Men fighting in the gym

[IceLace100]

Just went to my local Pure gym. I was running a 5k when an argument turned into a fight at the weights machines.

15-20 men in their teens 20s and 30s.

Squaring off, shouting, people pushing and shoving and escalating to punching, some people holding others back etc etc.

I alerted all the people in a world of their own with headphones on then left, along with the majority of other people, (ALL the women left).

Question 1:
Why oh why do some men utterly fail to behave themselves in public spaces??? What the actual fuck is wrong with them. I just don't get it.

I mean, I was just trying to quietly run my 5k ffs.

I'm so fucked off. Since lockdown eased, I have joined 2 gyms. First gym a man shot another man right outside the entrance of it. I turned up one day to police vans and tape. So I stopped my membership and moved to puregym. Now there has been a fight there- is nowhere safe from male violence?

Question 2:
Shall I move gyms AGAIN and inconvenience myself by travelling further because of male violence? On one hand why the fuck should I have to? On the other hard, I want to be safe.

For those of you thinking I should complain to pure gym, oh you worry, I have!

I’m at a David Lloyd and pay £120 per month for just gym and classes. If you want spa and towels too it’s £160 per month.

I go every day though so I use it a lot.

I don’t agree that it’s all naice people though. The gym floor is full of tattoo sleeves, showy-offy types and general cunts.

It tends to get used as a family country club, so forget trying to swim in the outdoor pool in nice weather, all the botoxed fake tanned sahms dominate it with their kids.

@Bitofachinwag

How much do you pay for David Lloyd?

It's £100 a month for our family (corporate deal) so works out at £25 per person It's a lovely club and they do film nights for the kids, activities etc.... I think it's worth it

I couldn't think of anything worse than being surrounded by love island wannabees trying to be the big I am

1. Male violence is essentially accepted as a fact of life and what can you do by society here. Same as sexual violence and general grim sexual behaviour to women and girls.

1. There logically must be a large socialisation component. Men are more violent in some countries than others. Commit more murders and attacks. Men are not different between different countries apart from socialisation.

1. The other point that can only logically point to a large socialisation component is that levels of violence vary through the years. Life in the past has been terribly violent. That was how it was. I mean even something like rules for dueling. Could be to the death. On the streets there were all sorts of gangs. Pressganging? I mean I'm no historian but I'm sure that levels of violence have been falling over time. What else can have changed but social norms? Ditto socialisation, where you live/ are raised, levels of gang activity, all sorts of things must be in play. Otherwise there would not be areas with more male violence than others.

1. The reason often given is competition for females as per gorillas and what not. To have a better chance of a mate. Being... Impressive? Able to protect? That sort of thing.

Thing is though we aren't gorillas. Human beings evolved millions and millions of years ago. Really super old findings indicate that we have always lived in social groups made up of families. Parents children grandparents etc.

It wasn't one man and all the women. And the other men if they could beat him would win all the women. And the women (human women) would just sit around passively while this happened.

When men have had harems etc they have had a lot of power and a lot of guards etc. And the bogstand men just got on with things in the way humans seem to.

The issue I think is nothing to do with gorilla behaviour. It's nothing to do with getting a whole bunch of women handed over if you bottle a man outside the pub etc.

It's to do with the massive pecking order that men seem to do all the time everywhere. Also known as dick swinging. And it's different in different groups. Eg whose got the most money. The fastest car. The biggest muscles. The best at football/ pool/ gambling. The best coding ability. The most good looks. The most impressive hobby. The most lucrative criminal org. The fastest horse. And if you've got money fame etc then the last status symbol is the best looking much younger woman.

None of this is to do with women. It's a baffling hierarchy that's fairly invisible to us most of the time unless you look.

So in the absence of things like you need to do it as in gang etc.

I think it comes down to insecurity essentially. A constant need to check and reinforce your position. Nature or nurture? Well it's about masculinity for sure.

In the end it's a boring and often scary PITA and if they could all just relax and stop with it all. Things would be a lot nicer.

Oh and of course the men who are less subtle about it, women tend to think they're rather pathetic twats.

So. Sure that post will raise some interesting points from other posters

Do serious bodybuilder types steroids or otherwise go to places like PureGym?

Round here there are gyms that focus on free weights and the (mainly) male clientele have those waist belt support things on.

Although tbf I'm not much of a gym bunny!

You need to be going to a
Nicer gym with better clientele

I do, hence me saying 'i used to be a member'

@myheartskippedabeat

It's £100 a month for our family (corporate deal) so works out at £25 per person
It's a lovely club and they do film nights for the kids, activities etc....I think it's worth itI couldn't think of anything worse than being surrounded by love island wannabees trying to be the big I am

The last thing I want at the gym is bloody kids and kids' activities.

I go to the gym to work out and to have a break from 'family activities'. And my puregym costs about 1/4 of that.

@NiceGerbil

Do serious bodybuilder types steroids or otherwise go to places like PureGym?

Round here there are gyms that focus on free weights and the (mainly) male clientele have those waist belt support things on.

Although tbf I'm not much of a gym bunny!

Yes . My one at least has a really excellent range of equipment. What it doesn't have is all the bollocks for people who don't actually want to exercise (cafe, spa, massage etc.)

@ColorMagicBarbie

Roid rage is pretty much a myth tbh. Most men feel great on steroids.

Why did everybody leave? I'd have just cracked on with my jog and left them to it.

Eh???

Road rage is very much a thing!

