Gym Cliques

[andiwm2003]

what everyone seems to be missing is that these people aren't non-talkers, but rather, they don't talk to the imperfect, unchiseled folks at the gym. they are happy to chat it up with the hot studs at the gym, even at 545 in the morning, while they are out of breath, etc... they are superficial jackasses and ultimately, gary, it's better that you leave them to hang out with their own kind..

i honestly haven't seen too many people like this in the gyms i was going too. it was mainly the non-talkers. sometimes they talk meaningless trash. but i've never met people who talk bad to/about other people at the gym. i agree that such elitist snob like behaviour just stinks. seem's i was lucky so far....

 

[Lau]

I don't think listening to your iPod makes you a dick - I've often been listening to mine as I come into college and if I see one of the people that I don't know well enough for a conversation I still definitely smile and usually say hello as I walk past. There's a difference between this and being an arse who looks at you like you're scum who they can't believe you dared talk to them.

 

[hmmfe]

Hmm, funny- I never talk to anyone at the gym. I just work out and leave. Am I a dick?

Not just that but you're also dumb, a rapist, sexually inadequate, and a child, among other things.

I think you should join the "I talk to people at the gym" clique so you can be cool.

 

[MongoTheGeek]

I never had a problem like that at the gym. Perhaps a I just didn't notice it.

One time though I saw Gwen Stafani in the gym with a personal trainer or something. The guy made me look tiny. She was in town for a concert. Didn't have the gumption to say hello.

 

[Angelus520]

I also get to the gym between 5 - 6 a.m. every day and the girls outnumber the guys 2-1 so there's plenty of eye candy. I've been going there for two years and it's a really nice gym in a nice area of Chicago (six blocks west of Wrigley - GO CARDINALS!!!). But no one talks to anyone here, either.

Most of the people are probably in their mid-to-late 20s and aren't too hard on the eyes no matter what shape they're in but just aren't overly friendly when they're there. The only people I usually end up talking to are the workers and a few of the trainers.

I've stopped in a few times in the afternoon and it's way too crowded and a total meat market for thick-necked Gunther dudes and workout Barbies.

 

[MongoTheGeek]

I also get to the gym between 5 - 6 a.m. every day and the girls outnumber the guys 2-1 so there's plenty of eye candy. I've been going there for two years and it's a really nice gym in a nice area of Chicago (six blocks west of Wrigley - GO CARDINALS!!!). But no one talks to anyone here, either.

Most of the people are probably in their mid-to-late 20s and aren't too hard on the eyes no matter what shape they're in but just aren't overly friendly when they're there. The only people I usually end up talking to are the workers and a few of the trainers.

I've stopped in a few times in the afternoon and it's way too crowded and a total meat market for thick-necked Gunther dudes and workout Barbies.

But for some reason women don't seem to realize how attractive they are working out.

/used to be a Gunther necked dude
//then I got a life
///and a wife

 

[iBlue]

But for some reason women don't seem to realize how attractive they are working out.

It's weird when strangers see you all hot and sweaty. A lot of women are also paranoid to be caught without makeup too. (thank heavens I don't wear any of it, [hate makeup] or I'd have another reason not to enjoy myself)

 

[floriflee]

I don't care so much about the makeup. I just sweat like a pig when I work out and get very red and splotchy. I even have sweaty knees (kinda gross, but whenever I wear track pants to go running I'll come back and have sweat circles where my knees are). Not a pretty sight.

 

[Angelus520]

Yeah, that's probably a lot of it, though they do look pretty hot working out which is a nice treat at the break of dawn. I see some of the women outside of the gym but have to do a double take because everyone looks different in regular clothes and makeup. I say hi sometimes and start chatting about the gym and they're a little more open when they're not streaked with sweat.

 

[MultiM]

I appreciate what you are saying about "gym attitude". At different times I belonged to 3 different gyms here and ran into the nonsense. I'm a big guy (280lbs+), and I just went to the gym to work out. The first time the "In" crowd mocked me I just started to laugh. It was obvious I was laughing at them and it pissed them off and embarrassed them. A few days later one of these guys started to actually talk to me and we came to an understanding. I followed the tack at the next gyms, too. It worked pretty well. I've found the best way to stop an a**hole is to embarrass him/her. That's fun all on its' own...

 

[mpw]

I can't be bothered with a gym, I've tried a couple of times but the people at the local gyms just look at the overweight noob with such distain and you can't use any of the equipment 'cause "Sorry pal Chuck always uses this machine after me".

I'm not really that confident and I know I'm way out of shape so that doesn't help.

I hate it when I am working out in the weight room at my local community centre and the guys keep telling me there is a woman only area right around the corner...

I hate "Women Only Hours". It might not be so bad but there's never a "Men Only" time and the womens hours are all prime time at the local swimming baths. How come sexism is OK when women benefit?

I keep promising myself I'm going to make the effort to hire a rowing machine or something and get started at home until I'm fit enough to be accepted in a gym.

iGary, Kudos on the marathons (I entered a Marathon once, but was picking peanuts outta my foreskin for days) I'd love to run, or be able to run, a marathon I was actually quite fit at school up to about 16years old and then I had a series of health problems which kept knocking me back each time I got healthy and fit again, until now when all I need is motivation and some spare time.

 

[maestro55]

I would totally feel out of place in a gym, as I don't mix well with that crowd. So it appears you are a rarity in the crowd, one who is fit and likes to stay fit, but also very social (or it appears that way) and also not as judgemental as your everyday "jock". So I don't think society is just becoming this way, I think it has been this way for as long as there has been society (but how the hell do I know, I am still wet behind the ears). It is a shame, it really is.

Read a thread on another forum the other day, and one poster was saying that it was custom for him not to strike up conversations with random people and become more productive. That is very much a shame. I am the kind of guy that will talk to anybody about anything (and listen, too). So it is a shame when people judge people and will only talk to someone based on what they have or who they are.