good morning friends,
there were two huge muscular guys at the tricep extension machine next to me. one was working the machine, grunting and groaning as if his triceps were about to explode. his workout partner was yelling at him in a very loud voice: “you ain’t shit! one more! come on you pussy, push harder!”
i looked over and noticed that the machine was set on 9. i am a short, rather chunky middle aged guy, and i was quietly doing my tricep set at 8.
gym theater…
That’s great and all, but since I was paying the guy, I was much more interested in said guy’s opinion than in some guy who wanders up and pretends to know everything.
I second just about everything that’s been said, except the remark about the scantily clad females ;). Actually I wish we guys could get a little more skimpy as well, 'cause it does get warm when you’re working out But bulky and baggy seems to be the rule of the day.
Aside from that, I’m surprised no-one has mentioned the locker room slobs. My gym has free lockers that work like hotel safes. You put your things in, punch in a code to lock it, and later you use the same code to unlock it. You can even use two or three at the same time, if you have to. And I did say it’s completely free, so there’s no excuse not to use the lockers. So why, in the name of all that’s holy, do some schlubs have to spread out their sweaty used gym clothes, towels, and bags all over the bench, while they take a dump and shower?
Shaving at the gym. In theory, a great prospect, especially if your gym has a steamroom. But the slobs who don’t clean the sinks afterward ruin it for everyone, so the only way to prevent a rime of shaving cream and beard crumbs is to ban shaving for everyone.
Its even worse in the woman’s side, I’m told. Razors are banned by law from the shower area so that they won’t be left on the tiles to be stepped on, but if you check the soles of your flip-flops (which you’d be a fool not to wear) after youv’e been in there, you’ll always see shavings.
Wow I’ve never seen or heard of anyone shaving at the gym. Seems like something you could do at home.
The only prob at my gym is people signing up for popular machines. There are clipboards behind each treadmill and the one eliptical (small town) and people can get really fucking rude. They will sign up without asking you when you will be finished and then try to boot you off 5 min. later or phone in ahead and book it for like an hr, saunter in late and use it for 5 min while other people who have been there for ages waiting a turn can’t touch it. Grrrr. Yeah I know i could do that too but I don’t want to be like that.
People goofing around in the pool are on my list.
I come out of the locker room in my practice suit and gear, and there they are, some bitch in a string bikini and her boyfriend, splashing around in the low end. Look, this is not the town pool. It’s not play time. The pool has 2 lanes. One is already occupied by an old lady paddling down the center of the lane at a snail’s pace. Another peeve, because I can’t share her lane, but at least she is actually swimming. They’re just flirting by the stairs, and they have the nerve to give me dirty looks while I try and swim around them.
The guy I can’t stand wears a black nylon track suit and black leather gloves. He wanders around the gym staring at women’s bottoms. I hate it when he stands behind me when I’m on the treadmill. I hate it more when he lies on the floor in front of the treadmills and does pelvic thrusts. As far as I can tell, that is his main work-out besides wielding some stick in straight arm raises and placing it behind his head, resting it on his shoulders. I almost hope he wacks someone with it so he’ll be told to leave. He creeps me out and I avoid making any eye-contact at all. I’m in a much better mood when he isn’t there.
I’m another one who would piss of the OP by “meandering” on the treadmill. What is invisible to the eye is that I had a serious injury from falling through a floor at an industrial site. I sometimes spend 30-40 minutes walking with minimal incline and minimal resistance, but trying like hell to control my gait. Do to pain, I spent over a year walking “funny” and now I’m trying to correct it. Yes, my heart and lungs just crave a big workout, but that just ain’t happenin’ on the treadmill.
So just because I’m not soaked in sweat and huffing and puffing, it does not mean that I’m not getting exactly what I need from the machine. Don’t presume to know why I’m on a machine or what I’m trying to get out of it. I’m following doctor’s orders.
My pet peeve: Similar to the “YEEEEAAAARGH!” people, are those who abuse the machines by just “releasing” so the weights on the machine go “Clang!.. Clang!.. Clang!..” You know, like someone does a pull down, then rather than slowly going back up again, they just release their muscles so the pulley yanks their arms back up and the weights crash back down.
So you hear: “Puff! clang!…Puff! clang!… Puff! clang!…”
Maybe it’s a morning thing?
Speculation: If a guy goes to the gym before work, it would be kind of odd to shower and shave, then go to the gym because you’d need to shower again before you get into your office duds. Maybe the shavers are the people who go to the gym before the office.
But then I go to a gym near my house. I shower at home so I’ve never been in the gym showers to noticed stubble lying around.
