Gym Etiquette

[Jolt]

There was one day where I spent my whole workout breathing through my sweat towel because the guy next to me was, shall we say...expelling air...not from his mouth...dude, just because we can't HEAR you do it doesn't mean we don't all know you're doing it...Unfortunately it was a busy day at the gym and there were no other ellipticals available or I would have moved.

Ugh. Sounds like somebody shouldn't have eaten that second helping of baked beans and coleslaw before his workout!!

[meganm]

I have a few things that annoy me in gyms.

- people that don't clean the machines after using them. Yes, you sweat too, but dont make others clean it up
- men grunting when they lift
- people (mostly men) that drop weights
- parents who let their kids run free after or before going into the child care area
- moms that bring their boys into the ladies locker room (a 6 year old can wait outside)
- perfume or cologne... Ick

[Irulan]

I have a few things that annoy me in gyms.

- people that don't clean the machines after using them. Yes, you sweat too, but dont make others clean it up
- men grunting when they lift
- people (mostly men) that drop weights
- parents who let their kids run free after or before going into the child care area
- moms that bring their boys into the ladies locker room (a 6 year old can wait outside)
- perfume or cologne... Ick

What about women that grunt? If you were doing ball pike pushups you'd grunt too.

[malkin]

So for etiquette how about:
Minimize the impact you have on the senses of others.
Clean up after yourself.

[Bike Chick]

Loading up the bars with weights and not removing them when they (the big dudes) are finished and mothers who bring their sons over the age of 4 into the ladies dressing room. Grrrrrrr.

[marni]

in general my gym is a pretty sane place. Yes there are some crashers and some grunters and then there is the halelujah corner in the stationary bikes where the ladies of a certain color and persuasion come fully made up and in their fashion diva outfits and ride and chat while watching the local joel osteen style church channel, with frequent exclamations of "priase the lord" and the like. Fortunately it is a large enough space that you can always find a bike with a bit of space. The thing that particularly annoys me, is when I am working with a trainer and the piece of equipment we want to use is occupied by a woman, just sitting there chatting on her cell phone. Yes the trainer very politely asks them to move and sometimes they do, but really, why don't they go sit on the couches, or go to the dressing room or to the side out of the traffic flow? Gym equipment is meant to be used, not to just be sat on until someone in authority asks you to move. That and the ones on the elliptical who either play their music so loudly I can hear it or talk endlessly, and mindlessly on their cell phones. These are the same ladies who spread their stuff out over one more benches in the dressing room, while getting changed, still talking endlessly on the cell phone.

People are so self centered sometimes.

marni

[pll]

Gym equipment is meant to be used, not to just be sat on until someone in authority asks you to move.

Oh, Marni... don't you know that you burn calories just by being in contact with sports equipment? This does not happen if you sit on a couch....

Ok, sarcasm aside, most people are very self centered and not just in the gym. Everywhere, from the supermarket to the sidewalk, there are people who will block the way, completely unaware that they are not alone.

[shootingstar]

Gosh, after reading parts of this thread with a mixture of bewilderment and curiosity, I have to say I am not motivated to buy a fitness gym membership.

Yes, take a course or so which I have in the past for 2 months or so. And then work out on my own.

[Catrin]

So for etiquette how about:
Minimize the impact you have on the senses of others.
Clean up after yourself.

This - I like this!

I had to chuckle reading the comments Darcy made about the signs at her Y for quiet - every fitness facility has a different environment and compared it with where I go. My own facility is a university fitness and sports research-based facility and is HUGE. Outside of a large free-weights room and a small studio, everything is in one massive room with a ceiling that is WAY up there. Lots of weight machines, cardio machines, TRX, lots of space for every type of training imaginable. This place is just huge, did I say that already?

All of the members are focused on their workout - I've never seen such focus from everyone at other places I've been a member of. Because of how this place is constructed it is very loud. The massive open space carries and amplifies all sound - which in an odd way seems to help me to focus. With the noise level it seems to be easier to focus on what I am doing than it would be if it were quiet enough for me to hear this person's over-loud iPod music or that person's conversation. No place is perfect, and that applies to this facility, but it has been a surprise to me how the noise level actually seems to become white noise and fades into the background.