A short x-mas rant (gym stereotypes)

[BlueFenix13S]

So this just drove me up the wall the yesterday. I saw 2 things at the gym that I know you all have seen before that just irk you like none other.

First, I was in the parking lot getting my stuff ready to head into the gym, and I look over and I see this 30-something lady in a pink track suit putting on eye shadow and lipstick while she was on the phone. About 10 mins later, I see her jump on the exercise bike for half an hour before she went to the dumbell rack, grabbed the 5 lbers, and proceeded to perform near 100 curls in a row before leaving the gym with an iced coffee from the concession stand.
3 things wrong here. 1) Why the f**k would you put on make up to go to the gym and sweat (if her biking even broke a sweat I mean). 2) What the hell good does 100 curls with feathers do? 3) After burning, at most, 100 calories, why in the world would you go get a fricken frappucino loaded with sugar as your PWO "meal".

Well, while I was seeing this happen, I saw another stereotypical gym annoyance. This time it was the 16 year old doing every type of bicep exercise known to man, with the exception of pullups/chins (the ones that might have actually added some mass). He did 1 set of 20 or so reps of barbell curls, preacher curls, incline curls, hammer curls, concentration curls, every freakin exercise you can imagine for biceps. And of course he was huffing and puffing and grunting the whole time. Then the kicker...... he finished off with a set of a whopping 30 barbell wrist curls before he grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his head, and went to talk to the female teenaged receptionist at the front desk.

OMFG! Why do these people even bother to go to the gym!? It took me 20 mins longer than usual yesterday to finish my workout than normal from all the people there that were taking those 5 min rest periods and crap.

Anyways, I'm just bored waiting for x-mas dinner so I thought I'd share/vent a little. Anyone else have any experiences like this recently?

[The Solution]

i work at a gym down at school.. i think ive seen evertyhing..

ppl talking on the cardio machines on their cell phones
texting between their sets
frat dudes doing curls day in and day out
people that wear the same clothes everyday to the gym
girls come into the gym just to weigh themselves.. that one always got me
girls come in with all their makeup and stuff on and complain when its running down their face after 10 minuts on the elliptical
kids doing pull ups that go about 2 inches down and back up
people that do quarter squats that put 400 lbs on the bar and maybe go down about 1 inch and grunt the whole time

the list could go on for hours.. with the exception of people posing and whatnot in the middle of the weightroom..

some people u want to just say get out of the gym ur an embarassment

the best is people trying to squat in sandals.. frat kids do anything

[healthnut16410]

the 10 minute breaks in between sets drive me crazy! if you want to socialize go to a bar!

[lollerskatez]

my bigggggggggggest peeve ever is dawdlers (sp?) at the gym.

[Aindreas]

Lol @ the 5 lb curls, I know exactly what you're talking about. It's also rather common practice w/ the hip abductors. Be careful you don't get too bulky, you might accidentally become Ronnie Coleman!

[MattyH7688]

i stare at ppl and make them very uncomfortable if i dont like them

[SeanlikestoLIFT]

i stare at ppl and make them very uncomfortable if i dont like them

lol

I don't think wearing 1 outfit to the gym is a big deal, I do it because all my street clothes are jeans and flannels, stuff that I wouldn't wear to the gym. I just use some basketball shorts and a t-shirt everytime. granted I wash them inbetween, but I don't think that's a big deal.

i'm still in high school, and we have a strength training class that I'm in. it's basically a weight room with a set workout per day, pretty easy. but I love it when new kids come in and try to squat/deadlift a lot of weight, and have horrible form.

i saw a kid who's skinny as you could imagine come in and put 315 on the squat rack. when he was doing his "rep", his body was wobbling back and forth from the weight. he proceeded to fail the "rep". it was hilarious

but mainly stuff like that, things already mentioned, like the biceps one, and people using no legs all back on deadlifts. so funny.

[Nitric Oxide]

So i'm a ex-marine here and i still wear my green skivvie shirts I have from the military...they all look exactly the same they are just plan green t shirts. I know everyone in the gym thinks I wear the same shirt but I have over 20 of them. I wish I could wear a sign to explain to them its NOT the same shirt

[LoudGoatLS2]

Yes, I have pet peeves. I've even given these people pet names:

1) The Every Rep Grunter- I can appreciate a grunt here and there when you're in intense pain or during an intense compound lift like squats... but then there's the guy that grunts for EVERY rep. It's like being in the middle of the primate section of the zoo during mating season.

2) The Ego over Former- You know the guy. Usually short, insecure, bald., etc. Has nothing going in his life. So instead of doing 3-10 reps at a managable weight, he huffs, puffs, and blows his back out.

3) Boobzilla- The housewife who comes in one time a week for 10 minutes of cardio. Full makeup. Dressed like a porn star. Of course she does the treadmill because that will make her boobs jiggle the most. She could stop this by wearing a SPORTS BRA, but instead wears something that could hardly pass for a shirt by Christina Aguilera's (sp?) standards. She acts like she's annoyed when people hit on her and pretends she's listening to her IPOD.

4) The "I Never Take My Own Advice Guy"- This is most certainly the guy with the worst physique in the gym giving you tips on how to work your abs and telling you what the "chicks dig."

5) Vendy McVenderson- This person will consume every carb load/creatine/NO2/Whey/Casein drink that the vending machine has during the coursee of his workout. He'll scoff at your used water bottle that looks like it's filled with lemonade or gatorade, even though it's a BCAA that's much more effective than the overload he's getting.

6) Mr. Oneupper- He can bench more than you, squat more than you, deadlift more than you, and he'll let you know. Of course, that was years ago when he was in competition shape...

7) Mr. MMA- This guy notices you working the heavybag, most likely for HIIT/Plyo/Cardio purposes, not for self-defense. He, of course, has stories about how he trained with Matt Hughes and was the most promising up and coming MMA/Kickboxer/Karate/Drunken Boxing/Boxing/Ju Jitsu figher in the state until he hurt his back.

8) Little Alpha- The shortest yet widest guy in the gym. He pulls up in a Hummer and wears a "Big Dogs" T-shirt. If you're in his way, he'll tell you. He'll get in your face if you look at him the wrong way, because he knows that there would be 15 guys there to stop it before he got crushed. This is the guy that you see out at the bar the following weekend completely beligerent pointing his finger in somebody's face, but only if he has 5 or 6 of his friends with him.

9) Mr. Flex- Self explanitory. It's called a posing room. And put away the 1980's spaghetti strap tank top. Nobody wants to see your nipples or your Burt Reynolds chest hair.

[matthor]

^^lmao

[BlueFenix13S]

Lol @ the 5 lb curls, I know exactly what you're talking about. It's also rather common practice w/ the hip abductors. Be careful you don't get too bulky, you might accidentally become Ronnie Coleman!

LIIIIGGGHHTTT WEEIIIGGHHHTTTT BBBAAAAAAABBBYYY!!!!

[MattyH7688]

im a little bit in between little alpha and mr. flex

[djansen]

Mine are of course the tons of people who just go and talk most of the time and go half assed, the people who stand by the water fountain and talk, and who take the super long breaks between sets.

one thing that annoys me lately is this older guy who sets up like 3 or 4 different things and rotates with long rest between sets too. and he gets pissed if you want to use the squat rack and he has the bar set up for overhead press while he is on bench.

[tuberacer49]

8) Little Alpha- The shortest yet widest guy in the gym. He pulls up in a Hummer and wears a "Big Dogs" T-shirt. If you're in his way, he'll tell you. He'll get in your face if you look at him the wrong way, because he knows that there would be 15 guys there to stop it before he got crushed. This is the guy that you see out at the bar the following weekend completely beligerent pointing his finger in somebody's face, but only if he has 5 or 6 of his friends with him.

EPIC.

[Spottydog]

I used to actually use the 6 lb dumbell thingies for my Women's Health magazine circuits.
It wasn't because I was afraid of getting bulky, I just was aftraid OTHERS would think I was TRYING TO BECOME Ronnie Coleman and laugh if I did "real", so-called "manly" excercies. I was insecure.
Of course, this helped me lose 5 more lbs, and then I realized I had no choice but to start bodybuilding-- like, REAL stuff.

Sometimes I'm a little like the skinny teen who puts way too much weight on the bar and has sh*tty form when I do them (although if I notice I'm doing this, I correct it and get less weight, but a few times a more experienced person has intervened and corrected this).
Although I often notice I'm the only girl who usually makes this mistake... :/ Most of them go lighter than the heaviest weight they can do in my gym.

[jackednetboy]

So this just drove me up the wall the yesterday. I saw 2 things at the gym that I know you all have seen before that just irk you like none other.

First, I was in the parking lot getting my stuff ready to head into the gym, and I look over and I see this 30-something lady in a pink track suit putting on eye shadow and lipstick while she was on the phone. About 10 mins later, I see her jump on the exercise bike for half an hour before she went to the dumbell rack, grabbed the 5 lbers, and proceeded to perform near 100 curls in a row before leaving the gym with an iced coffee from the concession stand.
3 things wrong here. 1) Why the f**k would you put on make up to go to the gym and sweat (if her biking even broke a sweat I mean). 2) What the hell good does 100 curls with feathers do? 3) After burning, at most, 100 calories, why in the world would you go get a fricken frappucino loaded with sugar as your PWO "meal".

Well, while I was seeing this happen, I saw another stereotypical gym annoyance. This time it was the 16 year old doing every type of bicep exercise known to man, with the exception of pullups/chins (the ones that might have actually added some mass). He did 1 set of 20 or so reps of barbell curls, preacher curls, incline curls, hammer curls, concentration curls, every freakin exercise you can imagine for biceps. And of course he was huffing and puffing and grunting the whole time. Then the kicker...... he finished off with a set of a whopping 30 barbell wrist curls before he grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his head, and went to talk to the female teenaged receptionist at the front desk.

OMFG! Why do these people even bother to go to the gym!? It took me 20 mins longer than usual yesterday to finish my workout than normal from all the people there that were taking those 5 min rest periods and crap.

Anyways, I'm just bored waiting for x-mas dinner so I thought I'd share/vent a little. Anyone else have any experiences like this recently?

Obviously you're a naive young man. She's not at the gym to work out...being in her 30s she's most likely not married and trying to CATCH A MAN!

The 16 year old is 16 and just learning to work out more than likely...on top of that, ehh he went to go talk to a chick. He's probably going to catch...you, you're using your hand tonight?

Also, if you were TRULY focused you wouldn't have noticed any of that stuff...you would've done your workout like me with sweat burning my eyes. I didn't see crap until I was leaving and watched a tool trainer struggling to move a leg press inch 3 inches away from a wall for a woman...which he FAILED at.

On another note, i'm also waiting to eat =)

[Anon73o]

pay your dues guys, no ****ing way you can squat over 100 pounds without EZ curling 20 pounders for 10-12 sets every time you hit the gym. Make sure you do 8-12 reps for hypertrophy though

[cameron33]

i have a few annoyances at my gym
1. - not too annoying but a kid that comes in the gym every day and does the exact same thing over and over, bench, curls, etc etc
2. this one is good. the father son duo...both wear sleeveless shirts, both are skinny as hell...dad walks around screaming outloud about how bad the music and trying to start a conversation with anyone he can. he and his son do curls everyday and he films his son doing curls on every single machine using his camera phone. i have no clue why. i listen to the dad giving people advice and just laught he one time said "you can work out a muscle three times in one day because when you work it out, it gets filled w/ testostrone, then pump goes away, then you do it again, and again, but not 4 times...make sure you do it every day because that will make it grow the fastest...both of them are absolute idiots...i hope to god that the kid is a member of this site...i go to the golds gym in houston texas on hwy 6 and clay...if this is u and ur dad....plz pm me

[iceblue01]

normally, i don't look down my nose at people in the gym but sometimes you have to make an exception

the "best friend" couple - they sit in the corner laughing and chatting away, spotting for each other, never actually breaking into a sweat

what is the point? lol

[tinyman5000]

lol theres this guy who loads the squat bar up with 400+ and slightly crouches (knees barely bend) and screams SO ****ING LOUD, like we have a pretty big gym at our school and I can here him in the other room. He does one set and walks around (obviously in immense pain by his posture) drinking some kind of sports drink, nodding and small talking with every single person he knows. Hes kind of skinny fat but he obviously trains his arms because they're huge lol

[matthor]

i love when people look at me like im a weirdo cos im covered in this mysterious clear liquid. They look in shock at someone actualyl exerting themselves and sucking in air after a sprint like it was life itself.

Then they say when im finished that i look great, whats my secret? Some times they dont even allow a reply and just continue with their comment that "ohh never mind, i wouldnt have the time!". But they find time for 60mintues of light pedaling while watching fkn music max

[tinyman5000]

i love when people look at me like im a weirdo cos im covered in this mysterious clear liquid. They look in shock at someone actualyl exerting themselves and sucking in air after a sprint like it was life itself.

Then they say when im finished that i look great, whats my secret? Some times they dont even allow a reply and just continue with their comment that "ohh never mind, i wouldnt have the time!". But they find time for 60mintues of light pedaling while watching fkn music max

"Howd you get a six pack?" "Well I got on a good die..." and they walk away...

[matthor]

"Howd you get a six pack?" "Well I got on a good die..." and they walk away...

exactly.

[RaginCajun228]

Yes, I have pet peeves. I've even given these people pet names:

1) The Every Rep Grunter- I can appreciate a grunt here and there when you're in intense pain or during an intense compound lift like squats... but then there's the guy that grunts for EVERY rep. It's like being in the middle of the primate section of the zoo during mating season.

2) The Ego over Former- You know the guy. Usually short, insecure, bald., etc. Has nothing going in his life. So instead of doing 3-10 reps at a managable weight, has huffs, puffs, and blows his back out.

3) Boobzilla- The housewife who comes in one time a week for 10 minutes of cardio. Full makeup. Dressed like a porn star. Of course she does the treadmill because that will make her boobs jiggle the most. She could stop this by wearing a SPORTS BRA, but instead wears something that could hardly pass for a shirt by Christina Aguilera's (sp?) standards. She acts like she's annoyed when people hit on her and pretends she's listening to her IPOD.

4) The "I Never Take My Own Advice Guy"- This is most certainly the guy with the worst physique in the gym giving you tips on how to work your abs and telling you what the "chicks dig."

5) Vendy McVenderson- This person will consume every carb load/creatine/NO2/Whey/Casein drink that the vending machine has during the coursee of his workout. He'll scoff at your used water bottle that looks like it's filled with lemonade or gatorade, even though it's a BCAA that's much more effective than the overload he's getting.

6) Mr. Oneupper- He can bench more than you, squat more than you, deadlift more than you, and he'll let you know. Of course, that was years ago when he was in competition shape...

7) Mr. MMA- This guy notices you working the heavybag, most likely for HIIT/Plyo/Cardio purposes, not for self-defense. He, of course, has stories about how he trained with Matt Hughes and was the most promising up and coming MMA/Kickboxer/Karate/Drunken Boxing/Boxing/Ju Jitsu figher in the state until he hurt his back.

8) Little Alpha- The shortest yet widest guy in the gym. He pulls up in a Hummer and wears a "Big Dogs" T-shirt. If you're in his way, he'll tell you. He'll get in your face if you look at him the wrong way, because he knows that there would be 15 guys there to stop it before he got crushed. This is the guy that you see out at the bar the following weekend completely beligerent pointing his finger in somebody's face, but only if he has 5 or 6 of his friends with him.

9) Mr. Flex- Self explanitory. It's called a posing room. And put away the 1980's spaghetti strap tank top. Nobody wants to see your nipples or your Burt Reynolds chest hair.

haha so true dude.. all of these people are at my gym everyday I train.. but I also have a special treat.

10) Steve- a mentally challenged, 21 year old, with down syndrome, who somehow works at the gym, and tells you how your doing the wrong exercises, and continues to talk to you while your in middle of an exercise.

[tinyman5000]

exactly.

lol thats happened to me. Other responses include-

"Well I eat pretty healthy already its probably just genetics." My brother, who thinks walking around Europe put 10 lbs of "muscle" on his legs. He said this as he poured a ****load of whip cream in his coffee (hes 5'6 135 and skinny fat wtf)
"I don't have time to cook meals" Fat friend 1#, hes unemployed living with his parents and just dropped out of school btw
"You're obsessed if you eat like that" Some chick at school

[Mansewerz]

So this just drove me up the wall the yesterday. I saw 2 things at the gym that I know you all have seen before that just irk you like none other.

First, I was in the parking lot getting my stuff ready to head into the gym, and I look over and I see this 30-something lady in a pink track suit putting on eye shadow and lipstick while she was on the phone. About 10 mins later, I see her jump on the exercise bike for half an hour before she went to the dumbell rack, grabbed the 5 lbers, and proceeded to perform near 100 curls in a row before leaving the gym with an iced coffee from the concession stand.
3 things wrong here. 1) Why the f**k would you put on make up to go to the gym and sweat (if her biking even broke a sweat I mean). 2) What the hell good does 100 curls with feathers do? 3) After burning, at most, 100 calories, why in the world would you go get a fricken frappucino loaded with sugar as your PWO "meal".

Well, while I was seeing this happen, I saw another stereotypical gym annoyance. This time it was the 16 year old doing every type of bicep exercise known to man, with the exception of pullups/chins (the ones that might have actually added some mass). He did 1 set of 20 or so reps of barbell curls, preacher curls, incline curls, hammer curls, concentration curls, every freakin exercise you can imagine for biceps. And of course he was huffing and puffing and grunting the whole time. Then the kicker...... he finished off with a set of a whopping 30 barbell wrist curls before he grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his head, and went to talk to the female teenaged receptionist at the front desk.

OMFG! Why do these people even bother to go to the gym!? It took me 20 mins longer than usual yesterday to finish my workout than normal from all the people there that were taking those 5 min rest periods and crap.

Anyways, I'm just bored waiting for x-mas dinner so I thought I'd share/vent a little. Anyone else have any experiences like this recently?

i sea this all the time with ppl my age at the gym. some are newbs that don't know any better and want to get bigger. and others are the lazy, ignorant type that don't wanna hear their **** doesn't work.

[stewaat]

I think quite possibly the worst thing I've ever seen is a lady eating a Snickers bar on a stationary bike.

Is it bad if I gave someone advice? This guy was doing RDL's and they were gross...the form was so terrible I had to show him.

[in10city]

i stare at ppl and make them very uncomfortable if i dont like them

LOL... I must do something like that too... I've had cops pay me a personal visit...

[peteyr1]

Theres a lady I see every morning hitting the cardio like crazy...is on there for over an hour(well,from what Ive noticed). Anyways,was leaving one morning and she walked past me,ver briskly...Im thinking "this chick is a excercise machine"..gets into her car(still rushing) and gets stuck ito a smoke as if her life depended on it.

Great way to finish off your cardio work..*shaking head*

[cm383706]

I hate people who are all about supplements. To be honest, when I started lifting I thought that supplements were the answer. But after I realized this was dumb and read about nutrition I changed my mind. All I hear in the gym is like "Yeah man NO Xplode will get you jacked if you're trying to gain mass" , or "I'm tryin to gain weight so I get like 2000 cals a day from Muscle Milk, and I probably eat 8000 cals a day, so should you and then you'll get more mass". Then you have the people that come up to you (at school gym so I know most of them), like "What supplement should I take that will make me cut?" or "What supplement will give me abs, or what exercices should I do once a week to get abs". And as soon as I say a good diet is better then any supplement they look at me like I'm crazy. I always say "Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym." And people just laugh half the time and go on doing their endless crunches. Meanwhile they're probably going to eat a huge Quiznos sub, w chips, and a soda PWO. And they wonder why their crunches aren't working.

Also, not trying to say I am big, but I used to be a stick with ZERO muscle, and now about 170-175 of a good amount of mass, but I HATE when people come up to me and are like damn man you got huge what supplement do you take? I just wanna shake them and be like I EAT RIGHT AND I EAT A ****LOAD!!!