That's it. I'm building a home gym. *sigh*

[Fighter2002]

I went to the gym today to begin my final cutting phase. There were so many freaking people there I couldn't get my workout in without waiting at least 5-10 minutes per machine. I just got so pissed I left. *sigh*. Going early in the morning is no longer an option as I am currently working second shift (don't go in until 1:30 p.m. and don't leave 'till 10 p.m. instead of my favorite 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. shift). Damned the whole New Year's Resolution crowd.

That's it...I'm fed up with the whole public gym nonsense. For the membership dues I've paid over the last year I could have easily built a decent, basic home gym that included all compound exercises. I'll be building my own home gym shortly after I finish up a project that'll net me some serious cash. This will make it much easier for me to stick with it -- currently, I have to make a 15 minute trip (sometimes 20 mins. depending on traffic) to the gym (no closer gym in my area) every day Monday - Saturday. A home gym will make it easier to get my workout in instead of saying "I don't feel like making the trip today..." Not to mention the money I'll be saving on gas!

And I no longer feel like putting up with the bull**** that comes with my current gym:

1. People not racking dumbbells correctly (5 lb. dumbbells don't go on the 50 lb. dumbbell rack, you idiots!). Oh, and did I mention the people that place dumbbells on one side of the rack making you search the entire rack for the matching one on the other side?! Bah!

2. People using a machine (or bench) and taking a five minute break between sets to socialize. If you're gonna socialize go to a club or a bar! Don't go to the gym!

3. Use correct form, people!!!

4. People not putting the plates back after doing barbell exercises.

5. People drinking starbucks coffee while working out (yes, they actually do this!!)

6. And did I mention the fat bastards that wear tank tops and let their fat bellies stick out underneath their shirts? I'm still fat myself (around 20% at 210 lbs. but that'll change in the next 16 weeks) but at least I know it and I'm considerate enough of others not to let my ugly belly hang below my shirt.

7. If I hear the Backstreet Boys one more time I am going to go insane!!! Aagh!! Shut that crap off!!

I'd rather workout at home where I can choose my own music. Plus, I can get my workouts in a lot easier. It'll also help me stick with my program more as I won't be able to say "Bah, I don't feel like making the 15 minute treck today..." and get away with it. These people make a whole mockery of those of us that actually care about our workouts and are dedicated enough to stick with it long enough to see results.

Plus, the idiots at the gym that don't care about their workouts can just kiss my ass when my six pack abs finally begin to show and I win the Body For Life challenge.

[user34566548717114]

I agree with u on the music selection often lol

[tops2heavy]

dude, i pretty much got my own set up at my house in my garage and as long as you dont mind working out alone once in awhile it will be one of the best investments you will ever make.

I know that I get a lot more stuff done and work a lot harder at home then when i work out at the local gym. Why? I'm not really sure. I think it might be that i hold nothing back when i'm at home. I try that at the local gym and I just get stupid looks from people that put absolutely no effort into training their bodys.

[fujitive]

Go for it mate. I am a shiftworker so I could not get a routine together for getting to the gym so I got a setup at home. The other reasons I dropped the gym is the pricks who continually get in you way. I was doing the super circuit for a while and someone will always come and use the next machine....even though there are two more of those machines unused in the gym. They are not doing the circuit...just hog it until you skip then they walk off like little hero's. (there are signs saying circuit users only but they are obviously stupid as well as arrogant) Then there are the guys that want to do the circuit faster than everyone else. Once the workout is done i have to put up with gay guys in the change rooms who wander around naked for 10-20 minutes. Enough is enough.

Make sure you get good gear for home however as you will max it out in time. That is where I am at now..cables are breaking!. Need to upgrade. I can even get a workout in while making dinner....cant do that going to the gym.

[bazzi]

Music sucks but you can't please everyone... bring an mp3 player? or build your own gym

I agree with all your other points. Especially the starbucks one. Jeebus, i've went early before school a couple times and i cant believe these people. This one guy was on one of those pussy bench press mimick machines with a newspaper, coffee, and i finished my whole workout the guy was just finishing with the machine.

