Don't you just hate it when....

This morning working out at the gym was hard today.  Less than half way through my workout, my bluetooth headphones died on me (I forgot to recharge them yesterday) and I was hard pressed to finish my cardio workout.  (I can't stand ear buds or any other type of corded headphones, so I don't carry them.)  I struggled through anyways, but the lack of music while working out was agony. 

It got me thinking though.  Is there anything that you hate to have happen in the middle of your workout that makes it sheer drudgery to finish?  Obviously for me it is the loss of my workout music.  Anyone?

The lady that works at the front desk always comes in and stares at me while crunching potato chips. It really makes me mad and I usually end up leaving early. I try not to go in when she is working. UGGG!

This is going to sound so silly, but if you have to stop in the middle of your workout for whatever reason i.e bathroom/water bottle empty/you fall off. Starting back up is so difficult and finishing is torture.

Original Post by machado:

The lady that works at the front desk always comes in and stares at me while crunching potato chips. It really makes me mad and I usually end up leaving early. I try not to go in when she is working. UGGG!

You are more forgiving than me.  I'd make a complaint with her manager.  That is just plain rude.  I'm glad none of the people who work at the gym I go to aren't that inconsiderate.  Not that I see too many of them at 5:30 in the morning, but the ones who are there are all really nice and helpful.

Original Post by tinabear651:

This is going to sound so silly, but if you have to stop in the middle of your workout for whatever reason i.e bathroom/water bottle empty/you fall off. Starting back up is so difficult and finishing is torture.

I don't think it is silly.  Fortunately, I've only had this type of interruption twice since I started going to the gym.  Once when I was recovering from the flu, I had to stop because I felt like I was going to pass out and I ended up going home.  The other time, my feet slipped off the pedals on the stationary bike and I had to stop because I barked my shin.  I got up and walked a mile on the indoor track and then went back and finished my bike workout.  But I can relate to that.  I really didn't want to get back on that bike.

Ok...here comes my rant...I hate it when I'm at the gym running on the treadmill (I would run outside but it is freezing cold where I live right now) and someone gets on the treadmill next to me (even though there are about 40 other empty treadmills nowhere near me) and smells really bad like cigarettes. I have to stop my run and move to another machine. Why would someone do that when they can see all of the other machines available? Don't they know they stink? I can understand smelling like sweat at the gym, but this is truly nasty. The second worst thing is when someone feels the need to have a 30 minute very loud conversation on their cell phone while walking on the treadmill at 2.0 mph and I can hear them through my headphones. It is definitely hard to finish working out when you can hear every intimate detail of how they got falling-down-drunk last weekend and how funny it was.

I am with techdog I hate when I forget to charge my ipod and it dies in a middle of a workout, it's very frustrating.  I guess another thing that makes my workout hard to finish is when a certain show is playing on one of the televisions and I'm into that show and all of a sudden all the televisions are changed to the same station which happens to be a basketball game or CNN.  That drives me crazy, sometimes I just want to go to the front desk and ask if all the televisions have to be on sports or CNN.  I just want to watch my Grey's while I am working out.

jeslnn:  You wouldn't happen to be a reformed smoker, would you?  Not that I am disagreeing with you about smokers stinking, but it has been my experience that the people who find cigarette stink the most offensive are those who quit.  I'm one of those reformed smokers (quit cold turkey over 10 years ago) and the smell of cigarettes makes me want to hurl.  As for the cell phone junkies, I find that offensive everywhere, not just at the gym.  And the people with the bluetooth headsets are the worst, because sometimes you can't tell if they are talking on the phone or to you.  Either way, I agree that hearing the details of their latest debauchery is just too much information.

Janalmeida:  Fortunately at the gym where I work out, the tv problem never happens.  My only complaint with the tvs there is that if they aren't tuned to a news channel, then they are tuned to Lifetime, Oxygen, the Soap Opera network, or some other channel whose primary audience is women.  I mean, come on.....how many episodes of General Hospital, The Young and The Restless, and A Different World can one person be expected to endure.  (Ducking and running from the ladies. :) )  But I have to admit that watching Denise Austin doing yoga can be inspiring.  (I'm not really a chauvinist, I just play one here for comic relief.) 

 

Techdog: No, I'm not a reformed smoker but both of my parents were heavy smokers. They smoked in the house all the time when I was growing up. I do notice when I see them now that the smell is just unbearable. Congrats on quitting 10 years ago! I'm suprised that more gyms don't have a rule against cell phone use while on a machine or using a piece of equipment. Outside of it being annoying to others, it could be unsafe to use a phone on a treadmill or elliptical machine because you only have one free hand. I've never seen anyone use the bluetooth (yet) ha ha ha! I guess its no more dangerous than talking on the phone while walking down the street, but gym owners may have a measure of liability if someone was hurt while using their equipment if there isn't a specific warning or rule posted against using them.

The most annoying thing for me is when I'm in the middle of my cardio set and have slowed down for the second half (after going for about 30 minutes or so) and the "competetive girl" gets on the machine right next to me and has to constantly check my settings so she can set hers just a little higher.

It's worth it when she still gets off the machine before me, though.

I work out at home, so thankfully I'm spared the rudeness of other gym patrons.  I do hate, though, when the phone rings and it's one of ten "Important!" numbers that has a different ring from most.  I know I could let it go to the answering machine and most of the time I do, but it still bugs me.

Original Post by courtbarb:

The most annoying thing for me is when I'm in the middle of my cardio set and have slowed down for the second half (after going for about 30 minutes or so) and the "competetive girl" gets on the machine right next to me and has to constantly check my settings so she can set hers just a little higher.

It's worth it when she still gets off the machine before me, though.

