pet peeves at the gym
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OMG having read this thread I am SO lucky with my gym. OK I go there at 5.30am but the other mad people who are up at that time are great! Men and women are chatty and friendly but not overly so and we all get stuck in with our workouts. Women in the weights section don't get ogled or stared at, no one gets stared at on cardio equipment. One or two of the blokes are a bit serious but hey, it's 6am and they are working out - it doesn't affect my work out!
Cant comment on the changing rooms as I don't use them but eeuuggh to the naked women wandering around and sitting on benches etc. !! Surely, even if they aren't shy about their bodies, hygiene matters !
My only pet peeve are the lazy beggars who use the gym during the night (its 24/7) and don't put their weights back and/or don't strip down the squat rack, squat press etc after they've used it. Its not difficult and delays the start of my set cos I have to do it for you!!0 -
People who have Their Spot and glare at you or even worse, try to crowd you out when you dare to go anywhere near Their Spot. Did their parents and teachers never teach them how to share?
When I did body pump classes I used to get annoyed on the instructor's behalf about all the people who ignored all his form cues, no matter how many times he showed them. If I was an instructor I'd have got up and manhandled them after the first 50 times of them ignoring me!0 -
The only thing that really bugs me is how some women don't flush the toilet after using it and just leave it for someone else to come along behind them and flush it.
Seriously. That's disgusting. Just flush it with your foot if you're a germphobe, but how completely uncivilized to just leave it.
If you can't beat them. Join them. How about women who leave Period stains all over the pan lid.
OMG I've been thrown into this0 -
Like many already said, not racking the weights.
Didn't used to bother me too much - I mean, yes, it was annoying but not all that big of a deal. Not even when I was removing 45 lb weights over my head that I could just barely reach on my toes. Until today.
Today I had to get someone to help me get the weights off of the bar at the deadlift station. How embarrassing.
I'm sorry. I'm 5'3", 120 lbs, and can shift a decent amount of weight, considering. While I can manage to lift a 245 lb bar off of the floor (and proved it this morning), I can't lift and hold the end of said bar with one hand for long enough to maneuver the weights off with the other. I tried.0 -
When someone is doing some type of dumbbell press and they legit think it's good form to clink the weights together at the top of the move. No, that's not distracting at all.
When a man has to YELL when he is exerting effort during a rep. Not a grunt, not a groan, SHOUTING. I feel self conscious if exhale too loudly.0 -
Farting. There's this one woman who always comes late to kickboxing, squeezes herself in between the other participants, even when there are open spaces elsewhere, and then does a gas-powered workout.0
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WIPE YO SWEAT FOR THE LOVE OF HUMANITY.0
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People not wiping their sweat, people not reracking their weights, people clinking the weights on the machines. Standard gym etiquette, but obviously there are a lot of people who don't follow it if we all have the same complaints...0
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I work out at 5am because I hate all people and this is the best way to avoid human contact.
There's this ONE GUY, though
he likes to break up his free weight routine by doing fast half reps at the highest weight setting on only 3 circuit machines. He can't lift the highest weights. he just sets it to the highest weight and kinda-sorta lifts it a little, rapidly, then lets it drop with a loud CLANG!
a hundred times a morning. on only 3 machines out of the dozens in the circuit.
the most obnoxious thing is, his and my routines didn't initially match up, but on my 3rd week, suddenly we're having our "arm days" and our "leg days" matching up, so he's always abusing the machines in "my" section. that banging weight sound makes my skin crawl.0 -
my hugest pet peeve is machine stalkers. I call them stalkers because it never fails to see a group of three men or a couple of a man or woman and you see one of them working out while the others stare at them. I cant freaking stand it. its so annoying to me. Its all i can think about when i am soposed to be focusing on my form. A smaller one of mine is those who do the old school way of doing one set of eight reps or so then resting then another set then resting. I do circuit training so I am on the machine then off to another machine when i hit my fifteen reps. I don't freaking stand around the machine "stalking" it while i rest so nobody else can use it. Ugg.0
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I have a story from a friend.
