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've joined my work gym and this is why it's so good. Maximum people I've ever seen in is about 6 and most of them on the cardio equipment. Plus as we work together people deliberately avoid being dicks.

In my old one it was the PTs that got my goat. Deliberately using and hogging the best equipment and loads of space. Getting their clients to do noisy boxing routines in a space meant to accomodate all the free lifting. Oh that and skippers - always frightened I'd get whiplash as gym wasn't big enough particularly as they'd generally do it in prominent places so I couldn't get past.

I'm a PT so I could fill the internet with unreasonable and downright weird gym behaviour. Highlights:

1. Those people who wear the same gym kit all week, stuff it in a bag (or locker) in-between sessions and wash it once a fortnight whether it needs it or not. They create their own exclusion zone, I find.

1. Food in the gym. A member at one place used to bring in coffee and a croissant every morning and have a very Parisian breakfast on the stationary bike. She didn't like being asked not to eat on the gym floor. No matter how many times we asked her not to, she still did it. You'd go to the bike later and there'd be croissant debris all over the floor.

1. Perverts Paparazzis who take covert photos of the PTs on their phones. This happens more than you'd think. "Oh, I'm just trying to get a signal..." No you're not, you're trying to get a pic of Rachel's bottom or Luke's arms. Stop it.

1. Married men who discover their bisexual side, partway through a session with a male PT, and proceed to hit on them while banging on about being discreet. 'Sure, let's meet on the 25th of Never-Gonna-Happen.'

1. Fragrance in the gym. I had a client who spritzed fragrance during a PT session once. I don't care if it's Guerlain; it belongs anywhere but here.

I know. It's unreasonable really - I don't know why it bugs me so much!

At the moment, It's dark when I leave home and dark when I get home. Much though I'd like to go and run in the woods, it would be quite dangerous. So I go to the gym instead, it's really not that complicated to understand why. There is plenty of choice, I can watch TV or listen to music and when I've finished I can go to the pool or the sauna...

And no, YANBU. Some people just feel they have to be the centre of attention. But it's a symptom of their insecurities.

Food and perfume don’t belong on the gym floor. Bleurgh.

Women that stand naked at the mirror and blow dry their pubes.

Each to their own - I agree with Yoda. There is nothing more disheartening for me than cycling on a bike and not going anywhere, or running on a treadmill and ending in the same destination at which I started.

If I walk/run/cycle it's because I want to go somewhere!
Give me an open studio space, barre and a great playlist any day

Plausible does 4 happen a lot?

Fekn youngsters sitting on the bikes / weight machines but on their phones and not actually using them! Move off and let someone use it for it's intended purpose - it's not a seat FFS!

Never have this problem at my gym, all classes are separate from the main gym apart from the ‘woman’s only gym session’, all classes are pre booked so they know what equipment is needed.
I just use the main gym and there’s no real hogging of equipment, first come first serve. Most people are friendly and most remove sweat from the machines when finished. I feel comfortable doing weights with out being stared at as it’s usually quiet anyway (though Monday was packed).

Agree that you are more likely to use a rowing machine properly if you have rowed - I have. I'm surprised that there isn't more emphasis on their proper use, given they can do such damage if used wrongly. I do sometimes warn people, my granny persona and the fact that I inform them that I am a certificated rowing coach means that (mostly) they don't take offence. The ones that do are women not far off my own age with it set at 10 and going like the clappers! They have apparently "always done it like that".

RJ a fair bit. You learn to read the signs after a while and use a variety of dissuading tactics.

Crikey.

I'm a bit stunned at that TBH. I'm not usually naive either!

I was just considering joining a gym to use the conditioning equipment. As a short woman who is 49, should i bother? Bit out off by the comments about men.

Women that stand naked at the mirror and blow dry their pubes.

LOL. I can confirm that that happens in the men's changing room as well, sometimes with a blow dryer in each hand.

I was just considering joining a gym to use the conditioning equipment. As a short woman who is 49, should i bother? Bit out off by the comments about men.

You shouldn't let it put you off. Most gyms are 50/50 and I can guarantee you that any annoying men in there will annoy other men as much as women.

I have been lifting for many years now and I've never had a random man scowl at me or give me advice etc. Sometimes I think women make these things up out of paranoia that they don't fit in with the other people in the free weights area. The men aren't muscleheads or whatever else they've been called, they are normal people and if they are muscular they have definitely been to the gym enough that they have seen women lifting before. It's not shocking so don't worry about it.

I have been lifting for many years now and I've never had a random man scowl at me or give me advice etc. Sometimes I think women make these things up out of paranoia that they don't fit in with the other people in the free weights area.

I did wonder this, but obviously couldn't give my own experience on this particular aspect. I have however found that the biggest scariest looking blokes in the free weights area are often the friendliest and most helpful.

It's worth noting that wondering into the free weights area for the first time is intimidating for men as well.

Look for a family fitness gym.

I'm overweight and the three times I've tried to exercise outside I've had the following shouted at me by people men :

• alright thunder thighs
• come on you fat cunt
• run fatty run

So yeah I think I'll stick to the gym thanks.

AJP don’t let it put you off, I haven’t expereanced hardly any of this stuff and I love going to the gym. I think it can depend what time of day you go and where the gym is. The gyms here are not that busy and are not chain owned gyms (they are a bit more expensive but means you get less riff raff). I go almost every day and sometimes I have the gym to myself for half my session, Monday’s and Fridays seem a bit busier and I don’t go on Saturdays. I don’t use the changing rooms as I just go straight home and shower.

I Row a lot and I think I’m doing it right, I see a lot of people that don’t do it right and it kind of annoys me.

The only thing that does annoy me (doesn’t happen that often) is people making noises when they are pushing themselves too hard, one woman sounded like she was having a orgasim on the tread mill whilst trying to march uphill, yesterday a man was making awful noises whilst lifting weights that were obviously too heavy for him.

Personal Trainers are paying a lot of rent (I believe up to £2k/month in some cases) to give sessions in the gym. So I think it's understandable if they take up more space than others.

waves at lifting pals
Yes yes, I run lots, I cycle, I play a team sport. None of those things have given me the ability to pick 150% of my bodyweight off the floor (and my lifting pals will have even higher % there).

Lovemusic33 what's wrong with people pushing themselves? I admire it myself.