post your gym/fitness center peeves....

[nektarine]

our gym is so bo bo it is not even funny. it's crazy cheap and not very busy (our alternative is the pricey & popular NYSC) so we continually renew the membership. but sometimes i just have to laugh at how lame it is!

Peeve #1 - they play muzak/elevator music and the John Tesh show in the women's fitness room. i am dead serious! the Tesh show is so weird & ridiculous that i am almost starting to enjoy it because i find myself laughing so much! the last time i did weights i listened to a segment about "spiritual diets", including one called What Would Jesus Eat. !?

Peeve #2 - the employees are not supposed to exercise while working. but they always do this and take up machines/weights that i want to use! they are basically getting paid to work out and annoy the crap out of me.

Peeve #3 gym staff NEVER enforces the gym's policies. so i end up having some annoying person jabbering away on the cell phone while i'm on the elliptical, or having some bengay infused old man walk into the LADIES fitness room and stare at me while i do squats.

i know i can be anal about "following the rules", but come on!

am i the only one out there with gym gripes????

[keiranzma]

Women who have no sense of BOUNDARIES in the locker room. I have no problem with nudity, but take your nasty, trifling ass into the stall to change your tampon/pad! WTF???

[hockeybrat]

so i end up having some annoying person jabbering away on the cell phone while i'm on the elliptical

Yep, that is me.

I also don't like it when people crash the weights down and the staff doesn't do anything about it.

People who don't wipe down machines after using them.

Latecomers to a class. I can understand once in a while, but not habitually. Get to the gym earlier if you can't make it on time!

[Sue]

Women who have no sense of BOUNDARIES in the locker room. I have no problem with nudity, but take your nasty, trifling ass into the stall to change your tampon/pad! WTF???

:eek: That is SO WRONG!!!

[nektarine]

but take your nasty, trifling ass into the stall to change your tampon/pad! WTF???

GASP! :eek: that is horrible!!!! ew ew ew!

hockeybrat... i am also REALLY annoyed when people don't wipe down the machines!

[Janey]

My biggest gym gripe:

They keep eff-ing with my step aerobics schedule. I find a good class that I really like going to, and I go all the time, and all of a sudden... that instructor can't do it any more, and they have a terrible time replacing them. ARGH. So what happens is that the good classes are so freaking crowded that you can hardly move cause the steps are about 1' apart. :mad:

[alisong]

Ooh, I have one, and this might be my gym specific... I *hate* personal trainers who clap.

[keiranzma]

Ooh, I have one, and this might be my gym specific... I *hate* personal trainers who clap.


:confused:

As in a round of applause?

[alisong]

No, like rythmic clapping. Motivation, I guess. Except it's really annoying for everyone else.

[countrymouse]

Machines that are 'out of order'.

My biggest pet peeves are with the women's locker room. The showers are never clean enough for me (hair clumps make me gag!). Also, jockying to find a hair dryer that works. At any given time, half of the wall-style hair dryers are broken. I already have too much stuff to bring to get ready for work, so I don't want to have to bring my own hair dryer too.

I'm ok w/ nudity too, but I've experienced some pretty freaky exhibitionist-style behavior. One woman routinely showers with the curtain wide open.

[Asha]

people who just store stuff in the lockers 24/7 rather than only during the time when they are at the gym like they are supposed to.

[juliemag]

I'm another one who prefers a sense of modesty in the locker room! This is my space, that's your space... especially when changing your clothes!! eww!

[hockeybrat]

I hope I don't end up seeing women changing their stuff out in public. That is just a little to personal for me.

[Myra]

People who let out a LOUD moan every.single.time. they do a rep. Hon, if it hurts that much, maybe you should try a lighter weight.
This one is super petty, but I also hate people who hog the treadmills walking at a 3.0 pace with no incline, esp. when it's a beautiful day outside. Oh, and they always have to do the cool-down too, as it is essential to cool down after walking slowly for 20 minutes.

[keiranzma]

Um...if you are late, uncoordinated and new to the class, then do NOT stand directly in front of or next to me in Taebo! Go to the back of the room.
Oh, and unless you OWN the phucking gym, do NOT get an attitude with me b/c I am standing in "your" spot! WTF? It's JUST a class, get over yourself!
*whew* I feel better now...

