etiquette rant
McCloud33
Posts: 959 Member
Wanted to use the bench (only one true bench at the gym), and it looked like the guy was about midway through his set, so I decided to just do a couple laps on the track while I waited and kept my eye on him as I went around. He started unloading the bar so I finished my lap and started heading over there. I've heard or/seen some people curling in the squat rack, but this morning was a first for me. He turned around, straddled the bench and started curling the 45lb bar. Then goes and grab's 2.5lb weights and curls two more sets. REALLY! The gym wasn't that crowded and there were plenty of other preloaded bars, preacher curl stations etc...
So...NO CURLING AT THE BENCH PRESS PEOPLE!!!!
So...NO CURLING AT THE BENCH PRESS PEOPLE!!!!
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Replies
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Did you ask him to move? Sometimes people are oblivious and need to be reminded that they are taking up the only bench/cage/deadlift area. He may have figured it was busy and staying in one spot would prevent him from being in someone else's way, not knowing you needed the bench.0
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And it's not even New Year's yet!
Is he a guy you've seen at the gym a lot? Or perhaps he's been working out at home and is new to the whole gym setting and just needs a gentle (emphasis on gentle) pointer on the poor etiquette.
(Or just find another gym that has more than one rack!)0 -
Do you go to my gym? Because I have seen that guy and I wanted to wrap a curl bar around his head.0
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Call him out man.... Just walk up and say
"Hey bro I need to bench. Can you find a different bar to curl?"
Man up0 -
@usmcmp if he would have gone for another set, I would have asked him to move.
@juggernaut1974 It's not someone that I have seen before and don't know his routine, so that's partly why I waited as long as I did and didn't say anything.0 -
just sit on the bench right behind him....no words just sit down right behind him and wait.0
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boomshakalaka911 wrote: »Call him out man.... Just walk up and say
"Hey bro I need to bench. Can you find a different bar to curl?"
Man up
This. Although there are more appropriate places to curl, if you don't clue someone in that you're waiting for a piece of equipment, I don't think you can get mad when that person doesn't immediately exit the equipment after doing their sets. Besides, you did say that the gym wasn't really that crowded so he probably didn't think anyone was waiting on him. All you would have had to do after one of his bench sets was say "hey man, how many sets do you have left?" and then he would have been aware someone was waiting and it would have given him the opportunity to even let you work in. If he had done the curls even though you made him aware you were waiting to bench, then you could be upset.0 -
Wanted to use the bench (only one true bench at the gym), and it looked like the guy was about midway through his set, so I decided to just do a couple laps on the track while I waited and kept my eye on him as I went around. He started unloading the bar so I finished my lap and started heading over there. I've heard or/seen some people curling in the squat rack, but this morning was a first for me. He turned around, straddled the bench and started curling the 45lb bar. Then goes and grab's 2.5lb weights and curls two more sets. REALLY! The gym wasn't that crowded and there were plenty of other preloaded bars, preacher curl stations etc...
So...NO CURLING AT THE BENCH PRESS PEOPLE!!!!
Sounds like we got another one that didn't use his words.
I propose a new MFP etiquette policy for 2016. No complaining about the gym behavior of others if your didn't engage them with language. Didn't ask when he'd be done? Nope. Didn't ask to work in? Nope. Didn't ask to bench as soon as dude started curling? Nope. Dude ain't do nothing wrong, since no one asked him to do anything differently.
And I'm going out on a limb here and saying that a poorly equipped gym that only has one place to bench prolly has limited places to curl.0 -
Wanted to use the bench (only one true bench at the gym), and it looked like the guy was about midway through his set, so I decided to just do a couple laps on the track while I waited and kept my eye on him as I went around. He started unloading the bar so I finished my lap and started heading over there. I've heard or/seen some people curling in the squat rack, but this morning was a first for me. He turned around, straddled the bench and started curling the 45lb bar. Then goes and grab's 2.5lb weights and curls two more sets. REALLY! The gym wasn't that crowded and there were plenty of other preloaded bars, preacher curl stations etc...
So...NO CURLING AT THE BENCH PRESS PEOPLE!!!!
Sounds like we got another one that didn't use his words.
