Phone Usage in the gym

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Replies

  • littlebutlean
    littlebutlean Posts: 2,159 Member
    Once again this is not about people logging there workouts. It's those ones that like to do all that texting instead of working out. Sometimes you do not have a choice but to notice them. I don't have to time to be watching other people in the gym.

    How do you know what they're doing? You should be worried about one person...YOU

    Yup! This right here. You're missing the point OP. You've clearly identified as "tracking workouts" with your phone acceptable. Who are you to identify what is acceptable and what is not acceptable while someone is resting in between sets? What moral authority do you have to identify any certain activity being deemed yay or nay while people are resting in between sets? You are there to workout. You are NOT there to police other people while they're resting between their sets.
  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
    There's no problem at all when someone is tracking their workout b/w each set. It's the ones that sit there for 5 or 10 minutes doing nothing.
    And you are better for wasting 5-10 minutes notating the fact they are doing nothing?


    Move on to something else then come back.
    I never wait and don't have time to wait. I always move on to something esle. I also like to get in there and get out so I can spend time with my family each day.

    That's understandable. That's why I go at 5am. Very few people on phones to bother me.
  • bloodyhonest
    bloodyhonest Posts: 196 Member
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    I do this in elevators, and of course when I am around people I don't like.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
    As someone who uses their phone in the gym, I have gotten the glares before. The reason I use my phone, is that I'm tracking my reps and weights. Not everyone is dilly-dallying.

    I've heard a lot of people say this. I don't get it. You can't track your reps and weights after you are done working out on that specific machine? Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I can remember how many reps at what weight I just did long enough to wait to log it when I'm done.


    Its more for convince. Depending on the app (stronglifts for example) you just hit the button and it enters how many reps and starts and automatic rest timer for you with one press of a button, then tells you when 90 seconds have passed. It would be the same thing if I sat there staring at my watch.

    That makes sense. I guess I'm not that stringent on my rest time, but I am not following any specific program, either. I just rest for 60-90 seconds, tapping my foot to my music on my mp3 player until I am ready to do my next set. LOL
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
    I do kind of wonder why people are going to the gym just to hang out on their phones, but really, their workout is none of my business.

    What I do get pissed off about are the people who sit on the only machine of its kind in the gym texting while there is a line up for it. Yes, some people are logging their reps. But usually people who are actually logging their reps are breaking a sweat and not giggling the whole time.

    The people at the gym who are sitting there texting instead of working out tend to be the ones who also whine that they're not losing weight and their workouts are *so* ineffective and that really annoys me.
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
    do people not understand resting between sets? why most i sit there staring at the wall when i can utilize my phone between sets to pass the time.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
    I wonder what people did while resting between sets before cell phones. They must have been so bored!
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
    I wonder what people did while resting between sets before cell phones. They must have been so bored!

    i was. sometimes id people watch, play with my discman (yes lol discman), let my mind wander
  • shadyj26
    shadyj26 Posts: 102 Member
    Once again this is not about people logging there workouts. It's those ones that like to do all that texting instead of working out. Sometimes you do not have a choice but to notice them. I don't have to time to be watching other people in the gym.

