Gym Etiquette

**RichGem** · 09-14-2011, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by Doc4

"Duuude, I spent the whole lunch hour at the gym textercising, and man are my thumbs ripped!"

(No doubt it's his GF that's on the treadmill annoying the bejebus out of me by talking really loudly on her cell phone while complaining about how she can't get into shape.)

**Stubblefield** · 09-14-2011, 06:49 PM

Originally Posted by Doc4

"Duuude, I spent the whole lunch hour at the gym textercising, and man are my thumbs ripped!"

funny.

I always tel the GF that I'm going to work out and that I can't talk or text while doing so.

**Walker** · 09-16-2011, 11:22 PM

Here are my pet peeves at the gym

1) People who don't wipe the equipment down after they use it.

2) People who don't return equipment to there proper place. i.e. Dumbells to the dumbell rack, weights to the proper rack, attachments to there proper place, etc.

3) Disrespect (talking on your cell phone while walking on a treadmill, hoging the equipment, grunting and yelling with each rep and dropping the equipment to the floor) if the weights are that heavy get a spotter or use lighter weights with more reps.

4) Trying to talk to me about the stupid reality show that is playing on the tv while i'm running flat out on a treadmill. I hate to be rude but come on, i'm doing all i can to stay upright much less talk while i'm running lol.

**noahpictures** · 09-16-2011, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by Walker

Here are my pet peeves at the gym

...
4) Trying to talk to me about the stupid reality show that is playing on the tv while i'm running flat out on a treadmill. I hate to be rude but come on, i'm doing all i can to stay upright much less talk while i'm running lol.

I can relate. Thanks for sharing.

**ScoutHikerDad** · 04-01-2012, 10:21 AM

Okay, I'll bump this thread back from the dead. My family and I joined the local YMCA this year, and we have all been pleasantly surprised at how hard we are all working out and progressing. But in just a few months, I have noticed a lot of what you guys are talking about. A few that really 'get my goat' include

-As mentioned, guys who occupy various benches/stations as texting/I-Pod/other electronic entertainment spots
-The curling/benching bros who blast their upper bodies endlessly, while walking around on stork legs
-Guys who layer up to sweat out a workout in the dry sauna, in limited space where everyone else is just trying to find a spot on the bench. They also act annoyed when anyone opens the door-get over yourself!
-Obese/really out of shape, or just old man "junk" everywhere in the locker room, just walking around in casual conversation. A little modesty, maybe?
-Guys who used the hair dryers to blow-dry said junk in front of the mirror. Seriously
-One guy who migrates endlessly back and forth between the locker room, steam room, sauna, showers, etc., very obviously "trolling" for partners (and not the workout kind!). Very blatant, staring at other guys' parts in shower, and other "signals" I won't even mention some of the other disgusting things I have seen him do-you might not believe it. Take it to the highway rest area, for God's sake. And yes, I have talked to management about it.

Now I feel better.

**AABCDS** · 04-01-2012, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

Okay, I'll bump this thread back from the dead. My family and I joined the local YMCA this year, and we have all been pleasantly surprised at how hard we are all working out and progressing. But in just a few months, I have noticed a lot of what you guys are talking about. A few that really 'get my goat' include

-As mentioned, guys who occupy various benches/stations as texting/I-Pod/other electronic entertainment spots
-The curling/benching bros who blast their upper bodies endlessly, while walking around on stork legs
-Guys who layer up to sweat out a workout in the dry sauna, in limited space where everyone else is just trying to find a spot on the bench. They also act annoyed when anyone opens the door-get over yourself!
-Obese/really out of shape, or just old man "junk" everywhere in the locker room, just walking around in casual conversation. A little modesty, maybe?
-Guys who used the hair dryers to blow-dry said junk in front of the mirror. Seriously
-One guy who migrates endlessly back and forth between the locker room, steam room, sauna, showers, etc., very obviously "trolling" for partners (and not the workout kind!). Very blatant, staring at other guys' parts in shower, and other "signals" I won't even mention some of the other disgusting things I have seen him do-you might not believe it. Take it to the highway rest area, for God's sake. And yes, I have talked to management about it.

