Should fitness fanatics be easier on January gym-goers?

misslyssa319
misslyssa319 Posts: 186 Member
edited October 7 in Fitness and Exercise
saw a poll that asked if regular gym goers should be patient with the mass amount of newbys cluttering the classes and hogging the machines since we were all new once. since i go after my late shift i haven't had this problem but my girls said they couldn't get into their regular yoga class that usually has about 15 people because it was packed 20 minutes before class. any opinions, stories or gripes? :bigsmile:
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Replies

  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
    In all honesty new-year gym goers pay the same money to be in the gym as you or I , yes it may bug me to see new people cram into a class or use machines that I'm used to using but everyone has to start somewhere. So in my book, it's all good.
  • KimmieBrie
    KimmieBrie Posts: 825 Member
    Yes. No one knows a persons reason for joining.... or if they switched gyms... etc. Someone using a machine isn't hogging it. If they take a long time in between sets just ask to jump in instead of watching and complaining about it internally or on a fitness forum. I have never been told "no you can't jump in". This way, if they are new to the gym environment, they get used to it. I have a favorite treadmill at my gym. It has a little fan in it. There's only one. If I don't get it - oh well. It isn't mine, we all pay the same. There's no seniority sign up list. I mean - how long have the complainers been going to the same gym? 1 year? 2 years? 5 years? 20? The equipment isn't yours. Learn to share or go home.
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    Some guy took the bar out of the power cage and was doing push presses out side of the cage in the mirror (no he wasn't too tall). So i took one of the available bars off of one of the bench presses and did squats in front of him. Sure he probably didn't like me standing in between him and the mirror, but that was a pretty lame move of him to take the bar out of the power cage and then stand in front of it.
  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
    So someone took a bar out of a power cage and you responded by getting between him and the mirror he was using. Sorry but that sounds a bit...childish. I would have politely asked him to put if he could put the bar back. Someone has to be the bigger person.
  • jessicamckay13
    jessicamckay13 Posts: 297
    I love that so many people are motivated....but if you and your friend are sitting on two benches in the weight room playing on your phones and have not touched a single weight, please leave. Seriously. They even had some guy with big arms there with them that could have helped them if they were overwhelmed.
  • misslyssa319
    misslyssa319 Posts: 186 Member
    I love that so many people are motivated....but if you and your friend are sitting on two benches in the weight room playing on your phones and have not touched a single weight, please leave. Seriously. They even had some guy with big arms there with them that could have helped them if they were overwhelmed.


    that's how i feel. yes we all have an equal right to USE the equipment but if it's where you put your bag (even though there are lockers everywhere!) while you use the machine next to it that is out of line. and i see non-newbies doing this.
  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
    Definitely, I'm a huge fan of following proper etiquette in any situation including the gym :) You have to be considerate of others as much as possible. A shame not every has the same feeling :(
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
    I love that so many people are motivated....but if you and your friend are sitting on two benches in the weight room playing on your phones and have not touched a single weight, please leave. Seriously. They even had some guy with big arms there with them that could have helped them if they were overwhelmed.

    Doesn't bother me until I want to use it. Then I ask that they move out of the way.
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    I think that gyms need to recognize the abundance of new people and perhaps adapt their classes to work around the influx at the beginning of the year. As for equipment, so long as people adhere to not hogging equipment and being polite about its use, I'm all good. In a few months, the herd will have thinned.
  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,446 Member
    I was joking with my doctor that I wasn't going to starting going to the gym until February. My gym is way too crowded. It is crowded all the time, which impacts my attendance record....I hate waiting. And the only machine that is free when it is crowded is the stationary bike. :(