Every time she went to the gym's change room, there was this old lady who would sit on the bench and dry shave her pubes off, fully nude.
YUP SUPER AWKWARD. Old lady was eventually banned from the gym though.0 -
People who try to challenge themselves (like doing regular push ups instead of on their knees) when they can't do them properly at all.0
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This!If you got to be naked in the locker room, be quick about putting back on your clothes.
Sometimes it's like they're just standing there waiting for someone to glance over. Sigh0 -
I have a story from a friend.
Every time she went to the gym's change room, there was this old lady who would sit on the bench and dry shave her pubes off, fully nude.
YUP SUPER AWKWARD. Old lady was eventually banned from the gym though.
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Guys who wear very strong cologne/body spray to the gym. Can't say I've noticed a woman do it yet, but there are multiple men, including a trainer who is there all the time.0
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Women that seem like they over did it on the perfume. It's funny seeing the looks I get when I turn their way and plug my nose. Suppose it could be a "very" strong body wash.
People talking on cellphones when doing cardio on various machines. Is it a makes me feel important thing?0 -
In college, i worked at the fitness center, re-racking weights is the biggest thing. cuz when we lock the doors, it's us who has to put everything back. You think with all the signs, these folks can read and put their stuff but. But nope.
I workout at work, which now happens to be a major university, so the wellness center is nice, more stocked than my 24hr fitness and it's neat. Nothing bothers me too much. When I'm the gym, most people seem rather courteous and polite, no matter where I am. If they see you standing near a machine, they ask first to see if you're using it. No one laughs or points at anyone, no starring, it's a place most people just go to get work done.
I have a pet peeve with people who don't put in more noticeable effort. That seems very judgmental, so yeah I'm a bad person, but when I am going every morning at 6am during summer at a college gym, it's only regulars. I see the same people. I see the big person, bigger than me, sweating it off, putting in that effort. Then I see the people, who go get a towel from towel people, get on the recline bike and not break a sweat. Or any cardio equipment for that matter. I give them a benefit of a doubt, they could be injury, recovering, but when i see it repeated i'm just like 'why did you wake up this early, and spend only 20 minutes and not get anything out of it?' I think the thing that really throws me off is getting the towel... why?! lol... yeah that's silly sorry guys.
my other pet peeve is broken or out of order equipment...
another is when you follow the rules, or you broke the rule or something and a staff person tells you or gets on to you, but then lets someone else slide or getaway with it. lol0 -
Standing directly in front of free weights even leaning on railing to do what ever. Leaving towel and or water bottle at bench/ machine but their nowhere in site.Already mentioned but that one weird super fast guy that grabs a weight swings out like 3 reps then runs off and does something else then back swinging something again like a friggen ninja on crack.( no offense to real ninjas or crackheads)0
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Wipe your sweat.
Re-rack your ****.
Don't get preoccupied with other people when your **** isn't on point.0 -
The old wrinkly guy in the shower that won't stop staring at me as he lathers wayyyy too much soap on himself. The whole time.0
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What are yours? Mine are:
Poor form. Something just irritates me about people who, like the the guy beside me on the stepmill today, lean all their weight, slumped over on the machine, head down and clearly cannot keep up that speed without being supported by the machine, but, even after advice by trainers walking by, still does it--wont slow the speed down.
The other one is the people who don't wipe down the machine. Eew
. Last on my list are the ones who come in and chat loudly on the cell phone whilst standing on a machine(but not working out) or the men/women who have their girl/boyfriend there and have to stop and chat or kiss every five seconds and don't work out. Either situation, somebody could be actively using that machine, but people get irritated waiting for it. What about you?
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The people who jack up the incline on the treadmill and then hang on for dear life.0
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I gave up the gym membership years ago. Way too many pet peeves to list. Working out at home is where it's at. No lines, no crappy music, no annoying people, no fees, open 24/7.
