PSA!!! Gym Etiquette!!

LeonnieH

When someone is sitting on one of the resistance machines, resting, and you need to use it what would you do or say? There's someone at my gym who uses the vertical row machine, he has the weight set at near maximum so granted I'm sure he needs to rest before he uses it again but he sits there the whole time and in all can be hogging it for about 20 mins without getting off (his rest periods last around 3-5 minutes). I'm quite new at the gym and as the weights I have it set at are a miserably light compared to him I'm reluctant to say anything. I'm tempted to ask if I can hop on for a minute (it only takes me about a minute to do my 12 reps) but not sure if he would think I'm being rude interrupting like that.

ZoeLifts

When someone is sitting on one of the resistance machines, resting, and you need to use it what would you do or say? There's someone at my gym who uses the vertical row machine, he has the weight set at near maximum so granted I'm sure he needs to rest before he uses it again but he sits there the whole time and in all can be hogging it for about 20 mins without getting off (his rest periods last around 3-5 minutes). I'm quite new at the gym and as the weights I have it set at are a miserably light compared to him I'm reluctant to say anything. I'm tempted to ask if I can hop on for a minute (it only takes me about a minute to do my 12 reps) but not sure if he would think I'm being rude interrupting like that.

You can totally ask him if you can work in! Most people are pretty good about that. He would be rude to not let you, especially if it's just a matter of moving a pin for a few minutes. It gets more difficult to work in when there are a lot of weights to have to shift back and forth, but most people I have noticed are pretty easy going about it.

tpfoodie

When someone is sitting on one of the resistance machines, resting, and you need to use it what would you do or say? There's someone at my gym who uses the vertical row machine, he has the weight set at near maximum so granted I'm sure he needs to rest before he uses it again but he sits there the whole time and in all can be hogging it for about 20 mins without getting off (his rest periods last around 3-5 minutes). I'm quite new at the gym and as the weights I have it set at are a miserably light compared to him I'm reluctant to say anything. I'm tempted to ask if I can hop on for a minute (it only takes me about a minute to do my 12 reps) but not sure if he would think I'm being rude interrupting like that.

I don't know, I think I would find that rude if I were sitting at the machine, especially if it was only 20 minutes. If he was there for an hour I'd tell him to scram. :P

soldier4242

Does this article really indicate how a "real fitness enthusiast" feels about someone else in the gym? I have been going to the gym for a couple of weeks now and I would hate to think that it is full of people silently judging me.

I don't even think twice about it if I am on an elliptical or a treadmill and someone uses the one right next to me. I definitely don't think of them the same way I think of urinals and if you do I think you might be the one with the problem.

I have also noticed that when people have answered their phones I normally can't even hear the over the noise pollution from all the machines moving. It would be highly annoying if they spoke loud enough that I could hear them over all that so perhaps that is what has happened to you.

I did not know what the big three were until after I read this thread and I don't think lack of this knowledge is justifiable reason for telling someone to stay at home. Even if I didn't know what the big three were you can bet your well toned *kitten* that I would be in that gym anyways because I am not going to continue to let myself grow fat and unhealthy because you would prefer not to be bothered by a noob like me asking stupid questions in your gym.

You also said a great deal of stuff that I agree with and I recognize by the feed back that I am the extreme minority. Most people completely agree with every single word that you wrote and to be honest you wrote a lot of great stuff in there too.

If there is a place for a certain size of weight and they are obviously sorted by weight why on earth would you think it's ok to leave your weights on the floor or rack them out of order? You hit the nail on the head with that one.

The gym is not a place to sit on equipment. If you have just finished a set I get resting for a bit but 10 minutes between sets is pure insanity.

You got more right than that but this post is too long for most to read anyways and you have been praised quite a bit already.

I just wanted to make sure you knew I didn't disagree with everything you wrote. No hard feelings but it might not kill you to chill a little bit.

Ummm...I didn't actually write this article. I found it humorous and, unfortunately, relevant to my gym going experience and thought I would share it in hopes that people would be more aware and/or choose to enjoy the article as well.

Whether or not you wrote it is completely irrelevant. I am address the content of the arguments. I am very serious about ending the "fat and out of shape" era of my life. I am relatively new the gym environment but I am able to draw upon the experience gained while in the army when going to the gym was common place for me. I agree with courtesy which is the overall theme of the article but I disagree with the notion that someone should ever just stay home because there is something they don't yet know. Since nobody had yet mentioned this I thought it noteworthy.

carrieous

The only thing that bugs me are the people who wear perfumes and colognes. why do people think that is acceptable??!

