@deb922 ,
Yes I am glad I went as I am meeting someone or lunch and our neighborhood progressive dinner is tonight,
I’m going to renew with my trainer. I only see him once on a weekend, but that is the best I can do. He’s been correcting me on machines and focusing on areas of weakness.
Yesterday evening’s Zumba class was the weirdest thing! I’m in my spot, and you know how in a class like that everyone is spread out like 4 or 5 feet apart, right? Well THREE times someone came in late and invaded my space! So weird. And rude! The first young lady came in and stood right in front of me. Next, another person on my left side, not ridiculously close, but too close. Then, a young girl came in and was like on my left elbow. I looked at her and said “really?” and she just shrugged. LOL. I moved all three times. How weird. There were other obvious spots available. Am I invisible??
Sometimes the toughest thing about getting to the gym is taking the first step to initiate the sequence of behavior that gets you there. Once you take that first step, whether it’s swinging your legs out of bed early in the morning, grabbing your gym bag or whatever, the rest of the sequence of behavior to do your workout gets cued up.
@VaBluebird I would talk to the Zumba instructor and management - maybe they need to post something about this. There are young people that have no manners, it is all about them, etc. Somehow they figured you wouldn’t complain - and you did move. So now that you have reflected on it - you can figure out how this won’t happen to you again. Maybe show up early enough to not get in a spot where late comers will invade your space, or you can think of other things.
I have to tell you, I don’t let young people push me around. I was teaching an evening business class, and had my blinker on for a parking spot. A 19/20 year old gal swung into the spot. I stopped my car, locked it and followed her - saying ‘miss, miss’ into the building. When she realized I was going to continue to follow her, I told her she swung into my parking spot and needed to find her own - so she did go back to her car and moved. If she continued to class I would have announced it there. Didn’t go as far as in the movie…lol.
@VaBluebird - that would have really gotten on my nerves. I like @SOSConcern’s suggestions, though I’m glad there wasn’t a Fried Green Tomato situation in her case (with the car). 
VaBlueBird, some people, regardless of age, no concept of gym or class etiquette. Don’t hesitate to tell someone they have created a boundary issue in a group fitness class. Everyone needs to respect the space of each class participant to be able to move. If the person doesn’t respond appropriately, use the space you need and they will get the message quickly. 
I move over inches for a friend, and have rarely encountered gross behavior. Last week, however, a newcomer moved my friend’s mat away from center. We all talked it. I’d say I meet the nicest people at the gym classes. There are those who hog the machines. I tried to use the Roman chair (what I call the torture chair) for an hour on Friday. Today, with the trainer, it was miraculously freed up.
At NEw Year’s yoga meet-up downtown, we were packed like sardines. 1500? People.
I vented in the “say it here” thread yesterday about a person who was on the leg press machine. I was right behind her note rowing machine, with a timer, so I know how long I was on (and she was on the leg press thing longer than I was on the rowing machine). She was texting and essentially just sitting on the machine, very, very, VERY occasionally pushing her legs. I was going to get on the one next to her when someone else got on it, so I stayed on the rower for another minute or so before finishing and then going up to the leg press things. I asked the texter person if she would be finished soon and she said “oh I just started”. Um, NO. I know how long she was on because I was right behind her. She had a right to waste her time on that machine, but she didn’t need to lie. That was annoying. I just walked away. Well, at least she was at the gym. That’s a start.
So while I am venting (I guess I need another cup of morning coffee) I am finding my DH’s efforts to "encourage " me crossing over into the “pushy” arena. I have gone to the gym more than I like, but I go. Yesterday we went and I did 45 min on the treadmill (3.35 mi) and the rowing machine. Last night we were at a neighborhood event and he pushed me to go to walk/run (he and the husband would run, the wife and I would walk) at a 3 mile trail this morning at 8 am, when it was in the 30’s. That just has zero appeal for me. the other couple couldn’t go later due to scheduling issues, so the husband and DH went without he wives this morning. I am willing to walk or even walk/run when it’s warmer, maybe in an hour or so, but I have zero desire to bundle up and walk in the cold. If it’s in the 30’s there should be skis on my feet… Period.
OK, vent over. time for that cup of coffee.
Ack for iPad autocorrects. I was behind her on the rowing machine.
@jym626, sympathy from me. My H is like that also. He always asks people to do things like that and forgets to ask me if its ok. Which is fine sometimes but sometimes I have my own idea of what I want to do.
He is pushy too.
Thanks @deb922 . DH is normally very gentle and not at all pushy. Maybe I am being sensitive. But seems like no matter what I do, he wants to “invite” me to do more. It backfires and then I don’t want to do it at all. IT takes it from something I might look forward to to now something I dread or resent. Not sure I am being clear. But for example, we were supposed to go to that trail later this morning when it warmed up, and would do a combination of walk/run. I was sorta looking forward to it. Now, we aren’t going to do it at all, because he got annoyed that I felt I was being pushed to go at 8 am and walk in the cold. I DO NOT like to go out in the cold and I DO NOT like to exercise at 8 am. I am willing to do it (later when it’s warmer) , but neither of those is the least bit desirous-- except when skiing. That’s the ONLY thing that will get me up early and out into the cold.
