# Gym rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 3, 2018, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674 "2018-09-03T05:27:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/21 "2018-09-03T17:59:39Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > _Incline_ bench? Or decline bench? I dont understand how you do sit ups on an incline bench. It’s a fairly common name for that piece of kit: > **[How to Do Inclined Sit Ups: 10 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow](https://www.wikihow.com/Do-Inclined-Sit-Ups)** > > If you're looking to build core strength, sit ups can be a useful exercise as they increase strength and flexibility in your abdominal muscles. Doing sit ups on an incline bench are more effective than regular sit ups, as there is a wider... “Doing sit ups on an incline bench are more effective than regular sit ups, as there is a wider range of motion.” > **[The 4 Best Ways to Use a Sit-Up Bench for Full-Body Strength | Livestrong.com](https://www.livestrong.com/article/130347-effectively-use-sit-up-bench/)** > > You can use a sit-up bench for more than just decline or incline sit-ups. Learn how to effectively use a sit-up bench to build full-body strength at the gym. “Proper Situps on an Incline Board” > **[building-muscle101.com - building muscle101 Resources and Information.](https://www.building-muscle101.com/incline-sit-up.html)** > > building-muscle101.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, building-muscle101.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for! "on an incline bench. " ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/22 "2018-09-03T18:40:00Z")
I only drop bumper plates, and only when doing lifts that are safer to drop at the end instead of lower. I have had some ladies complain that men have actually taken plates off their bars while they are between sets saying “Oh, you don’t need this 45…” That has never happened to me, but I think that is grounds for murder by kettlebell. ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/23 "2018-09-03T18:54:37Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Well it depends what you mean by “dropping”. > > If you mean you can’t put the weights down as carefully as you could before the set because your arm is fatigued to fuck (as it should be)…I’m with you brother. That’s fine. > > But if you literally let go of the weights from a high position? You’re…you’re no brother of mine! I can’t relate to that; I’ve never needed to let a weight go into freefall, and I’m pretty stacked. Perhaps that’s a better way to put it: I can’t set them down as gently and quietly as I might otherwise. I certainly don’t let them freefall from mid-air. I always roll my eyes at the Planet Fitness “gym-timidation” commercials. They’re solving a problem that doesn’t exist. I’m no jock and I’ll never be a competitive bodybuilder, but I’ve been to countless gyms over the years, from hardcore holes in the wall to corporate chain gyms that are more like nightclubs, and I’ve never had any kind of interpersonal problem in any of them. No one is paying any attention to you, let alone bullying you. No one cares what you’re doing or what you look like; they’re all just focused on their own thing. If the mere existence of people in better shape than you intimidates you, well, that’s all about you. As for nudity in the locker room - it’s a locker room. Granted, clipping of toenails, or leaving wet spots on the floor, or other material inconveniences/hazards are no-nos, but objecting to nudity in and of itself is all about you. It wasn’t so long ago that communal nude showering, swimming, etc. were the norm. If you think seeing a penis makes you gay or something - again, all you. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/24 "2018-09-03T20:34:04Z")
Well, this better than gym r_u_nts, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/25 "2018-09-03T20:58:26Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Well, this better than gym r_u_nts, anyway. I first read the title as “Gym Rats,” and I thought “What did I do _now_?” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/26 "2018-09-03T21:28:28Z")
Gime? What’s a gime? Ohhhh, heh heh heh, I get it. “Gime”. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/27 "2018-09-04T00:02:30Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Don’t get me started on the people who would walk back and forth in the swim lanes of the pool. Yes, I know people with back issues and knee issues really need this exercise. But could you pick a time when _all_ the lanes are open for swimmers, and not a time when only three lanes are open, and the pool is free for kids to rough-house? Two swimmers can share a lane, but it’s hard to share a lane with a walker. One walker reduces the available swimming area by 33%. During the time when the whole pool is swimming lanes, there are 10. So one walker isn’t so bad. Damnit, you stole my rant. My Y, though, usually has only 2-3 lap lanes open; occasionally, only 1. The pool-walkers or -loungers get offended by being asked to move to the “open swim” area, so I just blast past them a few times, doing butterfly if they’re really annoying. Same with the “chatty pair using kickboards”. Lately there’s also been issues with the chatty old guys who spread their towels, clothes, and gym bag kit over the entire bench in a row of lockers… and sit there talking for a half hour+ while everyone tries to squeeze past them to get to _their_ lockers. Friday some irritated guy finally interrupted them to shout “Hey! There’s other people here! Move your damn stuff!” It was glorious. Alas, I’m sure they won’t change their ways. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/28 "2018-09-04T01:02:01Z")