[ahavnes]

I cannot STAND people who sit on the machines and talk endlessly to friends between reps. Sure, I undertstand that you need to rest, but not for 5 mins! Take your @ss to the waterfountain for chit chat.

Oh, I feel so much better. :)

ETA: Also, I haven't seen anyone change their business in front of me, but I did once find a tampon applicator behind one of the benches in the locker room. Nice. :rolleyes:

[pewee9196]

I could go on and on...
Rack your own dam# weights!! Put away your stability balls....
Don't slam the weights, groan while lifting more than you can or use unsafe form!! (not talking about new people here but guys trying to prove they have a set!)

The nudity comments are kind of funny for me. There is no modesty in my gym (Not a public gym)- I think it because most of us have been showering in public for at least 10 years.

[angelraven]

What kind of gym are you all going to? LOL

I do have a couple things though:

For the people who sweat profusely and don't use towels: WIPE down your machines! It is REALLY gross when you are so sweaty that there are ASS prints on the seats of all the machines after you get up. It's not even as if we are required to bring our own towels, the gym provides them along with disinfectant wipes. IT'S NOT HARD!

For the male chauvenistic pigs: Please stop staring at my booty while I'm working on my glutes. I know it's right there, but do you have to GAWK? At least learn how to do it so it isn't so noticeable! Besides, there's a reason I'm working so hard on it, it ain't that nice to stare at right now! lol

[CarolinaGirl]

I hate it when in step aerobics there is plenty of room but someone has to put their step directly in front of me so that I can't see myself in the mirror. Move over just a little, please. Oh, also when some aerobics instructors face the class instead of the mirror. It is so confusing because you have to do the moves opposite of them.

[alisong]

A new one, from today: people who whistle tunelessly, at high volume. Argh. Oh, and people who "sing along" to their ipods, also loudly.

[nektarine]

What kind of gym are you all going to?

a really cheap one! ;)

i thought of another peeve last night at my body sculpt class:
i HATE it when everyone wants to stand in the back of an exercise class.

the instructor always (obviously) stands at the very front of the class, then there's a huge gaping area of open space and all the class members are squooshed like sardines in the back of the room. and the instructor NEVER says, "hey everyone - spread out and use the space."

[pewee9196]

Alisong
OMG. At my gym in grad school there was someone that did this and it drove me INSANE!!! SHUT UP!

[Fenway]

People who circle the parking lot looking for a close spot. Hello?!? You're about to work your a$$ off. Does it really matter that you have to take 20 more steps to get inside the gym?

Grunting. uggg. It's so annoying.

Men who walk right into the women's exercise room to talk to someone.

Women who go to the gym in full make-up and way too cute gym clothes that spend 45% of the time staring in the mirror, 45% of the time trying to chat up various men, and 10% of the time "exercising," never breaking a sweat.

[TracieB]

originally posted by Myra
This one is super petty, but I also hate people who hog the treadmills walking at a 3.0 pace with no incline, esp. when it's a beautiful day outside.

TOTALLY AGREE!!!!

Some more:

Gum blowers/crackers/poppers. Please stop cracking your gum!!!!!!

Last night, some lady came in a turned off the fan that was pointed directly at me (I was the only one in the cardio room for about 45 minutes and hogged the fan). I kept giving her the mighty glare and wiping my sweat from my neck. There was a reason why I had it on!!!!! It would have been okay if she merely moved it so it was pointing elsewhere, but to turn it completely off really bugged me.

There's a guy at the gym who is constantly clearing his throat. It's like every 10 seconds. It's nasty and so distracting.

People who don't wipe off their sweat really annoy me, too.

I'm sure there are more, but those are my #1 gym annoyances.

[KarenS]

m...if you are late, uncoordinated and new to the class, then do NOT stand directly in front of or next to me in Taebo! Go to the back of the room.Wow. That really bothers me. How ugly and rude. If I don't meet your standards of fitness, then I get sent to the back of the room where I can't see becuase I'm short. God forbid someone fat should stand next to *you*. How gross and rude of them!

