Worst week of the year to be at the gym

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Wow, some people need to be more welcoming and understanding. You guys are very prejudiced and selfish. Model good behavior and inform others of the rules courteously.

You clearly do not work out regularly in a gym nor have ever worked at one. The sudden influx of gym goers in January is obnoxious and just a huge pain in the ass to those of us who have better lifestyles all 12 months of the year

I am curious - how is it obnoxious?

Not pp or OP, but think of it this way... do you commute to work on the road? Or metro/public transportation?

Let's say on January 1st, a rather arbitrary day, a HUGE amount of people decided to change their commute to the exact mode you were using. It causes a whole bunch of new congestion, all at once, for no real reason. And because these people haven't been doing it before (hitting the highway, using Metro, whatever you use), they have really terrible etiquette. They don't signal, they don't know how to merge, they drive slow in the left lane, they stand on the wrong side of the escalator, they rush in when you're trying to get out. They put their bags everywhere.

It's different than a few newbies at a steady pace throughout the year. The new, huge, sudden influx of people who don't know what they're doing clogging up everything (machines, classes, etc) while also having terrible etiquette... that's annoying as hell.

It's not like you think those people should quit their jobs, and it's not like people think you shouldn't work out. It's the rapid congestion & massive cluelessness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Wow, some people need to be more welcoming and understanding. You guys are very prejudiced and selfish. Model good behavior and inform others of the rules courteously.

You clearly do not work out regularly in a gym nor have ever worked at one. The sudden influx of gym goers in January is obnoxious and just a huge pain in the ass to those of us who have better lifestyles all 12 months of the year

I am curious - how is it obnoxious?

Not pp or OP, but think of it this way... do you commute to work on the road? Or metro/public transportation?

Let's say on January 1st, a rather arbitrary day, a HUGE amount of people decided to change their commute to the exact mode you were using. It causes a whole bunch of new congestion, all at once, for no real reason. And because these people haven't been doing it before (hitting the highway, using Metro, whatever you use), they have really terrible etiquette. They don't signal, they don't know how to merge, they drive slow in the left lane, they stand on the wrong side of the escalator, they rush in when you're trying to get out. They put their bags everywhere.

It's different than a few newbies at a steady pace throughout the year. The new, huge, sudden influx of people who don't know what they're doing clogging up everything (machines, classes, etc) while also having terrible etiquette... that's annoying as hell.

It's not like you think those people should quit their jobs, and it's not like people think you shouldn't work out. It's the rapid congestion & massive cluelessness.

And you just walked into a gym on day one and knew exactly what your routine was going to be? You just knew where everything was? You just knew what your body was/wasn't capable of? Or did your workout adjust over time as you acclimated to the gym and its flow?

I'm sure you weren't clueless at all your first week in a gym. Again, the empathy is overwhelming.

[Anonymous]

I think crowded gyms are annoying to everyone, not just the year-round DCUAthletes. We can all agree it sucks to wait for a treadmill or to not be able to full-out shake it in Zumba. It may be one of the reasons why people give up in January.

For the newbies: it will be better by Valentine's Day. Stick it out until then so you can see what it's like the rest of the year. And if you stick it out until summer, the gym will be practically empty as runners go outside, and people take their vacations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been waiting for these types of posts to start flooding my FB feed from the holier-than-thou gym goers. It pisses me off as much as the overcrowded gym must piss you off, I imagine.

My wife just went through her 7th IVF cycle which was negative. As part of the cycle she was on prednisone which made her gain some extra weight. The depression that resulted from the weight gain combined with the negative cycle was what pushed us to join the gym just a week shy of the new year. Sorry if our timing doesn't fit into everyone's busy gym schedule.

Don't worry - we won't "hog up the machines" and we'll adhere to "proper etiquette."

I'm sorry for your fertility struggles.

This really isn't about the gym, but more a general fitness tip: I've been on and off prednisone for 15 years. I'm also a near-daily runner. When I am tapering off prednisone, I can feel it in my runs--I am slower, and more sluggish. Tell your wife not to be discouraged by the sluggishness and just try to power through. It will get better. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Wow, some people need to be more welcoming and understanding. You guys are very prejudiced and selfish. Model good behavior and inform others of the rules courteously.

You clearly do not work out regularly in a gym nor have ever worked at one. The sudden influx of gym goers in January is obnoxious and just a huge pain in the ass to those of us who have better lifestyles all 12 months of the year

I am curious - how is it obnoxious?

Not pp or OP, but think of it this way... do you commute to work on the road? Or metro/public transportation?

