Staring and Competing at the gym

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alyhuggan
alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've only been at a commercial gym since September (home gym before that) and I was wondering if this happens to anyone else

It seems every time I'm at the gym guys will sit and stare at me while I'm working out. My training partner regularly mentions it. It's exceptionally irritating. What's even worse is there's been several times where people will try and compete with what I am doing. Does anyone else find this happens to them?
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  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
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    I will admit that if the person on the machine next to me is going faster than me, I will push it more than usual.

    Today I did a hot yoga class for the first time. The place was packed, very little room.

    Two very fit, toned girls were on the mats directly on front of me. I think they thought I was staring at them. Of course, I had my glasses off due to sweat, so I have no idea what I was looking at. One blur looks much like another!
  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
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    Should clarify when I mean they try an compete with me:

    I've actually had someone part way through a leg workout drop doing squats, load up a barbell for deadlifts and try lift more than me, he failed on his first set, unloaded the bar and went back to squatting! I was absolutely astounded!

    There's been several times where someone will try and copy my exercises but use more weight and they just look silly!

    Today as an example, I was pause benching, then went for incline dumbell bench, then did cable crossovers. Some guy copied those three movements doing about half the weight on the first two, then seemed determined to beat me on something so went heavier on the cables. Looked like he was about to tear his rotator cuff! This happening isn't a rare occurrence either :open_mouth:
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
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    I have people race me in the lane next to me. They win, too, because I am not a fast swimmer.

    But I can keep going and going and going at that same pace forever.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    To the person who hops on the treadmill next to me.....it's on like donkey kong.
  • jacobhyatt91
    jacobhyatt91 Posts: 120 Member
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    they miring lol
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    I'm sure it happens to everyone, but just try to ignore it. It's one thing to try to go faster on the elliptical, but it's a whole other thing to try to lift something that is clearly much to heavy for you.

    Personally, I'm too focused on what I'm doing, especially in pole class, to worry about what others are doing. In my spin class they dim the light so much you can just make out the instructor. I guess they know that a lot of people are naturally competitive. But truthfully the best person to compete against is yourself (sorry if that got too PBS Kids at the end).
  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
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    jdhcm2006 wrote: »
    But truthfully the best person to compete against is yourself (sorry if that got too PBS Kids at the end).

    Not at all! That's how I've always trained! My first year and a half was with a friend who had a year of training on me so I learned to not compete with others as you will never progress as well! That's what I've taught my new training partner :)
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
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    Nope.
  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
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    jacobhyatt91 wrote: »
    they miring lol

    might have to say "you mirin brah" to the next person I catch :P
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    #CoolStoryBro
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Unless someone does something pretty stupid, I rarely pay enough attention to notice.

    A few weeks ago a young man and his lady friend were doing there thing over where I working the pec/rear delt. I was doing in weighted pull^s in between sets, when I was walking back from the pull^bar I noticed dude jumped on the machine I was on and tried to move the weights, his lady friend mumbling something about stop being an idiot. Kinda felty bad for the kid...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    nope, or I just don't notice …

    sounds like you have too much time on your hands OP ….
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    alyhuggan wrote: »
    jdhcm2006 wrote: »
    But truthfully the best person to compete against is yourself (sorry if that got too PBS Kids at the end).

    Not at all! That's how I've always trained! My first year and a half was with a friend who had a year of training on me so I learned to not compete with others as you will never progress as well! That's what I've taught my new training partner :)

    It's also the best way to avoid injury. Those idiots at your gym are going to end up tearing or breaking something.

    If I tried to compete with girls at my pole class who have been going for over a year, and I haven't even completed a full month of training, I would either give up or hurt myself and set myself back. And that would be the worst b/c I absolutely love pole, and going a week without it would seem like torture.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    Yup, happens all the time to me. Just last week while I was squatting the bar, bro on the rack next to me went and unloaded all that extra iron off his bar and did the same thing! True story!

    o:)
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I go to a university gym where I'm twice as old as most of the attendees and less than half as old as the majority of the remaining. Nobody is trying to compete with this old lady/young whippersnapper.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    I go to a university gym where I'm twice as old as most of the attendees and less than half as old as the majority of the remaining. Nobody is trying to compete with this old lady/young whippersnapper.

    Hah! Show up at my gym and it's game on. Always ready to show the kids how we get it done old school.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    I just do what I went to do.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Unless someone does something pretty stupid, I rarely pay enough attention to notice.

    A few weeks ago a young man and his lady friend were doing there thing over where I working the pec/rear delt. I was doing in weighted pull^s in between sets, when I was walking back from the pull^bar I noticed dude jumped on the machine I was on and tried to move the weights, his lady friend mumbling something about stop being an idiot. Kinda felty bad for the kid...

    I can understand seeing somebody doing an exercise I've never done or using a machine I've been wondering about and then trying it out while the memory of how to do it is fresh in my head.

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