You know ... those of us who are overweight already get enough of a complex going to the gym and seeing all these slim toned people. It's hard enough to get out there and be uncoordinated w/out feeling like the "pretty people" feel we don't belong or have a right to be there. YOu wonder why a lot of people give up on the gym? It's because they feel that everyone is judging them just like that. And they're embarassed and feel it's not worth it to continue.

Wow. I'm suddenly really ANGRY at this comment. What a hateful thing to say.

Karen

[alisong]

But Karen, it's pretty accepted gym class etiquette to not stand in the front unless you know what you're doing. Fat, thin, whatever. You'll mess up the people behind you. If you're new and don't know what you're doing, stand behind someone who looks like they do.

[KarenS]

But Karen, it's pretty accepted gym class etiquette to not stand in the front unless you know what you're doing. Fat, thin, whatever. You'll mess up the people behind you. If you're new and don't know what you're doing, stand behind someone who looks like they do.Fine. Aside from the fact that soemone who hasn't been to a gym before might not know that etiquette - there's a HUGE difference between "Don't stand right at the front - stand behind someone who seems to know what they're doing" and "Go to the back of the room (subtext that every fat person hears in her own head: you fat lazy slob)".

Karen

[ivory]

People who leave crap in the cupholders on cardio machines. One day I found a banana peel in there. I can't picture soemone eating a banana on the treadmill.


Wait--where was the part about the uncoordinated tae bo latecomer being overweight, unattractive or lazy? I don't think that was even implied.

[KarenS]

Wait--where was the part about the uncoordinated tae bo latecomer being overweight, unattractive or lazy? I don't think that was even implied.If you've never been fat or felt like all the skinny, toned people were looking down on you, then you don't see it. Anyone who has ever been overweight and tried to start a new fitness routine knows the embarassment of not being coordinated, not being able to keep up, being the new person to a class that has been doing it so long they look like they've been choreographed ... and then getting the dirty look from someone else in the class because they messed up or couldn't keep up. And not knowing that it's not polite to stand in front is common ... after all, we're told all our lives that if you want to learn, come sit up front - not in the back of the class where you can't see. So to then be told that you should "go to the back" ... that feels AWFUL. And it translates into every overweight, out of shape person's head to an unspoken "you're not worthy - you fat lazy slob".

Karen

[Janey]

And not knowing that it's not polite to stand in front is common ... after all, we're told all our lives that if you want to learn, come sit up front - not in the back of the class where you can't see.

Agreed ... in fact I think if more people who didn't know what they were doing stood up front where they could see the instructor, they'd learn it faster, rather than hiding in the back. I love it when a new person comes up and stands right front and center. Or at least front off to the side ... but being in the back and hoping to pick the stuff up through 8 pairs of moving legs, well ... that's a lot of hope.

[TracieB]

It is proper gym etiquitte for "newbies" and late-comers to exercise classes to stand off to the sides or at the back. It's in no way implied that those people are fat, ugly, etc.

In my experience, people who are new to classes willingly and almost prefer to stand in the back to get a hang of the pace or steps, so as to not embarrass themselves by being front and center and all of their flaws on display. I know I'd be intimidated coming into a new step class and would stay far, far away from the front. It's just how it goes. The more experienced steppers are always at the front, and at times I would find myself watching them instead of the instructor because I had a better view of them.

Also in my experience, new comers to classes are welcomed quite enthusiastically and I've even seen some of the "regulars" stay after class to help them with moves or techniques they don't understand.

It is an interruption to the class if there is someone who comes in late and then goes right up front and center or if someone is inexperienced and goes right to the front (and that woman is a brave, brave soul - I'm STILL intimidated by the front row and I've been attending this one class for awhile now!). It's a distraction because you have to watch her set up her steps, stretch out, or be behind the instructor, whom you may not be able to see too well from your vantage point.

No offense meant at all, I'm sure.

[numberlady]

The main thing I had at the gym is when I am working out on a cardio machine (i.e. elliptical, bike) and someone with very strong perfume comes and gets on the machine next to me. I have no option but to breathe in their stinky cologne and I don't want to have to leave my machine because they stink.

