How not to be a gym douche...

24

Replies

  • dirty_dirty_eater
    dirty_dirty_eater Posts: 574 Member
    1) Stop paying too much attention to what everyone else at the gym is doing.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
    Now we need a list for how not to be a gym douche in group fitness classes....
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    You know, nothing pisses me off more than those idiots that leave the weights on the bar.

    Last week I had an argument with one of those idiots over the Squat Rack.
    The moron left his plates on the bar, so I kindly asked him to remove them so I could put mine.

    He told me, exactly like this : ''well if you can use the bar you should be able to remove the weights yourself, that's not my job''

    I was so pissed >:-(

    I was lucky enough that another guy happened to pass by and told him (not so nicely) to remove his ***king plates.

    urg
  • kelseyhere
    kelseyhere Posts: 1,123 Member
    it's so simple and just common sense, yet it seems like 75% of the people at the gym can't follow these simple rules.
  • MrsWillard13
    MrsWillard13 Posts: 27
    Don't take a nap in the leg press!
  • K_Serz
    K_Serz Posts: 1,299 Member
    How not to be a gym douche...

    1) Clean your weights (take the weights off the bar when you're done).
    2) Keep the weights organized (Don't make the next guy remove three 45 lbs plates to get to one 2.5).
    3) Get the **** away from the weight rack with your little curls and shrugs.
    4) Don't leave your dumbbells or plates on the floor.
    5) Notice the people around you, and don't talk to your friend for 5 minutes between sets.

    6) Don't ask me when I'll be done with the bench or machine ... this drives me crazy!

    Wrong dude. You just need to relax. I mean, if the guy is hounding you I get it, but if they just ask how many sets you have left, you need to tell them and get on with your lifts.

    #6 was a good one

    Its to be used while doing WORK. If you arent working and it appears you are resting too long in between sets, then what started out as an exercise has now turned into camping. Let someone else work in or GFTO
  • MrsWillard13
    MrsWillard13 Posts: 27
    Also don't throw a fit if I ask to cut in. You're not using it for a minute. It will take me less than a minute, AND I will readjust the weight for you :)
  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
    I was just telling my husband last night how intimidating I find gyms. First and foremost: mirrors. Mirrors everywhere. I get why they are there, but as I still have over 70 lbs to lose, mirrors still suck.

    Then there is the buff person factor. Most people in the gym that I go to never make eye contact. It's like a bunch of ripped autistic people. (I have a son who is severely autistic and behaves that way.)

    I have a bowflex in the basement, it's been there since we moved, but I can't figure out how to reassemble it. I would love to use it, but the pulleys are all tangled in a mass. ;(

    Plus, the bowflex was less of a workout than free weights were.
  • K_Serz
    K_Serz Posts: 1,299 Member
    7. Don't sit on a bench if your not using it. Other ppl need to use it.

    im using it though....to sit on.

    Will you spot me bro? Yeah, spot me on dumbbell presses, on that bench,............. that you were sitting on. Now you are spotting me and no longer sitting on it. BTW thanks for letting me work in! You rock! :drinker:
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Resting is one thing- but there is a point where you are taking WAY to long and just sitting there- I do get annoyed.

    I'm LESS annoyed now with it than I was back in my college days- mostly because I"M resting more b/c of the heavy lifts- but ultimately- I get annoyed when I'm ready to move on to something and someone who isn't lifting THAT much is taking up SO much time.

    I watched a guy from the second floor while I was running- he did 2 sets of a machine chest press in the 2 miles I ran.

    Seriously? 2? I'm a slow *kitten* runner too. Like- come on- even that's excessive.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    Also don't throw a fit if I ask to cut in. You're not using it for a minute. It will take me less than a minute, AND I will readjust the weight for you :)

    There's nothing wrong with asking to work in--it's good gym etiquette. Some of us have places to be, and we are all paying to use the gym. You don't "own" the equipment just because you got there first.

    And props to you for doing it in a way that minimizes inconvenience for the other person.
  • MrsWillard13
    MrsWillard13 Posts: 27
    I have to be mindful of the gym-goers who are slow at my gym. They're all marines, and when I get annoyed at them being slow, I remind myself that it is possible that they are recovering from an injury. I saw one guy leaving with a cane....
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    Don't make funny sounding grunts. I almost dropped my bar while deadlifting the other day because a guy was barking and I started to laugh. I get grunting, but don't bark.
  • MrsWillard13
    MrsWillard13 Posts: 27
    Sometimes if they say yes and they're clearly not happy about it, I readjust it just slightly heavier...Of course the male ego won't allow them to readjust it, so I get to enjoy watching them struggle.
  • KiltFuPanda
    KiltFuPanda Posts: 574 Member
    You know, nothing pisses me off more than those idiots that leave the weights on the bar.

    Last week I had an argument with one of those idiots over the Squat Rack.
    The moron left his plates on the bar, so I kindly asked him to remove them so I could put mine.

    He told me, exactly like this : ''well if you can use the bar you should be able to remove the weights yourself, that's not my job''

    I was so pissed >:-(

    I was lucky enough that another guy happened to pass by and told him (not so nicely) to remove his ***king plates.

    urg

    Luckily, there's enough people at my gym who would tear a guy a new one if he tried that here. Most gyms have it as an unwritten rule, we have it as a written one. You're looking for a workout? Consider unracking those weights your cooldown before the next exercise.

    And to the unfortunate one who got hit by the walking texter: I'm so glad you have recovered. I swear, if someone had done that when I was around, I would have grabbed the phone, set it gently on the ground, and dropped a 45 plate on it... oops. Guess I wasn't watching where I was.

