# Other women at my gym irk me (kinda long) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 30, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996 "2003-07-30T21:49:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996/21 "2003-07-31T14:07:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\*\the young silverbacks strutting about the place with their neck muscles permanently flexed, and that is fine by me. > \ \*\* I skim-read this as “silverfish” at first - :eek: Going to the gym and watching all the hot young studs working out is funny - my husband has been a coach for 18 years, and he points out to me all the form errors he sees these young studs doing. And of course, they are the absolute _last_ people that will ever ask for advice on how to use a machine. Silly boys. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996/22 "2003-07-31T14:16:22Z")
I feel the same way about some of the women at my gym. Our machines are set up in a circle, so that’s what we see during our work outs - each other. I see jeans, jewellery, makeup, gum, sandals, fancy hairstyles - drives me bonkers. I go in wearing my gym clothes and my hair up and face scrubbed. It’s a womens-only place, and not some damned pickup joint! Also, they seem to get upset if you point out that they’re doing something wrong, so I don’t bother. I tell the gym lady quietly, and she will correct them. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996/23 "2003-07-31T14:40:09Z")
What annoys me is people who hog the treadmills - they’re pretty popular and there are only 10 treadmills, so at rush hour there is a queue for them. On each of the treadmills is a sign stating that the limit is strictly 20 minutes when people are waiting, but there are always, _always_ selfish assholes who stay on for an extra 10 or 15 minutes (I’m usually on the stepping machines behind the treadmills which gives me a lovely view of the timers). ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996/24 "2003-07-31T15:42:35Z")
My favorite is the women who spend all their time on the machine that works your groin. As if having a toned groin muscle is going to make the inside of your thigh no so jiggly. Their time would be better spent on the treadmill. ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996/25 "2003-07-31T19:25:21Z")
I like the group effort bench pressers. There are usually either three or five of them, and they seem to use the bench as a way for the spotters to work on his upright rows, because the guy who’s actually lying there isn’t handling much of the weight. They can also be recognized by the fact that after a year of solid training they’re all still lifting the exact same weight they started out with. I shudder to think what would happen if they ever crossbred with the people who stand in the squat rack working on their wrist curls. ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996/26 "2003-07-31T19:43:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Our machines are set up in a circle, so that’s what we see during our work outs - each other. **Ginger** , that’s exactly how mine is set up, too. So yeah, basically you’re spending most of the time looking at other people. Unless you find a spot on the wall to focus on and that feels awkward half the time. Very often ladies will ask each other “am I doing this one right?” and someone will suggest to them how to do it better, so it’s not like it’s some big ol’ catty atmosphere. OTOH, actually one time I had my workout kinda ruined because I kept stopping what I was doing to help this older woman who had no idea what she was doing and the manager took forever to jump in. Oy. > [@](#): > > I tell the gym lady quietly, and she will correct them. I guess that’s pretty harmless. I think if I see S there again tomorrow when I’m there, I’m going to say something to the manager on duty. The reason it bugs me that S doesn’t do the machines right and puts in such little effort is that I know that if she keeps it up, she’s not going to see results, and I know she wants to be there. [hijack my own post]Any recommendations for a basic at-home method of working on the lower abs?[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996/27 "2003-07-31T19:46:58Z")
I should point out that the older lady who had no idea what she was doing had _asked_ me for help, I didn’t just jump in and tell her what to do unsolicited. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996/28 "2003-07-31T19:58:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by saramamlana \* > \*\*[hijack my own post]Any recommendations for a basic at-home method of working on the lower abs?[/hijack] \*\* Five to fifteen minutes of crunches, three to five times a week. Other exercises will keep you from getting bored, but the basics will get the job done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-women-at-my-gym-irk-me-kinda-long/191996.md?page=1)