Now I feel better.

Sigh, other people's children...

**Mr.Oak** · 04-01-2012, 11:22 AM

I could go on for days about pet peeves I have in the gym. Most of the big ones have already been mentioned though.

**Taylor of Bank Street** · 04-01-2012, 11:50 AM

1. The aforementioned multiple equipment hogs
Yeah, the dudes who claim they're using 6 different sets of equipment around the gym simultaneously.
No human can simultaneously use all that equipment at once. If you're Kali, goddess of destruction and you can do bicep curls with the ez-curl bar while doing lat pulldowns on the machine, then I'll step aside. I've stood beside equipment for a good 60-90secs scanning the room to see if anyone was using it and then hopped on. Some guy working out on other equipment informs me that he's using that too. I looked at the guy and said, 'well, you're on that right now and I'm on this, you can hop back in when I'm done.' It was like I crapped on his cornflakes. Dude, what do you expect?!

2. The yard-sale of belongings on the change room benches
There's some kind of weird alpha-male competition going on in the change room which I apparently didn't get the memo on. Despite the changeroom being busy, dudes spread their stuff from one end of a bench to the other: bags, shoes, protein shake bottles, the works. Roughly half the time I go in I have to physically set aside someone else's stuff so I can sit down or call it out to everyone in that aisle to identify if it's their stuff. It's hard to describe it, but it seems like it's basically a passive-aggressive challenge for someone to claim a little space to sit down from their impromptu garage-sale of gear strewn across the bench. So far no one's thrown a punch, but if you could feel the tension, it's not far off. If I was 6'8" and 250lbs of lean muscle they wouldn't pull this er..stuff. Every time I ask for stuff moved or move it, I'm primed for someone to throw one. Not cool.

**paco664** · 04-01-2012, 11:55 AM

ahhh.. pet peeves at the gym....... i haven't ever had a good rant and today feels right......

A. douchebags/baguettes who wear sunglasses inside the gym while working out..... there is one habitual offender *(a baguette) who combines this with sweat bottoms and a sport bra... with her hoodie over her head but like a cape she is early 50's and not unattractive.. but dances with no music and whistles horribly out of tune specifically to get attention..... it drives her nuts when people won't look at her.... literally to the point of walking up to the machine your working out on and whistling in front of you....
B. unsolicited advice.... if your biceps are 14" flexed and you can't see your willy without a mirror and stretching involved PLEASE do not come tell my about how i should be using your "navy seal arm workout".... to this i *(honestly do this) will stop in mid curl and stare at them..... i don't say a word... i just stare at them..... for as long as it takes for them to get uncomfortable and walk away..... or i just laugh at them until they walk away... but i never say anything.....
C. yelling/screaming during set..... if you have enough energy/strength to scream mid rep then you aren't doing something right....
D.sitting on machine chatting on phone.... don't make me get the ball peen hammer out of my car.....
E.sweating and not cleaning.... you nasty bastid...
F. *(and the one that pisses me off beyond all comprehension).... DO NOT BLOW DRY YOUR JUNK IN THE LOCKER ROOM! YOU DON'T DO THAT AT HOME AND YOU SHOULD NOT DO IT IN PUBLIC... AND YES THE GYM IS PUBLIC... I AM NOT IMPRESSED... IT IS NO BIGGER THAN ANYONE ELSES... YOU ARE A SAD PATHETIC LITTLE ATTENTION HOG AND YOU DESERVE A SLAP... WHICH YOU PROBABLY WILL GET IF YOU APPROACH ME NAKED IN THE LOCKER ROOM!!!!!
G.men with overly tight shirts...... dude... you are not that big and impressive...
H.waiting till i start my first set to interrupt and ask how long i will be........ TILL I AM DONE
I. telling me i should be using whatever supplement you happen to be trying..... i don't do supplements.... leave me alone.....
J. shadow boxer/karate guy....... please... please stop... your not scaring me... please stop trying....

i feel a bit better.... thanks...