    If I can't go before 5pm, forget it.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    I got so annoyed, it is just too crowded and hot and I can't even do what I am supposed to do-like a superset, because I can't go from one to the next because it is being used. I don't blame the new year resolutionists, but I decided to join the gym at work, it's quiet and has what I need. I will go back to 24h fitness, I am paying two memberships now, but it's worth it for me to get some peace.
  • missikay1970
    missikay1970 Posts: 588 Member
    yea i noticed a HUGE difference since jan 1 but i figured it would be that way. doesn't bother me, except for the fact that sometimes out of the 100 treadmills we have, only 1 is free and it's broken. LOL almost without fail, everyone adheres to the rules of 20 min while others are waiting, and i have never had anyone say "no you can't work in" on the weights & machines.
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
    This is why we should lift weights. Newbies don't do weights, they do the machines and treadmills.
  • Chagama
    Chagama Posts: 543 Member
    Yes. It's annoying to have everything so crowded, but everyone gets the same access for their membership. I just try and be patient and know that by mid-February it will be back to the normal.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    I don't mind them too much except for when all the cardio machines are taken and the parking lot is like a zoo and I'm already late.. thats when I start to get a bit stressed.

    I also think that they should all have a proper introduction to the machines.. So many weight machines have been broken for weeks on end because people don't understand how to use them or decide that jamming the pins in and then breaking them off when they won't come out is smart.
  • gdunn55
    gdunn55 Posts: 363
    The one thing that has annoyed me, but I keep to myself or I tell my fiance is there's a group of about 6 guys that are probably 18 years old that will go to the Smith Machine (the machine with the barbell that you can hook so you don't get in too much trouble) and will bench press. One will lift, 2 will spot, but they use the machine to do it instead of the open bench with barbells and weights. It only annoys me because I work out alone and I can do most of my workout at that station.
  • caroldot
    caroldot Posts: 388 Member
    My only irritation is maybe having to wait for an elliptical or treadmill....mainly because it just prolongs my time at the gym and with kids thats hard to do. But everyone has the right to be there and as someone else said, we are all paying the same amount each month. So I've had to adjust my time a little - make sure I get to spin in time to get my name on the list but that doesn't mean I have to "claim" the bike 20 minutes before the class actually starts! I use my time wisely by doing some free weights or something.

    Be patient everyone! By March, most of those people start weeding out, then it warms up and people start heading back outside to run, etc. so it will be okay!!
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    This is why we should lift weights. Newbies don't do weights, they do the machines and treadmills.

    Newbies curl, but i don't so they can curl all they want.
  • gdunn55
    gdunn55 Posts: 363
    This is why we should lift weights. Newbies don't do weights, they do the machines and treadmills.

    Newbies curl, but i don't so they can curl all they want.
    Hey I curl and I'm not a newbie.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    I think it's great that people get motivated to go, but I wish people would be more considerate. Like wipe down your machines, don't hog machines while sitting there doing nothing on your phone. I understand everyone starts somewhere, but look at the people around you who are rocking it out, and take tips from them. Watch them as they clean the machines, as they are efficient in getting on and off the machines in a proper amount of time, watch them as they use their phones for music, NOT FOR TALKING AS LOUDLY AS POSSIBLE ON THE PHONE. If you can carry a conversation, you need to kick it up a notch!
  • gdunn55
    gdunn55 Posts: 363
    I think it's great that people get motivated to go, but I wish people would be more considerate. Like wipe down your machines, don't hog machines while sitting there doing nothing on your phone. I understand everyone starts somewhere, but look at the people around you who are rocking it out, and take tips from them. Watch them as they clean the machines, as they are efficient in getting on and off the machines in a proper amount of time, watch them as they use their phones for music, NOT FOR TALKING AS LOUDLY AS POSSIBLE ON THE PHONE. If you can carry a conversation, you need to kick it up a notch!

    I ran on a treadmill one night and had went about 3 miles and the calorie count was close to 800 calories per the machine, but before I could get back and wipe it down, a woman got on it and started walking and talking.. Apparently she hit something and it started and my calories and such were picked right back up.. I got on a bike behind her to loosen my knees up and to wait to wipe it down. After 10 minutes of her walking she looked down and said.. Man I been on this thing for 40 minutes and I've already went over 3 miles and burned 900 calories... Wendy's here I come. Girl you need anything? I'm getting me a Triple.
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
    This is why we should lift weights. Newbies don't do weights, they do the machines and treadmills.

