To think that new gym members have as much right to use facilities as older members?

[LunaGracie]

I have just joined a gym. It's my local branch of a national chain

I went to a spinning class yesterday and turned up early for the class, and went into the spinning studio.

The instructor came in and told me that regulars had bikes that they always "like to use" and to wait until the rest of the class were there and then once all the regulars were there I could choose a bike out of the remainder!

I told him that I had paid as much as the regular members and therefore could choose any bike I liked, and chose one.

AIBU to think this is ridiculous? Do new members get turfed off treadmills if a longstanding member wants to use them? Or do they chuck people out of the showers naked if they've only been a member for a month and someone who's been a member for 6 months wants a shower? Weird!

I've belonged to various gyms over the past 20 years and never heard of anything like that. There are definitely "best spots" in classes (hidden away or good view of the instructor or unobstructed view of the mirrors or whatever) but they are all first come, first served!

That's just bizarre. I attend one of the really posh spinning studios in London.

The only benefit that die hard regulars get is you get an extra 24 hours in advance to book your bikes. Nothing else. And it's totally based on how much you spend and when you log on not whether the instructors recognise you.

I have my favourite bikes - if I don't get them, I just book something else.

i have my favourite spaces in classes (you get a bit more space or i can be at the front and not have to wear my glasses) but if someone else got in first I'd just think oh well i'll just go somewhere else, I'd not make a fuss in any way!

rookiemere I had clients who had had strokes and just felt one space/place/piece of equipment felt safer; people who were deaf in one ear, that sort of thing. I accept that it is not what you think of when you think of people in the gym, but lost more than you might expect are recovering form something, they become quite fixed on doing things the way they have always done them

Linda I don't... for reasons I have outlined twice now - well, that and I no longer work in gyms. But I was in demand when I did.

Hoopla it still stands. If you treat all instructors with that sort of automatic contempt, dismiss their perspectives and insist that you way was the only right way, I really would not have wanted you making my classes feel awkward.

Luna if it really is as cliquey as you say then just hop on. I was just offering you some possible reasons as to why what happened might have been reasonable and you may have come across as a tad odd and pushy. If it is full of Special Snowflakes the turn up a little early every lesson and pick the bike that is in the position you prefer. And keep you eyes and ears closed

It is not 'a tad odd and pushy' to want to be able to choose from all the available bikes when you walk into a spinning class.

If the instructor had said that some of the regulars had secret and hidden disabilities, then you may have had a point. But he didn't. This is just special snowflake syndrome.

And yes, I can quite believe you were in demand. Instructors that have favourites often are.

If someone has a reason for needing a specific bike though, presumably they, or the instructor, will approach and politely ask if you'll switch bikes as Mrs X can't hear on that side/needs a clear sight line/that bike has a lower gear/whatever reason.

Or stick a reserved sign on those bikes.

Asking someone to wait while everyone else gets seated is not on.

This is just special snowflake syndrome. which I have acknowledged is possible, twice.... we have no real idea how the instructor approached OP, just that she thought it was not good. She could be quite right, or could just have been a tad brusque in her response.

Not having been there I don't know, but do often feel the need to try to explain to some people that what happens in a gym is not always what they think is happening. Everyone in a gym is inherently selfish, there for their own reasons and looking to get the most for their money. Sometimes an instructor/management have to tread an extremely fine line in order to keep everything pleasant for the majority.

Many fail, appease the very regulars, put up antagonistic signs, ignore everything and hope it will go away, step in and piss people off... any and every approach will irritate someone.

And yes, I can quite believe you were in demand. Instructors that have favourites often are. The level of assumption there is wonderful. So affronted for so little reason

OurBlanche not sure I've don't any of what you've suggested, just formed an opinion based on what the OP said but hey ho, you're a dick, I'm a dick so all's good with the world!

Oh and OurBlanche before you talk about levels of assumption make sure you're not making any of your own. Not sure anyone here has said they haven't worked in a gym therefore don't have first hand knowledge also. For example, I have! Who would've thought it eh?

I have a particular spot I like at my gym (I like it because its toward the back and I can't see myself constantly in the mirror...), so I get there early so I can be in that spot each time. If I were late, I wouldn't expect someone to move from there. Although........it is sort of the same people that go to the class each time, so we all just do go straight to the same spot, or someone will move up if Doris comes in late etc. Its not a spinning class though I should add. A friend of mine is quite a serious cyclist and does 5 spin classes a week. I know he always tries to get the same bike if he can, but wouldn't ask someone to leave if he got there late.

People 'reserve' bikes/equipment by putting their towel/water bottle on it. I've heard it all now!

I have the same distain for that sort of shit as I do for people reserving sun loungers on holiday.

There's one of those instructors at every gym I've been a member of.

If you want a particular piece of equipment, get there early enough to ensure you get it.

As for being one of 'those customers', as long as the gym instructor is polite and professional that's all I need. I don't need them to like me, and I certainly don't need to be a member of their arse-licking clique.

Ourbalnche

What a load of horseshit, if you are the sort of Neurotic person that needs 'your bike' you best get there early enough to reserve it. You are all members of the club there is no preferential treatment (unless you haven't booked and you are hoping for a spot)

I spin on a regular basis and have a pet bike. My brother in law is also the class trainer. Our class is huge and popular. It would never occur to me my fave bike is mine and a newbie should wait until my queenly arse has chosen to be seated upon it. I get to class, if bike is available I take it, if not I choose another one..done.

OP. I would've ignored the instructor and sat on whichever bike I wanted. Giving in to that sort of terrible treatment sets a precedence. I'd love to know what she'd have done.

I'm not affronted but I have seen instructors like you in action. As have many of us, judging by this thread.

Have a PA smilie back :)

Just the sort of cliquey attitude that put me off being a member of the only gym near where I used to work. You pay to use the equipment. You don't reserve a specific machine. Unless someone has a very real need to be in a particular place within the classroom then it makes no difference whether you're new or a regular.

I am partially deaf and if I ever go to a class do try to be where I know I will hear. If there isn't a spot,. I quietly tell the instructor that I may miss a bit and to maybe repeat things if I start looking baffled! Not a problem!

Whatever the reasons it was clearly an upsetting experience as the OP felt moved to post about it. I suffer from social phobia so just getting myself into a class a the gym would be a triumph some days. I'd be early to get a bike in the far back corner where no one could see me. Being asked to hang around on the sidelines looking like a conspicuous newbie would have freaked me out and I'd probably have fled the studio in tears....
Good for you OP for having the guts to stand your ground.

I'm dying to know if someone gave you daggers that you were on "their bike" when they arrived. Did you notice anything?

I'm with you though and it's first come first served. It's one of the reasons I've not wanted to join a spinning class at our gym as there are regulars who use that class and, like you have found, have their favourite bike and I know I'd be blushing all embarrassed if I felt someone talking about me "nicking their bike". You are my hero

Our gym ( its a walking class - but on treadmills class www.walking program.it ). Some work better than others. When you sign up you sign for a specific number of treadmill. So you know before you start which number you have. There are lots of regulars so the earlier you sign then the better the chance of getting the one you want !

I'm missing something here. Surely all the bikes in a spinning class are the same? If someone really wants to sit on a particular bike they just need to get there early.

YANBU OP.

Wow I can't imagine what would compel an instructor to behave in such a dick way. In my gym there are a number of regulars who I see sitting / standing in the same place but I don't think the entire class is comprised of regulars so this has never been an issue. I think the instructors in my gym are freelance and I am constantly amazed that some of them are not a little more friendly ( I only see them chatting to pretty girls). As an overweight woman in my 40's I'm usually only spoken to by the female instructors. Interestingly I am in the market for a private trainer so it's not very difficult to work out who's going to be getting my money. Just think of how many private clients the OP's trainer may have missed out on because he/she was pandering to their regulars.