Gym irritation

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gabbingfilly
gabbingfilly Posts: 106 Member
in Chit-Chat
I just got home from the gym tonight and I'm not normally the type to let little dumb things get to me but tonight just kinda got under my skin. First off, my best friend is halfways the reason I got started going to the gym. She was given a membership by her parents so I went and bought one thinking that we'd do it together. Well I have wholeheartedly fallen in love with working out and I am more than motivated to go every single day although I know that my body needs a day of rest. I called her to tell her that I would meet her at the gym as we had planned tonight and she goes on to tell me that she's not feeling up to it and just doesn't feel the greatest. She is the quickest person that will complain about her weight, but yet makes excuses all the time to get out of doing anything about it. *sigh* Anyway, she did end up coming so I made sure to tell her that I was very happy and proud of her for coming even though she didn't feel the greatest in hopes that maybe it will keep her motivated. (I'm thinking that maybe I should just worry about myself, but at the same time she IS my friend)

The second thing that grated me the wrong way was there were a couple of girls that everytime we would go to move on to our next exersize, they were on the equiptment. It's not that they were on it that was irritating but the whole time they were "goofing off" and not even seriously using the equiptment properly. Half the time they were on the machines they didn't have them running and were busy chatting. I guess that I'm one of those that takes my time there seriously and get into "zen" mode.
Seriously, I am never normally this cranky especially when it comes to working out. I guess today was just one of those days. Sorry for the rant, but maybe some of you can relate :)
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  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
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    I relate to some of it...as for the friend's things, you cannot control your friends actions. They say no, so you just have to accept that and move on, even if you want a gym buddy. I'd rather go there and be in a good mindset rather than have a whining friend who wants to leave after 30 minutes.
    As for people siting on machines...I feel ya! I will go up and say, "hey, are you using that?" Most people are flabbergasted and give it up to you!
  • gabbingfilly
    gabbingfilly Posts: 106 Member
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    That's good advice to the loafers. :)
  • armon403
    armon403 Posts: 30 Member
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    I relate to some of it...as for the friend's things, you cannot control your friends actions. They say no, so you just have to accept that and move on, even if you want a gym buddy. I'd rather go there and be in a good mindset rather than have a whining friend who wants to leave after 30 minutes.
    As for people siting on machines...I feel ya! I will go up and say, "hey, are you using that?" Most people are flabbergasted and give it up to you!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I just have to say I'm proud of you for getting in to working out and being a motivation for your friend (even if it is temporary).

    I've sort of been in your shoes before but in my case, I let my gym buddy's lack of motivation be my excuse to skip the gym. This time around, I've made sure to stay accountable to and motivated by my own damn self! Can't always rely on buddies but you can always rely on your own gumption. :smile:

    Keep doing this for you and try to keep encouraging her as long as you can but don't let it get you down if she stops coming with.

    Also, I agree with confronting the people that are just gabbing and taking up machine space. You paid good money to use that equipment!
  • armon403
    armon403 Posts: 30 Member
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    Agree! I gave up on working out with friends a long time ago. I will encourage anyone to go or join me but I make sure they know I'm there to do my own thing. I also take my time at the gym seriously. Mostly because I don't always have a tone of time to waist and I don't want to be there all day.
    As for the turds on the equipment gabbing and goofing off, I have no qualms about asking them to move and neither should you. It's your gym and your time. They can go somewhere else and have a conversation. Also, don't be afraid to ask someone if you can jump in on a machine they are using. People rest between sets so you have time to jump in and an use the equipment when they are resting. If they say no (most people are more than happy to let you jump in) then move on to something else and come back when they have finished.
  • angied80
    angied80 Posts: 749
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    This happens at my gym as well. Usually the time I get there, there are still a ton of high school kids there just messing around. On top of them hogging all the equipment and not actually working out but messing around.. raquet ball is really popular there. They hog all the courts not really playing but just hitting each other with the ball.. Soooo annoying. Then there are those people who do not put their weights away. My favorite is the leg press and a guy puts about 6-45lbers on each side. Does his sets and walks away. REALLY? I dont even weigh a buck 50. Do you know how much work that is ? ha.
  • estjames
    estjames Posts: 76
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    When I go the the gym, I like to have a buddy so I can secretly compete with them ( for instance I think if they can do an intensity of x, then so can I). That being said, I have had slacker buddies, so I drop them as gym friends and find new ones. I had one at a point that was so bad that while playing tennis with her I made a rule to my self that if I missed a ball I had to sprint to it so that I could get some exercise. the biggest thing is that although she may not be a toxic friend, she may be a toxic gym buddy.