[nektarine]

Wait--where was the part about the uncoordinated tae bo latecomer being overweight, unattractive or lazy? I don't think that was even implied.

yeah dude, i go to new classes all the time (sometimes late too! GASP) but i would hardly call myself fat or lazy. unattractive is debatable.

i wish more people WOULD STAND IN THE FRONT, i don't care what size you are. please - move to the front! i like standing in the back, and evidently so does everyone else at my gym. it makes for a very crowded back section and a whole lot of wasted space.

[Asha]

This one is super petty, but I also hate people who hog the treadmills walking at a 3.0 pace with no incline, esp. when it's a beautiful day outside.

to some people 3.0 might be a pretty hard workout. also, there could be a mulititude of reasons why people aren't outside on a beautiful day 1) allergies or 2)avoiding the sun.

i know this thread was started to be a lighthearted one, but some of these "pet peeves" are the reasons why people are reluctant to go the gym bc a lot of people are afraid that people are judging their fitness level.

[nektarine]

i know this thread was started to be a lighthearted one, but some of these "pet peeves" are the reasons why people are reluctant to go the gym bc a lot of people are afraid that people are judging their fitness level.

yes, it was started as a lighthearted way to vent about your experiences at the gym. not as a way to "gang-up" on the fitness-challenged or uncoordinated gym members, which i don't think has been the overall theme of the thread.


for me personally, most of my gym peeves are with the staff not its members!

[Asha]

which i don't think has been the overall theme of the thread.

i agree. some of the posts have actually been pretty funny.

[Fenway]

You know ... those of us who are overweight already get enough of a complex going to the gym and seeing all these slim toned people. It's hard enough to get out there and be uncoordinated w/out feeling like the "pretty people" feel we don't belong or have a right to be there. You wonder why a lot of people give up on the gym? It's because they feel that everyone is judging them just like that. And they're embarrassed and feel it's not worth it to continue.

If you've never been fat or felt like all the skinny, toned people were looking down on you, then you don't see it. Anyone who has ever been overweight and tried to start a new fitness routine knows the embarrassment of not being coordinated, not being able to keep up, being the new person to a class that has been doing it so long they look like they've been choreographed ... and then getting the dirty look from someone else in the class because they messed up or couldn't keep up.

I have felt all of the above statements at one time or another. I am by no means a "toned" person, and I have discontinued classes because I can't keep up, and I've felt like a total a$$. But, it is my own insecurities that make me feel this way.

My new pet peeve: (directed toward myself :D )

People who care too much about what other people are thinking about them, and discontinue their journey to a healthier "self." Personally, I'm probably subconsciously telling myself, "I frigging hate exercising, so I'll skip class today." but I'm using the excuse, "I'm not going back because they think I look like an ass in the Cardio class and were giving me dirty looks."

I hope I haven't offended anyone, I just thought I'd give some insight.

.... and on that note, I should get off my fat butt, sign off of my CC addiction, and go to the gym....:p

[PG-rated]

Pretty much all of the above pet peeves contributed to our decision to quit our last gym. Luckily our building put in an exercise room around the same time, and there's only room for about four people in there at once. ;)

I'm with everyone else who didn't think that late, uncoordinated people were being called fat or lazy. I'm pretty damn fat, and when I was taking kickboxing classes I always stood at or near the front, because I've trained for several years and know all the moves and have good form. But if I'm in a new class, I'll stay off to the side or in back until I know what I'm doing. And it's always bad etiquette to come in late to class and go right to the front - you're guaranteed to throw everyone off as they have to watch you find a place, set up your equipment, stretch, etc.

[pride&prejudice]

Back to the original topic......

When I am stretching out or doing situps, that does not give you the right to step right over me or try to push me out of my space! Yes, there are about 3 people at the gym that habitually do this. They keep trying to edge in, instead of just waiting an asking if they can work in.

I hate the guys that look at you like you have three heads because you lift weights.

We have the same problem with our staff, working out while they are on duty. And we also have the people that don't wipe off the machines.

