Things that unreasonably wind you up about people at the gym

[Floofydawg]

I have a couple from my visit this morning.

Woman who always turns up to spin class in full makeup and delicately dabs at her face to avoid smudging said makeup, whilst the rest of us are literally sweating out of their eyeballs with no care for what they look like.

Man in same class who wears that weird semi topless cycling suit thing with his sweaty chest hair in full view 🤮

Tell me yours?

In my gym, there’s a pool and people bloody do this at the poolside at the end of the swimming lane! Stand having a chat like it’s a cafe! I’ve given up telling them to move and now - because I’m a gimmer who doesn’t give a shit - I just swim into them. I kind of have to, there’s nowhere else to go! They soon get the message.

Fwiw the people doing super sets / multiple pieces of kit - they end up taking far less time in the gym as their workouts are shorter

All gyms are different and have different vibes, visit a few and you will find the one for you

I am very often guilty of this, however, I always try and make sure that I only do this type of workout at times when the gym is quiet and have an alternative plan for times where the cardio equipment I wanted is not available (or there's only 1 left).
Today's workout had me using a treadmill, slam ball, step, mat and barbell. But tbh there were still 2/4 treadmills free (if it had been the last treadmill I would have used the rower or ski erg instead). Rest of the equipment there are many multiples of. Plus whole workout only took half hour.
When strength training I may use multiple sets of dumbells plus a barbell. Different exercises require different weights, plus if I'm just moving up a weight then I may need a lighter weight to get my full number of reps in. Rest periods between sets depend on the weight I'm using and what rep scheme I'm using, but range from 1-5min. If I'm doing high rep/light weight then it's only a minute, but if I'm working at close to 1 rep.max (or even testing it) then I need the full 5min between sets. I don't use the weight machines, but it would be the same if I were. Again I always go in to the gym with alternate exercises or rep schemes in mind if the equipment I want isn't available.
I also film myself, I want to check my form or how close I came to succeeding in a new pr. I workout alone and only way to do that is film myself.

Things that wind me up in the gym:
The gym bros who spend as much time admiring themselves in the mirror as they do working out.
The (usually) teenage girls/women who come in to spin class wearing a full face of make up and leave with that make up still in place. Places for spin are severely limited, booking for them opens at midnight the week before and places (plus wait list) is usually full by 8am. It's an intense class, everyone else.is sweating buckets and yet these people have taken a space with no intention of actually putting the effort in (and getting the most of the class).
The men (and yes they are men, normally a particular subset of gym bro) that don't respect women in the free weight section. I've had all sorts of disrespect, including someone actually taking plates off the bar because "you don't want to go that heavy" another that added safety clips when I was solo benching (if you don't know that'd not the best idea, you want to be able to bail). Someone asking if I could please use a lighter weight so they could use the one I've literally just picked up, etc, etc oh and the youngish guy that I heard telling his girlfriend not to use any heavier weights because "you don't want shoulders like that"
I could probably write a huge list of everything that winds me up in the gym, but as my trainer says I need to just put my earphones in and simply get on with my workout ignoring everyone else.

Oh and mansplainers in the gym! I set up my kettle bells and took a moment before I used them and some patronising instructor who couldn’t have been more than 18 trotted along and said “Do you want me to show you how to use them love?” The man next to me didn’t get asked of course. I just said I’ve been using these since before you were born I’m good thanks.

I think a lot of these pet hates are unreasonable as the OP admits by her thread title!

Like other lifters, I may be using 2 different dumbbell sets because I’m super setting with different weights or I’m doing a drop set.

And rest between sets for me is between 2 and 4 minutes. I lift properly heavy.

And I grunt and drop the bar - if you’re doing multiple deadlifts at 90 kilos using the “touch & go” technique- well, yes you’re going to make a noise on the down bit of the deadlift.

And I do intervals on the treadmill usually so will have it running while I’m doing something else with dumbbells- “active rest” between fast running intervals.

If I do an aerobics or a Zumba class of course I dance it out. It’s fun! As long as I’m not getting in anyone’s way, what does it take from you ? What harm does it do? Or are you just envious that someone can do the steps and is fitter than you? If I’m in a group class with someone who’s better at it than me, I love it - I learn by watching them and it gives me something to aim for.

But at the moment, I have a slightly damaged knee so I’m rehabbing. I do use the treadmill at a walking pace to get my steps in in as low-impact way as possible, and to keep up my fitness somehow. So yes I might be on the treadmill walking for longer than some posters think is reasonable. But those posters are the unreasonable ones, actually.

