Weightlifters - etiquette question!

I'd like to know this too, it seems to me guys squat then sit around for 5 to 10 min and I'm really only going to be in the rack for maybe 2 or 3 min. I'm not there to power lift. I went to a gym once and they had a female section which I think would be nice in most gyms.

If I SUPER need the squat rack I'll ask if I can rotate in no matter how many of them there are ( I worked in with 6 guys last night) . You just need to be ready, unload your weights fast and help them load it back up. If you can do it without the squat rack do it. OR what I do when the bench press benches are all taken- go do something else and come back to it. If it's the end of your work out tell them that and ask to rotate in. "Hey, this is the last thing I need to do so I can get out of here. I have 3 sets to do. Can I work in with you?"

not sure... i know at one gym i joined if its busy there was a 30 minute limit if someone was waiting. speak to someone desk about posting signs and just politely mention it!

Just ask if you can rotate in. It's proper etiquette for them to let you. That said, I work out and am a trainer at a totally musclehead kind of gym and I'll ask just about anyone, except this one mean little old lady. She sets up a circuit on three machines and she will leave a waterbottle on one, a towel on another and metallic add on weights on a third and God help you if you use any of them or move anything. She's under 5 feet tall and about 70 years old and I'm scared to death of her! I once went nose to nose with a body builder in a bar, and I wouldn't screw with her!

You really dont..you use another piece of equipment.
I will ask how many sets they have left to give them a hint that I want to use it but I would not expect them to hurry nor would I expect them to let me rotate in if our we are lifting huge differences in weight.

Okay - so if my lifting plan says "Do two sets of squats THEN do exercises B, C, D, and E" - I just ignore A and come back to it later?

course not..you gotta improvise..DB squats, smith machine squats..something like that. It happens to all of us.

You really dont..you use another piece of equipment.
I will ask how many sets they have left to give them a hint that I want to use it but I would not expect them to hurry nor would I expect them to let me rotate in if our we are lifting huge differences in weight.

Okay - so if my lifting plan says "Do two sets of squats THEN do exercises B, C, D, and E" - I just ignore A and come back to it later?

course not..you gotta improvise..DB squats, smith machine squats..something like that. It happens to all of us.

I was going to say that, but I figured it wouldn't be accepted well. I'd just do another form of a squat if it mattered that much.

You really dont..you use another piece of equipment.
I will ask how many sets they have left to give them a hint that I want to use it but I would not expect them to hurry nor would I expect them to let me rotate in if our we are lifting huge differences in weight.

Okay - so if my lifting plan says "Do two sets of squats THEN do exercises B, C, D, and E" - I just ignore A and come back to it later?

No, you're going to want to squat first. I know from experience that a really heavy lift that takes that much, like a squat, should be done at the beginning.

I'll tell you, in the Gym I'm not shy at all about asking to work in with someone even if it's more than one someone. I know on my end I get into a zone when I'm working out and I don't really realize it when someone else is waiting on equipment I'm using. I'm happy to let others work in. The worst they can do is give you some lame excuse why they don't want you working in with them and at that point you can thank them and walk away. But you won't know until you ask and you pay to be there just like they do so you have a right to be able to do your workout on the equipment you'd like to use just as much as they do.

when you start lifting more then worry till then your barely doing the bar your really not gonna injure yourself unless you have bad form...and i typically will change up my routine and go do something else then come back to what i want to do...really just because it says to do squats first doesnt mean you HAVE to do squats first...just saying..i never rotate in with guys the changing of the weight is an absoulte *****!

Hey there,
I used to work for a training company with all men and this was common. Most of the time they really just didn't pay attention to who was working around them because they were watching their form in the mirrors, and if someone needed to rotate in they expected them to say something. I think this is pretty true for guys in general. It's pretty intimidating for a woman to be in the free weight area in the first place and a lot of women don't usually workout in that spot, so I can imagine it being difficult to ask to rotate in when you may already be outside of a comfort zone. I would just walk right up and say hi, in a friendly way, and ask them if you can work in with them, or if they're in the middle of super sets then just ask politely when they will be done with the equipment. Most guys would LOVE for a woman to ask to rotate in with them because it gives them the ability to show off their technique. As long as you're nice and really willing to work in, they'll probably be stoked to work you in.

One benefit of being a behemoth is that if I ask to use a piece of equipment the person on the machine will usually hurry along either out of fear or pity. Since I'm aware this "courtesy" is not always shared with others if I notice others waiting to use a machine I have asked equipment hogs if they'll be much longer and then when they move along to make space for me I offer the spot to those who have been waiting and move along to whatever equipment I was actually planning to use.

Ironically I find teenage girls to be the least likely to politely move along when asked.