How to Deal with Annoying People in the Gym

Basically it annoys me more and more each gym session and im afraid someone is going to cop a barbell to the head if i don’t release my frustration. I spend my rest periods walking around the gym putting things back in the correct spot. Do idea why but when i get into the gym I have massive OCD.

[quote]magick wrote:

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I honestly never presume to know what another person thinks or is thinking. That said, if someone thinks they are awesome for squatting 250lbs high, I don’t really see the issue. It seems as though they are training in a way that meets their goals, no?[/quote]

Or they could be misinformed and passing that misinformation along.[/quote]

They could be, but that is a gamble, and subjective as well. There are so many varying opinions on training here that to claim that one method is the correct way and another is a misinformed way becomes tricky.

I think the most difficult idea is the concept that some people do not train with a goal of progress. Many people train purely with a goal of training. In most cases, its so that they can tell people that they go to the gym and work out, and thus, the sheer presence of being in the gym and doing anything is accomplishing their goal.

It’s why I don’t tend to judge what people are doing at the gym, because I have no idea what their goals could be, and therefore would not know the best way to achieve them.

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
Basically it annoys me more and more each gym session and im afraid someone is going to cop a barbell to the head if i don’t release my frustration. I spend my rest periods walking around the gym putting things back in the correct spot. Do idea why but when i get into the gym I have massive OCD.[/quote]

Dude. Get your shit together. This is a ‘you’ problem, not a ‘them’ problem. If this makes you so angry, then you need to deal with your anger, not the thing outside of your control that you think is causing the anger. If you haven’t noticed already, people do a lot worse shit in the real world than leaving 45 lb weights 2 feet from the place they were supposed to leave the 45 lb weights. Your attitude is going to do positive for you, unless you think getting your ass kicked by someone who doesn’t appreciate it is positive. Which it might be.

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]Apothecary wrote:
I see SO many people squatting miles above parallel, which is my biggest pet peeve. It used to take a ton of self control to not say something, but honestly, you’re never going to make an impact on these people 99% of the time. It sucks, since it makes me feel “bad” about squatting half what these guys do (but with full ROM), so part of my ego wants to say “those don’t count!”, but really…just do you.
[/quote]

All of my squatting outside of competition is above parallel. I find that this makes me bigger and stronger than when I squat to parallel or below. In training, the idea of a movement “counting” is honestly pretty silly, because the point of training isn’t to display or demonstrate strength, it is to build it, much like how in competition, no one cares about building strength that day, just displaying it.

Having this mentality honestly helps prevent worrying about other people in the gym. Having no idea what someone’s goal or method is, I am in no place to judge or care about how they are training. As long as they are meeting their own goals, they are doing just fine.[/quote]

True, there are no style points for going low, but that’s not what I was getting on about. Granted, this is much more of a “me” issue than a “them” one, but it just irks me to see people working with weights that are way too heavy, displaying bad form or ROM. Not that it impacts me at all, but just that it’s a great way to get injured, and/or give new trainees another source of bad advice.

You (and most folks on here) know enough to understand the difference between working super-maximally for training purposes, versus just doing too much. But not everyone gets that. It’s awesome if quarter squats and rounded back DLs meet their needs, and I’m certainly not going to try and convince them to change anything, it just makes me sad/frustrated to see.

On a related note, there was some girl doing calf raises yesterday on the machine, and this older guy walks up mid-set and physically moves her legs around. I had headphones in so I didn’t hear what was being said, but we both just looked at each other dumbfounded. Then they guy walked off.

OP - don’t be that guy.

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]jbpick86 wrote:

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
I always wonder why people give a shit about this stuff. I always put my weights back, but if someone before me doesn’t extend the same courtesy, so what? It’s an opportunity for me to do some extra work and move more weight around. I should be thanking these people.

It’s all about perspective.