I've had loads of incidents where men have been scary when I've done something they disapprove of. Usually white van yes I know that's a stereotype! Last one I went down a quiet road. He followed overtook unsafely blocked the road got out and advanced menacingly.

I mean also really aggressive dangerous driving. Following you right up the arse for ages. And then the shouting out window and all that.

I have noticed that DH doesn't get that kind of shit. At least rarely.

From here I've learnt that women get all sorts from men on the road (as everywhere actually tbf). Have you never had anything like that? It may be dependent on area.

Most men feel great on steroids is a really silly thing to say. Yes they may feel great. But the actual impact on them is less great. Hence all the concern in medical professiona that you must have missed.

A quick Google- NHS.

This is not good-
'people of all ages have been known to misuse these drugs, including adolescent boys who suffer from body dysmorphic disorder. This is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others.

Boys and men who have body dysmorphic disorder may take anabolic steroids because they don't see themselves as being physically big enough or strong enough.

Some people believe taking anabolic steroids will help them become fit and healthy. This isn't true: taking anabolic steroids is a dangerous drug habit.'

This sounds not great-
'Physical effects
Effects of anabolic steroids in men can include:

reduced sperm count
infertility
shrunken testicles
erectile dysfunction
baldness
breast development
increased risk of prostate cancer
severe acne
stomach pain'

Eh???

Road rage is very much a thing!

I've had loads of incidents where men have been scary when I've done something they disapprove of. Usually white van yes I know that's a stereotype! Last one I went down a quiet road. He followed overtook unsafely blocked the road got out and advanced menacingly.

What the hell’s that got to do with anabolic steroid abuse. 😂

And finally-
'... anabolic steroids can develop any of the following medical conditions:

heart attack or stroke
liver or kidney problems or failure
high blood pressure (hypertension)
blood clots
fluid retention
high cholesterol
Psychological effects
Misusing anabolic steroids can also cause the following psychological or emotional effects:

aggressive behaviour
mood swings
paranoia
manic behaviour
hallucinations and delusions
Stunted growth in adolescents
Anabolic steroids accelerate bone growth, so if they're misused by adolescents who haven't yet had the growth spurt associated with puberty, the drugs can cause premature ageing of the bones and restricted growth.

Yay???

Oh, you thought I said road rage.

Oh FFS lol.

I totally (and hopefully understandably) misread 'roid rage'.

Sorry everyone.

I remember somebody mentioning a BBC documentary on here recently that estimated that 1 in 10 gymgoing men suffer from muscle dysmorphia. If so, that would surely make it much more common than all the other dysmorphias put together - anorexia, gender dysmorphia, etc.

Tbf, I didn’t even notice you’d written ‘road rage’ until after I’d replied.

Borei yes thought that. I wouldn't have thought a PureGym would be first choice for a man who was into that side of it.

It's body rather than muscle isn't it?

Anyway-

Yes it's bad. And under recognised I'm sure by parents schools etc. I don't know what the situation is like in the longer term. Does it persist/ worsen. Does it escalate. What the outcomes are and how common.

I do know that sadly anorexia has a very high death rate. So sad.

In the endb the hope was that the pressure on girls/ women would ease up, or somehow society would find a way to minimise it all.

Instead it's worse for women and girls than ever, and it's getting worse for boys and men.

Anyway back to the OP.

Oh but. Steroid abuse isn't all fun and games in your view really, is it?

Steroids are undoubtedly bad when abused in high quantities, but there is a lot of disinformation about them too. A bit like how some people think that smoking the occasional joint will end up with you getting hooked and robbing grannies to ‘pay for the habit’.

People that do 1-2 short cycles a year, do proper PCT (post cycle therapy), and do regular bloodwork, are very likely to be healthier than the general population who drink and don’t eat particularly healthily. Definitely healthier than smokers. Professional bodybuilders obv are extreme cases and not healthy at all.

When movie stars suddenly go from normal to massively ripped within a couple of months I’d wager it’s a cycle most of the time. People say “oh, well they have the top personal trainers etc” but even this doesn’t surpass the rules of protein synthesis etc. Steroid use is a lot more widespread than most people realise.

OP-

Where roughly do you live? If a shooting it is likely to be only certain areas. Shootings are still pretty uncommon. You got really unlucky.

I don't think it's the price. I'd try the first one again. Or look for one that has a real mix of customers.

Loads of friends are gym bunnies and I've never heard of a massive ruck. Really unlucky.

It's body rather than muscle isn't it?

Muscle dysmorphia (aka ‘bigorexia’) is a particular type of body dysmorphia.

Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a subtype of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) characterized by the preoccupation with the idea that one's body is not sufficiently lean and muscular1,2,3. Individuals with MD perceive themselves as small and weak even if they look normal or very muscular2.

That info about steroids is really interesting. Is it something you know about through work? Or friends at gym? I know fuck all about steroids so will take the word of someone who knows!

How do they get the blood work regularly, privately I assume? Given its illegal do they know what to check or are the docs relaxed knowing what it's for?

I can't imagine your bog standard youth/ man would be doing all that though tbh. Or know about all this cycles stuff.

How would a big standard 16yo boy come across it? What's the route iyswim. I always imagined other blokes in the gym?

Incidentally I very much doubt there's many people at all who think that of having a smoke, I mean it's been around for yonks now. My parents were in the generation where I suppose it became more commonplace. And they're nearly 80

Ah interesting. Thanks. This is obviously a real topic of interest/ knowledge for you. I'd be really interested to know if it's work or something you have experience around maybe through friends etc?