uPtoWnNY said:

that makes no sense. they should just wait, or go do something else. dozens of weight machines and other free weights, but the ones YOU have are the only ones they can use? please. go run a lap.

Anxiety said:

I wholeheartedly agree!!! You can slather your sweat on some weights after me. Plus by sharing, you have to speed up your pace cuz you have some gym fanatic breathing down your neck wanting to share the weights or a machine. I have my own pace, and you just gotta wait. Just like I'll take a breather and wait for somebody else. Or ask when the person will be finished, then either wait or go to another machine or skip to cardio and then come back.

Anxiety said:

I wholeheartedly agree!!! You can slather your sweat on some weights after me. Plus by sharing, you have to speed up your pace cuz you have some gym fanatic breathing down your neck wanting to share the weights or a machine. I have my own pace, and you just gotta wait. Just like I'll take a breather and wait for somebody else. Or ask when the person will be finished, then either wait or go to another machine or skip to cardio and then come back.

funkyslsistah said:

see, you need to come work out at my gym, maybe even do a seminar on gym etiquette.
[Edited 7/10/09 10:19am]

I am definitely NOT a fan of being asked if someone can work in...BUT, sometimes what I have done if someone is on equipment I planned on using, is I ask if they have many sets left/or are almost finished. If they say they are on their last set then I say thanks and usually just wait (without them knowing it) and snag the machine after they're done, but if they say "no I just started" or "I have a few sets left but you can work in" I politely decline and just try to find something else to use.

Hope this helps.

contrapposto said:

i've *never* asked to work in, because if someone's using a machine that i was planning on using next, it's annoying but it's never really that big of a deal. there are a kajillion different weight/exercise machines i know how to use, i'll just go use another one and come back. it's not the end of the world.

i *DO* see people taking their sweet honeypie molasses time on the machines now and then, however...so i do understand why it's necessary to have the concept of "working in". if you're gonna sit on a weight machine and watch 'the view' for ten minutes, well, i can see how an interruption in that can be appropriate.

i think because the whole "working in" concept has no hard and fast rule sheet, it gets abused by people who mistake etiquette for entitlement.

contrapposto said:

i've *never* asked to work in, because if someone's using a machine that i was planning on using next, it's annoying but it's never really that big of a deal. there are a kajillion different weight/exercise machines i know how to use, i'll just go use another one and come back. it's not the end of the world.

i *DO* see people taking their sweet honeypie molasses time on the machines now and then, however...so i do understand why it's necessary to have the concept of "working in". if you're gonna sit on a weight machine and watch 'the view' for ten minutes, well, i can see how an interruption in that can be appropriate.

i think because the whole "working in" concept has no hard and fast rule sheet, it gets abused by people who mistake etiquette for entitlement.

I am definitely NOT a fan of being asked if someone can work in...BUT, sometimes what I have done if someone is on equipment I planned on using, is I ask if they have many sets left/or are almost finished. If they say they are on their last set then I say thanks and usually just wait (without them knowing it) and snag the machine after they're done, but if they say "no I just started" or "I have a few sets left but you can work in" I politely decline and just try to find something else to use.

Hope this helps.

Anxiety said:

BINGO! And there ya have it. THAT my friend is the one thing that makes my blood boil like no other: entitlement. I totally hear what you're saying and am right behind ya. There's always some meathead that probably thinks just because he juiced himself full of a quart of testosterone that he deserves whatever I am about to/in the process of, using.

But it's not always the meatheads-- don't EVEN get me started on the trixies that stand at the water fountain refilling their "smartwater" bottle ( ) for 5 minutes while a line forms behind them of us fools who thought we were only supposed to use our mouths at the fountain.
[Edited 7/10/09 16:57pm]

First off: IMAGO, SHUT THE HELL UP.

Secondly:

I will admit it: I don't understand the whole "working in" concept.

I understand that if I'm taking forever on a certain machine and someone else really needs to use the machine for whatever reason, I should be courteous and share with them by letting them take turns. THAT I understand.

Now, if there's an identical machine just a few feet away that nobody's using, I do *NOT* understand why someone would ask me to work in. Go use the machine nobody is using! Right?

I mean, is there some social component that I'm missing about the whole "working in" phenomena - is it like being at a cotillion and having someone cut in to dance with my partner? Is it some kind of social ice-breaker ritual?

EXAMPLE:

So today, I wanted to do my little hand weight exercises, but someone was using one of the two hand weights I wanted. So I waited for the person to finish. No problem. When he put the weight back on the rack and I reached for it, ANOTHER guy came up to me and said "can we work in with you?"

Now, wait. WHAT?!?

How can you ask to work in when I haven't even begun to work OUT yet? And with free weights, how the hell do you know I'm going to be doing the same thing you and your buddy are doing? And there's another free weight area on the other side of the room. I got to this weight first. WHY can't you guys go over there and find what you need?