I went to the gym today to begin my final cutting phase. There were so many freaking people there I couldn't get my workout in without waiting at least 5-10 minutes per machine. I just got so pissed I left. *sigh*. Going early in the morning is no longer an option as I am currently working second shift (don't go in until 1:30 p.m. and don't leave 'till 10 p.m. instead of my favorite 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. shift). Damned the whole New Year's Resolution crowd.

That's it...I'm fed up with the whole public gym nonsense. For the membership dues I've paid over the last year I could have easily built a decent, basic home gym that included all compound exercises. I'll be building my own home gym shortly after I finish up a project that'll net me some serious cash. This will make it much easier for me to stick with it -- currently, I have to make a 15 minute trip (sometimes 20 mins. depending on traffic) to the gym (no closer gym in my area) every day Monday - Saturday. A home gym will make it easier to get my workout in instead of saying "I don't feel like making the trip today..." Not to mention the money I'll be saving on gas!

And I no longer feel like putting up with the bull**** that comes with my current gym:

1. People not racking dumbbells correctly (5 lb. dumbbells don't go on the 50 lb. dumbbell rack, you idiots!). Oh, and did I mention the people that place dumbbells on one side of the rack making you search the entire rack for the matching one on the other side?! Bah!

2. People using a machine (or bench) and taking a five minute break between sets to socialize. If you're gonna socialize go to a club or a bar! Don't go to the gym!

3. Use correct form, people!!!

4. People not putting the plates back after doing barbell exercises.

5. People drinking starbucks coffee while working out (yes, they actually do this!!)

6. And did I mention the fat bastards that wear tank tops and let their fat bellies stick out underneath their shirts? I'm still fat myself (around 20% at 210 lbs. but that'll change in the next 16 weeks) but at least I know it and I'm considerate enough of others not to let my ugly belly hang below my shirt.

7. If I hear the Backstreet Boys one more time I am going to go insane!!! Aagh!! Shut that crap off!!

I'd rather workout at home where I can choose my own music. Plus, I can get my workouts in a lot easier. It'll also help me stick with my program more as I won't be able to say "Bah, I don't feel like making the 15 minute treck today..." and get away with it. These people make a whole mockery of those of us that actually care about our workouts and are dedicated enough to stick with it long enough to see results.

Plus, the idiots at the gym that don't care about their workouts can just kiss my ass when my six pack abs finally begin to show and I win the Body For Life challenge.

[DeZaStR]

Not flaming, but simply pointing out....

...you guys realize you just bumped a 10 month old topic, right? :P

[migizi]

mY gold's gym in Alexandria, VA,,,has a starbucks and it's right slab next door to a Quizno's funniest thing,,,was watching this woman on the stationary bike eating a messy quizno's sandwich,,,,people complained because she was spilling mayo on the bike and she was asked to put it away....God some people eh?

[ProfWorrier]

I think its funny watching half the guys that come in at night when Im there drinking coffee from Tim Hortons.

Some things I get annoyed with at my gym:

People who take 2 sets of dumbells at once(I goto a small gym, not many dumbells) and then do one set and go talk to everyone and dont finish using them for about 20minutes.

Girls who will get on the treadmill for like 5 minutes then go do ab exercises, then leave.

and guys who wear jeans.

Jeesh.

[skelooth]

Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one at the gym who's there to actually work out....

There are a few guys i've seen who really go at it. But the rest of the people just casually stroll between excersizes. wtf.... :P I go in there and I lift like an animal for an hour.

[MC26VA]

Fighter,
I totally agree with the points you and all made. My pet peeve (along with what you all have mentioned) is the guy that will sweat all over a machine and walk away without the thought that maybe his mom doesn't work at the gym. Specially now in flu season (with a shortage of vaccines) you'd think some of these clowns would get a clue, but not at my gym.

-Mike

[Mr. Long]

The thing I hate most about people at my Gold's Gym is the "bouncing". You know, the people that bounce from machine to machine after every set. They'll hit a shoulder press machine, jump to the vertical chest press, head over to the lat pull down, throw in a set of abs, and then some leg extensions while talking on their cell phones or with their friends that are working out with them. What the ****? Get a clue. Mike Bibby's friends are notorious for doing this at the Gold's Gym in the Natomas area of Sacramento.

[Mr. Long]

Girls who will get on the treadmill for like 5 minutes then go do ab exercises, then leave.

