Standing Around the Gym Talking and Texting Is Not A Workout

[Yavin4]

Get going or get out of the way.

I hate resolution season.

[LeftofObama]

1. Amen to that!

Only a couple more weeks and things should get back to normal. I went for a run this morning and I thought maybe if I got there early I would beat the crowd. Nope! I was running around the track weaving in and out of the people who were walking in pairs (there is a sign telling you not to do that because you form a barricade and it's hard for people to pass) and they acted like I was the one who was inconveniencing them.

[murielm99]

2. It takes about six weeks in my gym.

It is crowded for the first part of the year. Some of them will do well, and keep coming. But most of them will be gone soon.

I hate how they have no concept of gym etiquette. They sit on equipment and talk. They hog all the treadmills and poke along. A lot of them start a diet along with the workout. All they talk about is food. I don't know how the trainers take it.

I wish all of them luck. And seriously, I wonder what percent of them stay and improve their health. I wish it was 99.9%.

[graywarrior]

3. OMG, that annoys the hell out of me!

They're absolutely oblivious to everything and everyone around them and they can sit on a machine for up to 20 minutes. Makes me want to slap them!

[Xyzse]

4. LOL

That's why I work out at home.
The current program I am on is Body Combat by Les Mills.
I am enjoying it thus far.

So, come end of the resolution season, maybe I'll start going to some gym classes again.

[Denninmi]

5. I'm glad I avoided the rush and signed up October 1.

Fortunately, my gym time is usually something like five in the morning, so it hasn't been too bad yet. I did notice the sales staff giving a lot of tours to prospective members when I was there a couple of evenings this week for appointments.

[Taverner]

6. Standing on the eliptical/stairmaster/treadmill and not using it and texting

Get going or get out of the way

[Incitatus]

7. I'm staying away for a few weeks. nt

[Rowdyboy]

8. "They came, they saw, they crumbled"..... Watching the "Resolutionistas" is a blast!

Its been a seasonal pleasure of mine since 2005, sort of a harbinger of Spring.....

[retread]

9. I think it is extremely generous to pay toward upkeep of equipment and never use it. I am also

amused seeing people drive around and around the parking, waiting to grab a space close to the gym.

[Denninmi]

13. I do that at times.

Only because I have a lot to carry in, gym bag, toiletries bag, complete change of clothes for work on hangers, water bottle.

Honestly, I wish they had permanent assigned lockers. It would be easier. I know why they don't, it allows for a smaller locker room and also keeps keeps it from smelling. I remember the pungent bad odor of a high school locker room full of unwashed sweaty clothes.

[Patiod]

10. You can often tell who will stick it out

A combination of demeanor and clothing. T-shirt and sweat pants - good prospect. A sweater and cords- not so much. A matching workout ensemble - doubtful.

My SO is a former fat person, and he's always rooting for the particularly- out-of-shape folks to make it. There was one extra-big teenaged boy at our old gym, and it took all he had not to tell the kid "Hang in there - it's worth it" but he didn't want to be patronizing.

So even though we gym rats find the resolutionistas incredibly annoying, a lot of us are secretly rooting for folks to actually stick with it (and stop texting)

[AngryOldDem]

12. +1

You definitely can tell. And I am infinitely more patient with those who I'm pretty sure are there for the right reasons as opposed to those who see it as a get-thin-quick deal, or as the new hobby du jour.

[Denninmi]

14. I saw a middle aged guy working out the other day in a flannel shirt and blue jeans.

Kind of out of place, IMHO.

[Patiod]

16. We used to have one guy who "worked out" in a cable-knit sweater and cap

He had long curly greasy hair, and wore this heavy black sweater and wool cap. He would sit on the equipment and read, and s-l-o-w-l-y move his legs.

Either use the machine or get off of it! And if you need a sweater, you're not working hard enough! Grrrr!

[Denninmi]

17. Well, actually, I often wear a Columbia or UnderArmor thermal base layer top

Then some kind of athletic shirt with moisture wicking tech, and then a fleece hoodie, oversized for ventilation over that.

My theory, the more I sweat, the better as long as I don't get overheated or dehydrated.

I'm not quite ready to wear a garbage bag when I work out like Bradley Cooper's character in the movie Silver Linings Playbook, but it has the same effect.

Greasy hair, yuck. That's nasty. For God's sake, I know we're there to sweat, but at least go in clean and fresh. They've got showers right there on site, at least at a full-service club.

[GoCubsGo]

21. We're not allowed to wear street clothes at my gym.

What horrifies me are the ones who wear the sauna suits. Those things should be outlawed. Occasionally, we'll get people in spinning class that are dressed head to toe in in sweats. On several occasions, they have nearly passed out. In one, the woman pretty much did, and was damn lucky there was an other instructor in the class who was able to keep her from winding up on the floor. Covering oneself in heavy sweatsuits or plastic isn't going to help lose anything other than fluids, and those will come right back as soon as you drink something.