I propose a new MFP etiquette policy for 2016. No complaining about the gym behavior of others if your didn't engage them with language. Didn't ask when he'd be done? Nope. Didn't ask to work in? Nope. Didn't ask to bench as soon as dude started curling? Nope. Dude ain't do nothing wrong, since no one asked him to do anything differently.
And I'm going out on a limb here and saying that a poorly equipped gym that only has one place to bench prolly has limited places to curl.
Point taken about speaking up, and like I said, I would have if he had started another set. I generally just like to let people do their thing and I do mine and all is right with the world. It's actually a decent size gym (four squat racks, lots of extra bars and weights, but just one dedicated BB flat bench and one dedicated BB incline) and they have other "benches" for doing dumbbell work and whatever, but just the one that has the built in rests and is intended for the barbell bench press. He was standing to curl though...so not sure how that space is limited.0 -
Wanted to use the bench (only one true bench at the gym), and it looked like the guy was about midway through his set, so I decided to just do a couple laps on the track while I waited and kept my eye on him as I went around. He started unloading the bar so I finished my lap and started heading over there. I've heard or/seen some people curling in the squat rack, but this morning was a first for me. He turned around, straddled the bench and started curling the 45lb bar. Then goes and grab's 2.5lb weights and curls two more sets. REALLY! The gym wasn't that crowded and there were plenty of other preloaded bars, preacher curl stations etc...
So...NO CURLING AT THE BENCH PRESS PEOPLE!!!!
Sounds like we got another one that didn't use his words.
I propose a new MFP etiquette policy for 2016. No complaining about the gym behavior of others if your didn't engage them with language. Didn't ask when he'd be done? Nope. Didn't ask to work in? Nope. Didn't ask to bench as soon as dude started curling? Nope. Dude ain't do nothing wrong, since no one asked him to do anything differently.
And I'm going out on a limb here and saying that a poorly equipped gym that only has one place to bench prolly has limited places to curl.
Point taken about speaking up, and like I said, I would have if he had started another set. I generally just like to let people do their thing and I do mine and all is right with the world. It's actually a decent size gym (four squat racks, lots of extra bars and weights, but just one dedicated BB flat bench and one dedicated BB incline) and they have other "benches" for doing dumbbell work and whatever, but just the one that has the built in rests and is intended for the barbell bench press. He was standing to curl though...so not sure how that space is limited.
You could always put one of the free benches in the squat rack if there are free ones. Even better is if all the parts are there and working, it can eliminate your need for a spotter.
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You know all that "don't skip leg day" shaming? Since every gym now has racks and cages, people used to curl on the benches back in the day because gyms rarely had them and the same complaints always followed.So...NO CURLING AT THE BENCH PRESS PEOPLE!!!!
The "never skipped leg day" crowd is a victim of their own success.0 -
I really like this idea of speaking up. No harm in it at all.0
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Wanted to use the bench (only one true bench at the gym), and it looked like the guy was about midway through his set, so I decided to just do a couple laps on the track while I waited and kept my eye on him as I went around. He started unloading the bar so I finished my lap and started heading over there. I've heard or/seen some people curling in the squat rack, but this morning was a first for me. He turned around, straddled the bench and started curling the 45lb bar. Then goes and grab's 2.5lb weights and curls two more sets. REALLY! The gym wasn't that crowded and there were plenty of other preloaded bars, preacher curl stations etc...
So...NO CURLING AT THE BENCH PRESS PEOPLE!!!!
Sounds like we got another one that didn't use his words.
I propose a new MFP etiquette policy for 2016. No complaining about the gym behavior of others if your didn't engage them with language. Didn't ask when he'd be done? Nope. Didn't ask to work in? Nope. Didn't ask to bench as soon as dude started curling? Nope. Dude ain't do nothing wrong, since no one asked him to do anything differently.
And I'm going out on a limb here and saying that a poorly equipped gym that only has one place to bench prolly has limited places to curl.
Point taken about speaking up, and like I said, I would have if he had started another set. I generally just like to let people do their thing and I do mine and all is right with the world. It's actually a decent size gym (four squat racks, lots of extra bars and weights, but just one dedicated BB flat bench and one dedicated BB incline) and they have other "benches" for doing dumbbell work and whatever, but just the one that has the built in rests and is intended for the barbell bench press. He was standing to curl though...so not sure how that space is limited.
