Being made fun of at the gym?

daychasingnight
daychasingnight Posts: 11 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Today was my first day at the gym. Ever. I'm recovering from broken kneecaps and just got the go-ahead from a doctor to start doing some real exercise. I'm still a bit dubious and thought I'd try out slow, to build up my confidence.

Now I'm the first to admit that I'm overweight, however I wouldn't say I'm huge. My before and after pictures are not going to be like those 'miracle product' adverts. I'm definitely the biggest person in my gym that I've seen though - everyone seems to be muscular, toned, and out of some Hollister advert. Good for them etc.

(This is all besides the point, sorry. I'm just trying to paint the scene.)

I was listening to music whilst doing an exercise, when it stopped, I heard laughing from behind me and a few men commenting on me and how 'pathetic it was that the fatties still try' etc etc etc. I ignored them, which was hard, because they kept going at it for a fair few minutes. In retrospect, maybe I should have turned around and defended myself.

Luckily I have pretty thick skin, and I don't really give a s**t what others think, but I can imagine that some people might never go back to the gym after something like that. It's a bit sad really.

I basically, in a very long-winded way, wanted to say to people who have been made fun of at the gym or those who will be, just ignore the idiots and don't let them get to you. Cliché advice but :flowerforyou:
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Replies

  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    some people never make it out of highschool. pretty pathetic
  • RINat612
    RINat612 Posts: 251 Member
    If I had your mentality, I'd keep going back just to throw it back in their face.

    But me, I'm an introvert so I exercise at home. My social anxiety would never let me go in a gym. Like ever.

    So I say more power to you. Go back, work your *kitten* off, and laugh at them when you're where you want to be.
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    Good for you for having tough skin and ignoring foolish people like that! They are ignorant obviously as to what a gym is for and why overweight people, thin people, body builders and the rest of our population use the gym. I guess they think only people like them can use it. How immature is that. You are better than me though. I personally could care less of what someone thinks of me, but I would have verbally ripped them a new one, so it doesn't happen to the more sensitive people at the gym.

    JERKS!!
  • Jaxsonjess
    Jaxsonjess Posts: 93 Member
    I would go up to those men and say if you had any intelligence this is the best place for my fat *kitten* to be and walk away 
  • jhc7324
    jhc7324 Posts: 200 Member
    Today was my first day at the gym. Ever. I'm recovering from broken kneecaps and just got the go-ahead from a doctor to start doing some real exercise. I'm still a bit dubious and thought I'd try out slow, to build up my confidence.

    Now I'm the first to admit that I'm overweight, however I wouldn't say I'm huge. My before and after pictures are not going to be like those 'miracle product' adverts. I'm definitely the biggest person in my gym that I've seen though - everyone seems to be muscular, toned, and out of some Hollister advert. Good for them etc.

    (This is all besides the point, sorry. I'm just trying to paint the scene.)

    I was listening to music whilst doing an exercise, when it stopped, I heard laughing from behind me and a few men commenting on me and how 'pathetic it was that the fatties still try' etc etc etc. I ignored them, which was hard, because they kept going at it for a fair few minutes. In retrospect, maybe I should have turned around and defended myself.

    Luckily I have pretty thick skin, and I don't really give a s**t what others think, but I can imagine that some people might never go back to the gym after something like that. It's a bit sad really.

    I basically, in a very long-winded way, wanted to say to people who have been made fun of at the gym or those who will be, just ignore the idiots and don't let them get to you. Cliché advice but :flowerforyou:
    I've never heard anything like that at the gym, but if I had, I would definitely say something to them. Nobody should have to deal with that when trying to improve their health, and I'm sorry you had to hear that. Next time, stand up for yourself though, and say something back. I can almost guarantee that there are others working out near where you were who heard what they were saying and were disgusted by it. You most certainly wouldn't have been alone if you had confronted them.
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    Sounds like a time when it would have been perfectly acceptable to smack them around the head with a dumbbell. :devil:

    YOU can lose the weight. THEY will always be jerks. Keep going! :flowerforyou:
  • Julzanne72
    Julzanne72 Posts: 468 Member
    Douchelords!! That's all I have to say! People are ignorant and I commend you for working hard to acheive your goals!!!
  • fullersun35
    fullersun35 Posts: 162 Member
    I probably would have reported them and gotten them kicked out.
  • scottjoh
    scottjoh Posts: 77 Member
    A year ago, I was one of the "fatties" at the gym. A year later, I've lost almost 90 pounds and look more average. When I see larger people working out I think good for them that they are taking steps to improve their health. Just keep with it and in no time you be able to show the people who talked about you how wrong they were.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    I can be kind of a **** when stuff like that happens. I would immediately start laughing my *kitten* off, and when they asked what was funny, I would say "The blatantly obvious overcompensation. I mean, is it a micropeen or premature ejaculation that you're covering up with that inflated ego?"
  • daychasingnight
    daychasingnight Posts: 11 Member
    If I had your mentality, I'd keep going back just to throw it back in their face.

    But me, I'm an introvert so I exercise at home. My social anxiety would never let me go in a gym. Like ever.

    So I say more power to you. Go back, work your *kitten* off, and laugh at them when you're where you want to be.

    I live in the world's smallest place at the moment and don’t have the room to exercise at home, or else I definitely would. What exercises do you do at home/do you have any special equipment/etc?

    I also have a form of social anxiety and that mixed with the fact that I dislike people, the gym isn't exactly ideal for me, but it'll do for now. :smile:
  • fivethreeone
    fivethreeone Posts: 8,196 Member
    ....I'm recovering from broken kneecaps....

    All I want to know is when you first got involved with the mob.
  • nikkylyn
    nikkylyn Posts: 325 Member
    I would def report them so it doesnt happen to anyone else.
  • fitfabforties
    fitfabforties Posts: 370 Member
    grrrrrrrr......this just p*sses me off.......I would have said something along the lines of.....

    "at least I'm not a complete douche bag......better get back to building up those biceps so your two brain cells will have somewhere to live"
  • LotusAsh
    LotusAsh Posts: 294 Member
    at least you're trying, if they were trying they wouldn't have time to talk **** and be respectful
  • vab_spencer
    vab_spencer Posts: 15 Member
    Sounds a little like Bevis and Butthead. Maybe challenge them to a spelling bee.
  • ashgirl95
    ashgirl95 Posts: 48
    Gyms, no matter what gym you go to, are supposed to be a judgement-free place. People go there to get healthy, not to compare muscle size. I'm sorry you had to hear that, that is completely unacceptable. Unfortunately, I probably wouldn't have said anything either as I'm not exactly the most outspoken person.

    Like someone said earlier, some people never leave high school.
  • Clandahlina
    Clandahlina Posts: 7
    First of all, good for you for going to the gym. If they had talked about me like that, I would have cried, then cursed them out. You showed a lot more restraint than I would have. I would, however, recommend reporting them to the gym staff if they ever do that again. Aside from being just horrible, it also drives away gym business so it is in the staff's best interest to intervene.
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    I can be kind of a **** when stuff like that happens. I would immediately start laughing my *kitten* off, and when they asked what was funny, I would say "The blatantly obvious overcompensation. I mean, is it a micropeen or premature ejaculation that you're covering up with that inflated ego?"

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    That's right girl! Tell em.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    Wow! If I had seen that, I would have gone the eff off on them for you. Ignore them and keep doing what you are doing. Also, you poor thing! Broken kneecaps sound more painful than I can imagine.
  • EscamillaMom
    EscamillaMom Posts: 16 Member
    Let their hideous comments be your fuel! In a few months your going to look and be so much healthier and they will still be the rude conceded brainless a-holes they always have been! Don't let a few idiots get you down!
  • LianaG1115
    LianaG1115 Posts: 453 Member
    The fact that we are there trying speaks volumes...the fact that they're making comments about people also speaks volumes...karma does return with the upper hand and they in the end get their own...no worries to anyone who experiences this ridiculous banter, they're no better than you are because they have "muscle" you have character unlike those who don't.... have a splendid day at the gym everyone!! And if it's that horrible at your gym, there are hundreds who would LOVE to have you at their gym!!
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
    You keep doing what you were doing. You've got nothing to prove to anyone but yourself.
  • mummma
    mummma Posts: 402 Member
    bless your heart. i have social anxiety and i avoid anywhere let alone the gym. i feared the situation you just experienced. i have recently been referred to the gym by my doctor i go in the middle of the day (im guessing all the young people are at work lol) its just full of older people. who are very kind and just seem to smile alot. i dont think you should exercise at home, dont feel driven out by them. keep going and getting stronger.