Or the people that walk on the treadmill at 2 mph with no incline. Why join the gym and take up space on machines that others that actually workout want to use? Might as well walk around the block if that's all they are going to do.

[tails]

I totally agree with you but I live in an apartment and i wanna start workin home at home....what kinda things should i buy....i know a flat bench is a must :/

[tails]

It also sucks that you have to drive all the way to the gym. The closest one from my house is about a 15-20 min drive....and it makes me not want to go

[freebsd]

yeah man! home gym are tight. I invested my money on home gym instead of gym membership. I'll start going to gym if my weights becomes to light for me. The only thing that sucks with homegyms are there's no spotter when you're doing chest but there's always dumbells to fix that problem

[orly081]

Man, my gym is the same and what sucks is that the owner who is there a lot doesn't do a damn thing to enforce the rules which are on the wall all over. People leave dumbbells all over the place and disorganized but he does nothing. The people there don't treat the gear all that great and we all ready lost 2 dumbbells, a 60 lber and a 100 lber. The leather on the seats and what not are ripped on a daily basis and the owner does nothing. Then he goes and complains that he spends a lot of money. Anyone from Miami in here, my gym is called World of Fitness on Coral Way and 137th. Overall a decent place but a few things could be fixed.

[basket of soft]

ughhh.. i used to g oto l.a. fitness but i recntly got serouis and have something different now, but i used to see weak asain friends go with their friends (a bunch) and all go around the smith machine and max out at i swear..50lbs
that and fat people like jazzersizing in front of the free weight mirros

[Psychoholic]

I like the people that do the recumbent bike at 2 mph and read a magazine. If you can focus on reading, you aren't working out - you're taking up space.

[ironlung]

I agree with u on the music selection often lol

neg..

[Thunder_Bunny]

Fortunately for me there is a lot of space at my Gym. Plus most of the members understand gym etiquette. It has more of a family atmosphere so you don't have a lot of chest thumping or pick up lines.

However I still want to set up a nice home gym. I have a small issue with social anxiety and it puts me off when there are a lot of people around. I'm going to replace my ratty bench with a new one, followed by an olympic bar. Eventually I want to get a decent treadmill as well. It will be nice to be able to workout more effeciently from home during the winter season.

[Quasimodo]

I dunno what you guys are griping about...

At my gym, the people are all nice. They ALL carry towels and they always wipe the benches or machines off before they move on to the next thing. No one chats or makes small talk and no drinks are allowed on the exercise floor, so no Starbucks. Cellpones aren't allowed in the exercise area so no one makes calls. And there are always enough weights to use and did I mention, there's a strict dress code too? So no one has to see a hairy navel popping out from under a tank top.

LOL! wait!! I was dreaming!!

LOL!

But seriously, I go to a "public" gym, one run by the local sports council, so there are rules that they enforce, much of what I mentioned above IS true... except for the dress code... and few ppl wipe after themselves, tho we're all supposed to have a towel or they make u buy one from the counter.

But MY pet peeve are the chatters... groups of 3 or more skinny kids come in... and take turns playing with the pec deck or whatever bench... and they're discussing which girl from school to impress with their newfound muscles the next day.

Once these 2 kids come in... hog a bench and half the weights from the top rack... the weights are too heavy for them.. so they squirm and struggle to do one rep and the sit and chat about how buff they're gonna get... the try another set of one rep again... in all they were there 40 minutes at rush hour. I remember coz I was seriously pissed. I had to share a bench with someone else and work in... a lot of ppl were giving the kids the evil eye that day. Needless to say, we never saw them again.

[skelooth]

Yep yep, now that i have been going to the gym here, I totally relate with all of these gripes.

Except for one, I don't mind sweat. I really don't care. If you're not sweating, then you are wasting space!

You know what ticks me off? the people who DON'T sweat. I mean... get real. Once there was this guy walking around with a cup of coffee in a thermos, casually doing excersizes. And some people, use weights that are SO LIGHT i wonder wtf the point is?? I am one of the VERY FEW people I see there who get hot, sweaty, and PUMPED.

By the time I am done working out, I am a pumped up, sweating, panting pile of MESS. I go there to lift, push, and pull, and get in shape. Other people go there to pretend to get in shape, and it drives me nuts.