[keiranzma]

Wow. That really bothers me. How ugly and rude. If I don't meet your standards of fitness, then I get sent to the back of the room where I can't see becuase I'm short. God forbid someone fat should stand next to *you*. How gross and rude of them!

You know ... those of us who are overweight already get enough of a complex going to the gym and seeing all these slim toned people. It's hard enough to get out there and be uncoordinated w/out feeling like the "pretty people" feel we don't belong or have a right to be there. YOu wonder why a lot of people give up on the gym? It's because they feel that everyone is judging them just like that. And they're embarassed and feel it's not worth it to continue.

Wow. I'm suddenly really ANGRY at this comment. What a hateful thing to say.

Karen

Whoa- first off you don't even KNOW ME to decide I am ugly and hateful. Second of all, I NEVER said ANYTHING about being overweight, or short, for that matter. You are reading WAY too much into my words. I am talking about people who come in late, are novices and stand in the front of the room. First off, it's DANGEROUS, especially in a kickboxing class- I have gotten kicked-in my HEAD no less-on more than one occassion by someone who was going left, when he or she should have been going right. Frankly, I could care less what the fitness level is of the person next to me, trust me- I am usually trying to not pass out- I am not thinking about you. I am there for my workout, not to critique anyone, and I give anyone props for coming and trying something new! Not to mention, other students are trying to follow along, and get off-kilter by someone who is executing the moves incorrectly or dangerously. Furthermore, any fitness instructor worth his or her salt circulates around the room anyway to make sure all of her students can see the combinations.
I have been teaching fitness classes for a long time, and anytime I go to a new class I always head to the back to make sure I don't mess up anyone else, and give myself a chance to get the moves.

Defensive much???

[justHB]

Fine. Aside from the fact that soemone who hasn't been to a gym before might not know that etiquette - there's a HUGE difference between "Don't stand right at the front - stand behind someone who seems to know what they're doing" and "Go to the back of the room (subtext that every fat person hears in her own head: you fat lazy slob)".

KarenThat's your own damn subtext. I'm hardly a skinny minnie and I did not hear that at all. I think you're looking for a fight (what you do best). You just skimmed right past the part where the OP talked about being inexperienced because it didn't fit your agenda.

[wendalah]

Karen, no offense, but I think you misread that comment too. I'm dreadfully uncoordinated. I don't even think about doing classes at the gym because I am one of those people who are intimidated by the skill level required. I used to go to a gym but now I hike around my hilly neighborhood for exercise instead, partially so I don't have to deal with feeling like a twerp.

I'm also 115 pounds and a size 2. I don't think coordination respects weight boundaries--I'm living proof.

[jenjunum]

Agreed. I'm completely uncoordinated and wouldn't think of standing in the front of a new class. And I'm not fat.

[sue-bert]

I dislike when the gym has terrible background music (an epidemic where I live, apparently). In my old gym, they regularly blasted the place with this horrific dance version of "You Were Always On My Mind" (including heavy sampling of the Willie Nelson country song). My ears almost bled.

[keiranzma]

I dislike when the gym has terrible background music (an epidemic where I live, apparently). In my old gym, they regularly blasted the place with this horrific dance version of "You Were Always On My Mind" (including heavy sampling of the Willie Nelson country song). My ears almost bled.


oooh, I hate this too! I almost go into convulsions when I forget my ipod and have to listen to the piped in music!

[linekelei]

I hate it when people don't pick up after themselves in the locker room. I shower at the gym in the morning and while there are clean-up people working in the locker room, I despise when people just leave their wet towels on the ground and in the locker room area, expecting the clean-up people to pick it up. It just seems so rude and disrespectful to me, especially since the wet towel bins are clearly marked and are in several different places throughout the locker room and shower area.

Oh, and I used to go to a gym where there was a guy who worked out that I called the "cougher." The guy was there every single morning that I was there (for over a year!) and would clear his throat, no exaggeration, at least every 30 seconds while doing cardio. He seriously needed a Claritin!!! So gross and disturbing.

[laurenc]

my pet peeves...

...men with really baggy shorts who, while doing situps or on the incline bench or what have you, don't seem to notice or care that they're giving the entire gym a view of their bits and pieces.

