How's this for bad gym etiquette?
Sumiblue
Posts: 1,597 Member
I went to the gym this morning to get my workout in. There is only one squat rack there. While I warmed up on the treadmill I saw a guy over in the squat rack area. Doing curls. Then he would leave his loaded barbell on the squat rack and go sit on a nearby bench to rest. Or stare into space, which is what he did for a very long time. My warm up was done and he hadn't moved from his resting spot or removed his weights from the squat rack. So I went over to ask if he was done. No one else was in this corner of the gym. He had earbuds in and I didn't want to startle him so I just stood nearby looking at him hoping he'd see me. Nope. So I said hello. Nothing. His head was turned slightly toward me and he was spacing out. So I waved my arm in front of him and that got his attention. He indicated he was done curling in the squat rack area. Gee, thanks for letting me take your weights off the bar (though it wasn't much). After a minute or two he just got up and left the area, leaving another barbell loaded with weights on the bench he had been sitting on. While I did my squat set i noticed another loaded barbell left across a bench. Oh, and he had poached the barbell spring collars from the squat area. I had to go hunt them down. WTF, dude?
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Yeah... this is a common occurrence at my university rec center. Either people are hogging racks/benches (i.e., standing in front of them while having 20 minute conversations with friends, staring blankly, not unracking, etc.) or rudely rushing people through sets. I was trying to finish up some bench press sets on Monday when two people rushed over to remove weights off my bar since they assumed I was done. Uh. No. Last time I go to the gym after 7am!0
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Maybe people are generally more considerate at my gym. This guy blew my mind because he left 3 loaded bars & just walked away!0
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Unracking loaded bars has become extra exercise for me lol0
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One person leaving three, I haven't seen anything like that so tad (sarcastically) impressive. I've only seen someone leave one bar loaded but half the time I don't see who left the weights, they are just there when I get to the section. Though, I'm glad it's not all of the time (except on leg press, that is a pretty common existence there).
I did watch one guy try to squat a decent amount of weight last week. He managed 1 shaky rep and got it back up but don't think it went how he wanted. He just walked away, giving up for the night, leaving the weights still on the bar. More often then not, though, the squat racks and bench press get unloaded. However, at some point soon I'm probably just going to leg press with the 45's cause I don't feel like taking them off yet again. lol0 -
Yesterday I noticed this mildly attractive guy using some random machine. He did a set or two, added some plates, did some more sets, changed the plates, etc. When he was done, he took off every plate, put them back where they belonged -- on the right pegs and everything, not just in the general vicinity -- and I swear to God he transformed into the HOTTEST guy in the gym right before my very eyes.
Anyone else think we should make t-shirts that say "Re-racking is sexy" ?0 -
The re-racking is sexy shirt idea is marvellous! I workout at home so I don't get these kind of experiences. Granted, don't look into my workout area right now because I totally didn't re-rack any weights, in fact my barbell is still on the ground loaded with 115 lbs for my deadlifts that I did...0
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I get similar experiences and I workout at home. My brother and I put together our home gym, and he likes to leave me presents, such as a loaded bar to un-rack
. He said it's to give me more of a challenge lol. What are older brother's good for, eh 
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>_< I rerack for other people and sometimes reorganize the weights because some bro made a half-arsed effort at reracking but put the 45s with the 25s and the 10 and 5s are all mixed together and I might eb a lil OCD about these things xD lol. I would rawk that shirt.
There's this one guy in my gym, lean and mean and he does crossfit. When he's there he's using about 3/4 of the xfit room with 3 boxes setup, 4 KBs, a rower and a bike all laid out... And then when he leaves he just leaves it all there. So when you walk in you're like "wow, this is like a war zone" and have to squeeze in the unused corner for a few minutes only to realize he's actually gone.
There's also a guy who leaves his 225lbs deadlift bar hanging out when he's done. I've never seen him (or her, who knows) but it's always exactly in the same spot on the ground on Saturdays. lol0 -
These stories make me glad I workout at home. If I forget to rerack, my toddler will point that everything is out of place. Haha0
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Love the shirt idea. Funny, Crabada!0
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I'll do the legwork on how we could actually make these t-shirts if someone else wants to take a stab at the design. 0
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"Re-racking is sexy" right across the girls. Too subtle?0
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So, how's this for bad gym etiquette....
This group of four kids in their early 20s used two of the three squats racks the whole time I was at the gym tonight -- they were there before I got there, and they were still there when I left (and I was there about an hour). Two would squat, two would close-body spot, and then they'd swap. Weights and bags and water bottle and towels strewn everywhere.
They did back squats, front squats, god only knows what else, and then... CALF RAISES. In the racks.
Really????
The other handful of us who wanted to squat were relegated to the cage, which is fine, except that it was like a revolving door -- the minute someone finished, the next person would start. All because these other kids were in their own little bubble.0 -
So, how's this for bad gym etiquette....
This group of four kids in their early 20s used two of the three squats racks the whole time I was at the gym tonight -- they were there before I got there, and they were still there when I left (and I was there about an hour). Two would squat, two would close-body spot, and then they'd swap. Weights and bags and water bottle and towels strewn everywhere.
i can top that. there's half a rugby team that does the same stuff at my place. everything you said, and as well:
- they range themselves out across the whole gym. they are actually working out, i'll give them that. and they're sort of gorilla-y to one another but their manners are actually good if you encounter any of them one-to-one. but they don't just squat. they arrive in a herd and parcel themselves out across the whole gym. in between work sets they wander around and socialize with each other as well. so there's no place at all that's free of them.
