Gym newbies already gone at my gym ...

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  • BamBam125
    BamBam125 Posts: 229 Member
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    It might be a little harder if you have 1000 clients that could come in at any time of the day instead of scheduled appointments. I used to work at a gym and we got to know the regulars. The thing to keep in mind is that some people don't want to be talked to. They want to come in, get to work and get out.
    I know they aren't the same. I don't expect the font desk to chit chat with me all day at a gym. But, they do have plenty of ways to make an effort to learn my name and show me better service. I can't tell you how many times there were no towels available (for wiping down a machine) and no one even at the front desk to ask for a towel, even though when I signed up they pointed out the stack of towels and explained what they were for. They didn't provide a good service for me... not with towels and not with being nice. I know that key fob told them my name every time I walked in that door. I saw it pop on the monitor near the security cameras.

    They didn't provide me with the service I expected. Now they don't get my money because I canceled my membership and work out from home. I see their lack of good service as a chronic flaw, one of many for that gym. They gave me the run around when I tried to cancel it, even though I was month to month renewal. I had to send a certified letter and everything (apparently you can't cancel in person, just by mail) but darn it they don't get my money any more and it's their own fault.
  • keith0373
    keith0373 Posts: 2,154 Member
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    Do you expect someone to constantly hold your hand thru-out life? It is not our responsibility nor the staffs responsibility to make sure you feel comfortable every time you step foot in that gym. I am there to workout not to chitchat with other gym members, you should be doing the same.

    Yes, we should all be just like Laura! I am going to have to work on my maleness and looks to get there, but WTH, it might be fun!
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    my gym is still pretty packed.
  • HarleyQuinn1774
    HarleyQuinn1774 Posts: 62 Member
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    I'm a noob at the gym..And it's easily the best part of my day. But, I got laughed at by two other chicks at the gym for asking how to work the elliptical machine. =( Why must they laugh? Why not just be polite and answer my question minus the obvious laugh at my stupidity and the little snicker from each of you as you walk away? They were talking about everyone else there anyway when they were on the treadmills. Le sigh..Females.
  • m60kaf
    m60kaf Posts: 421 Member
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    Who joined the gym and was already hard bodied? Sure wasn't me. The OP said nothing about "hoping it get's back to normal." He actually said congrats to the people who stuck it out.

    And "I told you so" to the ones who didn't. So supportive!

    encouraging and supporting failure promotes failure.

    I certainly wont be ridiculing my kids failure - but I sure as hell wont be encouraging it and giving it 'permission' to be OK with failure
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    I'm a noob at the gym..And it's easily the best part of my day. But, I got laughed at by two other chicks at the gym for asking how to work the elliptical machine. =( Why must they laugh? Why not just be polite and answer my question minus the obvious laugh at my stupidity and the little snicker from each of you as you walk away? They were talking about everyone else there anyway when they were on the treadmills. Le sigh..Females.

    That must just be an insecurity thing, I have twice had to use hand signals and yell 'Just keep going!' from the rowers.

    People don't seem to realise, we'd be happy if everyone stayed, that would be fine.
    Or if the gym, number of pieces of equipment and car park could suddenly increase every time there was a J at the start of the month.

    But it's not the case. So the gym is the right size for the majority of the time, but regular exercisers can't enjoy the place they love for January or the start of the sunny months due to overcrowding.
  • traceyjj
    traceyjj Posts: 406 Member
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    The gym I go to is still full to bursting, and more machines are out of order than ever. The poor trainers are still going from one induction to another.... the car park is full, so on nights I have a class I have to arrive 20 minutes early to get parked.

    Saying that, theres not that many members (old and new) that hog the machines, or sit on their phones, so I guess I am quite lucky in that respect.

    It is generally a friendly and welcoming gym, in as much as the staff always say hello, and mainly remember your name - but if they get too popular I can see many people leaving because they cannot get into a class, or on a machine. Some ot the people who have been members there for years tell me they have not seen it as busy as this since it opened.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    I'm a noob at the gym..And it's easily the best part of my day. But, I got laughed at by two other chicks at the gym for asking how to work the elliptical machine. =( Why must they laugh? Why not just be polite and answer my question minus the obvious laugh at my stupidity and the little snicker from each of you as you walk away? They were talking about everyone else there anyway when they were on the treadmills. Le sigh..Females.

    That stinks. There's bound to be the occasional *kitten* in the gym, best to ignore them as they're usually few and far between and probably quite new themselves. Don't let them stop you from reaching your goals. There are *kitten* everywhere in life and you can't stop for them every time you run across one. I've said this several times before, if you need help ask the biggest person you can find as they're usually the most helpful as they've worked hard to get where they are, probably lost a lot of arrogance in the process, and will be happy to help. This has worked for me in several gyms in multiple countries. If they are not helpful, however, see my second sentence above, and move on to the next one.

