Gym Sins

Newsweek Web Exclusive

« Return to Article

Discuss

Member Comments

  • Posted By: novadog @ 06/10/2008 10:01:16 AM

    I think I am more shocked that a Gold's Gym manager could be upset by a client's conduct but feel OK running a business that misleads people about the ease at which a client can end a contract even when the term of the contract has "ended." Google "golds gym contract scam" for some horror stories.

  • Posted By: Caeric @ 06/09/2008 1:05:34 PM

    Many of these offenses are just plain rude. Some, like falling asleep, can happen to anyone and it's not intentional. Nudity is only an issue depending on the situation. In a mixed gender environment it's not acceptable. In a single gender environment it shouldn't be a problem, and isn't in many parts of the world. It only becomes so in the States where people (especially men) have too many cultural hangups that just aren't healthy.

    • Posted By: postin @ 06/10/2008 9:37:46 AM

      The biggest flaw in your statement--"In a mixed gender environment it's not acceptable. In a singel gender environment it shouldn't be a problem"

      Why is it not acceptable in a mixed gender environment? Perhaps it is because both male and female people do not necessarily enjoy being gawked at. Do you think that people who are confusingly attracted to the same sex do not exist? Nudity IS an issue regardless of the situation. COVER YOURSELF and WEAR SHOWER SHOES (flip-flops) you nasty people!

  • Posted By: surgeonboi @ 06/10/2008 9:24:13 AM

    1. PEOPLE DRINKING OUT OF WATER FOUNTAINS AND SPITTING IT OUT WHILST HACKING UP PHLEGM
    2. FILLING GALLON WATER BOTTLES AT A FOUNTAIN WHILST OTHER PEOPLE WAITING JUST WANT A SIP
    3. MONOPOLIZING A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT WHILE THEY "REST" WHEN THEIR REST CAN BE WHEN SOMEONE ELSE CAN USE THE MACHINE

  • Posted By: malizia70 @ 06/09/2008 1:04:07 PM

    I would take care of those two clowns who were naked by staring at them like crazy. I quarantee that would make them feel uncomfortable to the point they would never get naked like that again as well as the guy who didnt wear underwear.

    • Posted By: summer4077 @ 06/10/2008 9:04:03 AM

      Yeah, either way it's the same. The water circulates everywhere, so to speak. I avoid public hot tubs altogether...the thought of all those germs and unwashed people in there turns my stomach.

  • Posted By: mjkittredge @ 06/10/2008 1:06:49 AM

    It's annoying to me, that even though I don't sweat on the machines, the managers come over to harass me about wiping them. I make a point of looking over the machine, searching for sweat that isn't there. It's like a person wiping their @$$ after they take a piss - not necessary and a waste of time.

    • Posted By: summer4077 @ 06/10/2008 8:58:08 AM

      It's not just sweat that you're cleaning off, it's germs. Staph infection rates at gyms have risen, largely due to those who fail to sanitize equipment after they use it. Just because you don't see pools of perspiration doesn't mean you didn't sweat on it, and you definitely left some germs. Say you have a cold or the flu, but you don't have symptoms yet. Congratulations, you've just infected the next person to get on the machine.

  • Posted By: facereplacer @ 06/10/2008 7:55:02 AM

    There are several sins left out here....
    A. People who wear excessive perfumes or colognes
    B. People who just outright stink... (wash yer damn gym gear)
    C. Grunters: people that need everyone to know just how intensely they are lifting with loud, "look-at-me" moans
    D. In gyms with a pool, nothing irks me more than people who come straight off the gym floor, sweaty as ever, and jump right in the pool... there are showers for rinsing!
    E. The gym would be to blam e for this; dance club/rock concert volume music piped in from the gym. Prolly some frat boy douche GM but dude, seriously, I brought an iPod thank you.
    F. People who knowingly and willfully work out on cardio eqipment beyond posted peak time limits. They either obliviously blow by 45 minutes, an hour, and so on, or even better, they reset the machine just as they hit that magic number. Jerks.

  • Posted By: facereplacer @ 06/10/2008 7:54:08 AM

    There are several sins left out here....
    A. People who wear excessive perfumes or colognes
    B. People who just outright stink... (wash yer damn gym gear)
    C. Grunters: people that need everyone to know just how intensely they are lifting with loud, "look-at-me" moans
    D. In gyms with a pool, nothing irks me more than people who come straight off the gym floor, sweaty as ever, and jump right in the pool... there are showers for rinsing!
    E. The gym would be to blam e for this; dance club/rock concert volume music piped in from the gym. Prolly some frat boy douche GM but dude, seriously, I brought an iPod thank you.
    F. People who knowingly and willfully work out on cardio eqipment beyond posted peak time limits. They either obliviously blow by 45 minutes, an hour, and so on, or even better, they reset the machine just as they hit that magic number. Jerks.

