Because the floor space is limited or I'd prefer to not block access to dumbbells or med balls or fountains, remember that ettiqutte rule?

It's really no different than someone doing a set of squats at the rack chill out u ain't gettin in either way

9/7/2011 3:09:55 PM

9/7/2011 3:14:08 PM

I wear flip flops only b/c its faster than walking around in spin shoes and changing into sneakers for 20 minutes. Plus that means more crap I have to drag into the gym.

9/7/2011 3:21:10 PM

Yeah if I'm just using the exercise bike/weights/anything that doesn't require foot traction, I don't bother changing into sneakers. What I don't get are people that jog in flip flops, which I have seen in my apartment's gym

9/7/2011 3:24:18 PM

i've squatted and deadlifted barefoot.

(wore the wrong shoes that day)

9/7/2011 4:14:53 PM

^^^^ What's wrong with working in?

9/7/2011 4:22:36 PM

why would you wear flip flops to the gym and break your toe?

[Edited on September 7, 2011 at 4:42 PM. Reason : .]

9/7/2011 4:42:00 PM

I lift on machines so slim chance of having a free weight drop on my foot. spin shoes are not fun to walk in.

9/7/2011 4:54:32 PM

I can't begin to imagine a scenario where I would break my toe unless some dude ran up to me with barbells and dropped them on my foot. I'm not using the equipment that can be dropped on feet lol.

9/7/2011 4:56:38 PM

right. there's no danger in a gym of hurting your foot besides dropping a weight on it.

and if by spinning shoes you mean cycling shoes, than you have other problems besides protecting your feet.

9/7/2011 4:58:23 PM

I've always heard spin = gym, cycle= outdoor, they are the same thing.

9/7/2011 4:59:39 PM

To be fair, while I didn't wear flip flops at the gym (I only work out at our home gym now so sometimes I am not wearing any shoes when I lift) the tennis shoes or running shoes that I did wear wouldn't have done much to protect my toes in the event that I did drop a weight on them.

So, while I didn't wear sandals or flip-flops, I don't see much of a reason to worry about the fact that anyone else is wearing them.

Same goes for the hat. If you don't want to wear one that's fine, but who cares if someone else is wearing a hat in the gym? Neither of these is so much an "etiquette" as opposed to personal opinions on things you don't do. I don't see how either affects other people around them in the gym.

Sure, wiping down equipment, taking/leaving weights on bars, not sitting and chatting at a machine for 20 minutes etc. That stuff is etiquette. A lot of this other petty stuff is well...just petty personal opinions.

[Edited on September 7, 2011 at 5:03 PM. Reason : ]

9/7/2011 4:59:50 PM

Hell no. Flip flops on men in the gym are a blight on society.

9/7/2011 5:09:42 PM

can one of the people who said no hats please explain:

1) How this is remotely an etiquette issue
2) If you will concede that it's perfectly fine, why you give a shit, even as just a petty complaint?

9/7/2011 5:19:41 PM

My complaint was not directed towards the guy necessarily doing bicep curls, but at him stealing the weights I was working with.
I was doing something like 3 sets of 8 with a 1-minute rest. He had to wait 3 minutes.

It's rude to steal weights people are working with, especially when the issue could be settled with "excuse me, are you done with that?"

9/7/2011 5:51:44 PM

not etiquette related, but i usually have a chuckle when i see these tiny dudes wearing cut-offs

9/7/2011 11:44:46 PM

Whats up with the gallon jugs?

9/8/2011 12:12:29 AM

Quote :

"dont ever ask me for a spot. i don't want to give you one. find a training partner if you want one so badly, or a gym employee. don't call out for help, i am not there to save you from the bar crushing your chest (unless you are my workout partner)."

Maximus, I love ya buddy but this is kinda douchebaggy. I have no problem lending a spot when asked, nor do I have an issue with asking for one. Not everyone is able to have a partner to go to the gym with, so I dont see an issue with spotting people. I try not to ask for one unless I feel I may need it though, but I think its polite gym etiquette to spot if asked.

9/8/2011 1:42:27 AM

concerning o-lifts or curls or whatever in the power rack

1) yes, even i can be polite. if someone is in there who is doing a non rack movement, you can ask them politely if they can please move, prefaced by how many sets do they have left. if it's a few, get yourself a good ballistic stretch in, grap some 5's and work your rotator cuffs, and get a 20 lb barbell and do some behind the neck presses. those are great ways to get in squat form and pass the time while waiting for the guy to finish. also, you'll find most people will move from the rack if you ask to use it because you want to squat (especially if you're huge, have your squat suit on, your wraps, your belt, your groove briefs, chalk, gallon jug of water, and hypodermics).