I dunno, I used to get pissed at people at the gym who do stupid shit, but lately nothing’s happened to bother me. I try not to watch people too much–if you know anything about physiology, kinesiology, or biomechanics, then you can’t help but grimace most of the time–but instead I just do what I came to do and get out.
The funny thing is, at least according to my fitness expert, that this is not especially a good practice. She says you are supposed to lower the weights slowly to do yourself the most good.
Precisely, that’s why it’s all the more irksome. You’re supposed to control both the contraction and the release.
I always feel bad if I do that (and sometimes I do for the first time, then I come back to myself and work out properly)
My beef at the gym:
Why do you thin girls in your skimpy outfits look at me like I’m weird? Yes, I’m tall, I’m big boned and I’m working on getting toned up. Don’t look at me and make me feel stupid for being there! (Of course this could just be my self consciousness speaking up, but it doesn’t always happen, just when certain women are around.)
Along with what MLS and Eats_Crayons were saying, letting go instead of controlling the motion could also possibly break the weights on the machine.
The thing I hate is all the people who don’t remember what time they signed that particular machine up for, and then they come give me an attitude about how they are signed up to use that machine. Uh, no? You’re signed up for 4:30, not 4. I get this at least twice a week.
Dude two words: Under Armour.
Best workout clothing, ever.
I think that’s the main reason it drives me batty, even more than the clang-clang-clang of it. I pay good money to be at the gym and I have this bizarre expectation that people will respect the property that does not belong to them so that it will be in good working order for everyone else.
Abusing the weight machines makes me want to smack people. It’s like people who don’t care about scratching the shit out of rental DVDs or who make no effort to clean up major spills in rental cars. Inconsiderate jerk-ass behaviour. You may pay for the privilege of borrowing the equipiment/DVD/car, but it’s not yours and you should have at least a little respect for other people’s property and the fact that other people will be paying to use it after you.
Flutterby - come to my gym. Skimpy outfits are rare, everyone is there to work out and dress in clothes that they expect to be ruined by sweat. We’re all in our workout grubbies!
Sounds great!
I’ll be okay though. The majority of people at my gym are just average ladies (it’s a female gym) it’s just the odd few that seem to stare at me as I head for the treadmill… now that I’ve got a waist pouch for my discman (I wish I had an MP3 player I could just clip onto my clothes) I find it easier to ignore those few and go about my workout.
People who monopolize a machine are on the top of my fecal roster.
When doing sets on a machine, I make it a point to get up between sets, take a few steps, etc, so someone can work in if they want to. Often I will go get a drink from the water fountain and come back to find someone else on the machine. OK, fine.
But they do one set, and then…sit on the machine until they are ready again. They sit there, staring directly at a sign that reads “Be Courteous - Do NOT Rest On Machines.” They spend about a minute trying to comprehend these strange figures sometimes known as “writing” until it’s time for them to do another set.
And Og forbid that I ask to work in with them…you’d think I’d asked permission to take a dump in their living room.
I’ve got no problem with people doing sets of light weights or “easy” profiles on the elliptical trainer - I figure everyone has to start somewhere, and at least you’re at the gym instead of in front of the TV. But if you’re the jerk who does light weights and then rests on the machine…that’s just plain rude.
I’ve been joining my friend at her gym for the past few weeks now, and am very relieved to say I haven’t witnessed any of these things.
Although, since im a ‘newb’ I may of made the ‘seat adjustment’ error when i’m on the stationary bike.
Oh, and their is the leg press machine which is right beside the isle, I fear that since i’m pushing my legs up at a bit of an incline, those walking down the isle may of accidentally seen a little bit of my…jewels through the bottom of my shorts. :smack:
I use the gym at my apartment complex, which means no staff and plenty o’ oafs. I’d like to add to the pit:
Big men who come down to primp and preen in front of the mirror while lifting a weight once or twice, but don’t actually work out.
People who just come down to sit on the floor and watch the cable TV.
The woman who brought her children in with her last week, despite the large “18 and over only” sign. And let them play on the equipment while she sat on the floor watching television. I had to say something.
“Um, did you know that what your little girl’s doing is really, really dangerous? She could get badly hurt or even killed. I guess that’s why they don’t let kids in this room.”
The little girl in question was wearing a bathing suit and barefoot, and had turned up a treadmill as high as it would go, and was suspending herself over it by the handrails making little running motions with her legs and skipping her toes across the surface. The brick wall was perhaps a foot behind her.
The mother ignores the part about her daughter smashing herself to little pieces on the wall. “What? They don’t let kids in here?”
“That’s what that sign on the door said.”
“Well, that’s stupid.”
I finished up my workout as quickly as I could and left, not wanting to see the mess.