'Faux Pas' to avoid at the gym this Summer

It's officially Summer. Therefore everyone who signed up for 12 months gym membership in January as a new year's resolution (but gave up on January 2nd) is now back, desperate to be able to reveal more of themselves in public without fear of embarassment. For a regular gym user like myself this is incredibly frustrating, as 'peak time' now equates to 'a queue for the bench press'. So what this means is that I'm actually paying more for my membership to go at a time when there's too many man.


Aside from the gym being virtually unusable, the worst part is what people are actually doing/wearing while they think they'll look like Lou Ferrigno after a couple of weeks. I have no doubts that you will see this type of behaviour in pretty much any gym in the country right now, and if you are doing any of the following things then please STOP!

GRUNTING! ARGH!

A little noise is ok - you should be working hard after all. However, it is never acceptable to sound like the guy in this video, unless you are Ronnie Coleman/challenging for Mr. Olympia. The worst part is, most of the guys who make the most noise are actually lifting the least amount of weight. It's pathetic.

Wearing football shirts

In theory there shouldn't be anything wrong with this: you're wearing something that has been designed for athletic use. However, it just looks wrong. I chose this particular shirt because someone in my gym wears it. Even if you are relatively strong, it just ruins any perception of 'hardness' as football is not a sport associated with machismo. If you're going to wear a sports shirt, make it either rugby or basketball (to show off the 'guns').

Lifting more than you can realistically manage

I see this going on way too much - guys using their whole body to bicep-curl a 20kg dumbbell when they would struggle to do 10kgs. Not only does it look bad, but you won't see any benefit from it and you risk serious injury as well. There is no shame in starting low - we all have to start somewhere after all. 

Socialising

The gym, much like a library, is a place of work. Not only will socialising distract you from your workout, but you'll most likely be taking up valuable time on machines that other people want to use. The only time it's acceptable is before/afterwards OR if you are on bikes/treadmills next to eachother. That also goes for using your phone excessively. FOCUS!

Wearing too little

If you're female, please ignore this - less is more. However, I have been prithy to guys who may as well have been naked while they workout. I do NOT pay £60 a month to have to look at other guys junk. That especially goes for the changing rooms as well - towels/clothes are there for a reason! 

Michael McIntyre knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about;

If you see anyone doing these horrendous things in a gym, I encourage you to shake your fist at them in disgust.