Bad gym manners -- time to vent

You guys here who work out ... what really frosts your buns at the gym?

Personally, I can't stand the guys who walk up to the rack of dumbells, and start working out right there, so you can't pick up a dumbell without bumping into the dumbell himself.

Dude, step back from the rack!

... okay, let 'er rip!

Women coming in wearing next to nothing and looking HOT. I'm there to work out, not oogle.

There always seems to be this lady who works on the stairmaster, not one of those small stairmasters, one that you have to climb up, she always looks like she's about to pass out, hunched over the machine and all, hanging on for dear life. I've seen her on it for up to 2 hours at a time....thats dedication!

When you pick up a dumbbell he is standing over, give him a little accidental tap with it (I will let you pick the area) when he is in mid curl.

What bothers me? The grunters. You know the guys that scream when lifting or look in the mirror the whole time checking their self out.

AACJ said:

Women coming in wearing next to nothing and looking HOT. I'm there to work out, not oogle.

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That's why I wear sunglasses when I work out.

-Wipe your sweat off the machine when you're done!

-Don't take up space sitting around on your cell phone, chatting with your frat brothers, etc.

-Re-rack your weights. Properly.

-The squat rack is for doing squats not for curling barbells, Mongo.

AACJ said:

Women coming in wearing next to nothing and looking HOT. I'm there to work out, not oogle.

There always seems to be this lady who works on the stairmaster, not one of those small stairmasters, one that you have to climb up, she always looks like she's about to pass out, hunched over the machine and all, hanging on for dear life. I've seen her on it for up to 2 hours at a time....thats dedication!

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Hey! If its working out or oogling I'll take oogling any time!

Oh yea, and people wearing sunglasses when they work out.

Shane said:

People that do not wipe down the bench or machine that they have just been sweating on.

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This has got to be the worst of the lot!

I also hate the volunteering spotters who don't spot. "Oh, sorry dude, my bad!"

I used to be a gym rat, twice a day 6 times a week, but haven't been in a couple years heres my top pet peeves.

The biggest one:
- Rack your weights! I can't stand having to take plates off and re-rack dumbbells just to use a bench or piece of equipment.

- Sleepers: I've you require 6 minutes rest between set's, Get up someone else would like to work out well you take a siesta.

- People who don't towel off equipment: If you sweat excessively, please bring a towel and towel off the bench or machine when your done, no one wants to sit in your sweat.

- Smokers: Why bother working out if you have to stop after every set to run out side to have a smoke.

- Steroid Monsters: If you can barely lift the 200 pound dumbells, DON'T, I can't stand hearing THUD and feel the building shake.

- Women: If you dress in skimpy clothes *gasp* someone may look at you, if you have self confidence issues, take the spandex off and put some other work out clothes on. I had a women turn around screaming at me once asking me what I was looking at, I informed her nothing (which was true, was minding my own business), and that I'm waiting for the cable cross over machine as that's all I have left to do in my work out (since she would let me jump in between sets)

Women coming in wearing next to nothing and looking HOT. I'm there to work out, not oogle.

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.....Why is that?...If you're gonna workout, workout hard,......

I guess I'll never understand the gym mentality (except for the chick thing).....Guess I'm a bit too anti-social to put up with all that b.s. when I can, for the price of a membership and gas to and from, buy some weights, a speedbag, and a heavy bag and go at it at home without all the grief.

The groaners. Especially when it's someone who's been working out for, oh I don't know, a week let's say. And it's maybe the 2nd rep of they're first set on either the machines or the freeweights.

And everything is like "Aaaarrrrgggghhhh YEAH! THAT'S IT! GO FOR IT! GRRR! BAM!

To themselves. Puhleeze. It's 8 or 10 pounds, buddy. Stop it. Oh, and shave that forest off your back if you're going to wear a wife beater to work out.

comfortablynumb said:

I used to be a gym rat, twice a day 6 times a week, but haven't been in a couple years heres my top pet peeves.

The biggest one:
- Rack your weights! I can't stand having to take plates off and re-rack dumbbells just to use a bench or piece of equipment.

