In the story "Rules of the gym" on the Active Health Club page (http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13798), there's a substantial list of gym etiquette. Was anything left off? How about some stories of obnoxious gym members...
Grunting doesn't distract me, it is actually really funny. I also love the guy who curls with too much weights so he has to swing it, setting himself up for numerous injuries.
Other comedy?
- the guy who wears the tank top with the itty bitty straps
- the guy who flexes in the mirror repeatedly yet surreptitiously
- the guy who puts too much weight on his bar for benching or squatting and then lowers it one inch and considers that a rep
- the guy who spends 15 minutes psyching himself up to bench one rep.
These are usually the same guy.
Unfortunately, I am "extremely sweaty guy." I mop up my copious sweat from the machine, but I see people avoiding the treadmill I am on, giving it almost a biohazard-area-sized berth.
Other comedy,
- the woman with the iPod, water bottle, towel, headband, wrist weights, spandex tank top and pants walking 1.5 miles per hour on the treadmill. They are usually the ones seen cruising the up close parking spaces like a shark around a pack of teenaged skinny dippers.
- The woman whose hair is freshly done up in a "fun" top-of-the-head pony tail, perfectly matching spandex workout attire and shoes, who never seems to get around to actually doing anything but streatching and chatting with random cute men.
- The teenagers who spend 3 hours working out chest and biceps, and then amble off on their incredibly skinny legs.
- The guy who shaves off all his body hair and has full body razor burn.
And, last but not least, the chubby kid who works out for 10 minutes and then guzzles a liter of gatorade.
The guys/gals that feel they need to wear cologne/perfume to the gym. Lots of it, too.
The ones that spend one hour at the gym, but chat with others for 50 minutes. How about the guy that gets on the treadmill without any warmup and sets the speed at 8 MPH right away and then only lasts for 5 minutes before stepping off in a huff.
Aahh... the learing men. I have noticed that when a women gets on a treadmill, men will gravitate towards her like sharks. Kinda sad to see all these guys surrounding one poor women. Our gym has a smaller room for women that are uncomfortable among the rest of us. I don't blame them for using it. My wife was not appreciative of the meat head guys, and used this room as much as she could.
WOW!! I DON'T WANT TO VISIT YOUR GYMS! I WORK OUT AT MY LOCAL YMCA (BEEN THERE FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS) AND HAVE NEVER NOTICED A 'LEARING MEN" PROBLEM! EVERYONE HAS ALWAYS BEEN FRIENDLY AND RESPECTFUL OF EACH OTHER. OH, WHAT'S WITH PEOPLE GETTING OFFENDED BY GRUNTING? WE ARE IN A GYM, NOT THE OPERA! I HAVE HEARD PEOPLE GRUNT, BURP, FART, GASP (FOR AIR)! AND NEVER THOUGHT IT OUT OF PLACE. WE PUSH OUR BODIES BEYONE THEIR LIMITS, WE SHOULD PROBABLY EXPECT THEM TO PROTEST A LITTLE BIT! THE ONLY THING I DON'T LIKE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO HOG MACHINES FOR AN UNDETERMINABLE AMOUNT OF REPS. IN THAT CASE, I JUST ASK THEM IF I CAN WORK IN MY SET. THEY ARE USUALLY HAPPY TO OBLIGE.
My gym has an unusual amount of the "oversized" muscle heads. It's a pretty small gym so anywhere you turn, you're bound to bump into someone, and these guys are the ones that think YOU should move out of THEIR way, because they're bigger. And of course, bigger doesn't always mean better. A lot of them are just FAT...and think they're in shape! Gotta love it.....
Most lifters at my gym don't grunt, and those who do, do so modestly as they get to the final reps. But there's one guy who consistently puts on a show, a big drama; makes all kinds of huffing noises, loud grunts, like you'd expect a baby to plop out of him.
I don't mind the men who flex and how they dress. They look good. Thanks for sharing, is what i think.
I never heard of anyone being anything less than 100% supportive of overweight men and women attending the gym. They're right where they should be. I do notice, however, that often times these are the same people who eat energy bars and trail mix while biking and have silo-size gatorades at all times. It's not my place to correct them - or is it? What would you say?
Sally,
Thanks for a breath of fresh air. In all honesty, I also appreciate it when a woman "shares" at my gym too.
Hopefully we will see a day when a man can make that comment and not be considered a "pig." Women seem to be able to say those things. Hey, I'm 59 ... just logging miles and enjoying the scenery ... no harm, no foul.
John
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