ZoeLifts

Does this article really indicate how a "real fitness enthusiast" feels about someone else in the gym? I have been going to the gym for a couple of weeks now and I would hate to think that it is full of people silently judging me.

I don't even think twice about it if I am on an elliptical or a treadmill and someone uses the one right next to me. I definitely don't think of them the same way I think of urinals and if you do I think you might be the one with the problem.

I have also noticed that when people have answered their phones I normally can't even hear the over the noise pollution from all the machines moving. It would be highly annoying if they spoke loud enough that I could hear them over all that so perhaps that is what has happened to you.

I did not know what the big three were until after I read this thread and I don't think lack of this knowledge is justifiable reason for telling someone to stay at home. Even if I didn't know what the big three were you can bet your well toned *kitten* that I would be in that gym anyways because I am not going to continue to let myself grow fat and unhealthy because you would prefer not to be bothered by a noob like me asking stupid questions in your gym.

You also said a great deal of stuff that I agree with and I recognize by the feed back that I am the extreme minority. Most people completely agree with every single word that you wrote and to be honest you wrote a lot of great stuff in there too.

If there is a place for a certain size of weight and they are obviously sorted by weight why on earth would you think it's ok to leave your weights on the floor or rack them out of order? You hit the nail on the head with that one.

The gym is not a place to sit on equipment. If you have just finished a set I get resting for a bit but 10 minutes between sets is pure insanity.

You got more right than that but this post is too long for most to read anyways and you have been praised quite a bit already.

I just wanted to make sure you knew I didn't disagree with everything you wrote. No hard feelings but it might not kill you to chill a little bit.

Ummm...I didn't actually write this article. I found it humorous and, unfortunately, relevant to my gym going experience and thought I would share it in hopes that people would be more aware and/or choose to enjoy the article as well.

Whether or not you wrote it is completely irrelevant. I am address the content of the arguments. I am very serious about ending the "fat and out of shape" era of my life. I am relatively new the gym environment but I am able to draw upon the experience gained while in the army when going to the gym was common place for me. I agree with courtesy which is the overall theme of the article but I disagree with the notion that someone should ever just stay home because there is something they don't yet know. Since nobody had yet mentioned this I thought it noteworthy.

He is rather coarse on that point, I agree. Not everyone has to know what the "big three" is, and if they don't, they don't have to stay home. I do agree, though, that if someone is on the squat rack actually squatting and you want them get out so you can do crunches in there because its your favorite spot to do crunches, then perhaps you might work on something else and come back, or find another spot that is conducive to your exercise, since his/her spot is clearly conducive to his/her exercise.

You also do not have to take every point of advice in an article completely to heart. Ask yourself, does this seem really pertinent to me? If not, then "chill a little bit."

ZoeLifts

Whether or not you wrote it is completely irrelevant.

Oh, and it is completely relevant, actually, since you seemed to take a lot of the stuff in the artcle quite personally and then kind of jumped down my throat as if I personally wrote it. So, yeah, relevant.

notthatthis

Um... what are the big three?

I don't lift, maybe that's why I'm oblivious. ^_^

Legitimate question, for sure!! I didn't know what they were either a while back. Squat, deadlift and benchpress.

It's actually big six. Pull from floor. Horizontal pull. Vertical pull. Push from floor. Horizontal push. Vertical push.

No, pretty sure that in weightlifting circles, the big three always refers to squats, deads and bench:

http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/derek2.htm

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most.../15_commandments_for_the_big_3_lifts

http://caveman2point0.blogspot.com/2011/01/strength-training-for-beginners-big.html

Big three is just to make people who cannot do pullups or weighted pullups feel better about themselves.

This comment does not compute with me. I can do pullups much better now than before I started focusing on big three, because I'm stronger, you see? But I also incorporate them into my workout. Just not in the power rack or squat rack on top of someone else.

I see now why you like your PSA Nazi rules at the gym article.

ndj1979

hilarious!

ZoeLifts

Um... what are the big three?

I don't lift, maybe that's why I'm oblivious. ^_^

Legitimate question, for sure!! I didn't know what they were either a while back. Squat, deadlift and benchpress.