[Denninmi]

25. I dunno. I think it helps.

True about the water loss, but I feel it stokes my metabolism up a notch. Of course, they keep it kind of cool in there anyway, so at times I'm glad. I can always peel off layers if need be.

[GoCubsGo]

30. It doesn't affect your metabolism, sorry to say.

All it does is increase your chances of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, and make you sweat more. And, the amount you sweat has no correlation to the number of calories you are burning, or to your metabolism. Being too warm is counterproductive, actually. It just makes most people sluggish, so they don't work as hard. The cooler you are, the harder you'll work, and that is what will stoke your metabolism.

[AngryOldDem]

11. Neither is standing around and looking at the equipment, or sitting on it and not using it.

Give it about another three weeks, a month, tops. Most will get frustrated at the lack of results and quit.

[Populist_Prole]

15. The resolution dieters are just as pathetic, maybe more

A few weeks or so half-assed ( maybe even quarter-assed ) attempts at eating right reults in no weight loss, let alone feeling better, and then it's right back to the same old same old coupled with a scornful sour grapes attitude about how you should just eat what you want and enjoy life blah blah blah.

[GoCubsGo]

23. Then there are the resolution dieter-exercisers.

They show up at the gym, do a work-out that barely breaks a sweat, and then guzzle down a bottle of Gatorade @310 calories/12 oz. Some of them take in more calories from the Gatorade than they burn in their workouts. And, the damn gym encourages that kind of shit. They have a refreshment bar that sells not only calorie-laden electrolyte and energy drinks, but als osmoothies that are high in calories. The latter come with the claim that you need them to help you lose weight/gain muscle/help you recover from your workout. Unless you're running a marathon, you don't need that shit. I leave puddles under my bike in spinning class, and regularly saturate my clothing with sweat. I still don't use electrolyte drinks. Plain ol' water does me just fine.

[Denninmi]

18. My gym seemed normal for a Monday.

I figured I'd be tripping over 10 other guys at my locker and have to wait in line for a shower and then sink, but it was the same old crowd, I didn't see any guys I hadn't seen around before.

[pink-o]

19. I'm avoiding the gym until the end of the month, just because I'll get pissed off.

And for some of us, exercise is actually fun. Don't need the resolutionaries to ruin it.

My friend is a personal trainer, so he makes some bux this time of the year, but it drives him bananas! The people who're never off their phones, or the ones who show up in ridiculous outfits. One woman came to her training session wearing 4 inch pumps, because she has issues with he calf muscles when she wears flats. Also, she told my friend it's easier to walk uphill in heels.

WTF is with these people?

[Denninmi]

20. 4" heels? Seriously?

Yeah, that should work out great on a treadmill or elyptical.

The trainers at my gym are great. They know who is serious about it, and take measures accordingly. The two guys I work with personally are taking great care of me, I've told them some, but not all, of my recent adventures in the healthcare system, and they have been very cool about it, positive and look out for me over and above, IMHO. The training staff works hard, long hours, most work 6 days, and I've never come across one who isn't friendly, courteous, and professional.

You get out of it what you put into it.

[GoCubsGo]

22. I guess it never occurred to this fool...

...that the reason she has issues with her calves when she's in flats is because she spends so much time in the damn high heels?

[pink-o]

32. Yup. Got it in one.

Listen, I work at an airline ticket counter in SFO. And I told my trainer friend I had heartfelt sympathy for what he goes through in HIS job. The folks I deal with are totally low maintenance in comparison.

[GoCubsGo]

24. The crowds aren't so big at my gym this year.

Another gym opened recently, and the YMCA also opened a new facility earlier this year. They have cut into the new membership somewhat. I haven't seen how much as of yet, as I haven't been to the gym today. My gym has a $10/mo. thing going on now, so I suspect they'll be attracting a fair number of newbies.

[Denninmi]

26. I'm almost embarrassed to say what my program costs.

$800 a month with the trainers. I'm going to do it through the end of this year, I consider it an investment in my health and happiness.

[Yavin4]

27. Wow. I Thought I Paid A Lot at $225 a month!

I pay $225 because in NYC you have to pay more to get a clean lockeroom. I cannot workout in a gym if the lockeroom is not clean. I just cannot, and it becomes a deterrent to go to the gym.

[Denninmi]

29. Basic membership is $75.

It's the personal trainers billing at something like $60 an hour that adds up.

[GoCubsGo]

28. I did an Optifast program that was close to that.

It included the prescription diet, too. I wish I had that money back. The fat is all back.

I FINALLY got my membership fees reduced. I was paying $46/mo. Got it cut down to $20 after seeing everyone else getting cheaper memberships. I had been putting off attempting to get it lowered, because I kept thinking I would be relocating. But, that kept falling through. I can't even afford the lesser amount, but I can't afford not to have the membership. Without it, I would not exercise. I consider all the class instructors my trainers. But, I really need to start back with the strength training again.

[lame54]

31. that yearly influx of cash keeps your dues lower