Crazy Things at the Gym!

RDH0513 · March 2011

Oh I have a few. I worked at a gym for over a year and you see some CRAZY stuff. where do I even begin...

1.) We had tanning beds in the gym, and its pretty standard for people to urinate and dispose of feminine products in the beds/trash cans ( so think of that as you get in one, always double clean it yourself to be sure its super clean!) but this one lady refused to walk out and have her bed reset so she could use the restroom, so she decided to have a bowel movement ( really no nice way to say that in this story haha!) in the trash can, then proceed to remove the bag, put it in her purse, and then put it in the TANK OF THE TOILET IN THE BATHROOM!!! Now this was a 24 hour gym and she was one of those 10 minutes till close tanners, so this bag sat in the tank of the toilet for over 8 hours. Yeah and guess who got to clean that one up.... I swear to this day if I find that lady I will be drop kicking her in the face.- not to sound too hostile or anything haha!

2.) The guys who throw their dumbbells down.... when they are 40 pound dumbbells. Really?? Come on... your not Jay Cutler, there is no need to throw your weight around.

3.) The guys that load the squat rack up with 3 plates on each side... and go down 2 inches. I don't even need to explain that one.

4.) The people that go so slow on the elliptical that it actually turns off on them... Then they come tell me that all of our ellipticals are broken... " No mam, you actually have move on the machine to keep it on....."

5.) The old desperate guy who is TRYING TO TRAIN young girls... with a complete misunderstanding of pretty much everything to do with working out.

6.) The person who comes in with mud ALL OVER their shoes.. knowing its going to get everywhere. Just rinse your shoes off, is it really that difficult?

7.) And lastly- the girl that comes up with her boyfriend/husband and says " Um, I just want to lose 10lbs off my stomach, and gain it in my chest and my butt because he says I can't lost it anywhere else" Even if that WERE possible, I definitely wouldn't tell you because of what you just said.....

8.) And lastly, My biggest gym pet peeve... the guy that never trains legs, and his sole purpose is bicep curls and bench press.

I guess this is a combination of seeing/hearing crazy people and being annoyed as worker of a gym

Zaggytiddies · March 2011

There's a lady that comes to my gym occasionally and "runs" on the treadmill. Well, she actually dances like a fairy...high stepping, skipping, swinging arms about wildly and twisting her torso into contortions. She squeals randomly as she listens to her ipod. No clue what its all about but it's always fascinating watching her.

This is me... And why I workout at home! Ha!

namrettik · March 2011

1) The girls who have a subdued verbal fight (not really an argument) in the locker room right next to me as I'm changing clothes. Sorry ladies, but you'll have to see my butt, unless you complain about having to walk to class elsewhere. Additionally, you should thank me for not stealing your iPhone you left lying on the seats the entire time you were working out.

2) I'm finally in the healthy BMI range, so I'm not skinny yet. I've been going for 15-20 minutes on the elliptical, and a couple of super skinny girls in cute work-out clothes get on the machines next to me. They glance over at me, set their machines to more than they can handle, give up in five minutes. I'm still going 15 minutes later.

3) Two girls in the weight room together, saying things along the lines of, "I can be on this machine all day!" Um, that means you're not actually working anything.

4) People probably think I'm crazy for all the paces I take on the cardio machines; super fast one minute, super slow the next. Really, I just like to go the pace that my music sets, and that's anywhere from classical music very rapid techno.

TrainingWithTonya · March 2011

There are quite a few guys in my gym that can lift the heavy weights they are doing (pull-down machine), but they are using their back just as much as their arms.

They are actually suppose to be using their back on the pulldown...its called a Lat Pulldown, meaning the Latissimus Dorsi muscle of the back. The arms are just accessory muscles there. ;-)

TrainingWithTonya · March 2011

I detest the middle-aged man who talks to everyone at the top of his lunges about politics. I go out of my way to avoid him on the treadmill because he will starting trying to debate abortion or healthcare reform.

If you want to be watched, make sure you wear short shorts and your boobs are hanging out, then spend most of your workout bending over and stretching like a one of our regulars.

A caught of a lot of attention while I was pregnant because I looked like I was due any minute at five months on and everyone thought I was going to go into labor right there. They were always telling me to be careful. Disclaimer: My DR. wanted me to workout and approved weight training as long as I didn't go over 25 lbs.

LOL....for the politics guy, I'd be the one to take the opposite view (whether I agreed with it or not) just to see if I could get him riled up so much he'd fall off the back of the treadmill.

Some of those booty shorts are too much booty and not enough shorts. We have a few girls like that at the gyms I use.

