An open letter to the rude gym rat

Dear rude gym rat,

You know who you are. You’re the guy at the gym who leaves his towel on the seat of the bicep machine I want while you are four machines away doing three other sets. Yeah, rude gym rat, I’m talking to you.

Let me tell you, dude. You don’t own the place. So stop being rude to your fellow gym-goers.

I’ve been going to the gym now for about five years, and I’ve seen many examples of bad gym etiquette. You’re not the first, and unfortunately for me, you certainly won’t be the last. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll see this post and realize that your behavior affects others, like me. And maybe you’ll learn some gym etiquette and straighten up.

A gym is a community of sorts, and everyone there is paying good money for the right to use the machines. And they’re paying that money because they want to get fit.

So, rude gym rat, please keep some rules of etiquette in mind to make the gym a more pleasant experience for everyone.

You done? Clear out!

When I walk up to a bench lugging a pair of weights to do my bicep curls, I don’t want to see your towel or water bottle still sitting there while you’re nowhere in sight. Are you still using that bench or not? If you are still using it, please be there so it’s obvious to me. I’ll be happy to find another space. And if you’re done, take your towel, your weights and your water bottle with you so I’m not left wondering if I’m taking your turf.

Put your dumbbells back!

Put your weights back on the rack. Don’t leave them next to the bench. If you’re strong enough to lift those 70-pound weights for bicep curls, you’re strong enough to walk them back over to the rack. I certainly am not strong enough to lift them, and I don’t want to scoot your heavy weights out of the way so I can do my curls with my little ol’ 17-pound weights.

And when you re-rack the weights, put them back in order. The weight rack starts with the small five-pounders at one end and goes gradually up to the 95-pounders at the other end. If you got the 25-pounders out to do your set, they go after the 20-pounders and before the 30-pounders. Pairs also go together. Nothing annoys me more than to be looking for two 15-pound weights, only to find one where it is supposed to be and the other stuck next to the 50-pound weights because you were too lazy to walk it down to where it’s supposed to go.

Don’t be a machine hog

Don’t take up the whole gym. Like I said at the beginning, you don’t own the place. Use one machine at a time, do your sets efficiently, then move on to your next machine. I don’t mind waiting for you to finish if I see that you are moving quickly through your sets. What I don’t want to see is you doing your first set, then leaving your towel there while you wander around the gym. You don’t need to rest for five minutes. I could have done two or three of my own sets during your rest break. And you certainly don’t need to walk halfway across the gym to talk to your friend. If you want to have a social hour, give the machine up so that those of us who are there to workout can do so.

You also annoy me when you stand next to the machine, leaning against it while you talk to your friend. I want that machine. Are you going to use it to exercise, or are you going to use it as a prop to hold you up while you talk? If you’re not going to use it, take your conversation elsewhere so I can have it.

And if you want to superset between two machines, that’s OK with me. I do that, too. Just pick adjacent machines so you don’t go back and forth between two machines that are halfway across the gym from each other. If you like to superset, don’t do it when the gym is crowded and or when someone wants one of the machines. You might just have to finish with one machine, then grab the other one.

I don’t care how hot you think you are

This one is for you female gym rats. You know who you are. You’re the young one -- early to mid-20s -- wearing the skimpy little sports bra and short shorts, doing some flashy exercise in the middle of several guys while stealing little glances at them to make sure they are looking at you.

But it gets really bad when you look at me to make sure I’m looking at you.

I’m a 30-something woman. I am trying to concentrate on my exercises, and I am trying not to look at you. I won’t be hitting on you, and your flashy exercises are not going to make me jealous of you. Your flashiness just distracts me from what I’m trying to do and makes me wonder why you have to have so much attention. So please, stop it.

So, rude gym rat, the next time you are at the gym, please keep in mind that I might be at the machine next to you, and I and your other fellow gym-goers are just looking for a pleasant workout experience. The behaviors above are just a few that bother me. There are many other ways you can breach gym etiquette.

Luckily, you can follow these links here and here to see some other rules of etiquette to follow. Please take a look at them, and next time you’re at the gym, follow them so you can be better than the guy who inspired this letter.

Sincerely,
Jennifer

What rude gym behaviors bother you? Leave a comment and let me know!