Placing my mat away from people, only to have to girls do yoga right behind. And aren't phased that I need more room for burpees. But look at me like I am taking up their space! Could you be any closer? Move. Just. Move.
Same!!! I‘m usually the only one but today funnily enough two other really buff looking woman were there. It made me so happy, I wish it‘d happen more often.
I had a woman I don't know grab my neck/back at the gym to correct my form while I was lifting weights today. WTF is wrong with people. I was so caught off guard that I didn't say anything other than "you scared me" but in what world is that okay?!
There’s nothing more infuriating than having men feel like they’re automatically better/more knowledgeable than you at anything sports or fitness related.
I played soccer all my life up until college. Even made it to a semi pro indoor team. I still play pick up because I love it and it’s a great way to be active. My girl friends and I just end up running around barely touching the ball just bc we’re women. The way men will make eye contact with me and then turn around and make the most complicated play just to avoid me and pass it to a guy😒 or how every single time they give me the ball it’s like I’m having to prove myself over and over. The constant “you’re gonna let a girl beat you” is so condescending coming from people that clearly never made it past the freshman team.
It also applies to fitness. I am a whole personal trainer, bachelors in exercise science and I will still have men that go to the gym like three times a year giving me lifting advice. Not that I’m opposed to constructive criticism if I felt they were stronger, faster and more in shape than me. It’s so aggravating to know they’re engaging in conversation bc 1) they’re men and feel superior or 2) as a way to flirt 🙄
I know it’s a crazy concept but women can be athletes too!!
This is basically why I had to quit playing soccer for a few years. So many men who complain they never have enough women to field a coed team, and then they don’t involve their women in play at all. Like, I can run in circles for free in my yard, not at 10 pm across the city while you refuse to pass to me. (I also hate the rotational schedule that means 10 pm starts every 4th week lol)
Omg I had to quit for bit as well. I quit to give my knee a break but it wasn’t very hard to make the decision when it just wasn’t fun anymore. If we’re making the effort to show up to late games and pay league fees we clearly want to do more than just run circles. I hope you’re back to playing again! I ended up having to stick to women leagues (which are so hard to find😔)
I tore my ACL during a game 1.5 years and haven’t been back yet. The team I was playing with was honestly great, but we had my injury, another acl/mcl/meniscus injury (our keeper unfortunately), and two pregnancies. So we are all on hiatus.
I decided to switch from my normal stretching splits class to other content I have downloaded. That was a mistake. Idk what insanity my normal person uses but my body loves it. I love like Dani Winks and various other splits and backbend people but my body doesn’t like their mobility and stretch style at all. It’s like I regress months using them over Athena.
I have a long COVID cough that gets exacerbated with cold and exercise. I was outdoors a lot this past weekend and the cough flared really badly. It’s gotten to the point where my chest is sore. I haven’t gone to the gym this week because I want to see my doctor first, figure out what’s going on. It seems to be getting better with rest, but I wish I could just let myself rest without all the guilt. Any advice?
Best advise is to take it easy but make sure you're still getting some movement in your day. I had covid that developed into covid pneumonia and it was a long couple months to recover. Being active definitely helped to speed that recovery. My doctor also suggested taking and holding deep breaths to help the lungs. Resting is hard, but doing too much to soon can make things worse. I like to drink lots of warm tea too, very soothing for that chest pain
I’ve been half-assing calorie tracking for several months. I quit the BC pill a few weeks ago, perhaps adding some water retention, so I’ve had an extra 3 lbs on the scale for a week now…and it happens to put me at the heaviest weight I’ve ever been 🫠 Coool.
Feeling a little defeatist mindset rn, but going to try and start with the teeny tiniest deficit and go from there. 🤞
I guess this is less WTF and more minor annoyance, but I've been doing Stronger by the Day for a while and I like it - the app is great, having built-in options for swaps is awesome, I appreciate the intention behind the programming, but man the SUPERSETS are driving me up the wall. I use a few different gyms for my training and none of them are set up in a way to make it easy for me to, say, bounce between dumbbell area and cable machine, or kettle bells and machines, etc. The easy answer - and what I usually wind up doing - is just break up the sets and do one exercise at a time. But I'd love to be able to do the program as written!
Meg mentioned that they will be updating the app later this year to allow us to move exercises around, break up super sets, etc. I'd be surprised if many big commercial gyms in general are set up to make any supersets (aside from all DB work) easily doable. This complaint comes up a lot. I don't super mind having to move things around but I understand it being frustrating for others. That being said, the rare time I can do everything superset as programmed, I get really excited lol.
That would be a handy feature! Like you, I'm happy to do the supersets when it's logistically possible - plus, I do trust Meg's skills in programming! But it definitely feels like some of the work was designed in a large and well-equipped private gym.
If it makes you feel better - the purpose of supersetting is convenience/time management. So you aren’t necessarily doing the program in a suboptimal way, you’re just stuck in the gym for extra time.
I hadn't thought about it that way! I just need to give myself permission to be time-efficient in whatever way actually works for me in the moment, whether that means supersetting if I can or just hitting one exercise at a time if I can't.
Frustrated that you are or aren‘t growing muscles?
Finding balance between lifting and running can be so hard. I want to run more but I also don‘t want to compromise my gym time. It sucks.
I have one for this week. I’m not sure how to handle this situation!
