Last night at the gym I was surprised because it was Monday night and there was actually a little bit of room to walk around. I was even more surprised when I saw that this one chest machine that ALWAYS has a body on it was open. I thought, "I'll just use it until someone bugs me for it". Sure enough, I did one set and a some guy comes up with the usual "heyhowmansessyagah" -- only he didn't even bother to say it out loud, he just sort of stood there and mouthed it. I just said "go ahead and take it" and walked away. Behind me, I heard him say, "Aw, ya give up that easy??" Huh? "Give up"? Like I was supposed to fight him for it?
On the next machine I tried to use, I got as far as putting the pin in the weight stack when some amped-up woman dashed up with "D'YAVALOTMORESETS???" I looked at her, thought for a second, and said "Um...three?" She scurried away. Or so I thought. I hadn't quite sat down on the machine this time when some other dude pounced. "Heyhowmansessyagah". I shook my head. "Just take it", I said. The guy seemed baffled -- "Yer done??". I couldn't get away from there fast enough, but in my haste I heard wired chick dash back up, "Oh you're done?? You're done already??!!" I wonder if they wound up fighting each other for the goddamn thing.
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by any of this. Think about it -- why do people go to the gym? For themselves. That's the overriding mentality -- narcissism, selfishness. Who cares about you -- it's all about me.
On the next machine I tried to use, I got as far as putting the pin in the weight stack when some amped-up woman dashed up with "D'YAVALOTMORESETS???" I looked at her, thought for a second, and said "Um...three?" She scurried away. Or so I thought. I hadn't quite sat down on the machine this time when some other dude pounced. "Heyhowmansessyagah". I shook my head. "Just take it", I said. The guy seemed baffled -- "Yer done??". I couldn't get away from there fast enough, but in my haste I heard wired chick dash back up, "Oh you're done?? You're done already??!!" I wonder if they wound up fighting each other for the goddamn thing.
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by any of this. Think about it -- why do people go to the gym? For themselves. That's the overriding mentality -- narcissism, selfishness. Who cares about you -- it's all about me.
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Re: Gym etiquette
Sun, August 20, 2006 - 12:15 PMI haven't had that happen but I can totally imagine it. I end up doing cardio followed by the 24 minute circuit.
How has it been going for you since you posted?
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Re: Gym etiquette
Thu, September 14, 2006 - 3:12 PMi'd like to add one more idea...
have you ever watched someone go to tie their shoe in the locker-room...and they are so damn lazy that they put their shoe up on the bench to do so!!!!! this is disgusting!!!! have you ever seen the locker room floor clean? have you ever looked at the bottom of your shoe lately?
I have yet to say something to that lazy person...but one day i will speak my mind about it. -
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Re: Gym etiquette
Thu, September 14, 2006 - 4:47 PMYou make a valid point that feet belong on the ground, not the chair. I have seen this done and I just don't know what to say to those people. The other thing that gets me is people who spread out on the bench. Maybe there should be dividers or split benches? That wouldn't help the shoe thing though... You could offer to stick you shoe on the bike seat they were going to sit on so they'd be sure ot sit on someone else's shoe dirt? :) -
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Re: Gym etiquette
Mon, September 18, 2006 - 2:27 AMHmm..I havent had much problem with ppl bugging me for machines. But a few times Ive been doing the circuit workout, and theres always one or 2 stupid people who for whatever reason have no clue that there are like 4 other machines available that do the same thing, that arent holding up the circuit....very annoying!
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Re: Gym etiquette
Tue, April 10, 2007 - 1:55 PMHow has it been going? Well, last night was a travesty. I never even got into the waiting-in-line-for-water issue -- I'll maybe save that for another post. I must say that I'm one of the offenders when it comes to hogging one "circuit" machine for too long. I used to steer clear of those machines, but then I got to observing them and noticed NOT A SINGLE PERSON EVER using them in the intended order for the prescribed lengths of time. Usually, I'll get on one machine, and if someone gets on a machine immediately to either side of the one I'm on, I'll vacate.
The shoe-tying issue with the benches caught my attention. My basic take on all of that is, the locker rooms are unclean because the people in them are unclean. As far as the benches go, what I find far more revolting and potentially hazardous from a health standpoint is the insistance of some on sitting directly on the benches naked. The sight of gelatinous ass cheeks being spread directly upon those benches, such that the biohazard soup of sweat, urine, dingleberries, secretions, fecal matter, cheese and hairs that resides in the dook of most of these individuals is being smeared onto those benches never fails to trigger my gag reflex. I cannot fathom the thought process -- or lack thereof -- that goes into this kind of behavior. -
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Unsu...
Re: Gym etiquette
Fri, May 4, 2007 - 7:44 AMI used to do the same thing-- be annoyed when people come up and ask how many more sets I have left. Now I answer with the number of sets I've got left. If they look friendly, I might offer for them to work in (I have to have recovery time between sets anyway). If they don't look friendly (or if they are the pushy kind of gym rats), I just give them a short answer and try my best not to look friendly.
Of course, there will be those to insist or invite themselves to work in.
I changed my way of looking at these intruders because 1) I pay for the membership, too and 2) I really need to do what I set out to do when I made the trip to the gym.
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Re: Gym etiquette
Fri, May 4, 2007 - 3:15 PMI find it hard enough to concentrate in there without some guy hovering over me fidgeting and tapping his foot wishing I'd hurry up.
Also, most people don't seem to be too concerned with how I'm timing my rest intervals between sets, if they even know you're supposed to do that at all. So I just don't "work in" with people.
If somebody asks me -- or otherwise indicates, by gesturing or grunting, say -- to "work in", I just say "Oh -- are you waiting for it, too?" (implying that there are probably at least ten people wanting to use the same piece of equipment at any given time) and just walk away let the guy (and it's almost ALWAYS a guy) take it.
I then go find a machine that's a similar type of exercise and doesn't have a body on it. Sometimes, of course, that's not possible, but that's just the price we all pay to live in this world where the herd mentality rules all.
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