And no, you are absolutely not in a position to be giving ANYONE advice. Keep your own side of the street clean, everything else will fall in line.[/quote]

What about if the person up next doesn’t have the physical capability to unload the 1200 lbs of 100’s you left on the leg press for your barely noticeable knee break leg presses? This happened over and over at my old gym. Old guy (stroke victim) would come in and try to get a little work done. His hands were drawn, but he could make due with 45’s. Couple times he had to ask for help unloading the leg press and it absolutely killed his pride. Most were glad to help him but he shouldn’t of had to have been put through swallowing his pride to ask just because someone was to lazy to pick up behind themselves. [/quote]

That’s unfortunate, but that’s a very specific, unsual situation, and my reasoning still applies. Me berating the dude who left plates on the machine isn’t going to do jack shit. But if I set an example, hopefully the next guy will do the same, and so on, so that eventually the asshole who, as you said, leaves 1200 lbs on a machine, may eventually reconsider their behavior. Nobody wants to be told what to do, but people are willing to change when they see things change around them. That’s just how I look at it. Do the right thing, and hopefully it will rub off on someone else.[/quote]

I should have been more clear. I am in no advocating saying anything. Almost always you are going to start a fight or create a tense situation and that really isn’t good for your training. Like you said, handle your business, set the example by leaving your area neater than you found it, and hope others follow suit. I was more responding to your “Why do people give a shit” question.

[quote]Apothecary wrote:
but just that it’s a great way to get injured, and/or give new trainees another source of bad advice.
[/quote]

I suppose my biggest issue here is that I don’t really see a negative about these instances that would necessitate being upset. Injuries are a great experience to learn from, and I would not be nearly as strong as I am today were it not for several terrible injuries. As for sources of bad advice, it all boils down to goals and effort. I think those that want to succeed badly enough will take the time to figure out the right info, and those that don’t will get the results they worked for. It’s a balancing act.

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]Apothecary wrote:
but just that it’s a great way to get injured, and/or give new trainees another source of bad advice.
[/quote]

I suppose my biggest issue here is that I don’t really see a negative about these instances that would necessitate being upset. Injuries are a great experience to learn from, and I would not be nearly as strong as I am today were it not for several terrible injuries. As for sources of bad advice, it all boils down to goals and effort. I think those that want to succeed badly enough will take the time to figure out the right info, and those that don’t will get the results they worked for. It’s a balancing act.[/quote]

Like I said, I’ve never corrected anyone or called out bad form. I was purely commiserating with the fact that certain things can be annoying but don’t warrant confronting someone. Perhaps it was a bad example, but its the only one I have.

[quote]Apothecary wrote:

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]Apothecary wrote:
but just that it’s a great way to get injured, and/or give new trainees another source of bad advice.
[/quote]

I suppose my biggest issue here is that I don’t really see a negative about these instances that would necessitate being upset. Injuries are a great experience to learn from, and I would not be nearly as strong as I am today were it not for several terrible injuries. As for sources of bad advice, it all boils down to goals and effort. I think those that want to succeed badly enough will take the time to figure out the right info, and those that don’t will get the results they worked for. It’s a balancing act.[/quote]

Like I said, I’ve never corrected anyone or called out bad form. I was purely commiserating with the fact that certain things can be annoying but don’t warrant confronting someone. Perhaps it was a bad example, but its the only one I have.[/quote]

Oh, I understood where you were coming from. I was merely demonstrating how to not be annoyed by it. Perspective becomes valuable in these instances.

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
i always always always see people in the gym who are so inconsiderate i see them putting weights back in the wrong position, leaving them on the floor etc. Best way to tell these idiots off? Only reason I haven’t yet is i don’t think they’d react to a 155lb teenager lecturing them about gym etticate. really really gets annoying and its always the same handful of people. [/quote]

It’s funny. This was (and is) one of my biggest pet peeves. I hate when people leave weights scattered all over the gym. However, I try to turn it into a positive. When I first get to the gym, I find an area that I want to use (squat rack, open space for deadlifts, etc.), and I clean it. I pick up all the weights in the surrounding area, organize it to my liking, and designate a space for myself. In doing so, I feel better about how the area looks (OCD-ish), but it also acts as a good active warm up. I can’t stand warming up via jogging or whatever, so picking up numerous plates and moving them around gets me loose, I’ll use the light plates for some shoulder pre-habilitation while walking around, and I’ll actually break a sweat.