- Steroid Monsters: If you can barely lift the 200 pound dumbells, DON'T, I can't stand hearing THUD and feel the building shake.

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These are my top two. Nobody thinks you're more powerful because you holler and drop your weights when they're high off the ground, and nobody likes you when you litter the floor with weights because you think you're too frakking important to put them back. Best gym I ever worked out in was a gym shared by the Marines, Navy and Coast Guard (I was there with a CG pilot friend of mine); everyone there was serious, polite, responsible, and respectful of others. I'm at a University now, so I work out on campus, but the "faculty/staff/emeritus" gym is very far away, and the main gym is right across the street from my building, so guess which one I use?

Sleepers or "hoggers" are a close third; you don't need to rest on the machines; you can rest standing up so others can use them.

Everything listed so far is all true. Issues like that are why I have equipment at home.

One pet peeve that I have is music blaring over the speakers. The "crap" that is always playing, tends to be music that I can't stand. If you are the type that needs music to work out, get an Ipod.

I'm lucky--although I've encountered a number of these pet peeves, my gym is only a few blocks from the beach.....all that fresh salt air makes everybody there melllooowww....

Been a long time since I've been a member of a gym. But the ones I went to were affiliated with a hospital so you got all kinds walking around. Some there for therapy all the way to the gym rats. But the worst was going in the locker room and seeing 'naked old guy' walking around like its a nudist camp yucking it up with the other naked cronies.

I have to go with people leaving their weights on the machine when they're done for a pet peeve. I can't count the number of people I had to help pull ~300lb off the leg press.

As for people that just chill out on the machine between sets... maybe I'm a little old-fashioned, but I just ask them if we can double up. I have yet to have someone say no or get offended.

I guess my only other pet peeve is that I never get my money's worth. I always end up saying "this time will be different!", and it isn't.

When I worked in Century City, CA, I joined the Sports Connection (aka the Sports Erection) in West Hollywood (now Ballys). I did so to add a bit of volume to my lanky bod. First some nimwit who worked there and was responsible for showing newbies around had me bench press like 500 pounds with my monkey arms. I got the bar up but it soon came down near my throat and I was panicked since he wasn't even spotting me. He also put me on this diet where I was told not to eat any sugars or breads. I lost almost 15 pounds in a few weeks that I couldn't afford to loose (I have a high metabolism like a hummingbird and need every calorie), felt awful and started freaking out and went back to my old diet and quickly gained it back along with some muscle. He nearly killed me.

Due to the neighborhood, this gym was a gay mecca and swarming with pretty boy "twink" types, most of whom weren't serious about working out, except working out their jaws as they stood there chatting away about Hollywood celebutard gossip or how fabulous the latest White Party in Palm Springs was or what club they were going to that night. Meanwhile, I'm standing there for 30 minutes to use a single piece of equipment. And yes, FEW EVER WIPED DOWN THE MACHINES!

The final blow, uh, I mean straw, came when I was waiting to use the drinking fountain (before the days of mass bottled water) and this guy in front of me with long, matted and stringy hair, and gym shorts you could stand up in a corner, walked up to the fountain and after taking a short drink, decided to thrust his head in the fountain and wet his hair for about a very long 30 seconds! His hair traveled all over the inside of the fountain!!!

Without missing a beat, I picked up my wonderfully fashionable Nike gym bag, turned around, and headed to the door, never to return again.

Currently, my daily workout consists of pressing the buttons on my remote control and opening up a cold one.

While all the above bother me, the one that really frosts me is....

(the following is rated PG-18, proceed at your own risk)

The "guy" -- at it's always the guy who (not that it matters) is of greatly advanced years and of greatly advanced gut -- who:

a) weighs himself naked (a pair of briefs or boxers will not affect your results dummy)

and/or

b) shaves naked at the sink with his frank and beans resting (usually) on or at least against, the sink (again... towel, briefs, or boxers will not affect your results and guess what? you will leave the sink in a condition that someone else will be able to use without a hazmat suit. dumb ***).