Let's say on January 1st, a rather arbitrary day, a HUGE amount of people decided to change their commute to the exact mode you were using. It causes a whole bunch of new congestion, all at once, for no real reason. And because these people haven't been doing it before (hitting the highway, using Metro, whatever you use), they have really terrible etiquette. They don't signal, they don't know how to merge, they drive slow in the left lane, they stand on the wrong side of the escalator, they rush in when you're trying to get out. They put their bags everywhere.

It's different than a few newbies at a steady pace throughout the year. The new, huge, sudden influx of people who don't know what they're doing clogging up everything (machines, classes, etc) while also having terrible etiquette... that's annoying as hell.

It's not like you think those people should quit their jobs, and it's not like people think you shouldn't work out. It's the rapid congestion & massive cluelessness.

And you just walked into a gym on day one and knew exactly what your routine was going to be? You just knew where everything was? You just knew what your body was/wasn't capable of? Or did your workout adjust over time as you acclimated to the gym and its flow?

I'm sure you weren't clueless at all your first week in a gym. Again, the empathy is overwhelming.

You're not getting it. It's not the new-ness. It's the new-ness ALL AT ONCE WITH SO MANY PEOPLE.

Yes, everyone was new at some point - I didn't start working out in January. I started at a random time in the middle of the year. There's a major difference between stragglers of newbies slowly sustained over 12 months, and a massive influx all at once in January. Is this really that difficult for you to comprehend?

[Anonymous]

I love the Resolvers! Makes me think fondly of my own days just getting started with gym workouts. They'll all disappear in a few weeks, no worries. I try to be encouraging and help them get oriented if they look lost.

[Anonymous]

^ and to add, yes, everyone knows the January newbs won't last till mid-February, most likely. Want to break that cliche? Knock yourself out and go for it, but don't blame others who are regulars for this known and true fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ and to add, yes, everyone knows the January newbs won't last till mid-February, most likely. Want to break that cliche? Knock yourself out and go for it, but don't blame others who are regulars for this known and true fact.

Or, perhaps some simply find a schedule or a routine that works best for them while some do quit. Clearly you stuck with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think crowded gyms are annoying to everyone, not just the year-round DCUAthletes. We can all agree it sucks to wait for a treadmill or to not be able to full-out shake it in Zumba. It may be one of the reasons why people give up in January.

For the newbies: it will be better by Valentine's Day. Stick it out until then so you can see what it's like the rest of the year. And if you stick it out until summer, the gym will be practically empty as runners go outside, and people take their vacations.

NP. I agree with this and the one above who compared it to sudden commuting traffic. One or two new people at a time don't cause congestion because they learn the ropes and blend right in after a while. A sudden influx of tons of new people all at the same time causes chaos. If everyone who started back or started new in January kept it up all year, the gyms would expand or open new locations or buy more equipment or whatever they have to do to handle the quantity of people they're serving. The problem is that people drop back off and the gyms don't have any reason to change anything. So don't quit! Keep coming to the gym and we'll all benefit!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

NP. I agree with this and the one above who compared it to sudden commuting traffic. One or two new people at a time don't cause congestion because they learn the ropes and blend right in after a while. A sudden influx of tons of new people all at the same time causes chaos. If everyone who started back or started new in January kept it up all year, the gyms would expand or open new locations or buy more equipment or whatever they have to do to handle the quantity of people they're serving. The problem is that people drop back off and the gyms don't have any reason to change anything. So don't quit! Keep coming to the gym and we'll all benefit!

Eh I don't know how much of that would be true.

I forgot where I read it, might have been a random post on another message board, but they mentioned specifically gyms like Planet Fitness makes their money from the people who do not go but keep paying their membership fees.

Maybe the more boutique gyms want actual volume because they sell other services.

But other gyms seem to have the goal to sell as many memberships as possible and getting people into the door. Then when everyone does show up at the same time, the gyms can't really accommodate it.

Here are two links that describes what's mentioned above:
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/05/23/exorcise-your-ghosts-of-spending-past.aspx

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/12/30/373996649/why-we-sign-up-for-gym-memberships-but-don-t-go-to-the-gym

[Anonymous]

Forgot to mention that the part I don't know would be true would be that gyms would change to accommodate the larger influx of people. Because it would add to the cost and affect their bottom line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Wow, some people need to be more welcoming and understanding. You guys are very prejudiced and selfish. Model good behavior and inform others of the rules courteously.