I know exactly what you are saying jym626! It’s so annoying.
For me, it’s something I am looking forward to, for us to do as a couple. On our terms. Not him doing his thing with someone on his level and usually me doing something below my level. It’s fine to do things with a couple but I want to be selfish and do it as a couple. Us!
jym, I think you should have said, “Actually, I happen to know you’ve been on it for 20 minutes” or whatever it was. I have to say the guys at our gym often hang out and talk to each other sitting on machines, but if you ask them if they are actually using the machine they always hop right off.
Spot on, @deb922. The weather was beautiful, and we had made the plan yesterday afternoon to go to the trail together today, mid to late morning, when it warmed up. Then it morphed into “oh, so and so asked me to go at 8 am. Lets go then We can go as 2 couples” Um, no thanks. Well, after some miscommunication, and after he went to the gym (after running this morning), we finally went on an abbreviated walk/run on the trail. By the time we went it was late and we couldn’t do the full circuit, as I had company coming over, but at least I asserted my request for clarification and an opportunity to go, and not get left in the dust because he changed plans to go running with this other person. I did not want to, and would not have gone alone to the trail. Just not my thing. The reality of it is, DH doesn’t say no. So when the other person asked him if he wanted to run at that trail at 8 this morning, rather than telling him he had already made plans to go with me later when it was warmer, he tries to be nice and change our plans to accommodate the other guy. Well, I guess I am not as nice (or as flexible, perhaps) as DH, because I wanted to stick with our plans and was not ok with going early, in the cold. So we wives told the guys to go without us. But I didn’t mean ALL DAY without me., I still wanted to go later. That was one of a few miscommunications. So when DH went to the gym after his run, and I was expecting we were going to go to the trail, I was non-plussed. It all worked out, sort of, but not with some bumps in the road.
mathmom, it hadn’t yet been quite 20 minutes. But since she’d been on it for a little less than that and really was doing nothing but sitting and texting, I thought she’d get up when she saw me standing there. Nope. So after a few minutes, I asked politely if she was almost done. That’s when she lied. I saw no point in getting into a potential confrontation about it. Was easier to just leave. That said, I did mumble probably in a louder than whisper tone as I walked away, that I knew exactly how long she had been on that machine.
Once I got on that leg press when no one was on it. I’d just done a few when a guy came up to me and said “oh I was on that machine and I wasn’t finished” and essentially demanded I get off. I was relatively new to that gym and was so flabbergasted by his demand and tone that I apologized and got off. Its not Like (a) I was going to be on it very long and (b) there was NO ONE ON IT and no towel or anything indicating anyone was using it. I was shocked by his demand, and got off rather than tell him I wouldn’t be very long and would be happy to let him have it when I was finished. Oh well. One of life’s “if I had it to do over” moments. In truth, I don’t know if I’d have had the nerve to tell him to pound sand. I am no wallflower., but he was pretty intimidating and demanding. No point in getting him p-o’ed.
It’s one thing if you are doing a cardio routine on a cardio machine, the expectation is that you will exclusively use the machine for the duration of your cardio workout but even so, most gyms have rules that when it’s crowded and all machines are in use, that you limit your workout to 20 or 30 minutes.
It’s an entirely different matter to monopolize a weight lifting machine while you do multiple sets. Common gym etiquette is to allow another user to “work in” and each person alternates during the other person’s recovery between sets. If the machine has a selectorized weight stack, the transitions from person to person are easy and quick. If it’s a plate loaded machine, each person helps the other adjust the weight. That way everyone gets their workout in and you can even have fun cheerleading and spotting each other.
When I’m working out at a gym and doing multiple sets on a machine, if I see someone standing nearby watching, I always ask if they want to work in. I’ve had people ask me if they can and I’ve asked people if I can. Next time you encounter this type of situation, don’t hesitate to ask to work in. It should be a non-issue and if the other user balks, nothing wrong with reminding them that they’ve been on the machine for a while and other people need to use it too! And nothing wrong with telling the guy who came up and “claimed” the machine that he wasn’t there and you couldn’t tell he had been using it and the invite him to work in. Both the people you described acted in a boorish way and would get “schooled” very quickly in the gyms I frequent.
Yes, both were boorish. I don’t have a set routine that I follow, so it was just as easy to do something else. It was just really rude, in both situations.
It’s so perfectly clear now to me with tracking it all. I know where I need to be to lose 1-2 lbs per week, exercise helps insure that, but I also see where I could indulge in a couple of extras if I also put in another hour or so of exercise. Could it be that I’m finally getting it??? It’s all mathematical and I am, if nothing, used to precise calculations! Plugging all this into My Fitness Pal coincides precisely with a website where you calculate your daily needs and how much of a deficit you need each day to lose X pounds per week. It’s pretty intriguing really. It sure doesn’t motivate me to exercise however. I have to laugh at myself as I weigh eating less vs. exercising more…which to do, which to do in order to allow an indulgence. LOL!
What website does it coincide with, @VaBluebird ?