Gym bastards

[Nettletheelf]

Am I being unreasonable in being annoyed with tw@ts at the gym? Am I?

1. Bodypump.

Selfish equipment-hogging woman. Class usually full. This woman arrives half an hour early and sets up a bench for herself with two - TWO! - bars, several of every type of weight disc, a pair of every type of dumb bell and TWO mats.

Means that other class members are short of weights, because she has provided herself with every permutation she might possibly need, although she doesn’t use half of them. When they aren’t enough bars to go around, she stays quiet and waits to be asked to relinquish one of hers, at which point she pulls a face and reluctantly yields the minimum amount of equipment.

She seems unembarrassed by this. Apparently she ‘needs’ two bars so that she can swap over during one of the tracks in case she gets a bit tired. So everybody else can feck off.

1. Spinning.

Bike hogging bastards saving bikes for themselves and their friends, even when they aren’t sure that the friends will be turning up.

People arriving just before the start of the class have to run the gauntlet - you sign up for the class in advance, so there are theoretically enough bikes - trying to get on a bike with a jacket draped over it whilst somebody snaps, “my friend is on there!”.

Naturally, the friend never turns up and you end up either missing the start of the class or putting up with being scowled at for taking your booked place.

1. Body attack

Home of the show offs who try to put in extra big jumps and other athletic moves into the routine. No matter how many times the poor instructor says, “don’t put a big jump in here, the routine is designed like this for a reason. No big jumps!”, they still insist on doing them. Just so everybody knows they are really fit and the routine is too easy for them, being virtually professional athletes and all.

Is it just me? Share your stories of gym idiocy. Also your advice on dealing with the equipment hoggers.

I don't understand gyms. Running like mice on a mouse wheel. Get some fresh air, walk, dance. Why pay for this shit?

If you must, then you do need to learn to assert yourself.

Spinners who turn up 10 minutes late then kick off because all of the bikes have gone and demand that whoever hasnt booked, get off 'their' bike.

I dont think so buddy

Had a guy come up to me a month or so ago on a rare trip to the gym (usually I just exercise at home!). He stood by me as I used a weight machine and, since I clearly wasn’t doing so fast enough, then said to me: “Can I jump on yeah? I’m doing a circuit?”

I literally looked at him dumbfounded for a second, laughed like he was joking, gestured at everyone round the place and said: “Yeah, we all are!”

Got a good glower, especially when I deliberately slowly wiped the pads down with my towel once I’d finished!

In my gym there is a personal trainer who does exercises with her clients in the area with the hand held weights and mats, etc.
She sets up a little area for her client [and sometimessubsequent client] with everypossible permutation of hand held weight, other equipment and mats and then these are hogged for the duration of her session/s.
It really gets my goat

I don't understand gyms.
Running like mice on a mouse wheel.

Nope, you don’t understand gyms.
That’s not what you do.

Husky
Oh yes, sorry. It's cycling on non-moving bikes.

People that talk about it all the time at work. What time the were in the gym that mornIng, how many lengths of the pool they did, which class they attended how many whatever's they did, which class they managed to book for tomorrow aargh! We don't care, we aren't interested. I couldn't care less how many bloody squats you can do! I'd rather go for a walk in the free air but I don't feel the need to say I did a four mile walk before work with next doors dogs,

Nothing like that at the Local Authority gym - mainly slightly unfit people looking relieved the instrument of torture in front of them is already occupied .

Punching imaginary people?
Rowing stationary boats in imaginary water?

I haven't noticed any of this behaviour.

I visit two different gyms and several different classes, including Pump.

Everyone is really helpful and willing to share.

Climbing stairs that don't lead anywhere?
Lifting non-existant objects?

It's all a giant metaphor for something

Yoda, none of the above.

I used to think like you, but it’s a pretty outdated idea of gyms, tbh. I don’t go near treadmills; run my dog an hour a day outside for that kind of exercise.

I use gyms for weights (in my 40s, thinking about osteoporosis ) & flexibility classes, especially in winter.

Husky

Good for you. Whatever floats your imaginary boat. I am also in my 40s and would rather eat my own arm

... sorry that was a bit blunt. I don't think I want to be in that close proximity to others in lycra

Aaargh! Thank you for this thread, YANBU and I'm actually thinking of quitting the gym for all the reasons mentioned above!

Are you in the UK? Genuine question, how do you get enough exercise when the weather’s bad?

(Fair enough )

Thinking about it, I did used to enjoy aerobics. Until politics crept into it.

X post

I work in a school. I am up and down stairs a lot. I worry a lot. I am probably not as fit as I could be. I take HRT

Yeah, I was probably the fittest I’d ever been when I commuted across London and worked in a 4-storey school, tbf! (Now I just sit in a car or at my desk unless I’m doing gym/dog).

Body pump man who throws his bar down from a height ie above waist height after every arm track like he's being filmed.
After he does it (every week) he has a good look around at everyone else's reaction.
Cool guy!

I have two mats for BodyPump.....for chest track where you swap mid track from lying on the bench to kneeling on the floor and then back. But we have plenty of mats and everyone does it.

Apart from people not wiping down machines enough gym is otherwise ok. Occasionally people hog two machines as they’re swapping from one to the other and that annoys me slightly, they leave their towel on one while they do a set on the next door one and then swap.

Viva, people put a mat on the bench? We just put towels.

I like the cross trainer, Nordic Skier thingy at the gym - you can watch TV on it at the same time, no harm done to the pelvic floor, and no risk of dog shit on shoes or car fumes .