You could always put one of the free benches in the squat rack if there are free ones. Even better is if all the parts are there and working, it can eliminate your need for a spotter.
I've done that in the past, but it always works out that the pins for the safety are either 2" too low or 2" too high so it either gives me no safety, or limits my range of motion. I guess that's not so different from not having a safety bar on the regular bench though. They do have multiple rack positions though, so if you can't get it quite all the way up, you can still slam it back into the lowest one.0 -
I just feel like someone should point out that the rudeness or inappropriateness of one person's behavior is in no way dependent on whether or not another person could have asked them to stop. Dick moves are dick moves; it's okay to be annoyed by them and it's unreasonable to pass the responsibility for that behavior off on the person who just wants to bench without having to educate every noob in the gym about something that should be pretty obvious.0
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Larissa_NY wrote: »I just feel like someone should point out that the rudeness or inappropriateness of one person's behavior is in no way dependent on whether or not another person could have asked them to stop. Dick moves are dick moves; it's okay to be annoyed by them and it's unreasonable to pass the responsibility for that behavior off on the person who just wants to bench without having to educate every noob in the gym about something that should be pretty obvious.
I don't know how obvious it is. I think that depends on whether the guy has been going to the gym or using the weight room very long, whether he knows there are preloaded bars, etc. I've never used the main weight room at my gym (do most lifting at home) and can see how a person may do this without knowing it's "wrong." Obviously there's a chance that the guy is just a jerk but it's not a sure thing.
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I walked into the gym this afternoon and headed for the hack squat machine after my warmup. There were plates loaded on it and a woman was deadlifting in the cage next to it. I figured somebody just hadn't unloaded the plates, so as I went to change them the woman asked if I minded working in with her because she was supersetting. I said no problem - I worked in for my sets, alternating with her, and we both got our workout done. No problem.0
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Larissa_NY wrote: »I just feel like someone should point out that the rudeness or inappropriateness of one person's behavior is in no way dependent on whether or not another person could have asked them to stop. Dick moves are dick moves; it's okay to be annoyed by them and it's unreasonable to pass the responsibility for that behavior off on the person who just wants to bench without having to educate every noob in the gym about something that should be pretty obvious.
If you don't educate the noobs on gym etiquette you'll end up in a self-fulfilling cycle of them not following gym etiquette.0 -
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I don't know why, but that doesn't bother me. I think because my gym has a lot of benches and people only do it when the place is empty.0
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just sit on the bench right behind him....no words just sit down right behind him and wait.
I did this last weekend. An older couple were taking up both squat racks and taking their sweet a** time. Chatting like no one else was in the (busy) gym at the time. They still didn't get the hint so I finally asked to work in. Annoying.0 -
Wanted to use the bench (only one true bench at the gym), and it looked like the guy was about midway through his set, so I decided to just do a couple laps on the track while I waited and kept my eye on him as I went around. He started unloading the bar so I finished my lap and started heading over there. I've heard or/seen some people curling in the squat rack, but this morning was a first for me. He turned around, straddled the bench and started curling the 45lb bar. Then goes and grab's 2.5lb weights and curls two more sets. REALLY! The gym wasn't that crowded and there were plenty of other preloaded bars, preacher curl stations etc...
So...NO CURLING AT THE BENCH PRESS PEOPLE!!!!
Did you ask? The gym as you said wasn't crowded and you were off doing cardio. How would he know anyone else needed the equipment? At my gym if I need equipment I simply ask how many sets left if someone is using it. Not that complicated.