...people who "compete" on the treadmills. i do treadmill workouts where i bump the speed up at specific intervals. sometimes i see, out of the corner of my eye, people on the treadmills next to me looking over at my display and then bumping up the speed on their treadmills too. maybe i'm misattributing what they're doing, but it seems awfully odd that the second i set my machine to go faster, they do too.

...people who go to the gym in jeans, sweaters, or other gym-inappropriate clothing. it's not that it really impacts me at all, but it just looks uncomfortable and i can't help but wonder what someone was thinking trying to do an elliptical workout in what appear to be work clothes.

...people who don't return the spray bottles. half the time i'm at the gym, i have to hunt around the entire gym to find a bottle for spraying down my machine. there are bins for the bottles, people! please return them!!!

not to change the theme of this thread, but, i wanted to say that there is this older woman who i see at the gym all the time. she's gotta be in her 60's or early 70's, but she's always at the gym with her treadmill on a significant incline and she's always walking at a pretty good clip. she looks fit as a fiddle. i'm so impressed with her, i always say to myself, when i'm her age, i hope to still be going to the gym!!!

[keiranzma]

...men with really baggy shorts who, while doing situps or on the incline bench or what have you, don't seem to notice or care that they're giving the entire gym a view of their bits and pieces.

or even WORSE, the ones who wear those one piece tight things that look like wrestling singlets. OH.MA.GAWD. This NEVER fails to leave my retinas scorched...

[Foley42]

Women that take showers without closing the curtain! How hard is that ladies?

[jesvet]

Thanks for staying on topic guys!

I park my fat ass right in the front, I don't care. My vision isn't that great until I get my Lasik re-done and I can't deal with wearing glasses at the gym. That being said if I'm totally new to the class I will go to the sides so I don't embarrass myself too badly.

I've found a lot of times (and maybe this says more about my gym) that the LAST spot to fill is often right behind the instructor, so if you're late you're stuck up there almost as punishment. lol.

[TracieB]

...people who "compete" on the treadmills. i do treadmill workouts where i bump the speed up at specific intervals. sometimes i see, out of the corner of my eye, people on the treadmills next to me looking over at my display and then bumping up the speed on their treadmills too. maybe i'm misattributing what they're doing, but it seems awfully odd that the second i set my machine to go faster, they do too.


OMG!!! I COMPLETELY AGREE!! That is the worst. I absolutely HATE when people do that.

linekelei - Did you see my post a few pages back? There's a guy at my gym like that, too. Isn't it horrible?

[J&T2005]

nuts. I'm a cardio competer. I don't actually look at their monitor, but I do try to run the same pace as others... mostly because it's self motiviation. I'll stop --- or I'll try, I swear!

I'm a huuuuuuge fan of those people that watch tv on the treadmill and laugh loudly out loud. It's so funny and not distracting at all. GRRRROOOWWWWLLL.

[linekelei]

Tracie-
I missed your post. It's horrible. And surprise, surprise, it's the Bally's gym that this guy is at. After he finishes cardio he then walks around talking really loudly to everyone he knows in the gym, bragging about how he and his wife just moved to a bigger house in Laguna Beach, how they bought a new car, etc. He BUGS. I seriously wish I could punch him every time I see him. But the coughing/clearing the throat-jeez, how hard is it to go to the drug store and get some Claritin???!!!??? It's gross. Not to mention he has bad breath, too, and he always seemed to pick the cardio machine right next to mine and would engage in heavy breathing in between his coughing. Thank goodness I stopped working out there.

[Anna Low]

We used to have the hacking/gagger at my gym. Guy would get on the treadmill, run at full speed for a minute or so, then stop and start hacking and coughing so hard that all of us in the vicinity were sure he was going to hurl right on the treadmill. Then, he would start the top speed running thing again and have to stop for lung expulsion a minute or two later. This would go on every day for at least an hour at a time. I ended up changing the times I went to the gym to avoid him, but we always seemed to overlap a little. Finally, one of the other regulars in the area had enough. He asked the guy if he needed to sit down for a minute or two because the coughing/gagging sounded pretty serious. Seriously offended the hacking cougher that anyone would notice, but the rest of us were secretly thrilled.