2) (this one is for me, it's my etiquette) it's bullshit if you are you are using the rack to squat and are taking all day. a thirty minute squat session is horsecrap. i NEVER rest more than three minutes between sets even if i'm at above 85% capacity. your warmup sets don't need more than 2 minutes and you aren't really getting any benefit waiting that long. you wanted the rack, use it. save the long rest periods for your meet.

3) if you just used the rack for pin presses or rack lockouts, don't assume that the next twig in the rack will want to do those. put the pins back up, rack the bar, and unload the weight. don't leave 135 on the bar. i don't begin my workout with that, and i'd reckon i'm stronger than the majority of you. 45 suffices to find my "groove" and to move my muscles since i don't believe in static stretches pre workout. those of you who leave 135 on the bar are LAZY. you put it on, you take it off.

4) as for the mirror...if the rack is not located directly in front of the mirror, say, there is 10 feet. don't get cheezed when somebody is in front of the mirror and you can't see yourself squatting. you are squatting in a rack, you should know where parrallel is and when you break it. if you don't, start squatting on a box until you know when you have reached the hip crease below knee threshold. it's not the other dude's fault that the gym is designed poorly.

5) the reversal...if you somebody who obviously wants to squat (unless you are doing dead lifts in the rack), you shouldn't even ask. just move and let them in.

save the douche-baggery until you are actually putting up some serious iron. when you are, you can gloat all you want.

9/8/2011 7:45:16 AM

this thread is exactly how i envision both gold's gym and planet fitness to be

9/8/2011 11:03:11 AM

^^good post

im glad we arent all pretentious pricks, young ass new muscle ass niggas

[Edited on September 8, 2011 at 11:16 AM. Reason : d]

9/8/2011 11:15:35 AM

Quote :

"don't leave 135 on the bar. i don't begin my workout with that, and i'd reckon i'm stronger than the majority of you. 45 suffices to find my "groove" and to move my muscles since i don't believe in static stretches pre workout. those of you who leave 135 on the bar are LAZY. you put it on, you take it off. "

truth. I start with the bar for almost everything, no matter what I plan on moving that day. the only time I'll leave weight on the bar is if someone asks me to.

9/8/2011 11:47:21 AM

granted, there was hardly anyone at the gym, but these 2 guys today each had 3 sets of dumbbells and an ez bar at their "station"...excessive?

9/8/2011 2:38:03 PM

I wouldnt think so, it depends on their demeanor when you ask but there are workouts they maybe doing that they arent trying to stop long enough to have to search for the weights they need.

I will say this...I love spotting people and I have no problems spotting, ill even postpone my workout to make sure other lifters feel they can lift safely....but PLEASE PLEASE if you ask me to spot you be ready to execute your lift, or give me a warning so that I can do my thang until you tap me and let me know youre ready. Get psyched up, whatever, do what you do beforehand, but when you tap me, be ready to lift.

also on a smaller note, please let me know the kind of spot or how close you want me to spot you. If youre tired, say "fuck man im about burnt out im gonna need you basically help me do negative reps" or "bro just lift me off" or whatever in between. the last thing i want to do is disrupt your rhythm because I react to something that you didnt need me to react to, or i dont react to something that I should have. Just give me your best estimate of what I should expect out of your attempt...how may reps you plan to try that kinda shit

[Edited on September 8, 2011 at 2:48 PM. Reason : j]

9/8/2011 2:47:50 PM

Quote :

"Have you ever swam after the avon lady just got done with her water aerobics? You can taste the perfume and shit in the water. Showering off is pretty common courtesy and it takes 10 seconds."

You can also taste the chlorine in the water and that's about as pleasant. The point is, if I'm going to the pool, I'm going to swim a couple hundred yards and not sit around trying to smell/taste the people who just got out. Also, most pools have swim lanes separate from the water aerobics/free swim area.

9/8/2011 3:00:33 PM

I'll do cleans, squats and dead lifts in the rack, but i usually work out when there's hardly anyone there.

rack your fucking weights. I rack mine.

9/8/2011 6:46:08 PM

Quote :

"I will say this...I love spotting people and I have no problems spotting, ill even postpone my workout to make sure other lifters feel they can lift safely....but PLEASE PLEASE if you ask me to spot you be ready to execute your lift, or give me a warning so that I can do my thang until you tap me and let me know youre ready. Get psyched up, whatever, do what you do beforehand, but when you tap me, be ready to lift. also on a smaller note, please let me know the kind of spot or how close you want me to spot you. If youre tired, say "fuck man im about burnt out im gonna need you basically help me do negative reps" or "bro just lift me off" or whatever in between. the last thing i want to do is disrupt your rhythm because I react to something that you didnt need me to react to, or i dont react to something that I should have. Just give me your best estimate of what I should expect out of your attempt...how may reps you plan to try that kinda shit"

I'll second pretty much all of this.