What I do to avoid that one is carry a hand towel.  I cover the display with it and only look at it when I lift the towel to use it.  I do this for two reasons.  The first is to foil nosy people who might be looking and the second is that sometimes looking at the display and knowing how much longer I have to go gets discouraging, especially if my knees are starting to bother me (which they usually do about 10 minutes into my bike workout).  As for being competitive about how long I work out compared to others, I just don't pay attention.  As long as I am getting in my hour and 15 minutes per day of cardio, I don't care how much anyone else exercises.  I just wish I could find a better type of shirt to wear that would let sweat evaporate more easily (I usually wear cotton t-shirts, mainly because I have so many of them from attending trade shows).  Ending my workout with a shirt weighing 6 pounds is a real drag, literally.

OK, now it's time for my rant. I work out at home because between my job, husband, and four kids there isn't time to go anywhere.

I really hate it when I am on the treadmill and my husband needs me to find something or wants me to deal with a problem the kids are having. Normally, he is really supportive about my weight loss. I don't want it to sound like he isn't. But come on! How hard is it to go into the other room and just LOOK for something!? How hard is it to tell the kids to wait for a half-hour for me to finish my workout if he wants me to referee a discussion?! I really don't even work out very much. After I get home from work, cook dinner, and chauffeur people around in the evening, I'm lucky if I can carve out 30 minutes on the treadmill and another 10 or 15 for some floor exercises. Most of my time and my husband's time is centered around the kids, so why can't I take some time for me?

OK, that sounded hateful. I just want to get my workout done so that I can move on to whatever else needs to be done.

My sister borrowed my ipod and synced it on her computer. And neglected to tell me. When I got to the gym, I was about 5 minutes into my warm-up (which I don't listen to music to, I concentrate on breathing and moving properly), I expected my personalized "Run Mix" to start blasting, and got Micheal Buble and some other slooooooooooooow R&B mix. I had to do the whole 60+ minutes with no music, or I'd fall asleep. And music is the one thing that ususally gets me through a workout!!

Original Post by techdog:

Original Post by courtbarb:

The most annoying thing for me is when I'm in the middle of my cardio set and have slowed down for the second half (after going for about 30 minutes or so) and the "competetive girl" gets on the machine right next to me and has to constantly check my settings so she can set hers just a little higher.

It's worth it when she still gets off the machine before me, though.

What I do to avoid that one is carry a hand towel.  I cover the display with it and only look at it when I lift the towel to use it.  I do this for two reasons.  The first is to foil nosy people who might be looking and the second is that sometimes looking at the display and knowing how much longer I have to go gets discouraging, especially if my knees are starting to bother me (which they usually do about 10 minutes into my bike workout).  As for being competitive about how long I work out compared to others, I just don't pay attention.  As long as I am getting in my hour and 15 minutes per day of cardio, I don't care how much anyone else exercises.  I just wish I could find a better type of shirt to wear that would let sweat evaporate more easily (I usually wear cotton t-shirts, mainly because I have so many of them from attending trade shows).  Ending my workout with a shirt weighing 6 pounds is a real drag, literally.

 

Try UnderArmor tops -- they wick sweat away really well.  They're a little on the expensive side, but well worth it.

Original Post by tinabear651:

This is going to sound so silly, but if you have to stop in the middle of your workout for whatever reason i.e bathroom/water bottle empty/you fall off. Starting back up is so difficult and finishing is torture.

 

Same.  I refuse to interrupt a workout to go to the bathroom, hahaha.  If my iPod dies, I'm screwed...especially if I'm in the middle of a run.

Original Post by paularuck:

Try UnderArmor tops -- they wick sweat away really well. They're a little on the expensive side, but well worth it.

I considered that, but don't they need to be form fitting to work well?  I'm afraid that I would look like 10 pounds of meat stuffed into a 5 pound sack, and I am already self-conscious enough without that, which is part of the reason I wear the cotton shirts now (baggy enough to not embarrass me too much).  Anyhow, I'll look into them.

Thanks for the suggestion. 

Also, it's so incredibly obnoxious when you can hear the "manly" men slamming (or throwing) the weights down on the floor after their sets...from all the way across the gym.  That's got to be one of my biggest pet peeves ever.

Annoying...

My mp3 player runs out of batteries, or my new ear buds pop out of my ears during a hard run because I am sweating. I swear I am going to end up splattered on the wall behind the treadmill one day because it is too important to me to have my silly music!

People leaving dirty paper towels stuffed in the storage areas of the treadmill (yuck)

Or, someone gets on the treadmill next to me with TONS of perfume on...UGH! I almost GAG ! It gives me a headache. I would rather smell sweat.

I also do not understand how someone can read a magazine while they work out...I couldn't.

People who leave their chewed gum in the cupholders of the machines! I hate them.

I have a few pet peeves/interruptions, so please bear with me :)

 1) My gym has a cafe, and while they DO make healthy salads, wraps and smoothies, they will also do grilled sandwiches. I cannot stand the smell of food grilling while I'm hitting my third mile or so of a run. Torture, much?

2) related to 1. People watching, and requesting that the TVs be changed to, the food network while we're working out. I DO NOT want to watch cake. It makes me depressed, and want cake. But also, I'm running, so the thought of cake kind of makes me ill. You know?

3) Dudes who get on the treadmill next to me, check my settings, run like mad while holding onto the side rails for less than a minute, then get off the treadmill like they've accomplished something. they might repeat this three times while giving me the side eye. Dude, I am not impressed by your lack of cardiovascular health. Get lost, go throw weights around that are too heavy for you. That is in another room.

 

Whew! Thanks for letting me rant :)