    Then would come the yelling.
  • jacklis
    jacklis Posts: 280 Member
    I have to be mindful of the gym-goers who are slow at my gym. They're all marines, and when I get annoyed at them being slow, I remind myself that it is possible that they are recovering from an injury. I saw one guy leaving with a cane....
    Thanks for posting this- very mindful!
  • rahlpn
    rahlpn Posts: 551 Member

    5) Notice the people around you, and don't talk to your friend for 5 minutes between sets.

    or **** around with your cell phone for 5 minutes between sets!

    "yea yea I see you guys waiting. I need to check facebook and send a few texts first!"
    back when I was in college this was annoying, I can only imagine how bad the cellphone issue has gotten in recent years

    You can't judge a book by it's cover. I'm a newby at weight lifting and I'm currently on week 3 of Jamie Eason's LIveFit plan. I have to check my phone to see what workout/exercises I have that day and sometimes have to watch the "how to" video on form again before doing it. It doesn't take me more than a minute and I like to rest about 45-60 secs between a set anyway. But some guy just walking by probably sees me and thinks "oh there's another stupid chick taking up a bench just effin' around on her phone." Comments like yours used to make me anxious my first week in the weight room but I've since learned to not give a what anyone thinks.
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,024 Member
    7. Don't sit on a bench if your not using it. Other ppl need to use it.

    im using it though....to sit on.

    I would think that is the primary use of most benches...
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Okay- I don't want to rant... but I will anyway since we are talking about benches.

    DO NOT USE THE DECLINE BENCH TO DO AB WORK AT PEAK HOURS.

    WE HAVE A DECLINE BENCH IN THE AB/STRETCH area to do that... you're hogging SH%^ to do stuff that can be done else where- it's just as annoying to me as someone curling in the squat rack.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    A few of mine:

    - circuit training. In a busy gym, one dude can't expect to have 4-5 pieces of equipment unoccupied while he jumps from station to station. If you want to have an entire gym to yourself, buy your own equipment and build one in your basement.

    - long treadmill walkers. If you plan on going for 2 hour walk at 2mph, the park or the mall is probably an excellent place to go, instead of parking on a treadmill while others would like to use it
  • LazyGuy91
    LazyGuy91 Posts: 171 Member
    [quote
    Really? Does it also drive you crazy if I asked to work in a set because I am on a time constraint and I need to use the particular equipment you're on?


    Yes ... I'm not cutting my sets short to accommodate a stranger in a rush. Sorry. Not really :p
  • rabblerabble
    rabblerabble Posts: 471 Member
    A few of mine:

    - circuit training. In a busy gym, one dude can't expect to have 4-5 pieces of equipment unoccupied while he jumps from station to station. If you want to have an entire gym to yourself, buy your own equipment and build one in your basement.

    I do circuits once a week (other weight routines/cardio on other days) and have my routine down to doing all dumbbells on a single bench. (So it is indeed possible to circuit train without taking up lots of machines all at once.) Also I only do circuits on weekends when the gym isn't crowded so I can change weights quickly and efficiently while moving from one exercise to another.
  • Mrsallypants
    Mrsallypants Posts: 887 Member
    Don't wear super tight pants, yes I can smell your naughty bits.
  • ScottyNoHotty
    ScottyNoHotty Posts: 1,957 Member
    #8...make sure you drop your 50# dumbbells from shoulder height "Cuz those flys just torched my arms!!!"
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    During strength training I'm 5-7 min between sets. During that time I'll talk to friends if I want to. So sucks to be you.

    5) Notice the people around you, and don't talk to your friend for 5 minutes between sets.

    Agree with all except this one - not sure I care what people do between their sets. 5 minutes isn't crazy IMO

    It is when I need to work in a set on the equipment you're monopolizing while chit chatting to your friends.

    Well then you're a rude *kitten*. :flowerforyou:

    Why does it matter if someone is chit chatting with their friends while they recover? 5 minutes is not a crazy break at all in between sets when you are powerlifting.

    I'd have no problem with someone else working in, but it's just a wide sweeping silly generalization that anyone resting 5 minutes between sets is somehow rude. Most everything I have read suggest 3-5 minutes during strength training (between sets).
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    double message
  • cats847
    cats847 Posts: 131
    Oh I got another one:

    - Don't give out unsolicited fitness advice to others in the gym!!!
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    How not to be a gym douche...

    1) Clean your weights (take the weights off the bar when you're done).
    2) Keep the weights organized (Don't make the next guy remove three 45 lbs plates to get to one 2.5).
    3) Get the **** away from the weight rack with your little curls and shrugs.
    4) Don't leave your dumbbells or plates on the floor.
    5) Notice the people around you, and don't talk to your friend for 5 minutes between sets.

    have seen this thread about a million times... BUT this weekend I went to a different location for my gym. I was SHOCKED, I walked in as they opened on Saturday, all of the weights were put away, perfectly! Not a single one out of place, anywhere!

    I plan to complain to my gym manager today when I go because Saturday mornings my gym looks like it got ransacked the night before.

    Saturday mornings at the Y where I work out are the worst for weights not put away, or put away in the wrong place. For some reason, the kids all come in on Friday and Friday night, and, just like at home, they are incapable of picking up after themselves.
    Plates strewn about. Dumbbells thrown against the wall, or under their racks. Even the squat racks have been knocked out of position!
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
    I had to unload 6 100 lb plates off of the leg press today. First off...there is literally a sign right there stating to put your weights away. Second...really?!!! WHERE THE HECK IS THIS 645 LB LEG PRESS MAN....I know it is not that much, I do 10 reps of 405 max as a female....but I never see this guy loading 6 plates on there. Third....I know I can put them away...but s*it...its leg day....I am already gonna need every drop of energy I can get. Douche.

    Most people dont bother me in the gym, its the people that dont take weight off the machines.
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