so how crowded is your gym with newbies?

Everyone is new at some point in the gym. This is not the problem. The problem are the people who are on their phones taking up machines and not really working out. I encourage people to sign up for the gym and I love to see a gym packed full of "newbies". I just wish they would stick around longer. Getting fit is hard but is worth the reward! Girls who get dressed up to go to the gym are my biggest problem.....so your hair and makeup are done and you have a matching outfit on but you are walking on the treadmill at 2.0 miles per hour and talking on your cell phone...really? Please let someone who wants to workout use the equipment...okay I'm done off my soap box...all of you New Years resolution peeps good luck and stick with it!! Weight loss will come to those who work for it!

I'm not new, but I am looking forward to trying new things with the new people. Like I'm slightly intimidated by the free weights section. My gym is inexpensive and in a low income area, so there's a bit of a rough crowd that's usually in that section, but now there will be tons of other people who are beginners so I won't feel so conspicuous.

You all know that people aren't "complaining" about new people at the gym, right?

It's stating a fact. The gym is insanely busy from January through Feb, sometimes March. It happens every year. I've seen it for a bout 18 years now at big gyms, small gyms, and in between.

It happens.

Exactly!!

I don't mind that there are new bodies in the gym IF they are serious about actually working out. I get a bit peeved when I see things like I saw yesterday--no joke, I saw 2 noobs standing sideways on treadmills, not moving, for easily 20 minutes. Enough time for me to do a 15 minute cardio warm up, chat with the trainer for 5 minutes, walk over to several strength machines and do my thing on them.

On the flip side, this week I saw a new face in the free weight area, and it excited me! There is a girl who comes in and does her thing, properly, in the squat rack. Yesterday she was doing snatches in the squat rack while I was squatting in the smith machine. While we were both taking a minute to rest I told her I was too chicken **** to use anything but the smith machine. She smiled and told me it was safer anyway

I coudl not find a parking spot so left and worked out at home. Health food store was crazy too. Just wait they will go back to the couch and we can get our fav tradmill again.

Couple of things I noticed last night at my gym:

1. The majority of the people were on treadmills and other cardio machines, so it was louder and more crowded than usual (I'm a people-watcher so I kind of LOVED IT).

2. I am usually one of only a few fat people at gym, and last night we were representing!! We may have even outnumbered the fit people.

3. Because I am still fat, I was definitely mistaken for a resolutioner by a few people. Until I got to Zumba class, broke out my best moves, and gave those folks the "you betta recognize!" face :happy: You're looking at a gymrat here!

LOVE your positive attitude!!!! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Quite a few at my gym. It's a small local place and the owner is a really decent bloke so I hope for his sake they stay.

I hope for my sake that they learn not to leave their weights on the floor or lean on equipment I want to use while chatting -_-

Argh!

People with their new years resolutions!

They won't last until the end of the month but us regulars are going to suffer!!!!

So should we knock you for being a new member on MFP? Please, dont judge, it's not very becoming

Yesterday I went about 10 and it was awful. When I was on the bike I saw two younger girls walking through, one on her phone and bashed right into a guy doing lat pull downs, another one was on her phone the row behind me for over 20 minutes, and talking loudly. Tons of people not wiping down their equipment. I started wiping it down before and after each use. I was seconds away from asking one girl just sitting flipping through her phone on the leg press if she was not going to do a set to let me work in when she must have finished doing whatever it was on her phone.

Oh and my usual pet peeve of people bathing in perfume/cologne. Around some people it hung so heavy in the air you could taste it.

YEP. I experienced this same thing. Two teen-age girls brought in their little brothers - illegally, because there's an age limit at my gym and they took advantage of the lack of staff due to the holiday - and the guy in front of me was on his phone literally THE entire time I was behind him. and kept looking around to see who was watching him. I "climbed" 50 flights of stairs on my stair stepper during the time he was on the phone just chatting it up. I am 100% glad people are going to the gym and I SINCERELY hope they continue coming. But it's the lack of gym etiquitte that's annoying, not them being there. I don't care about my favorite treadmill or the lack of parking. I care about the people who just don't care about other people. (that sounds circular...) the ones who DON'T read the signs and DON'T wipe down the machines and DO drop the weights on the ground and DO let in their friends who don't have memeberships. THAT'S the problem. not the fact that it's so crowded. so as for all you "don't judge"ers,..just shut up. that's not what I'm concerned with.

Quite a few at my gym. It's a small local place and the owner is a really decent bloke so I hope for his sake they stay.

I hope for my sake that they learn not to leave their weights on the floor or lean on equipment I want to use while chatting -_-

Don't you mean, you hope for THEIR sake? Might have to break out the Dexter equipment. :happy:

I anticipated a larger crowd, I go to LA Fitness but we're in an industrial area, maybe that had something to do with it.

New Years eve the hubs and I went in just before noon, ran outside, grabbed some pre-racked curl bars out of the crowded weight room and did our workout on the pool deck. New Year's Day it was practically a ghost town in the weight room with only a few regulars. Yesterday there were no new faces in the 530 AM pump class I teach. The kicker will be this Saturday, I teach Step and Pump this Saturday so I'm interested in seeing if there are many new faces for either, I sure do hope so. To be fair, our gym usually takes a few weeks to pick up and then starts leaning out again in March.

Edit: as an instructor this is my favorite time of year . . . I always hope "maybe if I pay enough attention they'll stay, maybe if I smile enough it will stick." My favorite part of my hobby job is seeing the woman who always wore sweats shed the baggy shirt for some svelt capris and a pretty racer back, but it takes time.

What's with the judgment? I like seeing new members at my gym. It's great! I like seeing people get back to a healthier lifestyle. I'm not gifted with telepathy so I don't know if the people I see will give up their new habit or not. Some of them might fall off and give up, but some will continue on. Sometimes you have to try something a few times before it sticks.

We were all newbies to the gym at one point. Most of us went to the gym because we wanted to improve ourselves.

I like how you wrote this. I am judgmental simply because it's frustrating (for me) to spend my free hour during my lunch waiting on others to get off the equipment when they're just laying around, or talking to their friend that they brought with them. However, I too enjoy seeing newly motivated people who work hard.

I like seeing newbies, too! I feel so excited for them, and a little empathetic as it must be a bit scary. I always wipe down machines before and after anyways, and if someone is blocking a machine a simple "excuse me, do you mind if I squeeze in there" usually suffices. I don't think most people are being inconsiderate on purpose - and the best way to help newbies learn the rules is to set a good example myself.

What's with the judgment? I like seeing new members at my gym. It's great! I like seeing people get back to a healthier lifestyle. I'm not gifted with telepathy so I don't know if the people I see will give up their new habit or not. Some of them might fall off and give up, but some will continue on. Sometimes you have to try something a few times before it sticks.

We were all newbies to the gym at one point. Most of us went to the gym because we wanted to improve ourselves.

:flowerforyou:

I don't get the newbie hate either.

I understand being frustrated with the minority who have no gym etiquette but I figure most of them will learn it eventually. I didn't understand gym etiquette at one time either. And, really, I see more regulars with bad gym etiquette than newbies as some of the regulars act like they own the place.

I have to say I have only ever seen one person on their phone - well chatting on his hands free - on the early shift ... But dude is drop dead GORGEOUS so I kinda let him off and just smile at him. A lot.
(And try not to fall off the rowing machine while staring at him) ....
Sorry, where was I .. Oh yes phones bad.