    As for the other girls at the gym, politely ask them if they are done, if they say no, do 1 or 2 other exercises, then be more abrasive when you ask them to move out of the way.
  • seanian
    seanian Posts: 103
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    It's a horrible habit of mine but I am super critical of people who aren't actually using the equipment or using it effectively. People who are reading a magazine or a book on a treadmill moving at about 3 mph, and people who get on for 10-15 minutes and get off before even breaking a sweat. UGH!!!
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,167 Member
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    Well the friend thing is easy. Back at work everyone "wanted" to lose weight. But when i told them to come here log their food and go to a gym they never told me they had started counting their calories or anything. People are just not willing to put in the work. The ones of us that have stuck through the whole journey should be really proud.
  • Tara1090
    Tara1090 Posts: 199 Member
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    This happens at my gym as well. Usually the time I get there, there are still a ton of high school kids there just messing around. On top of them hogging all the equipment and not actually working out but messing around.. raquet ball is really popular there. They hog all the courts not really playing but just hitting each other with the ball.. Soooo annoying. Then there are those people who do not put their weights away. My favorite is the leg press and a guy puts about 6-45lbers on each side. Does his sets and walks away. REALLY? I dont even weigh a buck 50. Do you know how much work that is ? ha.

    This sounds exactly like the gym I used to go to - it was like a fashion show, girls walking around in skin tight workout clothes, barely lifting a 2lb weight or breaking a sweat, and taking up room at the gym. Or you'll see a group of girls/guys standing around 3 machines and chatting while one of them is sitting. it is very annoying and rude to those of us that are there to actually workout!

    i have since changed gyms and started going before work, in the morning. I LOVE IT! No one is there, and I am free to use any machines I wish!
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,167 Member
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    This happens at my gym as well. Usually the time I get there, there are still a ton of high school kids there just messing around. On top of them hogging all the equipment and not actually working out but messing around.. raquet ball is really popular there. They hog all the courts not really playing but just hitting each other with the ball.. Soooo annoying. Then there are those people who do not put their weights away. My favorite is the leg press and a guy puts about 6-45lbers on each side. Does his sets and walks away. REALLY? I dont even weigh a buck 50. Do you know how much work that is ? ha.

    This sounds exactly like the gym I used to go to - it was like a fashion show, girls walking around in skin tight workout clothes, barely lifting a 2lb weight or breaking a sweat, and taking up room at the gym. Or you'll see a group of girls/guys standing around 3 machines and chatting while one of them is sitting. it is very annoying and rude to those of us that are there to actually workout!

    i have since changed gyms and started going before work, in the morning. I LOVE IT! No one is there, and I am free to use any machines I wish!
    i like whenever i see the skinny high school kids, they probably weight the same as me but i lift at least 4 times what they lift
    also goes for regular people weight more than me but i lift around twice as much
  • gabbingfilly
    gabbingfilly Posts: 106 Member
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    It's a horrible habit of mine but I am super critical of people who aren't actually using the equipment or using it effectively. People who are reading a magazine or a book on a treadmill moving at about 3 mph, and people who get on for 10-15 minutes and get off before even breaking a sweat. UGH!!!


    I've seen this quite a few times as well. LOL! The ones with the books seem to be the ones that are on the equiptment for really long periods of time.
  • joeylu
    joeylu Posts: 208 Member
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    You have to want to lose weight. How many times have we all said "monday" i will start? She isnt ready yet, but you keep up the great work :wink:
  • tripgrunt
    tripgrunt Posts: 14 Member
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    i can relate as well. it's a gym, not a high school hallway. if you're going to socialize & NOT workout, get out of the way.
  • JamesonsMommy
    JamesonsMommy Posts: 771 Member
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    I totally understand.. For some reason all these middle school kids have been joining.. It totally feels like an episode of romper room at the gym most days. They just hang out on the sitting machines watching whatever is on tv and playing with their cell phones... Don't even get me started on the sweat marks they leave on the machines without wiping them down... GRRRRRRRRR!!! I've mentioned it to the staff and they just brushed it off.. Sorry.. I'm paying out the butt to be a member of your gym.. It is not my job to tell people the rules.
  • TattoodTemptress
    TattoodTemptress Posts: 16
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    hahaa i like this thread..........i like to rant too lol
    as for your friend....well......hmm all you can do is your own part...and sounds like your certainly doing that so well done you
    i actually prefer to be on my own in the gym- although a class with a friend is good sometimes too
    i find that when im in my "zone" of being healthy and eating the right things.....im more critical of friends/others that arent taking it quite so seriously.....
    good luck with it all.sounds like your doing very well
    xoxo
  • AllisonMart
    AllisonMart Posts: 156 Member
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    It's a horrible habit of mine but I am super critical of people who aren't actually using the equipment or using it effectively. People who are reading a magazine or a book on a treadmill moving at about 3 mph, and people who get on for 10-15 minutes and get off before even breaking a sweat. UGH!!!