[emjay]

Our gym has like 8 or 10 tv's but just about all of them are on some form of news channel. Do I really need 8 forms of news at once? What happened to sitcoms or game shows???

[maniach]

Oh dear, there are so many, I don't even know where to start.

(1) I lost my gym card for like 3-4 months but I didn't need a new one because no one was ever standing at the front counter when I came in... umm... WHY am I paying for this when I can OBVIOUSLY come in for free?!!!

(2) Someone has stolen the following items from our gym: 2-15 lb weights, 1-10 lb weight, and the turn screw/knob on the leg extension (MAYBE if someone was standing at the FRONT COUNTER people wouldn't be able to steal this stuff?!!)

(3) People who grunt loudly, while doing things WRONG and lifting TOO MUCH and then come over and tell YOU that you're doing something wrong or too heavy.

(4) People who find it necessary to "help" me work out because I am female and obviously a moron (don't the two go hand in hand?).

(5) The fact that they haven't had a step class in months because they are too cheap to hire someone to teach it.

(6) The speakers are blown on the stereo but they don't ever turn it off.

(7) For months and months and months, I changed in the LADIES OCKER ROOM because that L must cost a fortune.

(8) We have ONE big screen TV that is BORROWED from the Aaron Rents & Sells Furniture next door for the entire gym -- it's always on CNN or ESPN. Guess it would be crazy to get those little flat screen dealies that go on the elliptical trainers.

(9) They don't make anyone bring a towel (thus no one wipes anything down when they finish).

(10) No one EVER puts their weights away (and no one makes them, and the gym staff never does it either). It's REALLY annoying when I have to remove 17-45 lb plates from the leg press in order to work out.

(11) I went in Tuesday and someone had spilled something all over the locker room floor and it was still there on Wednesday.

(12) Speaking of the locker room, all the lockers are used (i.e. weren't new when placed in the gyn) and mish-mashed together and they don't match.

Ok, enough rants... why do I go there? It's cheap and within 10 minutes of my house and my office, the next closest gym would be 30 minutes away!

[maniach]

KarenS,

I understand your feelings about the subtext -- I actually think most people hear that every day in their own head about something (I'm too fat, too stupid, too lazy, too uncoordinated, too something), but we all are able to hide it pretty well. However, just because someone is overweight does not mean that they are uncoordinated. Likewise, just because someone is NOT overweight does not mean that they are coordinated. I took a kickboxing class at my gym for a VERY long time, and it got to where I knew the instructor really well and knew the routines/combinations really well. This was at a time when the microphone only worked half the time. Anyway, I always stood up front (a) because if the mic went out and she had to stop to fix it, I knew that I could keep going and people could follow me (b) because I knew that a lot of people feel uncomfortable in the front (as do I), but I also realize that if they are uncomfortable with themselves, they would NEVER be looking at ME! It always bothered me, though, when people would come in and stand RIGHT next to me and not be able to follow the beat. Of course the reason is egocentric -- I would get confused by their movements out of the corner of my eye or because they were in front of me, and lost the timing myself. Usually, BTW, these were thin people.

So... moral of the story is: generally speaking people are so overly concerned about what THEY themselves look like that they don't even notice you (and we are so concerned with what others think about us, that maybe we take offense to things we think were said, rather than what was actually said).

Lets get back to the light-hearted fun -- and try not to take any offense to what people are saying. It is generally not directed at any one size or shape or sex of people (except my gripe about the boys trying to tell me how to work out, that IS directed to a sex -- a small group within it, though).

:-)

[udsweetpea]

people who "compete" on the treadmills. i do treadmill workouts where i bump the speed up at specific intervals. sometimes i see, out of the corner of my eye, people on the treadmills next to me looking over at my display and then bumping up the speed on their treadmills too. maybe i'm misattributing what they're doing, but it seems awfully odd that the second i set my machine to go faster, they do too.

I do this at gyms because I like to keep pace, and if I'm walking at a different pace than the person next to me, I get off pace.

My pet peeves... people who over-incline the treadmills so they're grabbing the handlebars and leaning FAR back. That's completely wrong form.