    Newbies curl, but i don't so they can curl all they want.

    I was doing a triple set Sat. Squats, military press and curls. One dude (bigger than me) was sitting there doing curls with a 50lb barbell. One set, sat there for like 5 min, does another set. I squatted(225lbs for 8), did my military presses (55 lbs for 8) and walked over and picked up the 65lb barbell and did a quick set of 10.

    People waste so much time in the gym
  • ahealthy4u
    ahealthy4u Posts: 442 Member
    From what I have heard by the end of Jan-Feb the new ppl don't stick with it and give up. I don't have this issues but I can see where it could become a problem for regluars. Life is to short to get upset over it. It will work out in the end. I myself don't have a problem with this for I have most of the stuff to work out in my basement. That and I have a 6 week Boot Camp class Signed up for 3 days week.
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
    This is why we should lift weights. Newbies don't do weights, they do the machines and treadmills.

    Newbies curl, but i don't so they can curl all they want.

    Double post as this forum is slow today.

    I also don't dedicate that much time to curls. Only as a side exercise to complete a double/triple set.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    I think it's great that people get motivated to go, but I wish people would be more considerate. Like wipe down your machines, don't hog machines while sitting there doing nothing on your phone. I understand everyone starts somewhere, but look at the people around you who are rocking it out, and take tips from them. Watch them as they clean the machines, as they are efficient in getting on and off the machines in a proper amount of time, watch them as they use their phones for music, NOT FOR TALKING AS LOUDLY AS POSSIBLE ON THE PHONE. If you can carry a conversation, you need to kick it up a notch!

    I ran on a treadmill one night and had went about 3 miles and the calorie count was close to 800 calories per the machine, but before I could get back and wipe it down, a woman got on it and started walking and talking.. Apparently she hit something and it started and my calories and such were picked right back up.. I got on a bike behind her to loosen my knees up and to wait to wipe it down. After 10 minutes of her walking she looked down and said.. Man I been on this thing for 40 minutes and I've already went over 3 miles and burned 900 calories... Wendy's here I come. Girl you need anything? I'm getting me a Triple.

    :laugh: :laugh:
  • gdunn55
    gdunn55 Posts: 363
    What I really enjoy is that next to the gym I'm at now, there's a Chinese buffet next door and you'll see all these people come in, hope on a treadmill for 20 minutes, go change, and leave.

    When I leave the gym an hour or so later they're walking out of the Chinese buffet.
  • mjk3145
    mjk3145 Posts: 4
    I love all the newbies. I am a people watcher and newbies are the best entertainment. I use to go to a gym that only had 30 treadmills and they were always packed in January. I started to run the track instead and just people watch as I went around. Yes, I felt like a hamster running in circles but it was a great challenge mentally because I cant zone out on a TV like I do on the treadmill.

    Also, I have a feeling that newbies quickly get weeded out because they always feel like outsiders. If you see someone that clearly needs a lesson on gym etiquette why not politely introduce yourself and fill them in. One of the previous posts said "everyone starts somewhere" and I agree! I vote for being more accepting.
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    This is why we should lift weights. Newbies don't do weights, they do the machines and treadmills.

    Newbies curl, but i don't so they can curl all they want.
    Hey I curl and I'm not a newbie.

    Your face when i do weighted chin ups when ever i want to work my biceps.
  • gdunn55
    gdunn55 Posts: 363
    Touche.
  • LoriBarefoot
    LoriBarefoot Posts: 218 Member
    Everyone deserves the chance to be healthy. We should smile and encourage them, then maybe they will no longer be just a "January gym-goer."
This discussion has been closed.

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