    How do you know what they're doing? You should be worried about one person...YOU
    I only worry about me but I do get tired of having to change up my workout b/c someone is laughing at their phone when I need to use that piece of equipment.
  • Docmahi
    Docmahi Posts: 1,603 Member
    i defo use my phone a bunch in the gym - usually responding to texts - but ill always let someone work in - Generally on a low rep high weight day i need the recovery time
  • Beautiful_disaster40
    Beautiful_disaster40 Posts: 154
    I always leave mine in the car, it's about the only time I'm without it and I actually enjoy the break.
  • 32sami
    32sami Posts: 380 Member
    I personally don't use it at the gym but I have friends who text me from the gym lol
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,972 Member
    So glad that when I have a client, I just tell them to put their phone away...................just for an hour. I don't care if they keep it on them in case of an emergency call, but no texting, calling, youtubing, etc. while it's work out time. Also at my gym, there's no voice conversation of phone calls allowed on the floor. You either go to the outside landing upstairs, or down stairs to the lobby. Signs are posted about it, so it's not a rule that gets broken often.
    Personally myself, I stow mine in my drawer at work when I work out. No real need for it. If an emergency comes up, I can easily be reached at my work number as easily as my cell number.
    I get using the phone as a tracker for workouts. But I also do get when people get distracted by their phones and disregard when people are waiting in line for the equipment they may be using.
    If people use proper gym etiquette, it shouldn't be an issue.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    It's pretty much the only way I can actually rest between sets. I'm very fidgety and end up using lots of energy when I shouldn't be. I will stuff around on FB or MFP or whatever. If someone wants to work in, then that is fine. But I can tell you after a 5rm squat or deadlift I NEED my rest. Beginners can get away with shorter rest periods but as absolute strength goes up, longer rest breaks are required. One guy I know takes 15mins between sets simply because that is the typical time we get in powerlifting comps.

    And I use it on the cardio machines as well while doing LISS cardio. (Obviously not high intensity) Quite funny last week when a guy coming out of RPM class commented on my lack of intensity as I was on my phone. I'm thinking, I don't want to waste my energy on cardio as all it does is hinder my lifting.

    Sorry, little rant there :tongue:
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    today i spent a good 2-3 minutes between sets on my phone looking for a good song and texting. i was also resting in between sets of 110 # bench press

    i really dont understand why someone else would have a problem with that unless they were also offering to pay my cell and gym fee :laugh:
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    Once again this is not about people logging there workouts. It's those ones that like to do all that texting instead of working out. Sometimes you do not have a choice but to notice them. I don't have to time to be watching other people in the gym.

    How do you know what they're doing? You should be worried about one person...YOU
    I only worry about me but I do get tired of having to change up my workout b/c someone is laughing at their phone when I need to use that piece of equipment.

    have you tried asking to use it? that's generally how things work at my gym, people ask to work in and the other person complies so they take turns.
  • jojosteez
    jojosteez Posts: 8 Member
    Hi, bumping this thread because I've been noticing something really common in my gym. I too use my phone to log workouts and I watch videos when I'm on a cardio machine(elliptical and treadmill). It helps me not think about running.

    The thing I have been noticing in my gym is people using the cardio machines and talking on their phones. I see people all the time answering phone calls and having 20 minute conversations while still using the machine. It's not that they are taking up space on a machine; There are usually free ones when I go. It bothers me that I can hear them over my headphones. I don't want to hear your conversation but I can't help but listen. IMO it's inconsiderate and if you want to talk, get off the machine and step away so you aren't disturbing others.

    I don't understand how people don't care about others hearing their conversations. I don't have anything to hide but I don't want others to hear my phone conversations. But it's mostly just annoying to have to hear some person yelling into their phone when I'm trying to work out. Not to mention they are only hurting themselves because their focus moves from working out to the phone. They always slow down and move in irregular rhythm which is not helping themselves. Doesn't affect me, but I do notice it.

    Sorry, that was way longer than I planned on. Does this happen in anyone else's gym?

    TL;DR - People in my gym are constantly talking on the phone right next to me. Anyone else?
  • shmerek
    shmerek Posts: 963 Member
    As someone who uses their phone in the gym, I have gotten the glares before. The reason I use my phone, is that I'm tracking my reps and weights. Not everyone is dilly-dallying.
    +1
  • splashtree2
    splashtree2 Posts: 277
    only for music otjerwise it stays to recharge in the gym!
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
    Personally don't care what others do as long as they are not wasting time where i need / want to be.
    In the event they are, i don't fail in asking them to go and play with their phone somewhere else.
  • rodduz
    rodduz Posts: 251 Member
    Hate it when people say about people on their phones in the gym. How do they know what that person is doing?!

    Personally I am straight on mine after a set clicking 'set complete' on my app so it counts down my rest period for when to start my next set. As it should be.

    I also get on the internet in there from time to time checking my form in videos on YouTube etc.

