Many of us go through this at our local gym or fitness
centre on a regular basis, we become increasingly frustrated
as a group of trainees chat away their experiences of the
day on a bench or on at a piece of equipment for fifteen
minutes while you are waiting to use it. Or someone is standing
directly in front of the barbell rack doing tiny lateral
raises when you want to get at the really big weights. Or
casuals using equipment favoured by the regulars and often
looked at like pieces of personal furniture for their own
use.
All this builds up stress especially between the months
of January and April when the newcomers hit the gyms and
fitness centres in an attempt to lose the weight gained
over the Christmas and New Year period. In trying to realise
their New Years resolutions they overcrowd the aerobics
area and take over the weight room leaving weights lying
around and causing queues for equipment. Regulars of the
gym experience these problems and tempers start to flare
in a phenomenon becoming known as "Gym Rage"
During this testing time, all gym-goers, both new and experienced
and the employees of the fitness clubs know that the newcomers
usually only last until April and after that their good
intentions run out. To help you through this stressful time
have a look at and follow some of the hints below:
• Stand at the back of the aerobics class when
you first start, as you will usually find the hard-core
regulars will be down the front.
• Their are no rules that govern how many members
a gym can sign up, causing some fitness centres to become
overcrowded with everybody wanting to use them in the
morning and afternoon on their way to and from work. So
try to plan your visit to the gym a little earlier than
usual or later in the day or evening. There is only one
effective way to beat the January to April rush and that
is to workout out late at night after 7.00pm
• Talking on your cell phone whilst you are working
out, this will tie up a machine or piece of equipment
for a long time causing problems. It’s recommended
that you turn off your cell phone whilst at the gym.
• Don't hog the machines; try not to go over the
time limits set on the particular machine you are using.
If there is a time limit please stick to it. The thing
that annoys most people is the way people sit on a machine
knocking out set after set. By performing one set to muscular
failure and moving on will free up the machines for use
by the next person.
• Wipe the machines down after use, try not to
leave your sweat on the piece of equipment you have just
used, use a towel to separate yourself from the machine
while you make use of it and wipe it down thoroughly after
use.
• Don't drop the weights onto the ground and don’t
clang them loudly as this is very off-putting to the other
members. Make sure you return the weights to there correct
place on the racks when you're finished with them even
though you might have found them lying on the floor.
• One thing you don't want to do is constantly
ask people if they've finished using a machine when they're
obviously still exercising on it. If anything the trainee
will try to sit on it longer just to annoy you. Be patient;
don't interrupt them while they are lifting, wait until
they finish their set first.
• A gym isn't a social club don’t stand around
in large groups chatting especially if you have a machine
in use, do your talking in the locker room or at reception.
• Don’t leave your towel or other personal
items lying around on a bench or piece of equipment if
you are not using it. Leave your training space as clean
as the way you found it. If the equipment is unattended
for more than five minutes go ahead and use it, but be
prepared to share also, let people work in with you if
the difference in weight is not too large. Leave enough
space around you so that other people can approach the
weight rack and get the equipment they need.
• Don’t scream when you are going for that
personal best lift, remember that the others around you
are concentrating on their own work out to and don't need
to hear you screaming out for attention. Exhaling loudly
as you contract the muscles during your set is fine.
• Don’t hog the water fountain, only take
a few mouthfuls of water and then move away, don’t
fill up your huge water bottle with cold water and leave
warm drinking water for the rest of the members.
• Follow the gyms code of conduct usually seen
on the walls of the gym or fitness centre, if trainees
are not following the code report it to management don’t
take it into your own hands.