**raysofcolorado** · 04-01-2012, 01:14 PM

Screaming men, not whipping off equipment, naked old men having 20 minute conversations while you try to change, staying on one machine for a long time, etc...

**Go West Young Man** · 04-01-2012, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by aabcds

sigh, other people's children...

rofl.

**azmark** · 04-01-2012, 09:31 PM

Just stay out of my way and don't take up the squat racks unless you plan on doing squats.

**spoonman** · 04-02-2012, 03:06 AM

The other day I had to ask someone to stop doing sit ups in the squat rack so I could do........squats. Seriously. Another recent favourite has been people doing sit ups right in front of the dumbell rack, so their feet are basically under the rack (but not touching it). There is plenty of room for them to move back a metre or two, it's not like this is the only place they can do sit ups. They move pretty fast when you step between their legs and pick up the 40kg (88lb) dumbells!

**cnnc97** · 04-02-2012, 06:36 AM

These are the reasons I go to the gym at 5:30 AM on weekdays and hate going on weekends.

**LegendofVogel** · 04-02-2012, 07:55 AM

My two BIGGEST pet peeves at the gym...

1.) People who "claim" 3+ weights, machines, racks, because they are doing circuits. Do 2 exercises and a body weight one. You can't be taking up half the gym during peak times.

2.) Rolling dumbells across the gym floor. If your strong enough to lift it, you can carry it. If you can't find a bench near the weights you want to use. Don't take a 150lb dumbell and roll it across the entire gym, because when it rolls over my toe i'm going berserk.

**azmark** · 04-02-2012, 09:32 AM

Some folks need to learn the Ten Commandments from Jerome Mayberry

**Preacher1011** · 04-02-2012, 10:14 AM

I guess for me it's the ones that grunt or scream. I like going to the gym at night, but the teenagers or those my age are there and scream and grunt. Drives me flipping nuts. I haven't been in awhile due to my shoulders being in rough shape, but I started going in the morning and it was packed. I hate it being packed too. Then I started going mid-day around 2 or 3 and it was better. I gotta get back at it soon. Probably after graduation.

Another one is when people take 5 or 6 different weights of dumbbells and leave them at their feet so they can switch at their convenience. Usually the ones they have are the ones I need and it drives me crazy. I get one set and put them up when I switch. It's not that hard. The rack is literally 5 feet away...

**Prof. Moriarty** · 04-02-2012, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by azmark

Some folks need to learn the Ten Commandments from Jerome Mayberry

Terry Crews...cough... I mean Jerome Mayberry is boss. Favourite workout video from him is still this:

Sorry went a bit off topic. My main pet peeve is as everyone has said the old people, and all the people that don't wipe down the machines.

**BingeAndPurge** · 04-02-2012, 10:37 AM

I've worked in several gyms, and worked out in many more. The same people are in every gym in the world. Not much you can do about it. The locker rooms are always going to be filled with naked men doing things you'd rather they'd not do or only do with clothes on. There's always going to be a guy you assume is gay and for some reason you swear is checking you out. There's always going to be a guy trying to chat up girls in the middle of their sets. Always people doing any number of things that are considered wrong and in bad form. You can't do much about most of it.

The worst I've ever seen were the gyms in Iraq and Kuwait. Overcrowded with people who decided to workout for that one year in their lives. I threw my headphones in and became a quiet jerk for an hour every day. Never said a word, just took what I needed and didn't care. Doing pullups in the squat rack? No worries, as soon as you rest I'm going to jump right in the box and do my thing. Doing leg lifts on the only available bench? Finish your set while I start racking weights and take the hint. It was amazing and I felt better for it rather than standing there fuming.

**Manning** · 05-25-2012, 12:58 PM

I've got a new one I've got to add to resurrect this thread. I've observed these people for years, but never knew what to call them until recently. They are . . . "the builders."

They are "builders" because they literally build their own gym inside the gym.

Oh you know grab one of each dumbbell, couple benches, some bands, couple exercise balls, maybe even throw a stool in the mix for fun. All the while taking up half the actual gym with their own personal gym inside the gym.