Gym Pet Peeves

[John Prophet]

Originally Posted by Tyrbolift

It's not a manner of learning HOW, it's a matter of enforcement. and if my kid knows not to crap on the floor but does it anyway I can use methods of discipline. none of us advocates going around and spanking the butts of errant dumbbell placers, do we?

yes....I dont think asking adults to act adult is out of line

[John Prophet]

Originally Posted by redweston

Don't take this wrong, but when I'm sitting on the end of the bench with a set of 100 + # db on my knees, waiting to lie back and hoist em up, don't keep talking to me!!!!
keeponpumpin!-red

yep, there is this kid at the gym...nice guy and all but he is definitely NOT an iron warrior, lol. So he has no clue about etiquette. He has never been IN the zone so he is clueless. He is more of the gym mascot or court jester. . I have told him 50x..."dont talk to me when you plainly see I am about to start a set". But he persists.


of course lately I have been feeling my alpha maleness kicking in hard, so yesterday I was feeling a good medeivel delt workout. I started with push presses. Dude walked in the gym right as I was finishing my warm ups...so he walks in 'cold' right as I was heating up.

So I spoke to him etc....I go grab the bar for that first heavy work set of 5...dude is talking. So first I was like "youre breaking the rules"....he says "what rules?". I say "talking when a brother is approaching the bar"

That was incident #1.

Next time he did it I said, rather loudly "SHUT THE $%^& UP". Of course I was feeling the workout and I was only using that for motivation.

Like 4 moves later I was on seated db press. I am using a weight which makes me struggle for 3-5 reps. So idiot gets between me and the mirror and is talking while im repping, lol. There was this other kid spotting me. So when dude was talking I was in mid rep and I was like "IM GOING TO F%^&*ING KILL YOU". lol

Dude just doesnt get it but he is so harmless it doesnt really bother me, lol.

[saracattay]

Originally Posted by LR3

does anybody *like* anything about their gym or the people who go there.

a big part of why i work-out is to burn-off stress. if i let every little thing bother me at the gym, i'd be miserable. think about it... who cares what other people do at the gym. if someone is on a machine i need, i just use another and come back to that muscle group later. if weights are left out, i pick them up or just go about my work-out. life is too short to turn every little thing into drama.

i like my gym. it isn't the best gym in the world, in that it could use more equipment but it does the job, is convenient and affordable. the rest is just details.

So are you saying...You hate "I hate threads"?

[Nikonguy]

Originally Posted by LR3

does anybody *like* anything about their gym or the people who go there.

a big part of why i work-out is to burn-off stress. if i let every little thing bother me at the gym, i'd be miserable. think about it... who cares what other people do at the gym. if someone is on a machine i need, i just use another and come back to that muscle group later. if weights are left out, i pick them up or just go about my work-out. life is too short to turn every little thing into drama.

i like my gym. it isn't the best gym in the world, in that it could use more equipment but it does the job, is convenient and affordable. the rest is just details.

I love my gym,
it's close to home (in my garage)
it's inexpensive (in my garage)
the benches get wiped down (in my garage)
and it's in my garage.

OK, so there is this one a-hole who doesn't pick up after himself but screw him, I'll do it myself

[todthebod]

My only thing at my gym now is how people put weights in the wrong place on the rack. Like I'm looking for a 10 and I have to take off 5 45's to get to it. Now the owner has put little labels on the end of every 'stalk' on the rack that shows which weight goes there. Makes it better but people will be people. I just look at it as extra exercise I guess. I have to add that my gym is great. The owner really does take care of the place and you can tell he's not in it for just the money so I can't really complain about much there. I guess I'm lucky in that sense. Thanks to Emery at Total Fitness in Powdersville, S.C.

[BIG_LOU7]

Some of mine are the guys that are in there to freaking chat instead of lift, or are in there to look pretty and get a girl. Sometimes well most of the time the ones that grunt and groan over some little bitty weight and make sure everyone around them is watching, cause they are looking around in the mirror to see who is watching. I am with you on the not re racking your weight. Dropping the dumbbells just to make everyone look at ya is a another good one. I just turn up the ol music and press harder.

[John Prophet]

lately what has bothered me is the people who just suck, lol. Their workouts are just plain pathetic. I dont mean geezers or peopel with health issues....I mean average people who obviously dont mind being average.

They have no intensity, their form sucks. They use NO concentration or mental effort.

IMO they totally drain the gym of any life. They are like zombies.


