Onslaught of New Gym Members
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Ps I always without fail clean the gear down. And I havent noticed some people didnt appear to have realised this until theyve seen me do so. Usually its elderly folk who've come in for their cardiac rehab work.
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I hate the gym in January. I live in central London which has real estate prices worse than Manhattan, so having a home large enough for workout equipment is prohibitively expensive. I try to be generous to newbies but am thankful most of them are gone by mid February1
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Probably sick of the snobbery.5
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MelanieCN77 wrote: »
Did you read all of the words? It’s taking the things people rag on new gym goes for and turning them around to say hey don’t worry about it. People can be intolerant and entitled dicks at the gym but it’s usually about their own insecurities.
Yes, I read all the words.
The images are exaggerated and make fun of people
The words are the opposite, kind and sensible.
It has two messages, but is mostly aimed for some yucks at the expense of imperfect new people. It is NOT aimed at new people to encourage them to come, not with images that laugh at them.
I'd like to see those images with more realistic messages:
Tell the obese not to worry what they look like -- they'll fit right in with the regulars who are still obese and load up on Starbucks pastry when they finish.
Tell the woman in the jeans not to worry about her clothes -- she will never look as ridiculous as the 50-60 year old regular at my gym who curls and coifs her hair and always wears giant hoop earrings while she shows off her body (she looks like an aging streetwalker).
Nobody is perfect, anywhere. Good for anybody who tries to improve their health and their life.
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I'd like to see those images with more realistic messages:
Tell the obese not to worry what they look like -- they'll fit right in with the regulars who are still obese and load up on Starbucks pastry when they finish.
Tell the woman in the jeans not to worry about her clothes -- she will never look as ridiculous as the 50-60 year old regular at my gym who curls and coifs her hair and always wears giant hoop earrings while she shows off her body (she looks like an aging streetwalker).
Wow.4 -
MelanieCN77 wrote: »
Did you read all of the words? It’s taking the things people rag on new gym goes for and turning them around to say hey don’t worry about it. People can be intolerant and entitled dicks at the gym but it’s usually about their own insecurities.
Yes, I read all the words.
The images are exaggerated and make fun of people
The words are the opposite, kind and sensible.
It has two messages, but is mostly aimed for some yucks at the expense of imperfect new people. It is NOT aimed at new people to encourage them to come, not with images that laugh at them.
I'd like to see those images with more realistic messages:
Tell the obese not to worry what they look like -- they'll fit right in with the regulars who are still obese and load up on Starbucks pastry when they finish.
Tell the woman in the jeans not to worry about her clothes -- she will never look as ridiculous as the 50-60 year old regular at my gym who curls and coifs her hair and always wears giant hoop earrings while she shows off her body (she looks like an aging streetwalker).
Nobody is perfect, anywhere. Good for anybody who tries to improve their health and their life.
I’m thinking maybe you see the images as ridiculous because you are looking for the ridiculous in others. I don’t agree that they are making fun of new people.
By the way, I’m 51, and the idea that showing off my body would be absurd is rude. Not that I have a perfect body by any means. But several gym-going ladies here on the forums who fall into the “50-60 year old” crowd would knock your socks off,11 -
Oh dear...
The ridiculousness is why I think it’s a light hearted poster...look again at the first picture with the weight bench...it’s not a stereotypical skinny/wimpy guy, or an overweight guy, it’s a buff gym rat guy...the one of the woman in the jeans is not somebody wearing something that’s just slobby or mismatched, it’s someone wearing something blinged up and totally inappropriate for exercise. The woman doing the push-up or the stretches is probably the most realistic but also the one that most people will relate to...because let’s face it we’ve all felt like that woman at one time or another while at the gym, no matter what shape we are in.
Oh well...different perspectives I guess...good luck to everyone with the newbies in the coming weeks. Hopefully some of them will be here next year lamenting the new onslaught and telling funny stories of their first days in the gym!
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No problem with others at the gym, I just don’t like having to wait for equipment. It’s why I joined Anytime Fitness. I go very early. No people, and no waiting. Win/win for me.1
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I’m kinda nervous for January at the gym... mostly because it’s a brand new gym that’s opening on January 1st, so there will be three big groups of people, and none of them will know what they’re doing, where the equipment is etc: the resolutioners, the regulars who just switched to a different gym, and other members of the same gym chain that just pop in to see what the new location is like. It’s going to be absolute mayhem, and I have to go in and be a culprit in that mess to get myself settled and learn where everything is.1
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I’m not sure what type of exercise you do but I found if I moved my strength training to Tues/Thurs/Sat vs Mon/Wed/Fri that I had more access to equipment. Be flexible is key this time of year.
