I really am not normally one to complain (my wife may disagree) but in this case I am making an exception.  In listing my pet peeves, hopefully it will help new gym goers know what not to do.  There are some that may disagree with a few of these but these are MY pet peeves and therefore they can’t be wrong, right? Anywho…here goes:

1.  The Over Achiever

There is lifting heavy and then there is lifting too heavy.  Lifting heavy means that you are at or above 80% of your 1 rep max.  Lifting too heavy means you are over 100% of your 1 rep max.  The signs of lifting too heavy are easy to spot.  There are two signs that will tip you off.  The first is a small range of motion.  On the bench press, I call them ‘chest flinches’.  The funniest one I’ve seen is when a guy had a spotter and was, at the most, bringing the bar down 2 inches and then back up.  Really?  The second is when you see a guy with a spotter and he’s helping on the first rep…then he continues to help through the rest of the set at which time he yells, “Awesome set, dude!”  Ugh.

2.  The Social Butterfly

Most of us go to the gym to work out.  A select few go to the gym to socialize.  The former is irritated by the latter.  These are the guys/girls that might do a set, then chat with their friends…loudly…for the next fifteen minutes or so, then do another set.  This ties up the equipment unnecessarily which, quite frankly, is rude.

3.  The Mirror Flexer

Ok, well, this one is as funny as it is irritating.   Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, wants to see you flex in the mirror.  The girls will NOT be impressed.  Most gyms are equipped with a lot of mirrors that some feel are there for their vanity rather than so you can see if you maintain good form.  As I said, though, it is funny at times to watch the skinniest guy in the gym finish a set of bicep curlz and then check out his gunz in the mirror.

4.  The Weight Slinger

This usually happens in the dumbell area but it isn’t only limited to dumbells.  I’ve actually seen this with barbells and machines.  These are the people that are usually long time gym goers that want everyone in the gym to know they are lifting heavy.  This is most commonly seen doing dumbell bench presses.  At the end of the set, these people, rather than gently lowering the weights, send them crashing to the floor in a resounding BOOM.  Two things: you’re are probably damaging the equipment that I help pay for with my monthly dues and we don’t care how much you are lifting!

5.  The Advice Giver

This is the guy (I guess it could be a girl but I’ve never witnessed it) that gives unsolicited advice on your lifting technique or on your workout in general.  This is often the one guy in the gym that shouldn’t be giving anyone advice.  On top of that, the advice is usually wrong.  So, please, if someone doesn’t ask you for advice, don’t give it.  There is one exception to this rule.   If you see someone doing something that can seriously hurt them, speak up.  The caveat is that you better know what you’re talking about.

6.  The Screamer

The screamer is usually also guilty of other pet peeves on this list.   This is the person that screams as if they’re in a horror movie during their workout.  Don’t get me wrong, it is ok to make grunt when you lift but, please, don’t scream as though you are being tortured.  This is usually done to bring the entire gym’s attention to the massive weight the screamer is lifting.  Again, nobody cares!

7.   The Machine Hog

This can be associated with the Social Butterfly but it can be someone that decides they just need 10 minutes between sets.  Obviously there needs to be a period of rest between sets but the seasons shouldn’t change in between them.  Most people have a limited amount of time they can spend in the gym everyday.  Please be cognizant of others’ needs.

8.  Mr. Funk

This one should be obvious.  Deodorant is made for a reason.  If you stink before you workout, it is only going to get worse.  Oh, and those gym clothes you’ve worn all week?  Not cool.  One more thing: yes, we do see the green fog of funk trailing you wherever you go.

9.  Captain Morgan

I have obviously never been in the women’s locker room so I can’t say if this applies or not.  However, this definitely applies in the men’s locker room.  If you shower, please cover.  It’s really, really not cool to pop a ‘Captain Morgan’ pose buck nekkid.  I think I can speak for most and say we don’t need to see that!  Cover it please.  If you don’t get the Captain Morgan reference or know what the pose is, you can see some HERE.

10.  The Squat Rack Curler

The squat rack, in most gyms, is probably the most underused piece of equipment.  In my gym, there is one squat rack.  I can almost bet that when I’m going to do squats, there will be some dude in the cage doing curlz!  Why?!?!  Two steps over is an ez curl bar.  It’s called a curl bar for a reason!!  I don’t squat with your curl bar so don’t curl in my squat rack!!  Yes, I’m sensitive about this one but I offer no apologies.  This is so prevalent that they’ve even made t-shirts about it.

That’s it for now.  I would say that all of this is common sense but apparently it isn’t so I  hope this helps.  Do you have some pet peeves that I didn’t list?  I’d love to hear them!  Please leave them in the comments or use the contact link in the right sidebar.