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Larissa_NY wrote: »I just feel like someone should point out that the rudeness or inappropriateness of one person's behavior is in no way dependent on whether or not another person could have asked them to stop. Dick moves are dick moves; it's okay to be annoyed by them and it's unreasonable to pass the responsibility for that behavior off on the person who just wants to bench without having to educate every noob in the gym about something that should be pretty obvious.
i curl wherever i want to curl. one person's dick move is another person's conveniently placed 155 pound curling barbell. if no one is using it at the time, i don't see where it benefits anyone to leave the space empty just in case some mute magically falls from the sky and needs to bench right that very second. if you think places to bench are limited, places to curl barbells efficiently and safely are even more limited. Most gyms don't actually have a lot of places to swing 8 foot barbells around that's not either in a walkway or in a station designed for something else. Even in a gym with an open floor area you'll have two problems. The people stretching or doing plyo will be annoyed by you dragging your barbell and plates over there and two, the people wishing to use the incline bench will be pissed that you stole their bar.
also, unless my gym is named Powerlifters Paradise, having four squat racks and only one flat bench is an incredibly poorly equipped gym if normal people with normal lifting patterns are going there. Mondays after work have to be a nightmare.0 -
Larissa_NY wrote: »I just feel like someone should point out that the rudeness or inappropriateness of one person's behavior is in no way dependent on whether or not another person could have asked them to stop. Dick moves are dick moves; it's okay to be annoyed by them and it's unreasonable to pass the responsibility for that behavior off on the person who just wants to bench without having to educate every noob in the gym about something that should be pretty obvious.
i curl wherever i want to curl. one person's dick move is another person's conveniently placed 155 pound curling barbell. if no one is using it at the time, i don't see where it benefits anyone to leave the space empty just in case some mute magically falls from the sky and needs to bench right that very second. if you think places to bench are limited, places to curl barbells efficiently and safely are even more limited. Most gyms don't actually have a lot of places to swing 8 foot barbells around that's not either in a walkway or in a station designed for something else. Even in a gym with an open floor area you'll have two problems. The people stretching or doing plyo will be annoying by you dragging your barbell and plates over there and two, the people wishing to use the incline bench will be pissed that you stole their bar.
also, unless my gym is named Powerlifters Paradise, having four squat racks and only one flat bench is an incredibly poorly equipped gym if normal people with normal lifting patterns are going there. Mondays after work have to be a nightmare.
love you0 -
Larissa_NY wrote: »I just feel like someone should point out that the rudeness or inappropriateness of one person's behavior is in no way dependent on whether or not another person could have asked them to stop. Dick moves are dick moves; it's okay to be annoyed by them and it's unreasonable to pass the responsibility for that behavior off on the person who just wants to bench without having to educate every noob in the gym about something that should be pretty obvious.
i curl wherever i want to curl. one person's dick move is another person's conveniently placed 155 pound curling barbell. if no one is using it at the time, i don't see where it benefits anyone to leave the space empty just in case some mute magically falls from the sky and needs to bench right that very second. if you think places to bench are limited, places to curl barbells efficiently and safely are even more limited. Most gyms don't actually have a lot of places to swing 8 foot barbells around that's not either in a walkway or in a station designed for something else. Even in a gym with an open floor area you'll have two problems. The people stretching or doing plyo will be annoyed by you dragging your barbell and plates over there and two, the people wishing to use the incline bench will be pissed that you stole their bar.
also, unless my gym is named Powerlifters Paradise, having four squat racks and only one flat bench is an incredibly poorly equipped gym if normal people with normal lifting patterns are going there. Mondays after work have to be a nightmare.
Lmao. You actually just described my gym - three power racks, a squat rack, and a combination bench/squat rack. Except it works beautifully most of the time, because the squat rack is for curling and ohp/push press and everyone can actually ask to work in or how many sets are left. That and we all know how to drag a bench over to a power rack to bench in there.
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Larissa_NY wrote: »I just feel like someone should point out that the rudeness or inappropriateness of one person's behavior is in no way dependent on whether or not another person could have asked them to stop. Dick moves are dick moves; it's okay to be annoyed by them and it's unreasonable to pass the responsibility for that behavior off on the person who just wants to bench without having to educate every noob in the gym about something that should be pretty obvious.
If you don't educate the noobs on gym etiquette you'll end up in a self-fulfilling cycle of them not following gym etiquette.