I don’t go to a gym but I want to chime in! My local plaza has a gym in the middle of it. When it’s open, all the gym goers drive like maniacs and hog all the close spots. Guys, you’re going to work out. It’s ok to drive slow and park more in the middle and the back rather than race someone else to the closest spot. When I go into one of the stores and come out laden with packages, I’d prefer to be able to choose to be a little closer to the entrance (I normally park towards the back as a general rule anyway to get a few extra steps a day). I know it’s the gym too because it was closed for a bit and parking to shop was great. The gym across from my old job had a tiny parking lot and they’d take all our spots in our tiny parking lot and our maintenance guy took immense pleasure in having each and every one of their cars towed. Both of these places? Plenty of parking in the general area, just not immediately at the gym entrance. It’s not like Disneyworld where you have to take a tram and a monorail to get from your car to the entrance. Seriously, just get 100 extra steps. I do a lot of walking so one my pet peeve while actually working out is people who talk to me other than a passing hello. I’m dressed for the weather, I’ve clearly got an earbud in, I’m barely making eye contact. No I don’t want to stop and chat. I’m not being rude. I’m exercising. And I endorse everyone above saying people walking/running too many abreast. There’s room for everyone… in single file. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/29 "2018-09-04T04:01:58Z")
> [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](#): > > Perhaps that’s a better way to put it: I can’t set them down as gently and quietly as I might otherwise. I certainly don’t let them freefall from mid-air. The guy who got taken to task by the cleaning lady had brought his arms down to the upright-down position and then opened his hands. BOOM, BOOM! (bounce, bounce). If anybody ends up so tired they can’t bend down a little to put the weights down without doing something out of a Roadrunner cartoon, they really need to learn to stop sooner or use smaller weights. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/30 "2018-09-04T05:28:03Z")
> [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](#): > > I’m guilty of dropping the weights after an intense set. The third set is the hardest, and I can’t always predict how many reps I’m going to be able to do; sometimes my muscles just give out. You could try not doing intense sets. That always works for me… ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/31 "2018-09-04T17:51:32Z")
My gym rant, and I guess I’m a pratt for bitching, because this gym is in my office building and it’s free: The building cleaning staff are in the gym late at night, ostensibly cleaning, but I’m sure it’s mostly to watch ESPN. They turn it up LOUD, too, maybe so it can be heard over cleaning activities. Then, in the morning, gym guests come in and ESPN is still on at concert-level volume. And the show on at that hour is some horrible “talk” show where newscasters sitting around a desk yell at each other about some quarterback’s salary or the wisdom of a trade. It’s like a sports-y version of the Jerry Springer Show. We can’t change the channel or the volume, so one of us (me) has to get in the elevator and go down to the ground floor lobby and get the security person to come up and fix this. When I couldn’t find a security person, I’ve given up on my workout that day because it’s impossible to concentrate with that yelling going on in my ears. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/32 "2018-09-04T18:09:05Z")
> [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > I don’t go to a gym but I want to chime in! > > My local plaza has a gym in the middle of it. When it’s open, all the gym goers drive like maniacs and hog all the close spots. Guys, you’re going to work out. It’s ok to drive slow and park more in the middle and the back rather than race someone else to the closest spot. When I go into one of the stores and come out laden with packages, I’d prefer to be able to choose to be a little closer to the entrance (I normally park towards the back as a general rule anyway to get a few extra steps a day). I know it’s the gym too because it was closed for a bit and parking to shop was great. The gym across from my old job had a tiny parking lot and they’d take all our spots in our tiny parking lot and our maintenance guy took immense pleasure in having each and every one of their cars towed. Both of these places? Plenty of parking in the general area, just not immediately at the gym entrance. It’s not like Disneyworld where