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Talking at the gym


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How do you feel about strangers asking you a question at the gym? I'm not talking about someone interrupting you for a full conversation. Just a question or two. I've gotten some help at the gym recently and for some reason have ben feeling ELATED that people were nice. I think it's because the first night i was there (very late, not many people) some guy completely gave me a blank stare when I made one comment to him (not a question). I was so embarrassed.

 

Anyway, so what are your feelings about that?

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The first time I went to the weight room on my own, no trainer, it was way more crowded than I was used to, and I was feeling a bit lost! I thought all the guys were staring at me. I'd sometimes smile a little back, and just nothing in return. (I thought, "These guys must want to help this beginner, and she's the only female here"!)

 

I came home and told my husband, "Gee, the guys weren't very friendly." He said, "What did you do? Walk around saying 'Hi!'? They're 'in the zone', they're there to do a serious workout!" So I try not to take it personally, but I also don't feel like I could ask for help!

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I'm kind of on the other side of this, because I work at a gym. I don't like to interrupt anyones workout, especially when they're lifting heavy. But part of my job is checking out the weight rooms, putting weights away, and being cordial which means talking to people. Generally I try to look for someone that may be resting between sets, or that looks kind of bored with their routine. And sometimes I just smile and nod my head in a persons direction.

When I workout I don't mind people asking me a quick question or two, but I'm not there for a long conversation. I'm there to lift weights. It also helps to know when your gym is crowded the most, and if you want it quieter go at another time if possible.

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It bothers me when people start talking. There's one guy at my gym who's the nicest dude, extremely social and cool and everything but he won't stop talking. I feel rude because I start lifting in the middle of a conversation but I have to if I want to be done within reasonable time.

Conversations in the gym shouldn't extend further than

- Are you using that?

- Yes/no

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I love to talk at the gym. It is one of my adult contacts (I have 3 teenage boys still living at home and they keep me busy still! How much is your vegan grocery bill ?). It is still a pretty new gym, and there are some of my old gym buddies from Powerhouse that have switched over after the Powerhouse moved to a nearby town. We keep our talking down to a minute or so in between sets, cause yes we are there to workout (an hour or more) and get home to eat! I have had some questions asked of me, and I answer them with a visual demonstration sometimes (the ex-personal trainer in me comes out). But I am really not liking it when someone makes a comment, especially a negative one. I do at least acknowledge that I heard it (no staring back) with a quick comment, and go about my business even if I am still waiting to recoup from the last set. Comments, to me, are like a window of opportunity for conversation. And for a stranger, it usually means a little more talk than a rest between sets. And if the comment comes from some guy who has been looking me over rather intensely, then I move away quickly after being polite.

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I agree I love the opportunities that I get at the gym to talk about, and represent being vegan. Thankyou for all the wonderful veganbodybuilding shirts! And of course to show people that vegans aren't these weak humans with no energy. But I do my best to get right back to my workout, because I'm all about training hard at the gym,and not slacking off.

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I would like to talk more with the guys lifting insane amounts of weight. But I figure they're probably so in the zone that they don't want to be bothered. And I understand that, since I generally feel the same way. I just feel like people don't want to be distracted.

 

Well, except the ladies, of course, because talking to me is a special treat for them.

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It bothers me when people start talking. There's one guy at my gym who's the nicest dude, extremely social and cool and everything but he won't stop talking. I feel rude because I start lifting in the middle of a conversation but I have to if I want to be done within reasonable time.

Conversations in the gym shouldn't extend further than

- Are you using that?

- Yes/no

 

Okay, I guess I was in between that above. Not a full converation, but more:

-Sorry to bother you, I'm doing X exercise. Do you know if my elbows should be out or close to my body?

 

And this is when the person is not lifting. I definitely would NOT interrupt someone in the midst of lifting or even focusing on cardio.

 

So, like I said, I'm asking really how people feel about getting asked one question, two tops.

 

Of course, if the person answers and seems chatty, depending on my time limit I might engage. The guys last night were nice, but we didn't sit there and talk about our days either. LOL.

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I have a lot of friends at my gym, so I socialize a good bit, but get a good workout in also.

Yeah, I'm friends with all the hardcore lifters and regulars too, so I talk to a few guys when I work out.

 

Other than that, I have my ipod in my ears. I rock the fuck out too, I probably look ridiculous, haha.

 

I was at a gym in Atlanta and some guy came over to me, and said something about his friend laughing at me for "being small". I was like, "Cool man", and continued my workout. He keep telling me over and over again, and I just kept slightly disacknowledging him. What a tool.

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I make it my goal to look as intimidating and non-approachable as possible to avoid people asking questions or even looking at me. I've had to switch a few workout session times because I have people approach me asking why I was doing a certain exercise or what the exercise was called. I've even had a few guys attempt to talk to me while I had my ipod in my ears. My goal isn't to appear as a jerk, but when I'm hitting my workout as hard as I can I don't want distractions.

 

Now on the other hand if I am finished and tossing my equipment in my gym bag, sure I don't mind a quick questions, but people don't wait for those times. I actually had a young guy who works at the gym walk up to me before my workout and handed me 4 sheets of notebook paper with his weekly routine. Beats me why he'd have me look it over, I don't even recall seeing the guy at the front desk.

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When its time for cardio; I dont ask questions and have this stoic expression on my face hoping that NO ONE bothers me. When its time for lifting though, as long as its not squats, I dont mind when people chat up a QUICK convo (5 minutes please no more). I like when other people ask me to show them how I got X body part more toned. Those peopoole that have NO idea what they are doing, well I feel bad forthem and want to help but I think my facial expression makes them want to throw the weight at me instead. So question to all, if you had no idea what you are doing would u want someone to come up to you and tell you "hey you're gonna damage your lumbar sooner than you think, lemme show you how to do a perfect squat."

 

Off to practice in an hour blah

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I don't mind quick questions or if someone actually has good advice, such as the guy who showed me how to do power cleans, but I usually keep to myself. The only time I'll talk to someone is if I need a spotter or if I have to ask someone if they're using something. I can't stand groups of guys who stand and chat near a piece of equipment.

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What I usually get at my gym is either

1. Flirts or when someone tries to hit on me

2. "Hey girlie, you're doing it all wrong. Let me show you..."-types of advises (not too much though as Finnish are so shy about talking to each other, mostly I get this from ex-powerlifters, who coach someone else there atm)

3. "Are you using this?"-questions.

4. "Hi"'s which are just as short as that and mostly I don't end up talking with them anything else than that (unless it's my Dear bb'er buddy)

 

Usually I don't start up a conversation, unless I've talked with that other person before and really really want to talk to him (or her, but there aren't that many women, who I've talked to).

 

Sometimes I get some random comments about how they love seeing a woman doing free weights instead of machines and encouragements while lifting heavy.

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So question to all, if you had no idea what you are doing would u want someone to come up to you and tell you "hey you're gonna damage your lumbar sooner than you think, lemme show you how to do a perfect squat."

 

Off to practice in an hour blah

I would love that, although I'll admit that I would go home and do more research afterwards since SOOOO many people think they are pros and have horrible form. But, hell yea, any advice would be sweeeeet.

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I don't mind quick questions or if someone actually has good advice, such as the guy who showed me how to do power cleans, but I usually keep to myself. The only time I'll talk to someone is if I need a spotter or if I have to ask someone if they're using something.

 

x2

 

 

Also, to answer live and lost - I would probably shrug off most advice I get at the gym, I don't trust that everyone there really knows their stuff. If it's someone I think might be right I'd google it at home.

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So question to all, if you had no idea what you are doing would u want someone to come up to you and tell you "hey you're gonna damage your lumbar sooner than you think, lemme show you how to do a perfect squat

Even though I have a pretty good idea what I am doing, my technique is far from perfect and therefore I allways apreciate when getting advice. The advice I get is allmost allways from people I know from the OL club though, if some random guy gave me advice I would consider it more carefully before applying it. Luckily I think I look serious enough to not get advice from random guys .

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I don't mind quick questions or if someone actually has good advice, such as the guy who showed me how to do power cleans, but I usually keep to myself. The only time I'll talk to someone is if I need a spotter or if I have to ask someone if they're using something. I can't stand groups of guys who stand and chat near a piece of equipment.

 

Power cleans.... miss doing those, need to put that into my routine now. joy

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I talk with the guy I work out with, but it's mostly a lot of "What next?". I'll never talk to anyone in the gym, but recently a guy came up to me and gave me some awesome help getting my form right for squats and stuff. I like it when people help me out and give me tips. But when I'm lifting, I follow Robert's general rule: If you can keep up a conversation while lifting, you're not lifting enough, haha.

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I really hate when people talk to me at the gym. Once I've someone ask me advice, and that was okay.

 

But normally, I really don't like when my workout is interrupted. Most people at the gym seem to get the point, since I haven't really made any friends there, haha. There are a few people who I say hi to on a regular basis, but I don't even know their names. Actually, the person who interrupts my workout the most often, and for the longest, is one of the trainers. And he's always talking about how he is going to leave and get *this* awesome job or *that* awesome job, and he still hasn't left. He's a super nice guy, and I feel bad that he isn't getting any of these jobs that he says he is a shoe in for, but still..its annoying.

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I'm almost always at the gym with a buddy, but we're pretty serious about what we're doing. We'll talk quietly to each other, but only while resting and setting up between sets. I'll often see a groups of 3-5 kids show up and just stand around the preacher bench or some other macho-but-useless piece of equipment and just talk and talk. The gym's crowed enough, if your conversation is slowing down your workout you need to adjust your priorities or go loiter elsewhere.

 

We've had a few people ask us about exercises we were doing and that was fine, we like people noticing what we're doing right.

 

We'll also observe others doing some exercises wrong (why do so many people do deadlifts so horribly wrong and with such heavy weight?) and will comment about it to each other, but there seems to be some unwritten code of ethics not to criticize others' form to their face.

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