So posters complaining about these things really are a bit ignorant about the variety of ways that different people use the gym.

Oh another one that winds me up, women new to the gym being encouraged to use the weight machines and discouraged from using the free weights. There are so many benefits to using free weights and once you've learned the form there's really nothing to be intimidated by.
I was so lucky, when I joined the gym I go to many years ago both the owner and the bodybuilders took me under their wing and taught me how to do the big lifts (as well as accessories). I was possibly a bit of a novelty at the time, hugely overweight, middle ages woman, who wanted to learn to lift heavy things. I was also, at the time, very often the only female in that area. Now there are many more woman in the free weight area, but sadly very few in my age group. As lovely as it is to see all the younger women in the area, I'd love for my age group to be encouraged to use the same equipment.

No problem whatsoever with dancing it out (I am giving you the benefit of the doubt as to whether you are better than me).
But just do the routine. When you start throwing out patronising stares to others- then I get annoyed.

@firef1y your workouts sound great! I’d be watching you in awe and to get tips!

I tend to lift heavy only when I’m in a PT session (twice a week) and I’ve lifted, dragged and pulled some very heavy stuff (hundreds of kilos on the sled) so the gym bros tend to cheer me on rather than patronise me.

Thanks. Most of them are given to me by my trainer and they are INTENSE, very much crossfit style when it comes to cardio. I like to think I'm a bit of an all rounder, sure I could lift heavier, or run faster or further if I dedicated myself to any of those, but I like variety.

same - i have bad knees and can no longer run so walking is what i have to do.

Someone complained to the staff once, and it happened to be my trainer and he just told them to fuck off and that my 10k pb would knock theirs into a cocked hat but I've retired from running now (to be fair, i was good when my knees worked)

People who film themselves in the gym. I won’t go anymore. I don’t want to be in someone’s Instagram video. If there was a gym that banned filming I’d sign up in a heartbeat

The retort doing the rounds to these is to get into the back of shot. pretend to pick and flick a booger whilst grinning. I am actually hoping to see somebody filming to try it out.

Men who ask me have I finished yet on that machine that works the fat inner bit of your thigh. 1. You'll know when I have done as I will have moved. 2. You don't need it anyway

What an ignorant comment. Men have adductor muscles too.

Multiple dumbells or stations. May be needed for super sets where you do one movement immediately followed by another - for example shoulder press then dip

Yes that is true. But only selfish people do this at peak times. If everybody was doing this then hardly anybody would be able to train.

If you want to superset then find a time that is not busy.

Surely it’s really bad environmentally to run air con with the windows open. Honestly the number of times I’ve walked in to find the air con blasting and windows open but no one in the gym. It’s a council gym in a school but it’s open to public at set hours. Obviously busier in the evening/ weekend but I like to sneak in a quick workout before work/ lunch.

I don't understand the selfies thing. I don't mean people filming themselves to check their form, I mean women in the changing room or the mats area posing in the mirror. Assuming it's for social media ? I can't imagine being interested in pictures of people looking slightly sweaty in a gym changing room (my gym's a bit grubby)

Also, I don't mind people on their phone between sets, it's the men who range round the weights machine room between sets who annoy me. Like they're marking out their territory. I'm often the only woman in there and it's feels a bit aggressive

I look amazing now I’ve worked out. Ofc I take selfies

Glad it's not just me! Although clearly the mods are fine with it...

On the selfie subject, I am guilty of this. But in the privacy of my own home. And because I'm proud of my progress, especially post partum. I would never share them with anyone!

Bloke in pool this morning was getting v would up about me swimming faster than him. Was almost killing himself trying to get past me. Was quite funny.

The people in the pool who you clearly swim faster than as you keep catching up with them, but if you try to swim past they really speed up 🙄

I've only just started Body Pump but I find the people that skip the core track and cool down and just start packing up really rude too. I know they might have to get away sharp but I personally would never leave a class early. I think it's important to stay to the end and acknowledge/thank the teacher for the class.

Why does the instructor not tell them off?

Argh god yes, the bar slams to the floor at the end of the lunge track and they are gone! Often leaving their weights behind for somebody else to tidy up 🤯

Oh and this might be specific to my gym, but the number of people who turn up to Bodypump without having booked, so people who have booked can’t get a bar. The instructors don’t give a shit, and neither do management. There are 12 spaces, and I have counted more than 25 people in the room before.

I am usually scarlet and dripping with sweat, so I don’t even want to be caught in the background of anyone else’s selfie 🤣

I was taking the piss really, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable for people to want to take a photo of themselves when they’ve worked hard on their physique