Also, if you SEE someone leave a bunch of plates on the bar in the middle of the floor, or whatever the case may be, and walk away, you could always politely ask them if they are done using it, and if they are, if they would mind cleaning it up so that you could use it (regardless of if you’re going to use it). I do this all the time, and I usually assist them in doing so. It’s a good way to meet people and break the ice, I think.

Just be careful. I did this with a professor at my undergraduate institution (that I thought was a prick anyway), and all interactions with said professor weren’t so great after that.

If people putting weights in the wrong places bothers you that much, then train somewhere else (like at home). If that’s not feasible, then suck it it up and deal with it.

People putting shit away wrong and lifting with shitty form? That’s par for the course in any gym, so you’re just going to have to learn to stop giving a fuck. Better not go to university, either. While the gym environment is great for the most part, the obnoxious fucktards I have to deal with are so much more annoying. For example, today I was kicked off the cable machine by some douchey twins who’ve never touched a squat rack in their lives. They claimed they were using it from before. I knew they weren’t and called them out. They claimed they were “supersetting” (which was bullshit).

Moral of the story: Pick your battles. Most of the shit you see isn’t worth it and, for your troubles, other people will just consider you a dick. Occasionally, it is worth saying something, though.

Another pet peeve in the gym, horrible spotters. I was doing my last set of squats today, about 2 reps in this guy comes up behind me and decides I need a spot, lol… I am very serious about my form I squat just below parallel which is about as low as the squat rack allows me to go. Idiot starts spotting me even though im in a rack and don’t need it, the second I start actually putting effort in and breaking half a sweat he starts curling/lifting half my bodyweight, I only get half way down and he tries motivating me by screaming in my ear “UP!!! UP!!! UP!!!” when I haven’t even gone down yet…

nice way to ruin a set.

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]magick wrote:

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I honestly never presume to know what another person thinks or is thinking. That said, if someone thinks they are awesome for squatting 250lbs high, I don’t really see the issue. It seems as though they are training in a way that meets their goals, no?[/quote]

Or they could be misinformed and passing that misinformation along.[/quote]

I think the most difficult idea is the concept that some people do not train with a goal of progress. Many people train purely with a goal of training. In most cases, its so that they can tell people that they go to the gym and work out, and thus, the sheer presence of being in the gym and doing anything is accomplishing their goal.
[/quote]

Most people don’t seem to train with the goal of progress. My friends spend hours training but never make any progress. I have bulked up a lot recently and the questions they kept asking me was “how many days do you train” and “how many hours”. They can’t get their head around that these are not the most important things.

As for other people in the gym. I don’t pay any intention to what other people are doing as long as it doesn’t affect me. This is in life not just training. Why get stressed over little things?

I wouldn’t take a 16 year old who weighs 155lbs giving me advice well! In my experience it is always beginner’s who want to do this. When I used to run a lot I always had my overweight friends give me advice. The same when I did Muay Thai and now I lift weights.

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
Another pet peeve in the gym, horrible spotters. I was doing my last set of squats today, about 2 reps in this guy comes up behind me and decides I need a spot, lol… I am very serious about my form I squat just below parallel which is about as low as the squat rack allows me to go. Idiot starts spotting me even though im in a rack and don’t need it, the second I start actually putting effort in and breaking half a sweat he starts curling/lifting half my bodyweight, I only get half way down and he tries motivating me by screaming in my ear “UP!!! UP!!! UP!!!” when I haven’t even gone down yet…

nice way to ruin a set.[/quote]

I hope you said something to him after the set!

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]magick wrote:

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I honestly never presume to know what another person thinks or is thinking. That said, if someone thinks they are awesome for squatting 250lbs high, I don’t really see the issue. It seems as though they are training in a way that meets their goals, no?[/quote]

Or they could be misinformed and passing that misinformation along.[/quote]

They could be, but that is a gamble, and subjective as well. There are so many varying opinions on training here that to claim that one method is the correct way and another is a misinformed way becomes tricky.