You clearly do not work out regularly in a gym nor have ever worked at one. The sudden influx of gym goers in January is obnoxious and just a huge pain in the ass to those of us who have better lifestyles all 12 months of the year

I am curious - how is it obnoxious?

Not pp or OP, but think of it this way... do you commute to work on the road? Or metro/public transportation?

Let's say on January 1st, a rather arbitrary day, a HUGE amount of people decided to change their commute to the exact mode you were using. It causes a whole bunch of new congestion, all at once, for no real reason. And because these people haven't been doing it before (hitting the highway, using Metro, whatever you use), they have really terrible etiquette. They don't signal, they don't know how to merge, they drive slow in the left lane, they stand on the wrong side of the escalator, they rush in when you're trying to get out. They put their bags everywhere.

It's different than a few newbies at a steady pace throughout the year. The new, huge, sudden influx of people who don't know what they're doing clogging up everything (machines, classes, etc) while also having terrible etiquette... that's annoying as hell.

It's not like you think those people should quit their jobs, and it's not like people think you shouldn't work out. It's the rapid congestion & massive cluelessness.

And you just walked into a gym on day one and knew exactly what your routine was going to be? You just knew where everything was? You just knew what your body was/wasn't capable of? Or did your workout adjust over time as you acclimated to the gym and its flow?

I'm sure you weren't clueless at all your first week in a gym. Again, the empathy is overwhelming.

You're not getting it. It's not the new-ness. It's the new-ness ALL AT ONCE WITH SO MANY PEOPLE.

Yes, everyone was new at some point - I didn't start working out in January. I started at a random time in the middle of the year. There's a major difference between stragglers of newbies slowly sustained over 12 months, and a massive influx all at once in January. Is this really that difficult for you to comprehend?

I get it, you are inconvenienced. What you don't get is how petty you sound. We all know that this is a temporary issue. Get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Wow, some people need to be more welcoming and understanding. You guys are very prejudiced and selfish. Model good behavior and inform others of the rules courteously.

You clearly do not work out regularly in a gym nor have ever worked at one. The sudden influx of gym goers in January is obnoxious and just a huge pain in the ass to those of us who have better lifestyles all 12 months of the year

I am curious - how is it obnoxious?

Not pp or OP, but think of it this way... do you commute to work on the road? Or metro/public transportation?

Let's say on January 1st, a rather arbitrary day, a HUGE amount of people decided to change their commute to the exact mode you were using. It causes a whole bunch of new congestion, all at once, for no real reason. And because these people haven't been doing it before (hitting the highway, using Metro, whatever you use), they have really terrible etiquette. They don't signal, they don't know how to merge, they drive slow in the left lane, they stand on the wrong side of the escalator, they rush in when you're trying to get out. They put their bags everywhere.

It's different than a few newbies at a steady pace throughout the year. The new, huge, sudden influx of people who don't know what they're doing clogging up everything (machines, classes, etc) while also having terrible etiquette... that's annoying as hell.

It's not like you think those people should quit their jobs, and it's not like people think you shouldn't work out. It's the rapid congestion & massive cluelessness.

And you just walked into a gym on day one and knew exactly what your routine was going to be? You just knew where everything was? You just knew what your body was/wasn't capable of? Or did your workout adjust over time as you acclimated to the gym and its flow?

I'm sure you weren't clueless at all your first week in a gym. Again, the empathy is overwhelming.

You're not getting it. It's not the new-ness. It's the new-ness ALL AT ONCE WITH SO MANY PEOPLE.

Yes, everyone was new at some point - I didn't start working out in January. I started at a random time in the middle of the year. There's a major difference between stragglers of newbies slowly sustained over 12 months, and a massive influx all at once in January. Is this really that difficult for you to comprehend?

I get it, you are inconvenienced. What you don't get is how petty you sound. We all know that this is a temporary issue. Get over it.

We get it, you're joined a gym on January 1st a few times, and always quit. And it's easier to to blame others for pointing this tendency out, than to take responsibility for yourself.

[Anonymous]

WTF, PP? If you are that inconvenienced, why don't you talk to your gym manager about your concerns? They are the ones who are oversubscribing to new members and screwing you regulars over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WTF, PP? If you are that inconvenienced, why don't you talk to your gym manager about your concerns? They are the ones who are oversubscribing to new members and screwing you regulars over.

Gym staff know, just like regulars, that the new members will quit (or stop going, but still pay membership for a while). They make money off of the artificial "new year" hype. The space will return to normal in a month or so.

The people who stick with it don't join in January. They usually start in the middle of the year.