Then there are the people who take up a workstation for like 30 freakin minutes at a time.

But i just can't get over, how so very few people go there and work up a sweat.

Check this out, there was this lady at the gym the other day who came in the a little after i did. She did like, 15-20 minutes of 3.5mph walking on the treadmill, then did like 10 minutes of ab ball excersizes/stretches..... Why is this annoying? Because she was wearing a body suit as if she were a hardcore athlete! wtf! before you dress the part, WALK THE PART.

[maverick_sweden]

Was a elder woman at my gym a while ago, sh was streching, next to the benchpress, and she had hung up her clothes(u know her casual ones) and her hand bag on the olympic barbell :S I mean WTF, who the hell hangs their clothes on a olympic barbell when there are people who wanna use it?. Then when I ask her to move her stuff '(hang them on the chin thingy =)) she starts to yell and say " I WAS HERE FIRST " that was one twisted sister =). Was another guy I saw in friday at the gym, he was 30 and read comicbooks, between sets, like 1 set done, 3 minutes comic book reading :P , but the best is the coffee drinking between sets, looks so friggin stupid, " oh I'm done squatting , I need some coffee, to little sugar "

GOT SUGAR (yeah I know I'm a eggy wannabe :P)

[RussG]

Yep yep, now that i have been going to the gym here, I totally relate with all of these gripes.

Except for one, I don't mind sweat. I really don't care. If you're not sweating, then you are wasting space!

You know what ticks me off? the people who DON'T sweat. I mean... get real. Once there was this guy walking around with a cup of coffee in a thermos, casually doing excersizes. And some people, use weights that are SO LIGHT i wonder wtf the point is?? I am one of the VERY FEW people I see there who get hot, sweaty, and PUMPED.

By the time I am done working out, I am a pumped up, sweating, panting pile of MESS. I go there to lift, push, and pull, and get in shape. Other people go there to pretend to get in shape, and it drives me nuts.

Then there are the people who take up a workstation for like 30 freakin minutes at a time.

But i just can't get over, how so very few people go there and work up a sweat.

Check this out, there was this lady at the gym the other day who came in the a little after i did. She did like, 15-20 minutes of 3.5mph walking on the treadmill, then did like 10 minutes of ab ball excersizes/stretches..... Why is this annoying? Because she was wearing a body suit as if she were a hardcore athlete! wtf! before you dress the part, WALK THE PART.

Well, sweat isn't exactly the best indicator of how hard someone is lifting, though if they're doing a lot of reps and walking casually around with coffee I wouldn't think they're going at it very hard. I do 4-8 reps in my lifts and while my heart is beating incredibly fast and my lungs are trying to catch up for air, I don't really sweat that much while doing it.

[skelooth]

Well, sweat isn't exactly the best indicator of how hard someone is lifting, though if they're doing a lot of reps and walking casually around with coffee I wouldn't think they're going at it very hard. I do 4-8 reps in my lifts and while my heart is beating incredibly fast and my lungs are trying to catch up for air, I don't really sweat that much while doing it.

but you are still noticibley exerting yourself, and getting 'pumped'.

I'm talking about, 6 out of 10 people at my gym, their skin is dry (and prolly cool to the touch), they are not panting/out of breath, etc.

[freebsd]

I only sweat depending on the room temperature

[sickwitit]

its the best idea ever. I think you can get better in shape working out at home then you can working out at a gym. You just do your own thing and like i read somewhere up top if you don't mind working out alone it's great. get some room then get the basics bench, db's , barbell, weights and then add when needed

[Mr. Long]

I've been reading this thread and got a kick out of those that drink coffee at the gym. I had never seen it until this past Saturday. Some dude was walking around with his freaking Starbuck's cup. Unbelievable.

For those that hang there clothes on equipment, there are also the people that will hit incline bench and then feel the need to go and sit on the flat bench to rest. Taking up two machines and only using one.

[krustster]

There is a guy at my gym who brings the newspaper with him to the machines and reads it between sets.

'nuff said.

[skelooth]

There is a guy at my gym who brings the newspaper with him to the machines and reads it between sets.

'nuff said.

I think I would freak, especially if I wanted to use the machine....