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What’s your pet hate at the gym?

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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    nossmf wrote: »
    Just putting this out now in advance of the new year, but all the New Year's Resolutioners who swarm the gym the first couple weeks in January, making it impossible for us year-round regulars to get a workout in until they all disappear again by February. By all means, welcome to the gym, I hope you become regulars and improve your life. But if you're only there to fart around because you "swore" you were finally going to "get fit this time" then stop fooling yourself and taking up our space.

    I lift 11:30-12:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The lunch hour is pretty tame and I hope it stays relatively that way. I do most of my work in the power rack area of my gym...so hopefully, if there is a big uptick in attendance, I'm thinking most newbies won't be starting there.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    edited December 2021
    I had to go off on a trainer yesterday. I was up against a wall in a large open area of the gym. I was doing single arm inverted kettlebell floor presses when I head something clanging down near me. I stop my exercise to see what happened. Trainer plopped a metal step box down 2 feet from my head. Now there is no set storage area for this piece of equipment and there was literally 50 ft of open wall space where she could have set it down.

    I explained to her that her actions could startle someone and I really didn't want to lose control of a 40 pound kettlebell close to being over my head.

    She gave me the "what's wrong" look. Stupid *kitten*.
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    nossmf wrote: »
    Just putting this out now in advance of the new year, but all the New Year's Resolutioners who swarm the gym the first couple weeks in January, making it impossible for us year-round regulars to get a workout in until they all disappear again by February. By all means, welcome to the gym, I hope you become regulars and improve your life. But if you're only there to fart around because you "swore" you were finally going to "get fit this time" then stop fooling yourself and taking up our space.

    Yes! I dread the rush of people that start coming to the gym in January.
  • JMC3Terp
    JMC3Terp Posts: 2,803 Member
    Christmas is over and it's started. Gym getting crowded. Which I don't mind. But all these people just loitering around. Like 3 dudes using the Squat rack but they dragged 2 benches over to the Squat rack so the 2 bros could sit while the third squatted. Not like there's 8 of us killing time waiting for a bench... :/
  • Thewonderofitall
    Thewonderofitall Posts: 98 Member
    edited December 2021
    I have never even been in a commercial gym and after reading the 11 pages of this thread don't think I ever want to! I'll stick with my home gym in my bedroom!
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  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    JMC3Terp wrote: »
    Thewonderofitall wrote: »
    I have never even been in a commercial gym and after reading the 11 pages of this thread don't think I ever want to! I'll stick with my home gym in my bedroom!
    036wp9ntasps.jpg

    Thought I'd respond because I do think you only get one side of the coin in this thread.

    I LOVE the gym. And yes that's me just above your post complaining. But I spent 7 months at home working out then finally joined a gym. I'm never going back. I love it. I love the options. I love the equipment and diversity. I even love seeing what other people are doing and taking from that. I go to the gym 6 days a week and miss it on Day 7.

    But is the experience perfect? Obviously not. Why? Because people are there and some of them suck lol.

    But I'd take it over working out at home any day. This is just a nice place for me to vent about the jerks.

    But I LOVE the gym.

    Likewise. Have been using public gyms for 40+ years.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,630 Member
    JMC3Terp wrote: »
    Thought I'd respond because I do think you only get one side of the coin in this thread.

    I LOVE the gym.

    Bingo. Just like I love my wife, will never stray from her, but I have stories about our marriage which paint an entirely different picture if they were the only ones heard.
  • NoLimitFemme
    NoLimitFemme Posts: 118 Member
    I live in IL where certain substances are now legal. Theres a group that like to partake in their car immediately before entering the gym. It smells the entire lobby and work area up for hours. 🤢🤢🤢
  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
    People who occupy equipment while exercising nothing but their thumbs on their mobile phones (if you have been sitting there for 12 minutes you are not "resting between sets".

    Out-loud phone conversations or music (nobody wants to hear that).

    Heavy perfume/cologne (I would rather smell your sweat).

    "Savsies" – putting a bunch of personal crap on one piece of equipment while you use another to "save" it for when you need it (just no).

    Masks under the nose (recent addition to the gym peeves).
  • makinlifehappen
    makinlifehappen Posts: 110 Member
    I usually go when no one else is there so only really when people don't clean up after themselves.
  • Cowchip500
    Cowchip500 Posts: 1 Member
    It drives me nuts when I'm gasping and soaked in sweat but someone wants to chat me up. A little comment or joke is ok, but if you can talk in complete sentences, you're not working nearly hard enough.
    The other one is new; people who are still wearing masks. Again, you can't work hard with a breathing restriction. Nobody who's really working out wants to see your political statement. 🤦
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,205 Member
    People who bring a tiny stand for their phone so they can tape themselves doing reps.