- the little personal trainer dude who also works there most of the time and is on the desk is a buddy of theirs. so he just leaves his desk and joins in with the hanging out part even if he's not lifting with them.
- there's at least two of them who are squat kings. they kind of turn all the skip-leg-day jokes sour for me because i so wish that they would. when it's leg day for them, their full programme of squats alone takes up two hours. and i've mentioned this before: between the two of them trading off/working in with each other on the rack and leg press, they monopolize every single 45 plate in the gym for those hours. every one.
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There was a guy who thought it was perfectly fine to blast his bluetooth speakers in the gym. 0
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@ Canadian -- But are they hot? Because half a rugby team could be a nice distraction. Overall, though, I'm with you. The sheer number would drive me a little crazy.
@ Randomtai -- JUST NO. I would have NO problem saying something to that dude. This kind of inconsiderateness blows my mind.0 -
@ Canadian -- But are they hot?
pffftt. they're my kid's age. in fact i really suspect he played baseball with at least one of them. but it's hard to tell because of the huge muscle slabs now.
and no, they're not hot. the one who squats 500 lb in a zillion variations, and then finds more plates, wasn't born with a bone structure intended for muscle like that. he's got a tiny little head poking out from it all, and he squats in a tuque that he pulls so far down over his eyebrows, his head looks like a pea under it. it's his Weightlifting Hat, i supposed
: D
but let me be clear though. when when it comes to picking up tips about form . . . i watch them. the two squat kings in particular have spectacularly good form.0 -
"Re-racking is sexy" right across the girls. Too subtle?
i blew coffee. not because i know if it's subtle or not, but every time i hear that expression 'the girls' i have to do a little recalibrate. and then i get it.
reminds me too that long before i started lifting one of the devs on my team was moaning to the other one that he had to go to the gym. dev i says 'you don't like working out?' and dev 2 says 'oh, i don't mind the workout, but i hate the gym culture. there's always some big . . . gorilla who does 6 reps of something and then he just sits there and checks text messages.'
it made me laugh at the time, but now that i'm in the gym doing 5 reps of something and resting for up to 3 minutes sometimes, it makes me wonder. if only i had a smartphone, i could be a gorilla as well.0 -
@ Canadian -- But are they hot? Because half a rugby team could be a nice distraction. Overall, though, I'm with you. The sheer number would drive me a little crazy.
@ Randomtai -- JUST NO. I would have NO problem saying something to that dude. This kind of inconsiderateness blows my mind.
Agreed... luckily the management got to him first :P0 -
Don't you gals wish we could all be in the same (weight) room to gossip together? :-)0
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I was just joking about gossiping in the weight room. That's a pet peeve of mine when people hang around the weights just chatting. But yes, I'd hang out with all of you after a workout, too! I'm really liking this community :-)0
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I was just joking about gossiping in the weight room. That's a pet peeve of mine when people hang around the weights just chatting. But yes, I'd hang out with all of you after a workout, too! I'm really liking this community :-)
yeah, we're pretty cool, aren't we
for those of us who do our lifting in public places . . . the gyms we go to don't know how lucky they are to have us.
mine has just one unisex washroom, and i would just be so freaking happy if everyone else in there would CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES. it's their business if they don't feel like learning to aim, but ffs.
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Gotta love these stories, although I do think I discovered a new level of "curls in the squat rack" this morning... it's curls in the only deadlift platform in the whole gym. By a creepy dude who just happens to be working out next to me every other set no matter where I am in a mostly empty gym. Had to set up the bar and do deadlifts on the floor next to him while he was in the platform doing curls
Also, I'm new to the group, hi 0 -
elsie_fair wrote: »Gotta love these stories, although I do think I discovered a new level of "curls in the squat rack" this morning... it's curls in the only deadlift platform in the whole gym. By a creepy dude who just happens to be working out next to me every other set no matter where I am in a mostly empty gym. Had to set up the bar and do deadlifts on the floor next to him while he was in the platform doing curls
Also, I'm new to the group, hi
Hi!
You just reminded me of this dude who likes to do dumbbell exercises IN the squat rack. Like, not just curls but whole circuits. With dumbells... In the cage... ...
WHY?!
granted he does 2-3 pull-ups every 12 minutes or so, but he could be doing those on any OTHER pull-up bars in the gym
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@ Elsie -- Yep, that's pretty darn lame. I'd say something next time, but without removing both my headphones so he didn't think I wanted to actually start a conversation. Creepers be creepy! 0
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Interesting. I haven't seen too much yet. I've been of the thought that certain lifts should be done in designated locations. However, the trainer I was with yesterday is more of the "grab a bar from wherever and find a spot" crowd. She will just grab any of the available bars from the benches and what not, take them to an open spot and do whatever she is planning. My "deadlift" was near the benches and by the cardio area and the bar came from a different spot that I don't have a name for yet but it's a metal platform with a spot that holds the bar.
Of course, the time I didn't need the leg press, no weights were on it. No matter which gym, as I go to 2 (one is my coworkers and she can have a guest with whenever she wants), there is usually a set of 45's on it. But when I don't need it, nothing. Figures.0 -
I would throw a protein fart in his direction.0
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