The problem with working out at the gym is, it is after all a public venue. This means the moment you decide to sign up for a gym membership you will have to co-exist with the other gym members and deal with whatever peculiarities they have. This can prove to be very challenging especially when you are at the gym working hard on exercising to reduce tummy and the presence of some others are making it hard for you to do so.
I’ve seen how many people give up going to the gym or stopped following their training program because of some bad encounters they have at the gym. Moving from one gym to another doesn’t help because some of these annoying people exist everywhere.
In today’s post, I will list down some of the top 5 most annoying people you might see at the gym and how you can deal with them – if you have to.
The Chatterbox:
Every gym has at least one of them. This individual (sometimes a few of them) goes to the gym primarily to socialize, bitch, gossip and basically do anything but exercise. This person would chat with you between sets and if you get caught in the conversation, you lose track of your rest periods. Then your body and muscle cools down and you are no longer in the zone to lift your next set. Your workout gets ruined.
Sometimes this person would gossip about you – your clothes, your body part, your exercise technique, etc – and deliberately let you hear it. It makes you conscious about yourself and you lose concentration.
While there’s nothing wrong with socializing, we should lose track of our main reason for going to the gym. Having an extended rest period can affect your training intensity and your focus on the next set. This is definitely not what you want to achieve especially if you exercising to reduce tummy. Remember, you can always socialize after your workout.
Solution: If you know the person, try keeping the chat within a minute or no longer than your usual rest period. If the chat goes beyond, gradually assume the position of your next exercise, smile and carry on with your exercise. Most people will get the point.
If they talk about you, glance at them and make sure they notice you. Let them know you heard them and continue with your workout. Who gives a s**t about what the others think? This is your work out!
The Hogger:
The people at my gym are generally very friendly and willing to share their equipment in between sets. But occasionally we have one or two of these possessive weirdos who simply won’t share and insists on completing their exercise before anyone can use it.
If they have just a few sets left, that’s fine. What’s unforgivable is that they are hogging the equipment for the wrong exercise. Don’t know what I mean? Here’s an example:
Imagine someone hogging the squat rack to do biceps curl with the Olympic bar. The reason they need the squat rack is because they can rest the bar at the rack so that it’s easier for them to pick it up at the next set… (long pause for effect). And by the way, in case you think these are strong people who need the Olympic bar to curl massive weights, you couldn’t be more wrong. They are just curling an empty bar.
Hoggers are not just restricted to the weights section. The worst Hoggers are those on the treadmill. Because it’s impossible to share the treadmill, users should be even more considerate and be conscious of the time they spend on the machine. Even though it’s clearly stated that each user is limited to 30 minutes on the treadmill, some continue on, completely oblivious to the people waiting behind. And check this out, some even have the newspapers nicely laid out in front of them as they take a stroll on the treadmill while holding onto the handles…
As you patiently wait for your turn on the treadmill, homicide at this point inevitably comes to mind.
Solution: If they are using the machine for any other exercise than what it’s meant for, politely tell them that there’s an alternate machine that they can use. Usually this works. Otherwise, ask them to share. The switching of weights will eventually make one party give up. Usually it’s them.
The Moaner:
I bet you can find one of these in every gym as well. Their voices echo throughout the entire gym. You know exactly when they are going to start their set and when their set is going to end. They psyche themselves up with a war cry that puts the New Zealand All Blacks to shame as they lift their massive weights (or weights which they think are massive to them), and throughout the set, the grunt, moan and groan until they eventually climaxed at the last repetition before dropping their weights to the floor.