    People who sit at a machine looking at their phone when I am kindly waiting to use it
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,630 Member
    Sitting and looking I cannot abide, but people taping themselves can be justified, depending on the purpose. Taping to post online, roll my eyes... taping to critically judge form and become a better lifter, kudos.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,070 Member
    The three things that are sure to annoy me:

    1 - entire row of ellipticals/treadmill/whatever, almost all of them are open, but you choose to grab the one right next to me. If things are busy, fine, but if it's all freaking open, I'd rather not deal with you flinging your sweat all over me when there's zero need to be that close.

    2 - Hogging the one squat rack/flat bench/whatever for your entire workout routine

    3 - Not racking your weights when you're done with them - I love getting to play "hunt down the 25# plate stuck in a random corner" game (not)
  • JaysFan82
    JaysFan82 Posts: 853 Member
    People who sit at a machine and chit chat for 20 minutes
  • mmaguinness83
    mmaguinness83 Posts: 1 Member
    edited October 2022
    I personally hate gyms and everything about them! from the creepy guys who only go to perve or pick up women to the people who stink and the broken gym equipment. Give me a trail run through the woods in the fresh air any day.
    I get that it’s not right for everyone but that’s just my opinion.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    As of late, ego driven twats who slam the weights on machines. As of late 2 of our machines are down because of this, one waiting to be replaced by warranty. The last time this happened, it took over a month to replace. And it's 2 of our best machines.......................leg extension and seated tricep pressdown. :s

    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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  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    Currently a trainer who almost seems to be stalking me. I took a class with her, and later she approached me in the weight area and offered to train me for free (weird -- if you're a professional, why would you give away your services for free? If you're not, why would I want you training me?).

    I had been doing deadlifts when she approached me, so I thought I would get her advice on my form, to judge whether she had any idea what she was talking about. I had already taken the plates off the bar, but since it was just to show her my form, I started to show her using the bare bar. She tried to talk me out of it, because it was too heavy (!? 45 lbs ?!) and said she just uses dumb bells.

    Then she said she could train me so I wouldn't gain muscle, as though that would be a good thing.

    Now she goes out of her way to greet me whenever we're in the gym at the same time.

    She teaches some classes I'd like to take, but I'm a little leery of doing anything that could be interpreted as wanting any kind of relationship with her.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,630 Member
    Every time I'm in the hot tub, the streams of bubbles make my skin itch, so I always turn them off when I'm soaking solo. But invariably when somebody wants to join, on go the bubbles again.
  • cjbrown12323
    cjbrown12323 Posts: 15 Member
    Jock people. Like ppl who judge people for having the audacity to be new at the gym. Have loads of gear. For dudes, they wear nipple sleeveless shirts that just cover the nipples and they tend to be rude if someone else wants to use a machine that they are hogging because my God its like the gym is a public place or something and like other people.. Exist!??? For women, they try to be one of the guys and compete with other women judging on their bodies as if overweight bodies are disgusting. They make gym life annoying for me. But I love the gym but I hate the #gymlife jerks.
  • Northwest8
    Northwest8 Posts: 9 Member
    Men in vests taking pictures or videos in the mirror!
  • Skyleen75
    Skyleen75 Posts: 719 Member
    I love group exercise classes but I can not stand it when an instructor says “let’s do this so we can eat dessert later” uhm I don’t workout so I can eat more. Please just stop. I’m here to be strong not to worry about eating cake.
  • Lynxes602
    Lynxes602 Posts: 23 Member
    I'm stuck at a commercial gym and the crowds are really aggravating to deal with. Ppl camp on equipment, they use their phones and take up time. Not to mention, they've started letting 12 yr olds into the club so they run around like its day camp. They've caused ppl to drop their weights and the management will not do anything. I really need to find a private gym :(
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,260 Member
    I've been away from the gym for over two years; I went back last week. It's good. I also found something to add here.

    I'm fortunate that my gym has pools and a steam room in addition to saunas. The indoor pools are salt water pools. Very nice. New owners made a lot of upgrades during the shut-down in 2020 and 2021. The steam room is really nice.

    But....

    Sitting in there soaking it up and someone comes in and picks up one of the hand-held shower heads and proceeds to spray cold water on the thermostat. I moved over from the hotter area to offer him the "hot seat." He said, no, he'd just stand in the pillow of steam. Which he did for 40 seconds, then sat on the low bench for another minute. Then he left me and the one other person in there with the now hotter than the set point room. Uh... If you need hot, sit up high. It's hotter there.

    Similar thing in the sauna. Someone splashes water on the thermostat and then on the hot rocks to get it super hot. Not my favorite, but some like it hot. But then the person who made it hot just walks out leaving the rest of us in an over-heated sauna. Oh. Yeah. And they use essential oils in the water they splash around, which they aren't supposed to do.

    Maybe I'm being petty. Maybe folks can just follow the gym rules. There really aren't that many. The new owners have a smaller set of rules. That makes it easier to follow; the silly ones are no more. So please just consider the other folks you impact with your behavior. Maybe ask before over-heating the steam or sauna and wait until the folks already in there are done.

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