But I did my best to take the high road: I just smiled and said "you know what, I'm not much of a worker-inner, so why don't you just take the weights and I'll mozy along."



And so I went to the other weight area, found exactly what I needed, and finished my workout.

Were these people just lazy bullies? Was I out of line for thinking they were rude? Is there a code of honor regarding working in that has some weird social component, like freemasons or something? Is there a written code of working in that I can access online somewhere? I need schooled.

If you go to a gym, do you care when people ask you to work in? Is there a point where you say no?

I just want people to leave me alone. I look ridiculous enough at the gym without having to figure out other people's weirdness.

Imago said:

i started this thread with a special secret message just for you! did you see it?

First off: IMAGO, SHUT THE HELL UP.

Secondly:

I will admit it: I don't understand the whole "working in" concept.

I understand that if I'm taking forever on a certain machine and someone else really needs to use the machine for whatever reason, I should be courteous and share with them by letting them take turns. THAT I understand.

Now, if there's an identical machine just a few feet away that nobody's using, I do *NOT* understand why someone would ask me to work in. Go use the machine nobody is using! Right?

I mean, is there some social component that I'm missing about the whole "working in" phenomena - is it like being at a cotillion and having someone cut in to dance with my partner? Is it some kind of social ice-breaker ritual?

EXAMPLE:

So today, I wanted to do my little hand weight exercises, but someone was using one of the two hand weights I wanted. So I waited for the person to finish. No problem. When he put the weight back on the rack and I reached for it, ANOTHER guy came up to me and said "can we work in with you?"

Now, wait. WHAT?!?

How can you ask to work in when I haven't even begun to work OUT yet? And with free weights, how the hell do you know I'm going to be doing the same thing you and your buddy are doing? And there's another free weight area on the other side of the room. I got to this weight first. WHY can't you guys go over there and find what you need?

But I did my best to take the high road: I just smiled and said "you know what, I'm not much of a worker-inner, so why don't you just take the weights and I'll mozy along."



And so I went to the other weight area, found exactly what I needed, and finished my workout.

Were these people just lazy bullies? Was I out of line for thinking they were rude? Is there a code of honor regarding working in that has some weird social component, like freemasons or something? Is there a written code of working in that I can access online somewhere? I need schooled.

If you go to a gym, do you care when people ask you to work in? Is there a point where you say no?

I just want people to leave me alone. I look ridiculous enough at the gym without having to figure out other people's weirdness.

Anxiety said:

Christopher said:

wouldn't it suck if you and i got stuck in an elevator together someday? i think we'd both spontaneously combust.

I've never had that problem before at the gyms I've attended. I stopped going because of the idiosyncratic females that think it's a fashion parade and the sleazy roid heads pretending to be masters of the universe are a major turn off. In saying that I made the decision to buy my own equipment and build my own home gym. I can work out anytime I want, without hassles nor interruptions.

PanthaGirl said:

Is your old gym in the city?

I go to a gym in the suburbs. At the age of 50, I'm one of the younger people there.

RodeoSchro said:

Yah I do live in the city suburbs and the gyms here are crawling with teeny boppers and of course some older peeps too but same shit goes down either way huh. At least this way I have my privacy suppose.

PanthaGirl said:

I've often wondered where the real weightlifters and younger people around here work out. I go to Stone's Gym, the local place. Maybe they go to 24 Hour Fitness or one of the chains.

I want my 15-year-old son to work out with me, but I cannot convince him that NONE of his friends work out there.

RodeoSchro said:

Where are u located though? I'm in Melbourne and there are many chains here like Fitness First etc but I went to an independant gym which attracted well known peeps years ago and was great but only in the early mornings before the kiddies come out to play or late at night.

PanthaGirl said:

Houston, Texas. Actually, in the very southern end of the city - near NASA, if that helps.

Yeah, I can see that early mornings/late nights would be kiddie-free!

My favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger story is the time that he took a year off from competitive bodybuilding to film his first movie, "Stay Hungry". No one thought he could come back, but he convinced the gym owner to give him a key, and he'd work out by himself at 4:00 in the morning.

And in typical Arnold mess-with-your-head fashion, he'd leave incredible amounts of weight on all the bars. All of his competitors were going nuts, trying to figure out who could lift all that weight.

At the right time, Arnold let it be known it was he that was working out in the middle of the night. All the other guys freaked out, because they thought Arnold really could lift the massive weights he was leaving for them to see, and he won the Mr. Olympia contest with ease.

Arnold is so freaking cool.

Anxiety said:

You mean the UPPER CASE BOLDED MESSAGE in the beginning was supposed to be a secret?

Anxiety said:

When I think if the gym all I smell is sweat & all I see is that guy who refuses to wear a towel in the bathroom.

Actually I went to my mom's gym recently and it was pretty deserted. But the one near my house is always packed.