  • Posted By: JEZLIKECANDY @ 06/10/2008 7:30:38 AM

    EVERYONE should sweat when working out, or you're not doing something right. Furthermore, people that are nasty at the gym, didn't become nasty over night......they've always been nasty, and they're nasty at home! If you have friends that carry this type of behavior at they gym, becareful when you go to their houses. There is no telling what they do behind closed doors!!!!!!!! SICK!

  • Posted By: starbuck55 @ 06/09/2008 1:05:10 PM

    The gym I joined allows people to use the hot tubs naked. The hot tubs are in the locker rooms and are same sex only. I find this very nasty and a health violation. I will not use them and when my 6 months are up I am looking elsewhere. The gym tells us to throw out any towels that get blood or body fluids on them but allow naked hot tubing . What is wrong with the people running this gym?

    • Posted By: EYow @ 06/10/2008 1:13:47 AM

      Honestly, how is using a hot tub with a suit on any different than using it naked? Every part of your body gets wet either way, it all becomes part of the "soup", so to speak. If it's a health violation to use a hot tub naked then it's a health violation to use it clothed.

  • Posted By: olga237 @ 06/09/2008 11:05:41 PM

    people who walk 2 or 3 across in conversation when gym signs say walk single file!

  • Posted By: olga237 @ 06/09/2008 11:04:23 PM

    Try walking or running the track at a club where signs say "Walk single file" and people will walk 2 or 3 across totally ignoring the signs..

  • Posted By: rockerchick @ 06/09/2008 7:54:39 PM

    It's not just the loud phone talkers,but the gym bimbos ("gymbos") and their guy pals carrying on their social hour at top volume. I work out at 5am and even with Seether or Disturbed at full volume on my earphones,I can still hear the squeals and guy bellows!

  • Posted By: rockerchick @ 06/09/2008 7:52:01 PM

    It'snot just those talkers on the phones, but loud conversations shouted across the gym. I work our at 5 am and there are a few gym bimbos ("gynbos") who apparently feel this is their social club. I can hear their squeals and the guys shouting back through my earphones with Seether or Disturbed blasting away!!

  • Posted By: s247 @ 06/09/2008 1:54:10 PM

    Been a member in 2 gyms. I quit for reasons other than this list, but never was comfortable because of some of these issues. Especially didn't feel comfortable knowing everything was covered in germs. I think it should be standard to have staff sanitize equipment several times a day and confront members who are offensive.

    • Posted By: iskisquaw @ 06/09/2008 7:02:45 PM

      Health Clubs that are run properly clean and dissenfect regularly, hence the name health club

  • Posted By: iskisquaw @ 06/09/2008 6:53:51 PM

    What ever happen to gym ettiquette, at my current gym in Truckee,Ca it is non-existent, it seems to be new comers who have never been taught about it, although I'm sure it would help if there was ever anyone monitering activities there.

  • Posted By: GrogInOhio @ 06/09/2008 4:18:23 PM

    2 more to add. 1 - Walking around the locker room butt-naked so we can all notice the assets. Please... wrap a towel around that! 2 - Just sitting on the equipment... not resting.. .just chillin' making it look like you plan to work out!!

  • Posted By: ben nevis @ 06/09/2008 4:12:20 PM

    Most of the people who use gyms are a " little of center " in their daily lives. A few really do need psyphiatric help.

  • Posted By: denisegb @ 06/09/2008 2:59:03 PM

    How about spitting on the indoor track also using the hair dryers to blow dry the nether regions

  • Posted By: mike_ski @ 06/09/2008 2:30:53 PM

    Within these comments, as limited in number as they are, I see two consistent trends - multi-outlet or chain-store gyms, and larger cities. I'm not surprised that such a combination has bred an attitude of 'dis-ownership' - I'm not the owner and my behavior is anonymous in the crowd, so what I do doesn't matter. I live in a smaller town in Colorado, and the local rec. center is populated with mostly repeat, regular customers. We know each other by face, if not by name. Like personal business in any small town, anyone's behavior in the gym gets posted on the "gossip-net " overnight (LOL). That turns out to be a great policing agent.

    We DO have a problem that is less egregious than some of those discussed, and similarly due, in part, to ignorance. PARENTS (especially those of grade school children) - PLEASE do NOT assume your child, dropped off at the front entrance, especially in a peer group unsupervised by an accompanying adult, will automatically behave appropriately in the gym. PLEASE do NOT assume that the older child will look after the younger child. PLEASE do NOT assume that the oldest child in the group cares how the youngest child behaves. And PLEASE notice that your child may be regularly leaving behind clothing, towels, swimwear, shoes, etc. (how the heck does a kid get picked up and taken all the way home without anyone noticing he's not wearing one of his shoes???? anybody paying attention???? The shoes they're leaving behind aren't cheap!!!).

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse