The gym is full of all types of people. Some are easy to get along with and some are not. It is a microcosm of the world itself. The way you handle the jerks you encounter is going to determine how you enjoy your workout. Today I am going to rant about the jerks you meet at the gym.
What is a Gym Jerk?
There is an etiquette when training in a public gym and it is very important to follow. The gym jerk is not going to do this. He or she will take their sweet time while they see others waiting for the equipment. They will tell you they have 3 sets left only to do 5 more. They will refuse to let you work in with them. It is all something that would drive a normal person insane. Don't overreact.
Funny Reactions to a Gym Jerk
The gym is one of the very few places the gym jerk can interact with people who aren't their employers or the staff at the halfway house, so sometimes they'll meet their girlfriends there and they'll go to a corner of the gym and make out or something… or girl of ill-repute will take up a bench to sit there and watch her boyfriend workout and of course mean-mug everyone and talk like she's on Jerry Springer. Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! But I didn't know she was married, seriously!
The cellphone guys. People who carry on conversations while they're working out. I don't mind people having cell phones and answering them at the gym, but when people have conversations, it bugs me. I remember this one guy who had a cellphone that would “blow up” and he would always answer it “Mandingo Interprises”. I guess he claimed to have some sort of a business. I will admit it was funny to listen to him talk to people about how his business is a “hot blue chip stock”. How about the woman who sits on the bench while talking on the cellphone and refuses to give up the bench because she still has some sets to finish? Seriously? Come on crazy lady let me have the bench!
Teenagers. At my gym we get a lot of teenage kids who believe they are thugs. They come in wearing wife beaters and usually beanies or doo rags. They crowd around the bench and see who can get 135lbs up once or twice. I'm not going to make fun of someone for not being able to lift much because that's not right, but when these kids come off all cocky and act hard they're fair game for any humor I want to poke at them. They spend a lot of time making up excuses for why they can't lift like “Yeah, last night I benched 200 so I'm all sore.” They leave weights on the floor and spend a lot of time looking in the mirror at muscles they don't have. Yo, kid! Be careful, you may break the mirror with your bony physique.
I always enjoy watching the pull up bar. Pull ups are harder to do than most people think. When people like the above-mentioned teenagers try to do them,they jump up on the bar and pull themselves up a little bit and realize it's a lot more difficult than they thought, I always make sure to make eye contact with them as they look around to see if anyone was watching before they drop without getting one. It's not a matter of making fun of people for what they can't do, it's an issue of the people with cocky attitudes.
The gym jerks are just fair game for every kind of humorous statement. When you encounter the gym jerk have fun with it. By doing so you will enjoy your own workout that much more.