Like you are getting psyched to do a heavy set of squats or something.....you accidently look over and some freaking zombie is mindlessly using some machine while looking around the room like they just had a lobotomy. All the picture needs is drool and it would be perfect. Oh yeah, NOW Im really psyched by all the great energy in the gym, lol.

[IR45N]

Originally Posted by John Prophet

some freaking zombie is mindlessly using some machine while looking around the room like they just had a lobotomy.

Sorry I messed up your squat session Usually I look like I'm constipated.

I was on a machine?! Dang, I didn't notice that

[RoostersDrummer]

Originally Posted by widebody195

#1: People who leave a pool of sweat on equipment and don't have the decency to wipe it off.

#2: People who hover in the their cars in the parking lot aisles so they can score a close parking spot during peak gym hours. C'mon people, you are going to the gym to EXERCISE. You can't bear the strain of walking an extra 100 feet???

X2 to the 14th power! At my old "globogym", I would actually have people honk at me if they decided I took too much time evacuating "their" parking space. Of course, I did the same thing I do to the parking lot hoverers at work. got on my cell phone and made an important call with my parking brake on and reverse lights on!

There are also the ID10T's that cannot seem to put a dumbell back in its proper slot. My gym has all slots very clearly marked. 2 days ago, I had just finished rearranging the dumbells so they were in their proper slots (on the heavy side anyway) and just as I finished, some DUMBELL came over and set the 35's he had been using in the 30's slot. I made a point of saying something to him and placing them in the correct slot.

[irongrl]

Originally Posted by LR3

i like my gym. it isn't the best gym in the world, in that it could use more equipment but it does the job, is convenient and affordable. the rest is just details.

I tend to agree with this. I would rather put my energy into my workout than to get upset with the people working out around me.

[-Leonidas-]

I hardly ever use a gym (usually work out at home) but a few weeks ago I was travelling and had to use one.

The biggest peeve I had is the 16-20 year olds who have 6 sets of dumbells on the floor and stand over them chatting. I spent 5 minutes trying to find 25lb and 30lb dumbells only to find them in the corner with the Acne Clutch. When I asked if I could use them they looked at me like I was from another planet.

I think if I had to use a gym regularly to work out I would be arrested for assault

[rocketman44]

I work out at home, but every now and then I get the urge to join a gym. After reading this thread, I think I'll just stay home.

[newmexico123]

I go to the gym to blow off steam - i am an attorney and need to be civilized all day long - when i go to the gym at night I'm dropping F Bombs to my hearts content! That is why I go to a powerlifting gym! Gold's, Planet Fitness etc., etc. are for posers not serious training!

[TwiloMike]

What do a shake (in a personal shaker, not a styrofoam cup) and a towel mean when the former is at the foot of the squat rack, the latter is on the squat rack, the barbell is loaded, but I'm not physically grabbing the barbell? It means that I made a few steps to the side to grab a sip of water. It does not mean that you can waltz into the squat rack with a "look, ma! I can just cut in here and nobody will noice!" grin, and start to take off plates without looking around or asking people nearby if someone's using the obviously loaded/taken squat rack. When I come back and say, "Yo, I'm still using the rack", don't put on a surprised face, douche. You're bigger than I am, you should ****ing know better. (yes drama)

[HersheyWalker]

Originally Posted by bill36

i agree.theres 1 women who wheres shorts that show 3quarters of her buns.when she bends over,u can see her rectum,vagina.and they(gym staff)wont do anything about it.

If that's a pet peeve for you, you have a major malfunction.

[bigt405]

Talk radio being played in the mornings in a gym just plain sucks!

[Frappezlesinge]

Originally Posted by HersheyWalker

If that's a pet peeve for you, you have a major malfunction.

Seriously that'd peeve me too, I want the blood to be pumping to my muscles when I'm working out, not my glands........

[MissThing]

1. people that don't leave their ego at the door. throwing (not dropping, THROWING) a 45kg barbell on the floor after deadlifting 8 reps? Come on now

2. I've beginning to notice sideways glances in the free weights area. (What's the fat girl doing here?!...
Lifting!! Same, as you freakshow )

3. The groupies that hang around in the evenings. I can suck it up for evening cardio but I do all my lifting in the mornings.

4. The dearth of stretching mats. They have tens of cardio machines but only four mats. WTF!

[schultzenegger]

Originally Posted by MissThing

1. people that don't leave their ego at the door. throwing (not dropping, THROWING) a 45kg barbell on the floor after deadlifting 8 reps? Come on now

2. I've beginning to notice sideways glances in the free weights area. (What's the fat girl doing here?!...
Lifting!! Same, as you freakshow )

3. The groupies that hang around in the evenings. I can suck it up for evening cardio but I do all my lifting in the mornings.