    And this is meant generally, not to the above poster, but somewhere between the imagined worlds of (1) utopian rainbows and unicorns where someone shows up at your doorstep every morning to give you a hug and encourage you to work out and (2) "those" gyms of the Planet Fitness commercials where the jacked guys make fun of everyone, lies the reality. You wake up several mornings a week and go to the gym. You give it your all, watch your diet, and see gradual results. Most people completely ignore you, but you eventually meet a few people in your gym by reaching out and saying "hi" and funny enough, gym going becomes such a regular thing that you start referring to it as "my gym" and welcoming the newbies after they also have the wherewithal to show up on a semi regular basis, or you don't. It's up to you.
  • HarleyQuinn1774
    HarleyQuinn1774 Posts: 62 Member
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    I'm a noob at the gym..And it's easily the best part of my day. But, I got laughed at by two other chicks at the gym for asking how to work the elliptical machine. =( Why must they laugh? Why not just be polite and answer my question minus the obvious laugh at my stupidity and the little snicker from each of you as you walk away? They were talking about everyone else there anyway when they were on the treadmills. Le sigh..Females.

    That stinks. There's bound to be the occasional *kitten* in the gym, best to ignore them as they're usually few and far between and probably quite new themselves. Don't let them stop you from reaching your goals. There are *kitten* everywhere in life and you can't stop for them every time you run across one. I've said this several times before, if you need help ask the biggest person you can find as they're usually the most helpful as they've worked hard to get where they are, probably lost a lot of arrogance in the process, and will be happy to help. This has worked for me in several gyms in multiple countries. If they are not helpful, however, see my second sentence above, and move on to the next one.

    And this is meant generally, not to the above poster, but somewhere between the imagined worlds of (1) utopian rainbows and unicorns where someone shows up at your doorstep every morning to give you a hug and encourage you to work out and (2) "those" gyms of the Planet Fitness commercials where the jacked guys make fun of everyone, lies the reality. You wake up several mornings a week and go to the gym. You give it your all, watch your diet, and see gradual results. Most people completely ignore you, but you eventually meet a few people in your gym by reaching out and saying "hi" and funny enough, gym going becomes such a regular thing that you start referring to it as "my gym" and welcoming the newbies after they also have the wherewithal to show up on a semi regular basis, or you don't. It's up to you.

    There's usually not a lot of people at the gym that I go to, but I've found that the more I go, the friendlier the "regulars" have become. Mostly though, I tune everything out. I bought a nifty little arm band for my phone, so I strap it on, put my earbuds in, pick a playlist on Spotify, and do what I went to the gym to do. I've lost 17 pounds since the beginning of December. {◕ ◡ ◕}
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,141 Member
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    Why do people cheer about this? The way I see it, if your gym and it's members had been more supportive of the newbies at a time when you all knew they would be challenged, maybe you could have helped them stick with it and made a real difference in more of their lives. Clearly, your gym doesn't do well by the members who need it the most (the new ones).

    Haha, how ridiculous, they're adults and shouldn't have to rely on support from strangers to keep them going....it's upto each individual.
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,049 Member
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    My gym still packed BUT...................Pizza monday is coming up (1st Monday of the month). I'm sure most will wait to try out the Pizza and then dissapear tilll next month...maybe!.....bwahahahahhaah
  • shellbatronic
    shellbatronic Posts: 193
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    My gym no longer looks like Black Friday so a bunch of people have already taken off. Last year it stayed full until March (then tapered off immediately after "spring break). Can't say I'm sad, though. It's not that I actively root for someone to fail at their resolution, but it's nice to have a little breathing room again.

    I do a small group training session 3x a week, and we've had a few people breeze in and out. It's amazing to me that they'll pay so much for this and then bail. One woman comes, skips the next 4 classes, then comes back whining about how she's "doing everything and it's not working" *headdesk*.
  • msshiraz
    msshiraz Posts: 327 Member
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    From another perspective, as one who works in a gym, and learning a lot about the importance of retention, including keeping costs down, and membership fees. If someone continues to come even just once a week, they retain their membership. Keeping that revenue means adding benefits to a productive company. Working for a proactive gym like I do is super exciting, and how to retain them- including all kinds of fun perks, making it an experience beyond workout equipment. That being said- its more of a spa/club environmen
  • edge_dragoncaller
    edge_dragoncaller Posts: 826 Member
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    Why do people cheer about this? The way I see it, if your gym and it's members had been more supportive of the newbies at a time when you all knew they would be challenged, maybe you could have helped them stick with it and made a real difference in more of their lives. Clearly, your gym doesn't do well by the members who need it the most (the new ones).