    I've seen this quite a few times as well. LOL! The ones with the books seem to be the ones that are on the equiptment for really long periods of time.

    This isn't totally fair. Yes there are some people like that, but I bring my Kindle and read while on the treadmill. I usually walk 3.0 - 3.5 because that is the level I'm at, and I will sweat too. I do intervals of jogging and when I do, the Kindle is on in front of me but I'm not looking at it. I do no more than 30 minutes and then go on to other things like the Arc Trainer, stationary bike, weight machines, Zumba, Pilates, etc. Sometimes I do 5 minutes on the treadmill or Arc just to warm up and move on to something else harder. I find that I'm a lot more likely to stick to an exercise if I can have something to occupy my brain. I've tried audiobooks but can't get them to download to my iPod for some reason, so I'm stuck with the Kindle. So while there are some people who are just slacking off, it's not fair to assume that all people who are reading aren't working hard. You don't know what the rest of their planned workout is or what fitness level they're at.
  • G30Grrl
    G30Grrl Posts: 377 Member
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    There is only one person in my gym who irritates me that way. She's pretty tiny and appears to be fit, and always comes in looking like she stepped out of a fitness magazine. That is not what irritates me. What gets on my nerves is that she never really works out while there. She generally just "poses" on the machines (and usually with her legs spread as far apart as possible). She will occasionally do a few reps here and there, but only with the lightest weights possible. And she appears to be constantly looking around to see who is there to look at her. Now and then, she brings her kids, and they play in the corner while she fakes a workout. I've never seen her break a sweat.

    I try not to be b*tchy in general, and I have the utmost respect for anyone who is honestly trying to get into better shape. But this gal just makes my blood boil. It probably has a lot to do with the time she came up to me while I was struggling on the Roman Chair my first month at the gym. She informed me that her daughter works out with the Navy Seals, and SHE says that if you hold weights while stretching on the Roman Chair, it works faster. For cripes sake, it was pretty obvious that at that time, I could barely handle the weight of my own body, let alone any additional weight! I politely thanked her, and said I might try that in the future, but was nowhere near being ready for that at the moment.

    What I *really* wanted to do was slap her pretty little made-up, un-sweaty face.

    Ahhhh...I feel better now.
  • Resalyn
    Resalyn Posts: 528 Member
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    It's a horrible habit of mine but I am super critical of people who aren't actually using the equipment or using it effectively. People who are reading a magazine or a book on a treadmill moving at about 3 mph, and people who get on for 10-15 minutes and get off before even breaking a sweat. UGH!!!


    I've seen this quite a few times as well. LOL! The ones with the books seem to be the ones that are on the equiptment for really long periods of time.

    What annoys me the most are people who think that their way is the be all and end all of working out and if I'm not running pell mell on the treadmill sweating buckets then I'm "not really working out." I am one of those people on the treadmill reading a book walking at a moderate pace for a longer period of time - the pace/length that my personal trainer and my doctor have recommended. I pay the same price they do and can use the equipment in the way that works best for me and my plan. AS long as I'm actually using the equipment and not standing around chatting, of course! Lighten up on those people! Isn't it better that they are doing SOMEthing rather than sitting on the couch eating potato chips?
  • AllisonMart
    AllisonMart Posts: 156 Member
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    It's a horrible habit of mine but I am super critical of people who aren't actually using the equipment or using it effectively. People who are reading a magazine or a book on a treadmill moving at about 3 mph, and people who get on for 10-15 minutes and get off before even breaking a sweat. UGH!!!


    I've seen this quite a few times as well. LOL! The ones with the books seem to be the ones that are on the equiptment for really long periods of time.

    What annoys me the most are people who think that their way is the be all and end all of working out and if I'm not running pell mell on the treadmill sweating buckets then I'm "not really working out." I am one of those people on the treadmill reading a book walking at a moderate pace for a longer period of time - the pace/length that my personal trainer and my doctor have recommended. I pay the same price they do and can use the equipment in the way that works best for me and my plan. AS long as I'm actually using the equipment and not standing around chatting, of course! Lighten up on those people! Isn't it better that they are doing SOMEthing rather than sitting on the couch eating potato chips?

    THIS

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