9/8/2011 7:00:37 PM

Quote :

"3. Put plates and dumbbells back in the right location. I hate having to move a 25 lb plate and a 5 lb plate to get to a 35 lb plate. Hate not being able to find the 50s because someone put them on the floor with the 90s."

damn fuckin straight. i hate having to move five plates just to get to the ones I need

9/8/2011 7:09:27 PM

New one from today: People singing along to their headphone music. I know Slipknot helps you pump your lats, but everyone doesn't need to hear the lyrics.

9/8/2011 7:52:10 PM

Sometimes I sing along to Miley Cyrus when I'm out running. Sometimes it's Lil Kim. But I always make sure no one is around when I do air drums or air guitar

9/8/2011 7:58:02 PM

Like R&B Lil' Kim or "He ate my pussy from the dark til the mo'nin, called his girl up and told her we was bonin'" Lil'Kim?

I've got "How Many Licks?" and "Lighters Up" in heavy rotation these days

9/8/2011 8:04:16 PM

^^^^I hate when people do that

Also, when people don't distribute plates equally between different weight racks, so I have to trek halfway across the gym to get a certain plate

9/8/2011 9:09:36 PM

I try to go to the gym late at night when I know few people are there, that ways I can hog a bench at the dumbells and not care. If I have to go when its busy, I try to be courteous to everyone else.

9/9/2011 12:18:41 AM

Another new one that needs to be added IMO:

Leave your cell phone in the car, in the locker room, etc.

I get tired of seeing dudes do a set, text for 10 minutes, rinse and repeat. What really burns my ass is when playing pickup basketball, these high school and college guys in between games go and get on their phones for 10-15 minutes. WTF man? Get back to playing, nobody wants to wait for you ass while you send a text to your skank girfriend.




[Edited on September 9, 2011 at 11:46 AM. Reason : sd]

9/9/2011 11:45:26 AM

But I use my phone to play Pandora while exercising

9/9/2011 11:53:29 AM

Quote :

"What really burns my ass is when playing pickup basketball, these high school and college guys in between games go and get on their phones for 10-15 minutes. WTF man? Get back to playing, nobody wants to wait for you ass while you send a text to your skank girfriend."

I definitely agree with this.

I take my phone to the gym but use it to listen to music.

9/9/2011 12:38:56 PM

^ That's a whole different thing. Using it for music in no way impedes you completing an efficient workout. People sitting there texting and even worse talking during a workout is pretty lame IMO.

9/9/2011 2:59:06 PM

I have witnessed, albeit only once, an individual talking on a Bluetooth headset throughout his entire workout.

9/9/2011 3:24:30 PM

If you can hold a conversation while doing cardio, you should prob take it up a notch. It should be hard to talk while working out.

That said, when my mom called me at mile 18 on the Marine Corps Marathon, I answered the phone and talked to her for 15 minutes. Nice distraction.

9/9/2011 3:34:44 PM

The other week a woman came into the cardio area at the Y and set down a baby next to the elliptical before she started working out. Naturally it started crying loudly as soon as she started.

I didn't know that you could do that.

9/9/2011 3:39:18 PM

She could have at least put it in the tanning bed.

9/9/2011 3:44:29 PM

The baby needed to tone up badly. No definition at all.

9/9/2011 3:45:24 PM

Babies, of all people, need to be at the gym. Get rid of that baby fat.

9/9/2011 3:47:00 PM

Quote :

"Marine Corps Marathon"

rah.

and any distraction is welcome under those circumstances. There's a certain point (I like to call "zombifying") where you just move forward unconsciously for the duration of the event. The blessing (and curse) of endurance sports.

9/9/2011 3:48:49 PM

LOL at the lady bringing in a baby. Speaking of dumbasses at the gym, this skinny, black dude was up in the gym on Tuesday wearing a red Addidas outfit similar to below. The next day, same exact outfit. Who the hell wears the same clothes to work out in on consecutive days. He was also doing a lot of texting while working out.




[Edited on September 9, 2011 at 4:12 PM. Reason : jk]

9/9/2011 4:11:56 PM

Quote :

"The other week a woman came into the cardio area at the Y and set down a baby next to the elliptical before she started working out. Naturally it started crying loudly as soon as she started. I didn't know that you could do that."

The Y routinely ignores its own age policies.

I've only once seen their attendants say anything.

9/9/2011 4:43:13 PM

^^ I usually recycle outfits throughout the week for efficiency, depending on amount of sweat produced/absorbed.

9/9/2011 5:01:10 PM

i send emails from my phone while im at the gym. and i wear a hat.

9/9/2011 5:09:13 PM

Quote :

"when my mom called me at mile 18 on the Marine Corps Marathon, I answered the phone and talked to her for 15 minutes"

pro

9/9/2011 6:40:38 PM

I allow myself one fart per workout. Anything after that is just rude

9/9/2011 7:08:19 PM