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Last few days, calm before the storm
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BrianSharpe wrote: »
Me four....my basement gym is all I need and outdoors when the weather is nice.0 -
nighthawk584 wrote: »BrianSharpe wrote: »
Me four....my basement gym is all I need and outdoors when the weather is nice.
Definitely a nice option for those with the space.2 -
I prefer going to the gym cos they have better showers than I've got
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I've learned the hard way that if I complain about the resolutioner crowd online, some easily offended soul is probably going to say, "Don't be so mean to the newbies! You should be welcoming them instead!"
Sorry, but no. Recognizing the problem isn't being mean. It's just accepting reality... and the reality is that the gyms will be getting really crowded.
As for welcoming the newbies... I won't be hostile, and if they ask for help, I'll be friendly. I don't think it's our responsibility to specifically welcome them, though. I know that I wouldn't want to be treated that way if I were new. I would just want to go about my own business.5 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »Where I'm at it's not the noobies it's the damn trainers that set people up in front of dumbbell/kettlebell racks, on the prowler track, etc.
Oh yes to this! Soooooo frustrating!!2 -
It has two messages, but is mostly aimed for some yucks at the expense of imperfect new people. It is NOT aimed at new people to encourage them to come, not with images that laugh at them.
I'd like to see those images with more realistic messages:
Tell the obese not to worry what they look like -- they'll fit right in with the regulars who are still obese and load up on Starbucks pastry when they finish.
Tell the woman in the jeans not to worry about her clothes -- she will never look as ridiculous as the 50-60 year old regular at my gym who curls and coifs her hair and always wears giant hoop earrings while she shows off her body (she looks like an aging streetwalker).
Nobody is perfect, anywhere. Good for anybody who tries to improve their health and their life.
So, just for personal clarification, you think the images and quotes with them are making fun of people and inappropriate. You also think that making fun of a woman who doesn't fit your definition of a proper gym female is perfectly OK and more realistic. Do I have that correct?
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I am getting anxiety thinking about all of the new people at the gym. It's already crowded. Does anyone else have issues working out in crowded gyms?
I just saw this thread.
I also hate working out in a crowded gym, so I hate this time of year (in addition to newbies there are more people who work out indoors due to weather).
One issue is that because so many people join at the beginning of Jan and don't stay, the gym's basic model is likely to be based on an assumption of fewer members (but subsidized, remember, by the newbies).
For me this has 0 to do with whether someone is a newbie or not -- I don't dislike newbies, I dislike crowds. Outside of a few people who often exercise at the same time as me, and of course the trainers I see around, how am I to know who is new, who is just back inside due to weather, or who is just someone I haven't noticed before?
That I dislike crowds is something that makes me more reluctant to go to the gym in January (although it was relatively empty today and likely will be tomorrow), but it doesn't cause me to be unfriendly to anyone. (If someone made an effort to encourage me and make me feel welcome when new, btw, I'd be super embarassed and feel like I must have been obviously not knowing what I was doing -- this is mainstream gym, not something like CrossFit where the model is different.) I think complaining about crowds is totally fine.
If anything, I tend to go out of my way to avoid times I think might be crowded, and end up at the time I thought would be dead and be mad (at myself, at the world) that apparently that's when all the trainers work out, so the weights area is crowded.7 -
Does go to a new location count as a "newbie"? I want to do a spin class. However, my gym no longer has the 6:30pm time. The Saturday time doesn't work as that's when I do my long runs and Sunday is my rest day.
I'm looking at going to a location near my work that has a 5:30 class on Tuesdays. I'll get there in plenty of time. I'm off work at 4:30 and it only takes about 15 minutes to get there. Lots of time to do a pre-spin class warm up!
Though I mostly go for the BodyPump (and hope to start going for spin) class. I run in the great outdoors. The dreadmill is an option when the days might be to bad to get outside to run. I do start my half-marathon training in 3 weeks!1 -
I haven't gone to the gym in a few months and I really want to get back into it, but I have social anxiety and the crowds are a major issue for me right now. I know I should just grit my teeth and go anyways, but its hard.7
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I find it hard in the classes as no room but I know come end Jan it’s as it was before3
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I am getting anxiety thinking about all of the new people at the gym. It's already crowded. Does anyone else have issues working out in crowded gyms?
I just saw this thread.
I also hate working out in a crowded gym, so I hate this time of year (in addition to newbies there are more people who work out indoors due to weather).