    Anybody that doesn't log their workouts using an app should be doing so with a notepad, if you're doing neither, I can't help but think you're not getting the most out of your training.

    Personally I don't answer my phone in the gym unless I'm in-between exercises as it'd mess my rest periods up.

    Smartphones rule!
  • joepage612
    joepage612 Posts: 179 Member
    my issue is that people plug their own ipod into the sound system of my gym and blast level eleven max volume music that i have no interest in hearing.
  • Iluvmyfurbabies
    Iluvmyfurbabies Posts: 34 Member
    Most people are texting! I agree with the op... If you're not logging reps in your apps or what not... Put the phone away.. It's just plain rude.. I'm so sick of everyone entitlement these days.. Think about something other than yourselves.. Man, ten years ago we didn't have these annoying habits...
  • louisekerry86
    louisekerry86 Posts: 58
    I've only had an issue with this sort of thing once before really. I was on the elliptical and aside from two other guys in the corner was the only one there, he came in (not in gym clothes either, normal work looking trousers, black shoes and a hoody), laid down on the floor right in front of me and started using his phone. It was pretty off putting.
  • thebigcb
    thebigcb Posts: 2,210 Member
    As someone who uses their phone in the gym, I have gotten the glares before. The reason I use my phone, is that I'm tracking my reps and weights. Not everyone is dilly-dallying.

    and posting updates , dont lie
  • Leanne3552000
    Leanne3552000 Posts: 395 Member
    I often text when i'm on the tredmil. Usually i'm making plans for after i've finished my workout. I see no harm in doing so.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    There's no problem at all when someone is tracking their workout b/w each set. It's the ones that sit there for 5 or 10 minutes doing nothing.

    5 minutes is an acceptable rest time between very heavy sets of squats or other demanding compound exercise.

    I play candy crush when resting between sets... but I work out at home so no-one cares.
  • deedee303z
    deedee303z Posts: 31
    I do understand the OP's point: I have quit gyms that had a chronic problem with members do that. I'm usually pretty live and let live (and am totally uninterested in what anyone else is doing), however in a small gym with a limited number of cardio machines, when you have half the machines being used by people to lounge and chat (definitely not logging reps or tracking their workout), it nearly impossible to get a real workout yourself. And these are generally the people that get ticked off and park themselves even longer if you even so much as politely ask if they will be much longer. Apparently, I wasn't the only person perturbed, because the one gym ended up closing not long after.

    In the long run, however, it isn't worth getting worked up over. Those that are truly just wasting time and space either won't care that they are inconveniencing others or will actually be pleased that they have managed to get under your skin. All you can really do is be polite, move on when possible, try to find a work out time when there are people less likely to be doing that, report to management if it gets entirely unreasonable, or find another gym if management cannot fix it.
  • DJ7203
    DJ7203 Posts: 497 Member
    What do you think about the people that spend more time messing with their phone instead of working out? It really drives me crazy whenever I need to use that piece of equipment that they are on or I would just ask if I can work in with them. I hate wasting my time in the gym. I'm there to workout not to send text message for a hour or longer.

    Do I care if people use their phones in the gym? No, as long as they aren't inconveniencing anyone else by doing so. But It makes me crazy when I am waiting for a machine & someone is sitting on it just having a casual conversation. I'm just like seriously? Take that outside or at least move! I'll rotate to other machines while I'm waiting for it & if they are still sitting on it eventually I'll ask how many more sets they have & that usually gives them the hint to move. And can we talk about machine hogs? I'm really glad you want to set up a little course for yourself, but holding up 3 machines at one time while the gym is super crowded is just selfish & rude. If you want to do that go at a slower time when the gym is empty.
  • DJ7203
    DJ7203 Posts: 497 Member
    Most people are texting! I agree with the op... If you're not logging reps in your apps or what not... Put the phone away.. It's just plain rude.. I'm so sick of everyone entitlement these days.. Think about something other than yourselves.. Man, ten years ago we didn't have these annoying habits...

    Love this!

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