4. The dearth of stretching mats. They have tens of cardio machines but only four mats. WTF!

1. sorry about that. i'll drop my weight back to just the bar and concentrate on putting it down gently

2. i dont think anyone thinks that. you are making great progress and you should keep it up. they are probably looking at you and thinking "damn, she knows more about lifting with proper form than me ...."

3. what do you mean by groupies ??

4. damn girl, i had to look that word up (dearth). next time pls just say something like "we got no mats"

[MissThing]

Originally Posted by schultzenegger

1. sorry about that. i'll drop my weight back to just the bar and concentrate on putting it down gently

It's the fixed barbells; y'know the ones with the rubber plates on the ends. He'd pick up from the rack take it to the mirror, throw down, wait 2 minutes, then start lifting. Throw it down again, rinse and repeat. Iono, maybe that';s how he pyches himself up.

In case you're wondering, I was resting between sets while I witnessed this debacle

Originally Posted by schultzenegger

2. i dont think anyone thinks that. you are making great progress and you should keep it up. they are probably looking at you and thinking "damn, she knows more about lifting with proper form than me ...."

you might be right but I get really paranoid in the weights corner

Originally Posted by schultzenegger

3. what do you mean by groupies ??

The girls that do do ciruits of cardio and hanging around the young male gym staff.

Originally Posted by schultzenegger

4. damn girl, i had to look that word up (dearth). next time pls just say something like "we got no mats"

soooorrry! yeah it's a pain so I normally walk home as cool-down and stretch there. I mentioned it to the manager once and he just mumbled something about lack of space. It didn't look as if that situation is about to change.

[mike1471]

dirty wieghts...i g to a cheap municipal gym here in costa rica and lost sof the free wirghts are really old and have a brown film of rust on them. i look like i worked on my car everytime i come out...good news is i guess they got tired of me telling the cleaning guy hey wipe this stuff down would ya cause it seems to be getting better.
other than that i like my gym...the chit chatters are easily ignored by an ipod, cell phone is on vibrate if you got a job that lets you stay out of touch then fantastic but i run my own biz so being out of touch is not an option, if you cant handle me taking care of my biz then too bad as i NEVER tie up a weight or machine if im talking on phone, i quietly move over to corner out of everyones way. pople who just sit on stuff and do nothing, a simple excuse me are you useing that usually does the trick. Remember your all paying members of a gym not the owner, if you dont like it leave.

[MissThing]

Originally Posted by mike1471

dirty wieghts...i g to a cheap municipal gym here in costa rica and lost sof the free wirghts are really old and have a brown film of rust on them. i look like i worked on my car everytime i come out...good news is i guess they got tired of me telling the cleaning guy hey wipe this stuff down would ya cause it seems to be getting better.
other than that i like my gym...the chit chatters are easily ignored by an ipod, cell phone is on vibrate if you got a job that lets you stay out of touch then fantastic but i run my own biz so being out of touch is not an option, if you cant handle me taking care of my biz then too bad as i NEVER tie up a weight or machine if im talking on phone, i quietly move over to corner out of everyones way. pople who just sit on stuff and do nothing, a simple excuse me are you useing that usually does the trick. Remember your all paying members of a gym not the owner, if you dont like it leave.

I think the cell phone peeve is about people who engage in loud conversations while sitting on equipment. I don;t think a discreet conversations in a corner would upset anybody.

examples:



ht

[kingtriton]

Even worse than leaving the weights on the floor is restacking them on top of different weights. At least if they are on the floor you just pick them up. If you have to take off certain weights to get to the weight you want then that really sucks. How can people work out yet be so lazy.

[todthebod]

sort of a pet peeve. Just curious why everybody has to tap the dumbells together when they're doing any kind of dumbell presses?

[GoOrange]

Dropping weights. Especially prominent with dumbbells. After a set of presses, most people simply drop the weights to the ground from bench level. If you can't lower them safely, you are using too much weight!

People who don't return the weights. Again with dumbbells - some guy will grab a pair, wander off to some random spot and pretend to do curls, and then...just leave the dumbbells there and walk away. Now I've got to search the whole gym to find the proper weight dumbbells.

Guys who do heavy shrugs or squats and leave 350+ lbs of weights on the bar.

Jigglers - those who grab an overly heavy weight and jiggle it back and forth rapidly with a total range of motion of about 2 inches. Very common on the leg press, and bench press.

Treadmill gliders - the girls who hold onto the rails of the treadmill with outstretched arms and elbows locked, moving their legs, pretending like they are actually running fast.

