People walking on treadmills in the gym

[crinklechips]

OK to start with I know I'm being a bit U but I need to have a mini-rant.

I use currently use the gym mainly for running intervals and speedier sessions which are easier to manage indoors.

Every time I go in all the treadmills are taken, and mostly by people walking.

Now I can totally understand that people have different fitness levels, might be using the treadmill to warm up or for recovery and that's absolutely fine.

But there seems to a growing number of people (actually, exclusively younger women in my observation) just using the treadmills for a gentle stroll while messing around on their phones.

I ended up next to a young woman last night who spent the entire half hour I was on the neighbouring treadmill walking at 3kph, no incline, while scrolling instagram. I can barely call that exercise, it's below a normal walking pace. If that's how you want to kill time then I guess it's up to you but it just seems selfish when there's a queue of people waiting for a treadmill.

She can't get the treadmill because someone else is using it. End of story, she needs to wait.

she (nor you) gets to decide who uses it or if they are using it as you think it should be. It's in use, find something else to use or wait.

A gentle stroll is what I can manage when my health is decent. Right now I can’t manage that. I’m sitting in the hospital instead.

thankfully I have a home treadmill, so when I am doing better I will get back to it. Getting on that treadmill and walking is an accomplishment. I’m glad I can do it at home away from judgement.

I used to be very into running, over 40 miles a week outdoors.
Consequently I now have to limit it to no more than two miles a week, and on the treadmill.
Learn from my mistakes you young running enthusiasts!

Seriously, who made you gym monitor.
Do you actually own this gym?
Are you constantly checking that other gym users are performing their exercise routines in a manner of which you approve?
“Can usually identify” my arse.
You have an insufferable attitude to people using a communal facility; get some home equipment, surrounded by mirrors, and nod to yourself approvingly.

I would direct my anger at the owner of the gym who isn't providing enough treadmills instead of those using them.

Those walking on a treadmill aren’t really using the equipment for its intended purpose though are they? It’s a gym. For people to get some exercise. Not rake a stroll. If you want a low impact cardio warm up use the stepper or the elliptical.

The gym i used to go to had a 20 min limit on each piece of equipment during peak hours. But obviously no restrictions on how you used it

Read the room ?

Absolutely this .

I bet you are one of those people who push onto the tube or train before the other passengers have got off.

You seem to believe your own hype which other people don't care about.

If you were getting itchy and inpatient next to me whilst I was walking on a treadmill, I would incline at 0% and put the speed to 1.5 just to annoy you.

Odd.... I have been told that walking on a flat surface is very bad, and we should all walk/run on (even a small) incline when on treadmills.

You don't get to police how other people spend their time at the gym. For what it's worth I always start off with a 10 -15 minute slight uphill walk to warm up before using weights etc... Mind your own business unless people are using equipment inappropriately.

Yes you aren’t going mad - we are time poor in comparison and this creates a different dynamic.

I am in the gym for a short period of time, I probably had to drop a load of things off my plate to get there, the time is precious I am on the clock, I ran out of work, shoved on some ugly clothes, rush through my workout to get to the next thing. The whole time I am counting all my minutes to get the most out of my time

It can be frustrating to see people being very leisurely about how they use the gym but it’s just because they have a different dynamic! The gym is probably a bit of a social event - lots of young people live alone, social isolation is real, perhaps people think they might meet a romantic partner there if they look nice, or they are on a ‘rest day’ but want a walk and it’s raining out, they are watching Netflix on the treadmill rather than sofa.

When I was 22 I was hanging out of a nightclub on a Thursday night wearing something ridiculous drinking WKD, so the concept of walking on a treadmill watching TV is completely alien! But it is their lifestyle now, and I see the younger women start pushing it a bit harder as they get into their 30’s and get some more confidence and using weights and I love to see it.

Gym culture does have different meanings for us all

can we just take a moment for the real gym crims here please - all the men who leave the huge 20kg plates at 6ft up on the smith machine? Don’t put the weights back? Mix them all up and leave them on the floor? Absolute RAGE at how they treat the gym. I see all the women putting their things away and I’ve even had to ask for help getting plates off racks recently

Walking is exercise.
For some people it’s all they can manage.

How about you just let people use the machine for what they want to use it for and pipe down?

Or you could get a life

Why don’t you go running in a park then if it bothers you so much? People may be there on bikes, walking or having a picnic so be warned!!!!

If they really are just standing there on their phones not using the machine, then just ask in a polite and friendly way if they're finished and if you can get on. 99% of people will move if they're only dithering.

6-7.5 kph is a fair clip!

I should probably have called this thread something other than "people walking on treadmills" as I've got nothing against walking on treadmills in general, it's hogging the gym equipment for things that don't appear to be meaningful exercise for that person. Not that I can say with any certainty what's meaningful exercise for any individual person but I can see the trend towards greater use of cardio equipment for prolonged periods of very very light activity typically by young women.

It's beginning of the year, gyms will be busy. Yes it may be annoying you had planned for a HIIT session and then all treatmills are busy. I can also get annoyed when I had envisioned specific exercises in a certain order, but all machines I need are taken. That's life, adjust and do something else then.

I just walk some days at the gym. I work nights and sometimes don’t feel like an intense workout but want to get the steps in. At the moment it’s very rainy and horrible outdoors.

My sisters has also had a long journey of ivf to get pregnant. She’s 8 weeks and walks on the treadmill too. You would not know she was pregnant by looking at her. So there are various reasons for people wanting to do this kind of exercise.

I’m not sure why you think your exercise should be prioritised over other people’s exercise. Not everyone exercises with the same goals as you. Sometimes it’s to de-stress rather than to increase aerobic fitness. You must realise this!

YA of course BU

Why does your desire to run inside, when you could run outside, trump their desire to walk inside, when they could walk outside?

I guess it depends what the issue is.

Perhaps for people with no issues, that is true. Whoever told you that is hardly going to waste time telling you how to manage a condition you don't have.

There are lots of things about gyms and how people use them that don't make sense. I've seen completely fit people drive to a gym an easy 10 min walk (or even quicker run) away. Some people who spend hours there can't seem to find time to do tasks outdoors that would keep them fit and build strength. But they appear to prefer to pay someone else to do that and pay again to exercise indoors with lots of other people in close proximity. It's their choice though and it keeps the economy ticking over.

My dad had a heart attack and now goes to the gym three times a week to walk on a treadmill. Uabu.

If I only I were allowed to use those! They've been forbidden by my knee consultant - if I move the wrong way, I can exacerbate my problem and dislocate my knees.

I am absolutely using the treadmill for one of its intended purposes - as a warm-up prior to strength training.

For me, part of the strength training is doing exercises which will strengthen my thighs in order to compensate for the knee problem. The challenge is finding thigh exercises which don't muck up the knees, hence my referral to a specialist class at the gym.

I still go to the specialist class two days a week, but use the 'big gym' on other days. I do try to avoid busy times, but that's increasingly difficult these days.