And as for working out while pregnant, it's great! I use to teach a prenatal class and actually knew a kickboxing instructor who taught the morning she gave birth. Good for you for sticking with it!

corpus_validum · March 2011

There are quite a few guys in my gym that can lift the heavy weights they are doing (pull-down machine), but they are using their back just as much as their arms.

Not to be a smart *kitten*, but aren't pull downs supposed to primarily work your back (latissimus dorsi)?:huh:

Or did they have improper technique (e.g. rounding their spine during movement)?

TrainingWithTonya · March 2011

Oh I have a few. I worked at a gym for over a year and you see some CRAZY stuff. where do I even begin...

1.) We had tanning beds in the gym, and its pretty standard for people to urinate and dispose of feminine products in the beds/trash cans ( so think of that as you get in one, always double clean it yourself to be sure its super clean!) but this one lady refused to walk out and have her bed reset so she could use the restroom, so she decided to have a bowel movement ( really no nice way to say that in this story haha!) in the trash can, then proceed to remove the bag, put it in her purse, and then put it in the TANK OF THE TOILET IN THE BATHROOM!!! Now this was a 24 hour gym and she was one of those 10 minutes till close tanners, so this bag sat in the tank of the toilet for over 8 hours. Yeah and guess who got to clean that one up.... I swear to this day if I find that lady I will be drop kicking her in the face.- not to sound too hostile or anything haha!

2.) The guys who throw their dumbbells down.... when they are 40 pound dumbbells. Really?? Come on... your not Jay Cutler, there is no need to throw your weight around.

3.) The guys that load the squat rack up with 3 plates on each side... and go down 2 inches. I don't even need to explain that one.

4.) The people that go so slow on the elliptical that it actually turns off on them... Then they come tell me that all of our ellipticals are broken... " No mam, you actually have move on the machine to keep it on....."

5.) The old desperate guy who is TRYING TO TRAIN young girls... with a complete misunderstanding of pretty much everything to do with working out.

6.) The person who comes in with mud ALL OVER their shoes.. knowing its going to get everywhere. Just rinse your shoes off, is it really that difficult?

7.) And lastly- the girl that comes up with her boyfriend/husband and says " Um, I just want to lose 10lbs off my stomach, and gain it in my chest and my butt because he says I can't lost it anywhere else" Even if that WERE possible, I definitely wouldn't tell you because of what you just said.....

8.) And lastly, My biggest gym pet peeve... the guy that never trains legs, and his sole purpose is bicep curls and bench press.

I guess this is a combination of seeing/hearing crazy people and being annoyed as worker of a gym

Wow, your stories make me so glad that I have either worked as a trainer or manager and didn't have to actually do the clean up part of the gym jobs. And your last one sounds like my chicken legs guy tonight!

Nigel99 · March 2011

I went to a gym for the first time two weeks ago while visiting my brother (his regular gym). It was definitely an interesting experience. I could see that there was a lot of interesting people watching one could do for entertainment. Didn't really see anybody doing anything too crazy, but all I could think of when I hopped on the treadmill for a run was "Don't fall! Don't be the guy that gives everybody a story to tell later on the internet. That was my first time on a treadmill, and I was convinced I was going to end up flying sooner or later (which did not happen!).

RDH0513 · March 2011

Oh I have a few. I worked at a gym for over a year and you see some CRAZY stuff. where do I even begin...

1.) We had tanning beds in the gym, and its pretty standard for people to urinate and dispose of feminine products in the beds/trash cans ( so think of that as you get in one, always double clean it yourself to be sure its super clean!) but this one lady refused to walk out and have her bed reset so she could use the restroom, so she decided to have a bowel movement ( really no nice way to say that in this story haha!) in the trash can, then proceed to remove the bag, put it in her purse, and then put it in the TANK OF THE TOILET IN THE BATHROOM!!! Now this was a 24 hour gym and she was one of those 10 minutes till close tanners, so this bag sat in the tank of the toilet for over 8 hours. Yeah and guess who got to clean that one up.... I swear to this day if I find that lady I will be drop kicking her in the face.- not to sound too hostile or anything haha!

2.) The guys who throw their dumbbells down.... when they are 40 pound dumbbells. Really?? Come on... your not Jay Cutler, there is no need to throw your weight around.

3.) The guys that load the squat rack up with 3 plates on each side... and go down 2 inches. I don't even need to explain that one.

4.) The people that go so slow on the elliptical that it actually turns off on them... Then they come tell me that all of our ellipticals are broken... " No mam, you actually have move on the machine to keep it on....."

5.) The old desperate guy who is TRYING TO TRAIN young girls... with a complete misunderstanding of pretty much everything to do with working out.

6.) The person who comes in with mud ALL OVER their shoes.. knowing its going to get everywhere. Just rinse your shoes off, is it really that difficult?