It’s why I don’t tend to judge what people are doing at the gym, because I have no idea what their goals could be, and therefore would not know the best way to achieve them.[/quote]
Yep. Sometimes you simply don’t know what you’re stepping into because you’re going off limited information. There’s always a chance that the person is doing exactly what somebody - somebody they might’ve paid money to - already told them to do. There’s also the potential reason that a person’s medical/injury history requires them to modify the ROM of a given exercise.

My litmus test for “should someone offer advice” is this:

If you see that from across the gym and your first instinct is along the lines of, “LOL, loser doing shitty pulldowns. That won’t train anything”, then you really do need to keep your yap shut in general, as you’re in no position to offer anyone advice.

[quote]Patch Adams wrote:

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
Another pet peeve in the gym, horrible spotters. I was doing my last set of squats today, about 2 reps in this guy comes up behind me and decides I need a spot, lol… I am very serious about my form I squat just below parallel which is about as low as the squat rack allows me to go. Idiot starts spotting me even though im in a rack and don’t need it, the second I start actually putting effort in and breaking half a sweat he starts curling/lifting half my bodyweight, I only get half way down and he tries motivating me by screaming in my ear “UP!!! UP!!! UP!!!” when I haven’t even gone down yet…

nice way to ruin a set.[/quote]

I hope you said something to him after the set![/quote]
x2. This is definitely a case where you’re entirely justified in saying something. Interrupting someone’s set by physically touching the bar is pretty much a zero tolerance situation.

You don’t have to be a dick about it, though it’d be easy and certainly understandable, but definitely explain to the dude that, despite his “good intentions”, you were trying to do ABC because of XYZ.

To go off of that… even when there isn’t any touching, it can be dangerous.

I used to lift in a university gym with two cages somewhat close together. It was nothing crazy, but 2 people could squat at the same time w/ maybe 4-5 inches between the end of eachother’s bars. However, its doesn’t leave a lot of room to mess around; I would get kids on the cage next to mine trying to load their bar while I was squatting heavy. I had to ask them to wait until I finished my set (they were only sets of 5) because their movement in my periphery would throw me off a bit and I was afraid I might hurt them or myself, not even to mention the potential for them bumping into my bar. Definitely speak up if they’re endangering you or others.

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]Patch Adams wrote:

[quote]Massthetics wrote:
Another pet peeve in the gym, horrible spotters. I was doing my last set of squats today, about 2 reps in this guy comes up behind me and decides I need a spot, lol… I am very serious about my form I squat just below parallel which is about as low as the squat rack allows me to go. Idiot starts spotting me even though im in a rack and don’t need it, the second I start actually putting effort in and breaking half a sweat he starts curling/lifting half my bodyweight, I only get half way down and he tries motivating me by screaming in my ear “UP!!! UP!!! UP!!!” when I haven’t even gone down yet…

nice way to ruin a set.[/quote]

I hope you said something to him after the set![/quote]
x2. This is definitely a case where you’re entirely justified in saying something. Interrupting someone’s set by physically touching the bar is pretty much a zero tolerance situation.

You don’t have to be a dick about it, though it’d be easy and certainly understandable, but definitely explain to the dude that, despite his “good intentions”, you were trying to do ABC because of XYZ.[/quote]

call me a skeptic, but… I’m not particularly convinced the event described above actually occurred. Just sayin’.

Purchase a house with a basement and build a gym for yourself. This is what I did after tolerating people at commercial gyms my whole life. Until then, a hat and headset and a get in get out mentality worked for me in the past before accomplishing the above.

[quote]magick wrote:

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I honestly never presume to know what another person thinks or is thinking. That said, if someone thinks they are awesome for squatting 250lbs high, I don’t really see the issue. It seems as though they are training in a way that meets their goals, no?[/quote]

Or they could be misinformed and passing that misinformation along.[/quote]

To presume you know better than someone else with respect to their own training is pretty arrogant.

My (anecdotal) experience is that the people most keen to correct others are those who are pretty new to it themselves.

I have to say I’m somewhat alarmed at how socially inept some of the folks are that they have to spend large sums of money just to avoid people at a commercial gym a few hours a week.

I mean, I understand the convenience of it, but just because the weights might not be exactly where you’d like or because somebody doesn’t squat to parallel sounds crazy (literally, mental problems).