plus if you have been there for awhile you should be doing all of the same things a NEWBIE does :wink:
  • dunadan
    dunadan Posts: 105 Member
    The good news for those of us who lift is that the new gym folks tend to circulate among the machines and completely steer clear of the free weights. That said, perhaps we should give some thought into banding together with the other regular lifters and agree to make scary faces as we lift in order to keep our space relatively clear. :laugh:

    Faces are good, but I think some un-earthly sounds would help as well. Maybe some Monica Seles-esque grunts and groans, and an occasional "Dear mother of God, when will the pain end?" while doing reverse flys or squats.

    Some well-timed vomiting would also do the trick.
  • NocturnalGirl
    NocturnalGirl Posts: 1,762
    Saying that you fall off the wagon because your gym is crowded during a certain time of the year sounds like an excuse. Go earlier in the morning, or later at night, whenever there are less people. Or just workout and not worry about others.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    I'm gonna quit and get fat.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    I always go at off-peak times. To me, my gym time is my relaxation/zoning out time where I focus on physical stuff instead of mundane worries of the day. But I've always gone at off-peak times so it's not a change for me.

    The other thing is get some DVDs and do them at home when you can't go to the gym at any time other than peak times. There are a lot of really cool ones out now and I like to do them on days when I feel pressed for time and don't want to include travel time into the time allotted to working out.
  • fitplease
    fitplease Posts: 647 Member
    The noobs aren't going to use the same machines or perform the same exercises that I do. Most noobs will go on the treadmill/elliptical/stationary bike.

    LOL. That would be me.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I think it's important not to be so judgy-judgy to the new people at the gym over the holidays. First off, some people use the discounted rates as a good time to get a good deal to switch gyms, so they're not ALL resolutioners. Second, even though there's a high failure rate, some of those people will stick it out. Third, you were new at one point, remember?!?! And fourth, those people offset the price of YOUR gym membership, without them it would be much more expensive.

    So just suck it up, go at a different time, run outside, take a training break, or just be patient, smile at a scared looking newbie, and offer to help someone who looks confused in the weights section. It will go in to your karma bank, and the busy season is pretty short lived anyway.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    I think it's important not to be so judgy-judgy to the new people at the gym over the holidays. First off, some people use the discounted rates as a good time to get a good deal to switch gyms, so they're not ALL resolutioners. Second, even though there's a high failure rate, some of those people will stick it out. Third, you were new at one point, remember?!?! And fourth, those people offset the price of YOUR gym membership, without them it would be much more expensive.

    So just suck it up, go at a different time, run outside, take a training break, or just be patient, smile at a scared looking newbie, and offer to help someone who looks confused in the weights section. It will go in to your karma bank, and the busy season is pretty short lived anyway.

    Absolutely :smile:
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    soooo. just go to the gym?!

    ETA-- I was a newbie almost two years ago. Yes, the percentage of people that stick with it is small, but those are the awesome ones who are making a real change. don't judge.
  • KiltFuPanda
    KiltFuPanda Posts: 574 Member
    Personally, I hope to maybe stand as a "this is what you could possibly do" role model. I've got less than a year under my belt (and thankfully, moved a few pounds out from under that belt!), but the guys at my gym not only let me work in with them, but helped me get the proper form for weight training. Without them, I might have either injured myself, or not reached the level I am right now.

    Sure, there's gonna be a number of newbies who go in, work out, and leave. But if someone seems genuinely interested, I'll be encouraging and supportive.

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