you have to take a tram and a monorail to get from your car to the entrance. Seriously, just get 100 extra steps. > > I do a lot of walking so one my pet peeve while actually working out is people who talk to me other than a passing hello. I’m dressed for the weather, I’ve clearly got an earbud in, I’m barely making eye contact. No I don’t want to stop and chat. I’m not being rude. I’m exercising. And I endorse everyone above saying people walking/running too many abreast. There’s room for everyone… in single file. I do go to a gym, and I agree with the general sentiment. There was one gym that I went to where people were essentially illegally parked (next to the outside of the painted parking spaces) just to get a little closer to the gym, even though there was plenty of parking and it was all in front of the gym. I can’t comment on some of the other rants because I generally go to the gym late at night when there aren’t as many people to begin with. //i\ ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/33 "2018-09-04T18:15:24Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > mmmmm I _luv_ a good, un-wiped-down bench. The opposite can be annoying too. I have a woman who always requests to work in on equipment, which is fine. But, she spends a good 2-3 minutes in between every single set to wipe down the equipment. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/34 "2018-09-04T18:20:58Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > We can’t change the channel or the volume, so one of us (me) has to get in the elevator and go down to the ground floor lobby and get the security person to come up and fix this. Check if your phone has the capability of being a remote control. You might be able to change the TV yourself. If the TV is reachable, there are sometimes controls along the side. And pulling the plug might always be an option. It’s a safety issue that this gets taken care of. It would be dangerous if the loud volume was a distraction to someone exercising, and it cased a weight to slip from their hands and get flung into the screen of the TV. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/35 "2018-09-04T19:38:54Z")
> [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > My local plaza has a gym in the middle of it. When it’s open, all the gym goers drive like maniacs and hog all the close spots. Guys, you’re going to work out. It’s ok to drive slow and park more in the middle and the back rather than race someone else to the closest spot. But the people who are _not_ going to the gym will benefit more from a long walk. They are kindly thinking of your health! ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/36 "2018-09-04T20:03:49Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Been storing this one up for a while. > > 1. **People sitting on machines playing with phone forever** > Then when you ask if you can just swap on for a moment, and do a quick set, they reply with “I just have 3 more sets to go” and refuse to budge. Saw a guy at the 24 Hour Fitness which I dropped as it was too crowded to do anything had a guy on a bench press who also had a dozen dumbbells arrayed around it so he could do all his routines. At the time I passed he was busy working on another machine. So yeah… no bench press, and a bunch of dumbbells out of play for everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/37 "2018-09-04T20:26:18Z")
My pet peeve is people not putting their weights away. My old gym was spread over two floors but only had one pair of a particular weight of kettle bells that I wanted to use. One was in its right place upstairs so i set about looking for the other. It took me about 5 minutes to find its sibling which had been taken downstairs, into a section of running machines and then sort of hidden between a wall and the farthest machine. Put it back you fuckers! For me it’s lazy and undisciplined. Discipline is such a central part of working out and I make putting my weights away a part of that process. Plus it’s basic courtesy to other gym users. Dropping weights is also a sign of ill discipline. Putting them down properly in the right place in the spot you intend to pick them up from is up there with correct form, timed rest periods between sets and, where appropriate, completing sets. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/38 "2018-09-04T20:46:19Z")
A friend of mine was doing 275 lb deadlifts today - quietly. Thinking of this thread, I said “funny how you can do them without slamming the bar to the ground - why can’t anyone else?” ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/39 "2018-09-04T22:28:38Z")
I didn’t think buddy, [here,](https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a22662294/loud-gym-etiquette/) was slamming his weights all that loudly. Maybe IRL it was a lot louder? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674/40 "2018-09-04T22:31:03Z")
I don’t think buddy, [here,](https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a22662294/loud-gym-etiquette/) was slamming his weights all that loudly. Maybe IRL it was a lot louder? ETA: I thought attacks were physical things? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-rants/820674.md?page=3)