Today I went to the gym and climbed onto the stairmill. In part, I did this to get a little variety in my workout. I also opted for this particular piece of cardio equipment because it allows me to people-watch while I'm plodding away and listening to my audiobook. I readily admit that there's some element of entertainment to watching other people at the gym. A few months ago, I watched a group of teenage boys try to flirt with some girls on the treadmills. It was kind of sweet and kind of awkward and left me appreciative that I was no longer a teenager.
Today, I watched a woman talking on her cell phone. She wasn't talking loudly, which would be rude and inconsiderate of other people. She wasn't lounging on a machine while talking, preventing someone else from using it while she chatted away. So why did she catch my eye? She was talking on the phone while lifting weights! No, there wasn't a Bluetooth earpiece being used, which would almost make sense. Instead, she was holding the phone between her ear and shoulder. And this was while she was doing pull-downs, pull-ups, and chest flies. I even watched her flap around reaching for the handle on the fly machine because she couldn't really grab it and keep her phone at her ear at the same time. I watched in disbelief as she moved from one machine to the next, keeping her phone at her ear while trying to complete exercises that targeted her shoulders, back, and arms. I didn't say anything to her, but if I had gone up to her I would have asked her how she could expect to get a quality workout while talking on the phone. It limited her range of motion so severely that she couldn't have been moving the pull-down bar more than 3-4 inches with each rep. And if she's able to carry on a phone conversation while doing all this, how much is she really exerting herself?
This got me thinking about gym etiquette. Google it and you'll come up with about 280,000 results, but they all address the same fundamentals. There's a thorough list on askmen.com which covers all the bases, from not dropping weights to watching the cologne.
Here's my adaptation of Ann Landers' Golden Rules for Living - Tough Fluff's Golden Rules for Lifting:
- If you adjust it, reset it.
- If you take it off, put it back on. (grips, handles)
- If you put it on, take it off. (plates)
- If you break it, admit it. (an original)
- If you can’t fix it, call the trainer or floor staff.
- If you use the towel service, return the towels to the service.
- If others can hear it, take it down a notch. (headphones, cellphones, grunting)
- If you sweat on it, wipe it up.
- If you move it from the rack, put it back on the rack.
- If someone else is using it, get permission to use it or to work in.
- If you don’t know how to operate it, ask a trainer.
- If it’s none of your business, don’t offer suggestions or solutions.
Food Log:
- Meal 1:
- 3 egg whites
- 30g dry cream of rice (cooked in water)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Meal 2:
- 0% flavored Chobani Greek Yogurt
- Meal 3:
- 3 oz chicken
- Green beans
- 1/2c cooked rice
- Meal 4:
- 3 oz chicken
- Green beans
- 1/2c cooked rice
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Meal 5:
- 0% flavored Chobani Greek Yogurt
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Exercise:
- Time: 65 minutes on the stairmill
- Level: Level 8 - 4 minutes single-stepping, 1 minute double-stepping
- Calories: 700+
- Average HR: 143
- Max HR: 161
- Distance: 6.2 miles/ 303 floors
Weigh-In: 145.9 / 145.4
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