It's actually big six. Pull from floor. Horizontal pull. Vertical pull. Push from floor. Horizontal push. Vertical push.

No, pretty sure that in weightlifting circles, the big three always refers to squats, deads and bench:

http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/derek2.htm

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most.../15_commandments_for_the_big_3_lifts

http://caveman2point0.blogspot.com/2011/01/strength-training-for-beginners-big.html

Big three is just to make people who cannot do pullups or weighted pullups feel better about themselves.

This comment does not compute with me. I can do pullups much better now than before I started focusing on big three, because I'm stronger, you see? But I also incorporate them into my workout. Just not in the power rack or squat rack on top of someone else.

I see now why you like your PSA Nazi rules at the gym article.

Ahh, yes, then Godwin's law is in full effect.

tuckerrj

Leonnie_H
If the guy is on the rowing machine too long, simply smile at him and say, "Can I get a set in while you're resting?" or "Mind if I work in?". He'll probably be tickled to share the machine with a pretty girl!

Squidgeypaws007

Whether or not you wrote it is completely irrelevant. I am address the content of the arguments. I am very serious about ending the "fat and out of shape" era of my life. I am relatively new the gym environment but I am able to draw upon the experience gained while in the army when going to the gym was common place for me. I agree with courtesy which is the overall theme of the article but I disagree with the notion that someone should ever just stay home because there is something they don't yet know. Since nobody had yet mentioned this I thought it noteworthy.

Although I totally agree with the notion of what you're saying, a lot of these points are plain and simple common sense and courtesy. I didn't know before this thread what the "big three" are, so maybe I should stop going to the gym BUT I do know to not stand in the middle of a walkway talking, I know how annoying it is when some big dude leaves 100+ kilos on the leg press, or a barbell fully loaded on the only free rack and if people just took a moment to think about how THEY would like to find the gym a lot of these silly little peeves and threads wouldn't exist. Saying that, I learnt a lot from threads like this before I entered the gym 3 weeks ago

LeonnieH

Leonnie_H
If the guy is on the rowing machine too long, simply smile at him and say, "Can I get a set in while you're resting?" or "Mind if I work in?". He'll probably be tickled to share the machine with a pretty girl!

I'll ask him nicely next time it happens, hopefully he won't take offence Thanks!

Azdak

Unfortunately, a lot of the "heroes" in #6 are also guilty of #7.

danimalkeys

All of this stuff is common sense. Unfortunately, too many people lack it.

soldier4242

Whether or not you wrote it is completely irrelevant.

Oh, and it is completely relevant, actually, since you seemed to take a lot of the stuff in the artcle quite personally and then kind of jumped down my throat as if I personally wrote it. So, yeah, relevant.

The only one taking anything personally here is you. I made it quite clear the exact specific things that I disagreed with and I also mentioned some of the things that I did agree with and your only response was to say that you did not write the article. Well whether you wrote it or not really does not matter. The strength of the argument itself actually matters. After I told you this your only recourse seems to be jumping in to ad homonym attacks claiming that if I disagree with part of it that has to mean it is because I am in some way guilty of the things mentioned in the article.

I do apologize if you took what I was saying as jumping down your throat. The truth is it is very easy to agree with someone but disagreeing can be hazardous. I can assure you that if we were discussing this face to face you would know that I did not intend to be hostile in any way. The fact of the matter is you did post this article as a PSA and you made no mention that you did not write the article until someone disagreed with it and let me reenforce this point. I disagree with specific parts of this article which I have already spelled out and I do not disagree with the entire article as a whole. If I may be so bold as to say I consider myself to be very polite and courteous while I am at the gym.

Perhaps my observations are in fact wrong. If someone could examine my actual objections to the article I would be open to listening to feedback.

ZoeLifts

Whether or not you wrote it is completely irrelevant.

Oh, and it is completely relevant, actually, since you seemed to take a lot of the stuff in the artcle quite personally and then kind of jumped down my throat as if I personally wrote it. So, yeah, relevant.

The only one taking anything personally here is you. I made it quite clear the exact specific things that I disagreed with and I also mentioned some of the things that I did agree with and your only response was to say that you did not write the article. Well whether you wrote it or not really does not matter. The strength of the argument itself actually matters. After I told you this your only recourse seems to be jumping in to ad homonym attacks claiming that if I disagree with part of it that has to mean it is because I am in some way guilty of the things mentioned in the article.