7.) And lastly- the girl that comes up with her boyfriend/husband and says " Um, I just want to lose 10lbs off my stomach, and gain it in my chest and my butt because he says I can't lost it anywhere else" Even if that WERE possible, I definitely wouldn't tell you because of what you just said.....

8.) And lastly, My biggest gym pet peeve... the guy that never trains legs, and his sole purpose is bicep curls and bench press.

I guess this is a combination of seeing/hearing crazy people and being annoyed as worker of a gym

Wow, your stories make me so glad that I have either worked as a trainer or manager and didn't have to actually do the clean up part of the gym jobs. And your last one sounds like my chicken legs guy tonight!

yes be very glad!!! it was more of a gym to just get people in the door, they didn't allow trainers to work there/ or come in and train there( how crazy is that?!??!) so yes be very glad haha!

hroush · March 2011

There are quite a few guys in my gym that can lift the heavy weights they are doing (pull-down machine), but they are using their back just as much as their arms.

They are actually suppose to be using their back on the pulldown...its called a Lat Pulldown, meaning the Latissimus Dorsi muscle of the back. The arms are just accessory muscles there. ;-)

I know it's the lat pulldown, what I am referring to is the fact that they explode backwards to close to a 60 degree angle and use this momentum to finish pulling down the weight. They also perform this really fast, at least 1 per second. I cringe thinking about their lower back.

maryloo2011 · March 2011

I remember a girl a couple weeks ago that was texting the entire time she was doing "sit-ups".

I'll input my workout details into my iPod touch during my cool-down on the treadmill... would you consider that the same?

ablueskier · March 2011

A lady who was on the toilet talking on the phone when I came in, while I took care of business, while I changed and still as I left the lock for my workout. You could hear her peeing while talking and there was at least one flush in there. Ew. Why do you need the person you are on the phone with to hear all that?

People that claim the exercise balls as " theirs". My gym is needing to order some more balls but the other day this idiot would use the ball for about 2 minutes, go lift weights for 10 several feet away, then repeat. This little old man saw the ball sitting empty for several minutes so he went to sit on it for his exercise and the idiot came over, put his hands on both sides of the ball and said HE was using it so go find another.

aerome · March 2011

1 - My gym teaches the Les Mills classes, and I attend the RPM Spin class. The main point is to keep the RPM of your bike the same as the BPM of the music. This is explained at the beginning of every class. And there are still people that attend the class and crank the resistance way up and spin really slowly, or don't put nearly enough on and spin way too fast.

2 - One of my (obviously married) friends is a spin instructor and this guy that has some mental issues has a huge crush on her and always attends her class.

One day at the beginning of the class she said something along the lines of "Let's get this room hot and steamy" (our spin room has huge glass windows for two of the walls and they get steamed over about halfway through because we have to keep the door closed because of the loud music) and this crazy guy said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Oh, you've already done that, baby."

EEK! He's weird enough that she's afraid to leave the gym alone after her classes when he attends...

thomalr6180 · March 2011

Thank you all for the laughs.

I provided entertainment one morning while I was running on the treadmill at a pretty good pace. I use couch to 10k on my iPhone that prompts when to run and walk at different intervals. Well, somehow I got caught up in my headphones which caused me to knock my phone off of the treadmill. It went flying behind me and I went with it. To make matters worse, the security guard happened to be walking behind me and I almost knocked her out. All I could do was sit on the floor and laugh.

TrainingWithTonya · March 2011

There are quite a few guys in my gym that can lift the heavy weights they are doing (pull-down machine), but they are using their back just as much as their arms.

They are actually suppose to be using their back on the pulldown...its called a Lat Pulldown, meaning the Latissimus Dorsi muscle of the back. The arms are just accessory muscles there. ;-)

I know it's the lat pulldown, what I am referring to is the fact that they explode backwards to close to a 60 degree angle and use this momentum to finish pulling down the weight. They also perform this really fast, at least 1 per second. I cringe thinking about their lower back.

Okay, I understand what you meant now. You're right, they are doing it wrong. My low back hurts watching them too. But there are also those people who do it with just their arms and you see them struggle because they try to do the weight they've seen other people do it with and that is what I thought you were referring to at first.

Curtism1234 · March 2011

Saw a girl's pants fall down and she went flying off the treadmill. Then I slipped and came crashing down off the eliptical.

EmpressOfJudgment · March 2011

Hahahaha! Domino effect. I guess she's been working hard and lost a lot of weight since her pants were too big.

jessdulin · March 2011

has anyone ever seen people (mostly men) walk around the gym and swing both arms almost like a catapult ? someone told me they do it at curves for a station. i dont get it and the big guys doing it look like they are going to punch someone.