Years ago I had a friend who decided to get into shape in the New Year. She was not a Resolutionary, of course. She was serious about it. And she had nothing good to say about the influx of folks who would sign up with the best of intentions and then drop out. She had nothing but contempt for them.
On her first day, she complained to her personal trainer about all the noobs. “I’ll bet you don’t see half of these people next week”, she said smugly. At the end of her workout, she scheduled her next one.
I’m inferring his wishes based on what he said. Going on and on about how these people are losers who really bring down his workout and of course are all doomed to fail and then throwing in some bullshit about wishing them well is just a way to try and not sound like a douche. Kind of like the old “bless her heart”.
Talk about spanging off when you know fuck all. I do go to a gym regularly and am totally familiar with and occasionally annoyed by the annual influx. It’ll happen again in the spring when everyone remembers bathing suit time is coming up again. So the fuck what? Oh wait, your time is more valuable because you’re “serious or semi-serious”? Whatever that means to you is not relevant to anyone else. You are not the gym czar.
Your first sentence wishful thinking at best and I don’t know what point you’re trying to make with the second.
You too are welcome to piss/step/fuck off and if you have any other bullshit to cover you can take it to the pit.
WOOKINPANUB, I am specifically warning you to watch what you say about me. You have inferred that I am, in YOUR WORDS, “going on and on about how these people are losers who really bring down his workout”.
If you don’t want to follow this thread accurately, then get out. ** You are responsible to quote and or paraphrase people responsibly**. You have failed in this regard and my reputation is at stake.
I’ve not called anyone losers and never said they bring down my workout. If anything, I’ve expressed how they can improve their chances and have given a glimpse into how I manage around them.
Again, WOOKINPANUB,you want to post about me? Get it right or get out.
I don’t really see these type of people since in my neighbourhood they mostly flock to the LA Fitness rather than the Gold’s Gym I go to. Also, they tend to go workout in the evening while I stick to the morning rotation. I’m pretty lucky in that I live around the corner from my gym and I can swing a pretty good schedule on account of zero commute time between my gym and home (this used to make my 6 a.m. workouts much easier on me).
As far as the Resolwhilutionaries I DO see-I mostly wise them nothing but the best.
In general I’m pretty tired of the gym and I think I’m going to be a LifeFitness X1 elliptical this summer. I’m saving up for it right now.
In University this sort of thing sucks as it generally doesn’t cost any extra to use the gym. The school gym was rammed until about mid february when people give up. This was also a big problem when I was a member of good life (specifically the good life at bloor and bay in Toronto).
What I hate most is that it is impossible to find a cardio machine so I could warm up. People spend tons of time on almost zero resistance expecting results. The other thing is that I would see plenty of people at real risk of injury because they don’t know what they were doing. I’ve got no problem with thinning the herd really, but I don’t want to watch it and when I try to help they would generally get all pissy with me.
That’s why I joined an expensive gym. Fewer people are willing to spend $100/month for something they are going to give up in six weeks (especially when you sign a 12 month contract). Going to a gym on january 10th and being able to use any machine I want is worth the money.
You are *warning *me? Get over yourself, delusional. You have no more control over me than you do of the “Resolutionary Army”
<smirk> Your reputation? It’s at stake? You aren’t going to challenge me to a duel are you?
Okay, all snarkiness aside, I didn’t actually quote you. Human beings draw conclusions based on a number of things. Using snarky terms like “Resolutionary Army” is one of them.
The above is fairly dripping with disdain, no?
You are correct; you did not use those exact words. I must have misunderstood the meaning of your post in the thread about the hated “Resolutionary Army”:rolleyes: You want to play a game of semantics, fine.
I think I’ve got it plenty right. However, I will get out. I will even offer an apology, as this is a thread for commenting on the workout, eating habits and thought process of strangers and I knew that coming in. It was inappropriate of me to bitch about your (collective you)bitching.
Sorry, but I’m with Philster on this point. The reality is that they ARE doomed to fail. People who are serious about working out don’t wait around until January 1st. The reality is also that they DO make working out more difficult for everybody concerned. Contrary to what you said, Philster did not go “on and on” about this, but even if he did, it would still be a legitimate concern.
And he most certainly did not call them losers. You know that.
You seem to find it difficult to grasp that someone can hope the best for people while simultaneously recognizing that their approach dooms them to failure and makes life more difficult for everyone concerned.
BTW, the term “Resolutionary Army” is not synonymous with “loser.” No reasonable person would draw that conclusion. They are a resolutionary army in the sense that there is a massive flood of these New Year’s resolutioners. Any implication that they are “losers” exists in the mind of the reader, not the writer.
If women besides me and maybe two others actually showered at the gym, the women who use the shower stalls to change without showering first would be more of a hassle. I still don’t quite understand the “OMG, another person of the same gender might see that I have the same parts as them! Hide!!!” behavior, but it does annoy me the most when there are a lot of people at the gym.