    whenever i feel like people are looking at me or whispering (no doubt its just the anxiety talking) i always remember this i read online once...

    To the fatty running on the Westview track this afternoon:

    You, whose feet barely lift off the ground as you trudge around the track. You, who keeps the outside lane, footslogging in the wrong direction. You, who stops for water breaks every lap, and who would probably stop twice a lap if there were bleachers on both sides. You whose gaze drops to your feet everytime we pass. You, whose sweat drenches your body after you leave, completing only a single, 20-minute mile...Every shallow step you take, you carry the weight of more than two of me, clinging to your bones, begging to be shaken off. Each lap you run, you’re paying off the debt of another midnight snack, another dessert, another beer. It’s 20 degrees outside, but you haven’t let that stop your regimen. This isn’t your first day out here, and it certainly won’t be your last. You’ve started a journey that lasts a lifetime, and you’ve started it at least 12 days before your New Year’s resolution kicks in. You run without music, and I can only imagine the mantras running through your mind as you heave your ever-shrinking mass around the next lap. Let’s go, feet. Shut up, legs. F**k off, fat. If you’d only look up from your feet the next time we pass, you’d see my gaze has no condescension in it. I have nothing but respect for you.

    You’ve got this.'

    it just makes me smile.
  • daychasingnight
    daychasingnight Posts: 11 Member
    I would def report them so it doesnt happen to anyone else.

    I didn't realise this was something I could of done, or else I would have done it so they can't pick on anyone else.

    Although I mentioned it to another girl in the changing room who said that the gym had a lot of bodybuilders as they have a big weights section or something like that, and there's another gym close by which I might feel more comfortable at, as older people go there (probably to avoid this one). I shouldn't have to change my gym to accommodate for other people! :frown:
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    I would have reported them immediately...even if it wasn't me who they were making fun of. The whole point of a gym is to better yourself, and everyone has to start somewhere. I personally have thick skin, but I know others aren't like that and sometimes need people to stick up for them. Personally, I don't want to workout around people who are that retarded.
  • rexroars
    rexroars Posts: 131 Member
    Wow I really respect your attitude because damn I would probably have cried... thankfully nobody at my gym is ever like that! We have a wide range of extremely buff/fit people to very overweight people, both young and old, and I never see or hear any kind of negativity whatsoever :( You don't deserve that, that's so horrible. Some people are so petty... and boring, really.

    I bet it will subside after a while :) and there will be even more people thinking positive things about you!! Every time I go to the gym I am so impressed and inspired by everyone around me. You're awesome!! :)
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    I think I might have throat punched them and then asked who was pathetic now...

    High five to you OP for not letting them get to you.
  • jams61
    jams61 Posts: 1
    Oh, My, it always amazes me the heartless folks out there, I feel sad for them, for they will never know true Love or friendship, because they do not have room in their hearts for real love or friendship to start with, I hope they grow up.

    You should give yourself a hug for being so understanding and forgiving of stupid.

    I have started a yoga class & I am the biggest person in the class & everyone is supportive, if they weren't it would be hard for me to come back to class
  • brettstonerbrettstoner
    brettstonerbrettstoner Posts: 2
    Two things. One I would have turned around and ask them why they feel the need to put other people down? Are you insecure? Do you feel the need to put others down to make yourself feel better? Or did your parents forget to teach you manners. Then I would walk away and go report them to management to get them kicked out.

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