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.

RhiannonOHara
Any gym of health club that does these classes shows itself to not taking fitness seriously by using these

What a silly thing to say.
No, it's not a silly thing to say. It's my opinion based on a knowledge of fitness, what other forms achieve in far healthier and faster time spans and what is known generally by top fitness experts. You might not agree with my opinion, but as others have done so more politely, we can agree to differ.

You've just experienced people not teaching the classes properly
No, you've invented that. Don't make up my own experience, for god's sake! I have experienced them in a number of clubs over a number of years, they teach it properly and like I said, the fundamentals of the classes are - imo - poor exercises.

others on this thread rate Les Mills v highly.
Yes they do. As I acknowledged in my original post. So what - we have different viewpoints. That others do doesn't mean I am wrong.

I pinched someone else's mat at kettlebell class last week. It was my first time in that class and I was nervous. Walked in and it was really busy. I saw a mat leaning again a wall and though ooh that's lucky I've got the last one. Walked over and picked it up and found a spot to lay it down and stood next to it waiting for class to start. Then about a minute later I spied a full 'bucket' of mats in the other corner of the room and looked back over to where I had got my mat from and realised it was actually 'with' someone. I went and got another one and placed it back against the wall. All the while trying to look nonchalant

Yeah FlowerPot but maybe a bit unfortunate to express that opinion in that way on a thread where there's at least one LM instructor is posting?

I am sure that Mo Farrah or whoever doesn't do Body Attack - but equally, lots of people find those classes fun, and are keeping fit and healthy who might not otherwise be doing so. LM users aren't on here saying anyone who goes for a run instead is an idiot after all.

PourMeABrose 100% with you on the full incline hold on for dear life treadmill users.

And rookiemere, swim lane etiquette and rage could be a whole new thread!

ilovetolurk pirates and braveheart in BC? LOVE those tracks!!

FlowerPot1234 I did laugh at your 13:22 post, all snitty that people disagreed with you when it was you that came in with the contraversial view then act all offended when people disagree.

Yy Buster

I am partial to a bit of speedball too

Flower, you've changed your story.

they teach it properly

but earlier you say instructors are terrible in my experience.

I really can’t stand fitness one-upmanship and snobbishness.

Taking one example: if you do Body Pump with good technique and increasingly high weights, so that you’re raising your heart rate and sweating like a pig by the end of it, how on earth is that not good exercise? That’s literally what exercise is.

I'd never set foot in a gym until this summer but go regularly now. It's a council leisure centre one so I guess you get a different sort of gym-goer than some of the heavily body building focused ones or the swanky private ones. There are all sorts from teenagers to OAPs, the fit and unfit.

The weirdest bloke is this guy who wears very short-shorts and a long t-shirt so it looks like he's got only pants on, who has loud conversations with himself in the mirror and is prone to making loud "whooping" noises while running on the treadmill. He also lifts free weights and does a little arms-raised self congratulatory parade around thing after about every second set. He seems mostly harmless though it's a bit distracting.

The sweating loads and not wiping it up is the most anti-social behaviour in my book, though there is a small group of women who have lengthy chats the whole time they're working out and it's a bit difficult tuning them out when you're on the next machine along. Free country I know, but it's a bit like being crammed together on a bus where chatting away merrily the entire time means it's difficult to not listen even with headphones on.

RhiannonOHara

Crumbs, you really like to invent your own realities of other people's experiences and then impose your reality onto other people and announce your version is true, don't you?

No, I haven't just experienced people not teaching the classes properly. They have taught them properly, in the LM format.

No, I haven't changed my story. They do teach it properly, like I said. The class they are teaching is fundamentally flawed and poorly designed. Their knowledge of what every move is supposed to do has been near zero, their knowledge of the human body and stamina/muscle development etc has been very poor. The music and format seems to either encourage them or force them not to be able to correct people who are doing things that could be harmful to them. As I said, terrible in my experience.

So no, for the second time, your version of my own reality, is way off the mark again.

I get so fed up with people (mostly men) taking the piss in a busy gym with resting between sets. I weight train and take a minute between sets to have some water and rest, yet people will sit pissing about on their phones for a good 10 minutes before starting their next set? Working my way up to loudly asking if they’re finished!

The guy running the mandatory gym 'induction' who asked each new male in turn what their goals were, and suggested machines and programs. He then turned to the females, and said "Girls always just want to lose weight and tone up." Oh, and then said that you should never do more than 20 minutes cardio. Dick.