One issue is that because so many people join at the beginning of Jan and don't stay, the gym's basic model is likely to be based on an assumption of fewer members (but subsidized, remember, by the newbies).
For me this has 0 to do with whether someone is a newbie or not -- I don't dislike newbies, I dislike crowds. Outside of a few people who often exercise at the same time as me, and of course the trainers I see around, how am I to know who is new, who is just back inside due to weather, or who is just someone I haven't noticed before?
That I dislike crowds is something that makes me more reluctant to go to the gym in January (although it was relatively empty today and likely will be tomorrow), but it doesn't cause me to be unfriendly to anyone. (If someone made an effort to encourage me and make me feel welcome when new, btw, I'd be super embarassed and feel like I must have been obviously not knowing what I was doing -- this is mainstream gym, not something like CrossFit where the model is different.) I think complaining about crowds is totally fine.
If anything, I tend to go out of my way to avoid times I think might be crowded, and end up at the time I thought would be dead and be mad (at myself, at the world) that apparently that's when all the trainers work out, so the weights area is crowded.
I totally agree.
I just recently started going to the gym before work at 5:30am. It’s much quieter then. I was having trouble getting to the gym. I really didn’t like going after work because I was tired and really didn’t want to work around all the people there at that time. Now that I have been going this early, I find that I have far more motivation to go.
I went to the gym yesterday around noon, because I was off and had things to do in the morning. The gym was absolutely crazy busy. The experience totally reaffirmed my decision to go so early in the morning.3 -
Things are so different here in Oaxaca Mexico where I live. There were no more people at the gym yesterday than there were pretty much any other day I've gone. In the U.S. people keep to themselves. Here, culturally, people are more social and interactive. Several hellos, a hug or 2 and at least a few hand slap/ fist bump (this is the Mexican guy thing, you slap hands and bump fists. It's the universal guy greeting). At first it took a little getting used to, but now it's pretty pleasant.
I don't think the whole "new years resolution" is a thing culturally. I'll have to ask some of my amigos.0 -
The gym at work is maybe slightly busier than usual, maybe an extra person or two. It helps to be a night-shifter, particularly when I go in to workout at 3 in the morning on a day off - I can pretend it's my own personal gym.
Hopefully it doesn't get busier, as there's only one shower.... 0 -
Things are so different here in Oaxaca Mexico where I live. There were no more people at the gym yesterday than there were pretty much any other day I've gone. In the U.S. people keep to themselves. Here, culturally, people are more social and interactive. Several hellos, a hug or 2 and at least a few hand slap/ fist bump (this is the Mexican guy thing, you slap hands and bump fists. It's the universal guy greeting). At first it took a little getting used to, but now it's pretty pleasant.
I don't think the whole "new years resolution" is a thing culturally. I'll have to ask some of my amigos.
This is definitely not just a thing that happens in Mexico (or Oaxaca). There are situations that I've been in in the US where that's a common way for men to greet each other.1 -
Things are so different here in Oaxaca Mexico where I live. There were no more people at the gym yesterday than there were pretty much any other day I've gone. In the U.S. people keep to themselves. Here, culturally, people are more social and interactive. Several hellos, a hug or 2 and at least a few hand slap/ fist bump (this is the Mexican guy thing, you slap hands and bump fists. It's the universal guy greeting). At first it took a little getting used to, but now it's pretty pleasant.
I don't think the whole "new years resolution" is a thing culturally. I'll have to ask some of my amigos.
This is definitely not just a thing that happens in Mexico (or Oaxaca). There are situations that I've been in in the US where that's a common way for men to greet each other.
I'm sure you are right but it is pretty ingrained here and other places I've visited in Mexico. Very much a guy cultural thing.0 -
Lol this whole thread is why I started at the gym in October of 2018. I didn’t want to part of the resolution group last January.
Noticing that most of the people who seem to be bothered by newbies enjoy feeling superior. I would think they would love the influx of new gym members, that way they can feel superior in person not just on-line!
I say this with no judgement since I’m kind of competitive and love showing newbies that I’m a beast. I do group training so we combine being super supportive and encouraging with pushing each other to go further.
If you show up and work hard, you’re in.6 -
I agree with the person talking about the crowds that show up. I tend to notixw that in the beginning of the year, there's longer waits for the equipment, a d often, they break down a lot more. Not to mention the lack of consideration (not regulars or newbies specific) to not clean up the equipment afterwards, including leaving Kleenex in the cup holders. So besides the crowds, the germs and broken equipment come as well.0
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