I do apologize if you took what I was saying as jumping down your throat. The truth is it is very easy to agree with someone but disagreeing can be hazardous. I can assure you that if we were discussing this face to face you would know that I did not intend to be hostile in any way. The fact of the matter is you did post this article as a PSA and you made no mention that you did not write the article until someone disagreed with it and let me reenforce this point. I disagree with specific parts of this article which I have already spelled out and I do not disagree with the entire article as a whole. If I may be so bold as to say I consider myself to be very polite and courteous while I am at the gym.

Perhaps my observations are in fact wrong. If someone could examine my actual objections to the article I would be open to listening to feedback.

Well, at least we can agree that it is difficult to interpret written word, as you seemed to think posting a topic with my own title of PSA (as an attempt at humor) would mean I must have written the article. Of course, it would only take about 30 seconds to find the author's name at the bottom of the artcle, and HIS picture and then my own profile (I guess my pic doesn't exactly show that I am a woman, but it is just a click away to see whom you might be addressing) to see that I am not a He, nor am I the author several books on carb backloading, DH Keifer.

I will pull up your original post and respond in kind, though I have already agreed with you regarding the "big three" comment. But you seem to want some sort of response to your objections. I shall oblige within a few minutes, if you will give me that time.

soldier4242

Whether or not you wrote it is completely irrelevant. I am address the content of the arguments. I am very serious about ending the "fat and out of shape" era of my life. I am relatively new the gym environment but I am able to draw upon the experience gained while in the army when going to the gym was common place for me. I agree with courtesy which is the overall theme of the article but I disagree with the notion that someone should ever just stay home because there is something they don't yet know. Since nobody had yet mentioned this I thought it noteworthy.

Although I totally agree with the notion of what you're saying, a lot of these points are plain and simple common sense and courtesy. I didn't know before this thread what the "big three" are, so maybe I should stop going to the gym BUT I do know to not stand in the middle of a walkway talking, I know how annoying it is when some big dude leaves 100+ kilos on the leg press, or a barbell fully loaded on the only free rack and if people just took a moment to think about how THEY would like to find the gym a lot of these silly little peeves and threads wouldn't exist. Saying that, I learnt a lot from threads like this before I entered the gym 3 weeks ago

Yes it would go a long way if everyone exercised golden rule ethics when they went to the gym. I think an interesting article to read would be one covering what to do when someone violated these rules. That can be quite the mine field. Confronting someone too strongly can put them on the defensive and escalate and otherwise small nuisance to a higher level. If you are too timid it could result in being ignored.

While it can easily be called common sense I do think there is value in posting things like this. Obviously I did not agree with all of it but I did agree with a lot of it. Perhaps a third person would have different points of objection and agreement. From the dialogue a common ground can be found and progress can be made.

ZoeLifts

Does this article really indicate how a "real fitness enthusiast" feels about someone else in the gym? I have been going to the gym for a couple of weeks now and I would hate to think that it is full of people silently judging me.

I think it actually is from the perspective of one who tends to only weightlift, so it might be specific to those needs in some respects. But I think there are good nuggets of general behavior one should observe when in the vicinity of others, as long as you don't take things too seriously.

I don't even think twice about it if I am on an elliptical or a treadmill and someone uses the one right next to me. I definitely don't think of them the same way I think of urinals and if you do I think you might be the one with the problem.

Some other people do have issues with space and being uncomfortable by others too near them when it is unecessary. It is only polite to others to err on the side of caution. And regarding your personal comment to me as though I wrote the article and have a stick up my butt, I've honestly never used a urinal, but I've heard from actual men that this is a no no, as is sitting next right next to another man in the movie theater. I wouldn't know. I'm a woman, we don't mind sitting next to each other normally, but not in the bathroom (that's why there are stalls)

I have also noticed that when people have answered their phones I normally can't even hear the over the noise pollution from all the machines moving. It would be highly annoying if they spoke loud enough that I could hear them over all that so perhaps that is what has happened to you.

Again, see point above regarding space, you don't have a problem with it and never experienced it, no bigee. Some find it annoying. As for personal comment as though I wrote the article and have a stick up my butt, I wear headphones to block out sounds to distract.