Anyone who uses poor form, but especially the deadlifters who lift twice as much as I do but with a rounded lower back the whole time.

People who mark their territory by throwing a towel on the bench and then walk away for five minutes or more.

The guy who uses a bench to do bench presses under the only squat rack in the place and hasn't figured out that there are several flat benches ideally suited for bench pressing.

The little Napolean guy who shadowboxes with the mirror.

The older guy who shows up once a week, does a few bench press singles with 10 minutes of rest between attempts, constantly jawing away with whoever will listen, refusing to let someone work in.

All those people talking on the cellphone while working out.

There's probably more...

[weakling101]

When I went to the gym everyday(now I work out at home), my pet peeves were:
-all the treadmills filled with fat people, and women just there to look pretty with their makeup on, earrings dangling to their shoulders, hair not tied up...all barely going 2 miles an hour....and all you want to do is run 5 miles as fast as possible
-Just getting on the indoor running track to run a mile at the end of your workout...only to find 2 women taking up both lanes, side by side, chatting away and not letting me pass.
-Going to the gym with no makeup, hair slicked back into a tight bun, loose shirt to cover my sports bra, men’s knee length sweat shorts, headphones covering my ears....half way through my 5 mile run, sweat pouring off me like I was doused with a hose...and some weakling loser who looks like he has never picked up a weight in his life! Gets on the treadmill next to me and sets it to level 2 and actually tries to hit on me. If I pretend not to notice, gets off the machine and walks to the front of my treadmill....not kidding, this happened to me 2-3 times a week! Why me! Why not the floozy all done up bouncing her boobage, and wearing booty shorts 2 treadmills to my right?
-while doing weights...having a group of guys all of a sudden move to a bench near me and get all boisterous about how much they curl etc. then they do it and have the worst form imaginable...then do a set of 10 and take a 5 minute break while his buddy copies what he just did. Of’corse...I pretend to not notice them at all...and then the supposed "macho man" of the bunch asks for my number...NOW I say no thanks and leave in the middle of doing my weights just so I don't get harassed.
-I also hate when there is a group of old men(60+) on a certain group of machines...that are limited to just the ones they are on...and all they are doing is relaxing and chatting with each other...and every once in a while take a gulp of water from their bottle and wipe their forehead as if they actually were doing something.
-the women’s-only section of the gym, which is smaller than a bathroom stall, full of women taking up space, yet barely doing anything, and located in full view of every person that is relaxing at seating near the juice bar!
-I don't know if anyone has mentioned this one...but I absolutely detest when people 100+ pounds overweight use their T-shirt as a towel. Every 2-3 minutes you get a full view of all their torso...ewwww...

and ditto on all the posts before me mentioned...

I'm so happy I strictly work out at home now...

[onehawaiian]

i started a thread sometime back in the female section:
Ladies! Click Me...
i have a few.
u guys should read some of the things in there.
pretty funny.

[mc4_a]

- People that read and lean on the machine - some guy was doing this on the power cage the other day.
"You using the cage?"
"Yeah, I'm getting ready to do my pull ups"
"Uhhh...you're reading a book"

I swear if you have enough time to read a book at the gym you're taking too damn long. At least move out of my way.

- Guys that use extra heavy dumbbells and kick them over so they can carry them back to the rack. WTF

- Guys that grunt on the first rep

- Stupid people doing stupid exercises in the middle of the weight lifting area. Yeah, it's great that you're doing some kind of dancing bear routine balancing on the ball like a trained animal, but I'm trying to really work out.

- People that bump your machine or bench when you're in the middle of a set. This is unacceptable.

- Guys that feel the stand in the middle of the shower area to dry off and have no awareness of what's around them. I don't need your fat ass waving in my face. If I had your body I'd make damn sure it was covered.

- Guys that sit in the locker room drinking coffee. This isn't Starbuck. Go away.

[TANK25]

I`m use to the old neighborhood type gyms,but most of them went out of business.Thanks to the LA Fitness and Ballys. I can`t deal with waiting on a bench,while guys are playing around or some guy who is not serious about working out. Keeps asking me"how many sets you have left" Then you have girl who has to talk at the top of her voice to make sure the whole gym knows about her date.That`s why I turned my basement into my gym.

[onehawaiian]

Originally Posted by mc4_a

- Stupid people doing stupid exercises in the middle of the weight lifting area. Yeah, it's great that you're doing some kind of dancing bear routine balancing on the ball like a trained animal, but I'm trying to really work out.

hey! he's gonna be somebody someday.
the dancing bear routine requires timeless dedication, and big balls.
...wha???