The biggest pet peeve I always had were the "bros" who have that "train or die" type moronic mindset. It's fine to be dedicated to improving your physical health but this hardcore attitude (outside of guys who actually compete in power-lifting or are competitive bodybuilders, strongman competitors, etc.) that these gym rats have is nauseating. It's obvious they have some type of inferiority complex that they have to mask by trying to be the most "bad *kitten*" lifter in the gym by acting like they just scored the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl after each heavy set of bench presses, squats (which they never do below parallel), etc. They also tend to use cheat movements so they can add on way more weight than they could actually lift with strict form. Cheat movements aren't bad in and of themselves if used for a purpose, but if you are doing it with everything then an injury is just waiting down the road.
If that isn't annoying enough they will sometimes jump over to spot you (a total stranger) when you don't need it and yell at you to get just one more rep in, regardless if you are lifting for strength and not going to failure or hypertrophy and going to failure. If you accept their help and grind out that last rep (which was pretty much them keeping the bar from crushing you), they will typically say "Nice one bro." Sorry my friend I am not one of the "bros", my identity isn't centered around my 1rm bench press and the number of generic tattoos I have all over my arms. I'm not against guys trying to be manly, hell, I grew up when Arnold, Stallone and the rest were in their prime as iconic action figures, but taking it to this phony extreme is a joke.
I could list a bunch more but it would be a veeeery long post.0 -
People that don't wipe down the machine. And people that DONT EVER SHOWER. Seriously it's gross. That's about all. Oh and guys that feel the need to comment when you're in the weights section.
The one that is worse is the guys that never shower and throw on gallons of cheap cologne as if it's a substitute for cleanliness. Nothing like doing a set of some lift and this guy comes strolling by and you get hit with a smell that makes your eyes water.0 -
I know it has been said many times before but people who curl in the squat rack. The gym I go to has 2 squat racks. One was being used by someone who wasn't squatting, but was doing more Olympic style lifts, but the other was being used by 4 guys curling the bar. Having to wait for them to finish so that I could squat was very frustrating! UGH
The no curling in the squat rack is an unwritten rule much like the no playing smoke on the water or eruption rule at music stores. It pretty much stamps you as a complete douche.0 -
There is a guy at the gym who uses the weight machines, and he yells sooo loudly when he does it. It's the strangest sounding yell too. I just want to be like, dude, for the amount of pain you should like you're in, you should at least be doing free weights to be getting something out of that pain!
Seriously, he is so loud and sounds so odd... Especially on the leg extension machine. I always know when he is working out lol
There was a guy at one gym I went to during college that made the most annoying sounds while squatting and doing leg presses. It was this weird combination of an orgasm, moaning in pain and grunting. Most of the time you'd look over your shoulder to see WTF was going on or you'd start laughing and your current set was toast.0 -
The old wrinkly guy in the shower that won't stop staring at me as he lathers wayyyy too much soap on himself. The whole time.
Communal showers filled with wrinkled old geezers is not a pretty site. I started going to the gym with my parents when I was in elementary school to use the pool. Being in the locker room as a young kid was a bizarre experience. Whoever invented communal showers was one hell of a perv.0 -
I've been watching this thread thinking I really don't have any pet peeves at the gym. A few things I shake my head at and chuckle about -
- People who ONLY do cardio - if you are only going to do 1 thing at the gym, lift weights, it's so much better for you and if you do higher reps and shorter rest you can turn your lifting session into a cario workout
- People who BOUNCE on the elliptical - you're not supposed to bounce. Aside from your arms, your upper body should not move up and down vertically. It's all about the legs and arms.
Then today I realized I did have a pet peeve, but it's not about other people.
I try to do as much as I can with free weights, including major compound exercises. When I'm doing them, I can't stand to have my plates (at any weight) not match. No big deal with the smaller weights, but I hate having to sift through the 45 lbs plates to find the ones that match and aren't from different generations
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People who try to challenge themselves (like doing regular push ups instead of on their knees) when they can't do them properly at all.
Maybe you should politely ask them if they want help. If someone asked me that, I'd be embarrassed but I would accept the help.
PS, my pet peeves are people just sitting/standing on machines not working out or only working out half asked when the gym is really full. This is why I mostly get my exercise from classes!0
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