Ha funny I have the pirates on my current BodyCombat Mix list (Back Pearl, release 43). If you like some old tracks, let your instuctor know - I'm always happy to take requests.

Seek I have no issues with people who don't like LesMills. I might disagree that it's shit and won't give you a workout, but as long as the haters don't come to the classes to show everybody else how it's 'properly' done, then live and let live.

Of course 1-2-1 personal training session could be better for meeting your personal needs and goals, but that's not for everybody either.

My bugbear is the woman who goes to yoga class and LOUDLY uses Ujjayi breath and then does this random bowing action when taking her hands down to the floor. One woman joked to her that it sounded as if she was standing next to Darth Vader, she didn’t get it. She then does everything at her own pace so is miles behind the rest of us. Thanfully three quarters of the way through the class she forgets the breathing. Your random routine does not impress but your breathing annoys anyone within earshot, usually the first three rows. I’m looking at you Lucy.

One of my friends is a PT and teaches BodyPump. He’s a great instructor. His knowledge of anatomy and physiology, muscle development seems very good and in Pump he will correct people if necessary. He’s also the only Pump instructor I see demonstrate the correct way to deadlift to newcomers before starting and watch them before starting the track to make sure they’ve got the hang of it. Other instructors, some aren’t so good. Gym seems to employ a lot of freelancers to do LesMills classes as I guess you need the certificate which the gym staff don’t seem to have. Guess some are good and some not so good.

Deste, my gym yoga instructor tells us to be loud with the Ujjayi breath - loud enough to remind your neighbours about it. Three rows being reminded sounds very loud though. Hasten to add that I am not a loud breather so don't think I am the irritant of whom you speak!

HAHAHAHAHA at yoga Darth Vader.

When I first enquired about personal training, the bloke I spoke to at the gym said, what are your goals?

I said that I was already fit from running and wanted to strengthen my core and upper body, prevent running injuries and learn how to use kettlebells properly. He kept looking at me expectantly, and I said, “how does that sound?”. He replied, “and losing weight? That’s why most ladies do PT”.

Cheeky bastard! I did not need to lose weight. I had, and have, a healthy BMI. I made sure that I didn’t train with him, the arse.

Oh good, no one's described my favoured style for yoga yet, but I do like the way a leotard doesn't ride up and allow the mummy wobble to make a bid for freedom. I compensate for my antiquated sense of fashion by being horrendously inflexible

Franchised classes like Les Mills, Zumba and Clubbercise just require their own training course to run. It it likely that the instructor will have the Exercise to Music qualification which covers anatomy, but it's not automatic. The problem is if a client presents particular circumstances, an instructor without experience beyond the specific programme is not in a good position to optimise the workout. (Remembers cringing at the obviously very pregnant Zumba member not having moves adapted to an appropriate level. The instructor was not great. Nothing wrong with Zumba in itself.)

My pet hate is the macho blokes flinging around heavy weights with poor form for maximum reps. I'd love to send them to yoga to sort out their posture!

When I was a new member of my then gym, I went to a yoga class for the first time. It wasn't very busy. Got a mat and innocently put it down and sat nearish to (not right next to) a woman. Got some odd 'prickly' vibes off her but thought I was imagining them and just sat waiting.

Someone else arrived, came up to me and gestured to my space and said frostily 'I normally go there.'

Kicked myself afterwards for not just saying 'And?', but at the time I was too new and too British and actually said sorry, then picked up myself and my mat and moved.

Petty mares.

Funnily enough the yoga crowd at our gym are the most tetchy. They burst into rooms before it’s their class start time and don’t apologize and go out but do heavy sighing.

Blimey, it's so angry here.

I am glad to know mine is not the only gym with done incredibly fit chick working out her ass on the leg squeeze things.

I’m stunned by people saying “go and climb a tree” I’d be scared of damaging the poor tree. I do walk outside a lot but it’s hard to seriously work out outside the gym.

YY to the annoying muscle heads in the free weights area, especially the ones clearly doing 'roids. Am I supposed to be impressed that you're buying prednisone off t'internet, giving yourself diabetes and high blood pressure, so you can have big arms? Cos that suggests to me that your biceps are bigger than your brains

I am this close to asking one of them whether the steroids have shrunk his balls yet.

Why are people so infuriated by so called muscleheads? Does it matter if they are muscular or taking steroids? They are still just working out and that doesn't affect anyone.

Prednisone?