That's an interesting perspective, and a useful one for gym owners, since it will lead me to use my workout time paying them so I can do Noob Education, instead of the other way around. But it doesn't in any way address my point, which is that it's completely reasonable to be annoyed at a voting adult who doesn't have enough self-awareness to realize that he's taking up the one set of dedicated bench press equipment in a crowded gym to do things that aren't bench pressing, and people shouldn't actually have to be obligated to ask him to stop doing it so they can bench.0 -
The easiest resolve to this is just asking if you can use the bench. Most people are accommodating if the request isn't outlandish.
In almost any gym I've been in, if it's not crowded and if there's no indication that someone is waiting for equipment to use, it's NOT unusual for an individual to stay in the same place doing a free weight workout.
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
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Also, have a plan B in case at the beginning of the year your gym's equipment is occupied more than normal. Consider doing bodyweight workouts, isolation work (like flyes) etc.
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 0 -
Larissa_NY wrote: »Larissa_NY wrote: »I just feel like someone should point out that the rudeness or inappropriateness of one person's behavior is in no way dependent on whether or not another person could have asked them to stop. Dick moves are dick moves; it's okay to be annoyed by them and it's unreasonable to pass the responsibility for that behavior off on the person who just wants to bench without having to educate every noob in the gym about something that should be pretty obvious.
If you don't educate the noobs on gym etiquette you'll end up in a self-fulfilling cycle of them not following gym etiquette.
That's an interesting perspective, and a useful one for gym owners, since it will lead me to use my workout time paying them so I can do Noob Education, instead of the other way around. But it doesn't in any way address my point, which is that it's completely reasonable to be annoyed at a voting adult who doesn't have enough self-awareness to realize that he's taking up the one set of dedicated bench press equipment in a crowded gym to do things that aren't bench pressing, and people shouldn't actually have to be obligated to ask him to stop doing it so they can bench.
I'd rather ask than wait forever to use it.0 -
Larissa_NY wrote: »I just feel like someone should point out that the rudeness or inappropriateness of one person's behavior is in no way dependent on whether or not another person could have asked them to stop. Dick moves are dick moves; it's okay to be annoyed by them and it's unreasonable to pass the responsibility for that behavior off on the person who just wants to bench without having to educate every noob in the gym about something that should be pretty obvious.
i curl wherever i want to curl. one person's dick move is another person's conveniently placed 155 pound curling barbell. if no one is using it at the time, i don't see where it benefits anyone to leave the space empty just in case some mute magically falls from the sky and needs to bench right that very second. if you think places to bench are limited, places to curl barbells efficiently and safely are even more limited. Most gyms don't actually have a lot of places to swing 8 foot barbells around that's not either in a walkway or in a station designed for something else. Even in a gym with an open floor area you'll have two problems. The people stretching or doing plyo will be annoyed by you dragging your barbell and plates over there and two, the people wishing to use the incline bench will be pissed that you stole their bar.
also, unless my gym is named Powerlifters Paradise, having four squat racks and only one flat bench is an incredibly poorly equipped gym if normal people with normal lifting patterns are going there. Mondays after work have to be a nightmare.
I take it you work out someplace with a ton of equipment. You're lucky. Have you ever been in a globo gym on Mondays after work, or any day of the week after work for the last two and first three months of the year? No piece of equipment in the weight area sits idle. If you want one, you better have reflexes like Bruce Lee and watch it like a hawk so you can snag it out from under the last person who was on it. Especially squat racks and bench press setups. They're like gold. There is no time at which no one is using or waiting to use a barbell.
If you're in a place where there are few people on the weight floor or other places to bench, and you take half a minute of time and consideration to look around and determine that no one else is going to be wanting the bench any time soon, that's one thing. If you're in a crowded gym doing your non-benching thing on the only bench setup and pretending you didn't know anyone else was going to need to use it, that's a dick move, and the dickishness is in no way ameliorated by the fact that it's convenient for you. It was convenient for Martin Shkreli to jack up the price of lifesaving medications by thousands of percents too, and anyone who says it was therefore not a dick move is not someone who should be allowed to live around other people.
As an aside, do you let people work in while you're doing your curls wherever you damn please? Because the guy at my gym wouldn't let me work in. It probably wasn't convenient for him. Also, he was curling the empty bar, literally ten feet away from an entire rack full of curl bars at or over 45 pounds.0
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