Another thing that hasn’t happened since I switched to my current gym but is not restricted to gym behavior is the Mother brings male child into the locker room who is old enough to use his own gender’s locker room/bathroom. Seriously, if the kid is old enough to go to school, they’re old enough to pee and change in their own gender’s locker room. I rarely see it these days, but when I do, it’s almost always some twelve year old boy with an inconsiderate helicopter mom who leaves him out in the waiting area to stare at the other women and peek into stalls. It’s exceedingly rare for me to see a father escorting his school-aged daughter into the men’s room these days, so why does it seem acceptable to drag the school-aged boys in with the moms?
Edit: Last year, I started fitness training in January with a local dojo and got nothing but encouragement from my fellow students; up until November, I had continued training and would have still been doing it had there not been a string of circumstances that affected my ability to train with the owner of the dojo. However, I’ve been doing a lot of running through the neighborhood and the occasional stint at the gym; I realize that, to the average regular there, I’m going to look like I’m part of the Resolutionary Army and I just don’t care-- once they see that I have a reasonable commitment and know what I’m doing, they don’t have much of a right to get frustrated at my presence as long as I follow the proper etiquette.
Okay this is one question I’m dying to ask them. How in the HELL do you wear makeup, sweat, and not end up with outright cystic acne? I have at least two regulars in my Group Power (different brand, same workout as Body Pump) class who wear makeup. If I have even a lick on my face, I’ll get a zit. What’s their SECRET?!?!
Exactly. This thread isn’t about people who were previously fit, but due to life or a baby etc, aren’t welcome. We know you’re here to stay, and it’s obvious you know your way around the gym. Lots of us aren’t going to win fitness awards. We just expect a certain level of commitment - which means you won’t interfere with our workout.
This is the greatest. Totally classic. People ALWAYS think it’s not “them”.
I don’t spend quite $100/month, but I did join a more expensive gym to counter the effect. I’m hoping the greater cost will be prohibitive, and therefore turn people out to another, inexpensive gym in the area.
This is actually something that genuinely scares me - in a Pump/Group Power class, you have weights, and at the end of a grueling squat song, you’re going to be tired - if you’re doing it right, of course. I’ve almost dropped own bar a few times, but newbies have swung their bars all around me, narrowly missing me a few times in the past.
lindsaybluth, your latest comment underscores a critical difference between mere newbies and the resolutionary types. Serious newbies tend to study proper workout methods, or observe other gym-goers, or at least put some thought into sensible gym behavior. Folks who make a half-hearted commitment seldom bother with such details, and so they are more likely to present a hazard to the people around them.
WOOKINPANUB, What disdain drips from my words other than disdain for failure? The first words that I posted in this thread are, “I don’t hate them…”
I hate this time of year.
You call this a game of semantics? You are stretching the definition of semantics to include completely destroying my words, misquoting me and butchering any effort to paraphrase me accurately?
Let’s see, should I just come out and say I love all people? If my own children were doing something that is bound for failure, should I not be critical of that behavior for fear I might be perceived as hating them?! COME ON!
The tag ‘‘Resolutionary Army’’ clearly defines a group of people and is a wonderful term for this discussion. Me thinks YOU view me with a great amount of prejudice, because based on my posts and my wording, there is no reasonable way to infer everything you have. You might think I want to throw rocks and tell the “losers” (your word) to go home, when all I’ve done is express frustration over a time of the year (January), and offer up some ways people can help themselves, or be helped by the very people running the gyms.
You are responsible, and I can warn you. You do not have license to be a complete and utter ass on these boards at my expense, and your membership and/or participation are granted, not guaranteed.
I’m not mad at anyone that wants to do the resolution thing. Whether or not they stick around is besides the point. Hell, I hope they do stick around. Maybe they’ll have to annex the tennis court in back and expand the gym, then.
My ‘Y’ actually encourages the wrong kind of behavior, because they send out coupons for January and make special January offers. On TV, gym and fitness center ads are throwing every deal to the potential Resolutionary Army recruits, increasing their numbers.
Does the Resolutionary Army know their participation is not even welcomed by the gyms and the Y? The gyms and the Y want their year paid in full, and want them to go away. The facilities do best when you have a paying clientele that never shows up, except for the base group that pays extra for classes and gets the family involved in other programs that make money.
Sadly, the recruiters know that the Resolutionaries are bound to fail, so they push the army size by advertising and offering specials. Business-wise, it’s brilliant (on paper, anyway). Fitness-wise? Dooming people to failure, especially since there is no effort, year in and year out, to help these people, and to effectively integrate them into the gym so that all goes smoothly.
WOOKINPANUB, if you’d like to continue proving that it’s taking longer than any of us thought to fight ignorance, then please hang around this thread like a troll… Otherwise, go open a new thread about your own issues with this thread.
I can’t ban you, but I can expose you for the troll you are rapidly becoming.
Move on, as this thread’s subject is: “Pitting the Resolutionary Army: what you hate about the January influx of new gym members?”
It’s not about making us hug them all, and certainly not about retracting our comments that you find new and inventive ways to twist.