    It's gym humor and it's frankly based in economic reality. None of us is responsible for whether someone shows up or not. It's up to them to make the commitment and stick with it.

    I beg to differ. It's a sign of a chronic gym problem that no one cares enough to bother fixing. I'm not saying that every noobie would stick with it, but I do think that gyms and their members could do a lot more to help AND still make a profit while doing so.

    For example, last time I joined a gym they gave me a key fob thingy to scan to get past the front desk. Gyms could do so much more with those, like send an email to the member if a week or more has gone by and they haven't come in.

    aka: It's Febuary and you know what that means! It's time to re-affirm those new year resolutions. We've missed you this week(month, etc). Please join us for <insert free or low cost perk> on <date> or stop by the front desk to set up a session with one of our personal trainers. Mention this email to get 10% off your first training session.

    Heck, even just using the fob to "learn" my name would have been nice. aka: I scan the fob, screen tells the front desk who I am (exists) and desk person SHOULD say "HI <name>!" and look at me to acknowledge my existence.

    Or, have a bulletin board for members and newbies seeking "accountability buddies."

    Or have a sign up sheet for members to become newbie mentors/buddies. It could be as simple as promising to call the noobie once a week. For each week/month a mentor's noobie comes in, give the member a % off next year's membership. That way the mentor member gets a perk and the noobie is more likely to renew his/her membership next year AND more likely to recommend the gym to a friend. More members who renew = more money for profit and for improvements to the gym or even opening extra locations.

    I'm glad to hear that some members do try to help out the noobies. That was never my experience when I was at the local gym, but I was "noobie" in early Nov of that year, not January. Maybe no one recognized me as new even though I went at the same time each day. I live in a friendly town, but it seemed like at the gym few people smiled or waved back, even at the front desk or the locker room. Everyone was too busy living in their own world. It made me miss my old campus gym from college. I let my membership to the local gym expire. For the same price as a fancy gym membership for a year, I can buy craig list equipment and just stay home, instead.

    I know that the noobies have their own share of responsibility for whether they go to the gym or not. BUT I firmly believe that gyms and their members could help a lot more of them than they do. That's a sign of a gym that's not properly serving it's members. All the gym cares about is it's pocketbook, rather than it's most valuable asset---the members (new and old).

    Try to understand that it's not all about support. At the YMCA that I go to, we have some great trainers. Always available. I've seen them correct form just passing by to be helpful. What you have is a whole lot of folks at the beginning of the year that have two things.... A New Years resolution and/or a One Month membership that they got as part of a holiday special or ''gift'' from a loved one. They come in, they give it their first month, then they realize that it requires effort.

    Getting fit, in this respect, is the same as someone trying to quit smoking. No matter how much support you give, no matter how good it is for them.....

    Until they are ready to do it on their own, they will not do it.
  • BigDave1050
    BigDave1050 Posts: 854 Member
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    Havent you heard the rule of thumb?

    "New Years diets start Jan 1st and end Super Bowl Sunday!"

    I workout at home most of the time so I don't have this issue.

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  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member
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    This reminds of last year. I'm at the gym on the ellipticals with my headphones on but the volume fairly low. There's a guy on the elliptical next to me and his buddy comes over and starts talking about how the gym is stuffed and he can't wait until all the "fakers" are gone in the next couple of weeks. He may have even gestured in my direction with a head bob but I may have imagined that.

    Well foursquare says I've been to that gym over 300 times since the beginning of last January and I've never seen that asshat since. :laugh:
  • CottonCandyKisses
    CottonCandyKisses Posts: 246 Member
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    I love it when the gym starts to clear out after the first of the year New Years resolutions people start to dwindle. Its nice to be able to use the equipment and machines again. I don't talk to anyone at the gym--In and out with a purpose, when I go.
  • Jemmuno
    Jemmuno Posts: 413 Member
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    Gosh I know!! It's great though, my yoga class started off packed probably 30 people or so, this week it was down to about 15.
  • Rhonnie
    Rhonnie Posts: 506 Member
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    As someone who has set goals and not achieved them, I try not to look down my nose at other people when they come up short. I didn't wind up on mfp because all awesome, all the time

    Friend request sent. :)
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    Honestly, my only problem with the New Years mofos is that they haven't learned even a glimmer of gym etiquette in the early stages. Nothing I like more than having to strip every damned bar I come to and hunt for plates for ten minutes because stuff is scattered all over hell. I literally had to walk to six different racks and benches to gather enough for deadlifts last night.

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