Faithful followers know I’m a gym rat. Five days a week, 5:30 in the morning, I’m there, lifting to my heart’s content. I love doing it. It’s my “me” time and I love how it makes me feel. Plus, tracking my workouts and nutrition, gives me something to focus on that’s not stressful!
My husband is also a gymgoer, although we don’t workout together. We often share our experiences, though, over a glass of wine. Lately, I find that we talk more about improper gym etiquette than anything else. It’s something internet memes love to highlight – people behaving badly at the gym – but, honestly, it’s not cool. Below are the top five things my husband and I have witnessed recently.
- “Equipment-Stealer” – This happened to me twice just this morning! You are using a machine or bench when someone else just cuts in or steals it right from under your nose. I’m totally all in for working in and sharing equipment so that would be cool for me. It’s the jerk who literally “misses” my water bottle and phone sitting on the machine and just sits down and starts and then rests there, completely ignoring me standing right there! Other gymgoers’ eye rolls were real this morning. Ugh.
- “The Loud One” – This is the beast who yells during the workout. “Come on!” and “Aargh!” It’s a little over the top, if you ask me. I mean, I get that grunting sometimes happens when you’re at the end of your set and pushing hard but yelling at the weights is probably not going to help you lift heavier. And, it ruins my music mojo!
- “The Equipment Hog” – Everyone’s seen this before. Someone is on more than one machine or using sets of weights and benches in a superset situation. I do supersets so I get it but sometimes it’s a bit too much, especially if others are waiting and/or it’s a busy time at the gym. Have some respect for others using the equipment. Share or limit your supersets to fit in with the crowd.
- “The Smelly One” – This one goes both ways. There’s a guy at my gym who does the elliptical every day for an hour. And he wears sweats. And he stinks. It’s so bad that people avoid the equipment downwind of him. It’s just terrible. Then, there’s the cute blonde who wears perfume to drown a horse and a full face of makeup. One time, my husband even witnessed a lady wearing men’s cologne! Try to find the middle ground. A little stink is normal; a lot is not.
- “The Dropper” – At Planet Fitness, they call these people “lunkheads” or “lunkers.” The ones who lift a ton and then drop the weights gloriously at the end. It shakes the entire gym. For real. And, it’s probably not good for the equipment either. Just don’t.
These are the top five in my experience but I know I could list more, such as the “One Who Won’t Re-Rack” and the “Ogler.” The bottom line is that gyms are places with an ecelectic group of people all following their own routines with their own approaches. So, it gets silly from time to time! As long as I can unwind at the end of the day with a glass of wine, it’ll all be OK. The best wine for reminiscing over “lunkheads” has got to be a big, bold red, something with a huge taste and a lot of sass. Any Shiraz or California Cab will do. Cheers!