I did not know what the big three were until after I read this thread and I don't think lack of this knowledge is justifiable reason for telling someone to stay at home. Even if I didn't know what the big three were you can bet your well toned *kitten* that I would be in that gym anyways because I am not going to continue to let myself grow fat and unhealthy because you would prefer not to be bothered by a noob like me asking stupid questions in your gym.

I have address most of this one already and agreed with you, actually. The tone of the article was off putting at this particular point for many that struggle with being comfortable in the gym. As for the personal comment, my *kitten* is not quite as toned as I would like yet, however, I am getting there, thank you for your concern!

You also said a great deal of stuff that I agree with and I recognize by the feed back that I am the extreme minority. Most people completely agree with every single word that you wrote and to be honest you wrote a lot of great stuff in there too.

If there is a place for a certain size of weight and they are obviously sorted by weight why on earth would you think it's ok to leave your weights on the floor or rack them out of order? You hit the nail on the head with that one.

The gym is not a place to sit on equipment. If you have just finished a set I get resting for a bit but 10 minutes between sets is pure insanity.

Thanks!

You got more right than that but this post is too long for most to read anyways and you have been praised quite a bit already.

I didn't share it for praise, I shared it for information.

I just wanted to make sure you knew I didn't disagree with everything you wrote. No hard feelings but it might not kill you to chill a little bit.

"No hard feelings" followed by "chill out a little bit" from someone who wrote an entire diatribe that included somewhat personal jabs and didn't check the source struck me as hypocritical.

But, no hard feelings. Hopefully we can move on from here, as I have now answered you point by point!

soldier4242

Whether or not you wrote it is completely irrelevant.

Oh, and it is completely relevant, actually, since you seemed to take a lot of the stuff in the artcle quite personally and then kind of jumped down my throat as if I personally wrote it. So, yeah, relevant.

The only one taking anything personally here is you. I made it quite clear the exact specific things that I disagreed with and I also mentioned some of the things that I did agree with and your only response was to say that you did not write the article. Well whether you wrote it or not really does not matter. The strength of the argument itself actually matters. After I told you this your only recourse seems to be jumping in to ad homonym attacks claiming that if I disagree with part of it that has to mean it is because I am in some way guilty of the things mentioned in the article.

I do apologize if you took what I was saying as jumping down your throat. The truth is it is very easy to agree with someone but disagreeing can be hazardous. I can assure you that if we were discussing this face to face you would know that I did not intend to be hostile in any way. The fact of the matter is you did post this article as a PSA and you made no mention that you did not write the article until someone disagreed with it and let me reenforce this point. I disagree with specific parts of this article which I have already spelled out and I do not disagree with the entire article as a whole. If I may be so bold as to say I consider myself to be very polite and courteous while I am at the gym.

Perhaps my observations are in fact wrong. If someone could examine my actual objections to the article I would be open to listening to feedback.

Well, at least we can agree that it is difficult to interpret written word, as you seemed to think posting a topic with my own title of PSA (as an attempt at humor) would mean I must have written the article. Of course, it would only take about 30 seconds to find the author's name at the bottom of the artcle, and HIS picture and then my own profile (I guess my pic doesn't exactly show that I am a woman, but it is just a click away to see whom you might be addressing) to see that I am not a He, nor am I the author several books on carb backloading, DH Keifer.

I will pull up your original post and respond in kind, though I have already agreed with you regarding the "big three" comment. But you seem to want some sort of response to your objections. I shall oblige within a few minutes, if you will give me that time.

I could have investigated to find out who the author of the article was and I did not do that. I have seen people write their own articles and blogs and then make forum posts linking to them. It is a great idea because it increases traffic to their sites. Since I did not do my due diligence you were indistinguishable from them and I did proceed with a false assumption. I am betting you almost nobody in this thread checked to see who wrote the article and if it was you or someone else. It just didn't matter in their case because they agreed with it and by extension you the poster of it.

Edit: I can't believe I forgot this part:

I genuinely did not post my observations because I assumed they were objectively true. I posted my opinions. I am sincerely interested in your perspectives whether you agree with me or not. I will try to work on my sense of humor but this is a legitimate topic worthy of discussion. Take as much time as you need.

P.S. I did assume that you were a women from your picture and you are in much better shape than I am.

P.P.S. I feel I should come clean here and that my profile picture is not what I actually look like.