People who change the channels without asking if someone else was watching them.

People who stay on the treadmills for longer than the limit.

I no longer go to a public gym because I always felt fat. But now I'm running out on nature trails and going to our complex's free gym and pool. I don't think I'll ever pay to work out ever again when I have trails, hills, and a pool for free.

[QueenDillyDally]

So many of these I can relate to! I absolutely HATE going to a gym to workout. Primarily, I am a "loner" when I workout and don't like to talk to anyone or be around anyone when I workout.

I have wasted sooooo much money on gym memberships just because I HATE waiting in line to "workout". The busiest times are the times that I can only go too.

So my major pet peeves are:

* Women changing their "personal" items in front of everyone in the locker room (yes... I have witness this as well... OMG! Gross!). Hello! There are bathroom stalled in the locker room too. Oh, and once I went into the bathroom stall and someones "poise" pad soaked with urine was just lying on the toilet paper roll holder!!! :eek: It stunk like holy-hell!!!

* Women who have NO modesty at all. Just walking around the locker room totally naked talking to others makes me soooo uncomfortable. I grew up in a very modest household, so maybe this is my issue, not theirs.

* People who abuse the time limits... drives me NUTS when I am on the treadmill and know I need to get off in a few minutes but the jerk next to me has been on there for 45 minutes and is still going strong. GRRRR! :mad:

[Pine Tree]

It drives me crazy when I'm resting briefly between sets and some huge hulking guy comes over and asks to work in. I know that it is considered proper etiquette in many gyms, but really by the time he readjusts all the height settings and changes the weights I'm ready to do my next set. So what I'm supposed to just stand around and oogle the guy's muscles while I wait, no thanks. Just give me a minute and I'll be done. And besides we're the only two people in the gym anyways, do you absolutely have to use this machine RIGHT THIS MINUTE.

[curlyjr]

People who bring their damn kids to the gym so they run around and play with the equipment, yell, scream, and come plowing into people as they play tag running from room to room. Or the 13 and 14 year olds that come to the gym just to walk around and gossip loudly about school. The worst, the idiots who work at the gym and do nothing about it.

[trestlegirl]

ahh...I just got back from the gym, which was PACKED!

I live in a fairly fitness obsessed area and people seem to know what they're doing, so thankfully people are pretty respectful of etiquette compared to other gyms I have been to. But, there are a few people who drive me absolutely insane!

The little short troll who struts around like he's god's gift to the world, stares at himself in the mirror all the time, and hogs the pec fly/delt machine for 30 minutes at a time.

The grunters. I guess every gym has them. Really, if your eyeballs are about to pop out of your head and you have to make horrible noises just to lift the weight, maybe you should consider going a bit lighter next time?

The women who only wear jog bras and very low cut shorts/pants. Yes, it's true that I'm extremely jealous of their ripped abs and flat bellies. But mostly, I'm grossed out by their sweaty skin touching the machines!! Put on a shirt!!!

curlyjr I can't believe your gym staff allow kids to run wild. That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen!

[Kimberland30]

I haven't been to a gym in a while, but here were my pet peeves...

1) The girl that always came in at the same time I did, and I had to hear her and her friend talk about all their weekend sexcapades. Or how she was out with so-and-so and ran into another so-and-so and how OH MAH GAW he was out with some skank she knew from elementary school who's father had an affair on his mother and then they divorced and he moved then she saw him again years later and they hooked up but he broke her heart because that's all he's ever learned to do.....you get the picture.

2) Girls who come in with a bike shorts with a thong leotard (hello 80's!!), full makeup and jewelry to work out. Uh huh.

3) Guys who chat girls up in the weight room. Or the water fountain. There was a guy at the gym and all he talked about were the competitions he used to be in. Dude, do I look like I care?

4) Guys who try to chat me up while on the treadmill, when I have on HEADPHONES. I don't know of any human beings who have WIRES hanging out of their ears, so obviously I have earbuds in. Which means that I'm entertaining myself with music, whatever. Get a clue.

5) Ladies trashing the dressing room. I've seen it all on locker room benches. Nassy.