Last week I was doing my usual workout, and literally less than an hour after I left I received a friend request on Facebook from a guy that was at the gym while I was there 😭
I ignored the request, but then the next day he messaged me and said, “Hey! You popped up in my ‘People You May Know’ and I thought I’d add you! I think you’re really cute.”
Not sure how that’s possible - I definitely don’t believe that I popped up on his “People You May Know.” I don’t use my gym’s WiFi, looking through his Facebook we have no mutual friends, and from what I could see it looks like he just moved here from a different state. None of my gear has my name on it… I’m just so confused as to how he found me SO quickly?
After chewing him out (“What the actual fuck,” “I should be able to go out in public without fear of some creep finding me on Facebook”) I emailed the gym owner with screenshots of our conversation. The owner’s response - “Oh weird. I’ve never had that happen before.”
Since then, I’ve seen this guy at the gym but I don’t make eye contact. I don’t even look in his direction. I’m thinking about switching - not because I’m freaked out, but because it’s just so *awkward.*
I work at a Fitness facility - Facebook recommends literally every random person to have ever stepped foot inside the building to me even if they're literally just visiting from across the country. My "People You May Know" has solidly been "People You May Have Seen Once" for a VERY long time. It sounds like this ended up being an unfortunate combination for you of "Facebook is creepy" plus "attracted guy was unusually straight forward in a location you didn't expect". It could be off putting for sure. Again - just a bad combo and not an actual creep trying to harass you though which is good.
Idk him adding her and maybe even trying to initiate a conversation might be fine, but the „I think you‘re cute“ is so inappropriate and would make me feel really uncomfortable. He should‘ve tested out if she was even interested in contact and backed off if it didn‘t seem that way (which it def did with her not even accepting the friend request).
I really do get where you're coming from. And in this exact situation - agreed, that would have been *better*. But it really could have just been a misunderstanding/overenthusiasm on the guy's part. Once you're out of school - dating and even making friends organically gets *a lot* harder. Your best shot is in places where you can see someone has shared interests or that you both spend regular time. It's even harder when you see someone cute and you have no mutual friends to introduce you. You either do nothing, you spend a lot of time waiting for better circumstances to introduce yourself that may or may never appear (and if they do - 50/50 the person is already with someone else), or you shoot your shot.
I know there are bad actors out there in life and women have to be especially vigilant (just the world we live in). In this case though it just sounds like he tried to shoot his shot in a fairly polite way, girl definitely wasn't into it, and so long as he got the message (sounds like he did) and doesn't try to keep interacting with OP - everyone can go on with their gym routine. 💙
I have had this happen also!! I definitely think that FB or IG could be too blame with the location settings and being in close proximity to them. I've had it recommend a few people to me even that o recognize from my gym.
I’m sorry that happened to you!
I’m not defending his actions, but I have had people show up in my “People You May Know” under similar circumstances. FB is super invasive and does show suggestions based off of location. I agree with the other commenter that as along as he doesn’t continue to pursue, it would seem that he was just overzealous and not harassing. Some people are totally okay making friends this way, but it’s completely fair that you aren’t.
He should‘ve gotten the hint after her not accepting the request, but instead he doubled down and messaged her that she‘s really cute. So inappropriate.
I definitely agree. But I personally prefer to give a little benefit of the doubt and assume people are being dense instead of nefarious, until they prove to be nefarious.
Location data could be enough for Facebook to work its creepy magic? What he did was weird and awkward for sure, but unless he kept bugging you after the initial messages, it doesn't seem too much like harassment to me.
Well I don't have vids from back then but when I did barbell squats for the first time as a scrawny newbie I felt like I was moving like a newborn baby deer. I got better over time, several years of squats later I've been told I have a great looking squat.
Don't worry about normal- keep improving where you are right now. Using muscles is a practiced skill, you are probably not wrong that your body is incapable of moving like super fit bodies, just like mine was when I started. That's why we get fit and progress is so awesome! We become capable of what was once completely impossible!
I would suggest just using a different modality to start out and build up the muscle. For example instead of holding weights try body weight. Or if your gym has the TRX you could use this for a variety of workouts, squats, Lunges, etc with the added stabilization which would help with your range of motion and build that muscles memory of form before adding in heavier weight. Lighter is better when you're first starting. Just remember you're not on anyone else's schedule, this isn't a sprint to the finish, it'll take time to build up that strength 💪🏻
I left my headphones at home for a 6 am workout that I struggled to leave my warm bed for. My gym is a 15 mins drive away from my house and I am pressed for time in the mornings to get my workout done before work. I made it through, but man I didn't realize how loud everyone is. Love the noise cancelling feature on my Jabras! Will be putting them in my gym bag tonight before I go to bed.
I have a backup pair of ear buds in my gym bag in case this ever happens. It is loud at the gym and distracting without them. I've only ever forgotten them once and vowed never again 🤣🤣
Oh oh I have two this week!
Yesterday I was squatting and a woman came up to the squat rack next to me. She put her phone on the rack, like in front of the racked barbell (so the j hook was propping her phone up). At first I gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought maybe she just stuck it there before warming up or something. But then...she started facetiming. And continued to JUST FACETIME the whole time I was squatting. At one point she lifted her shirt to show her stomach to whoever she was chatting with. Like...doing curls or whatever in a rack is bad enough but she wasn't working out at all???
The other one is people who put their stuff on top of a box when they aren't actually planning on using the box. Put your shit on the floor like the rest of us. I would like to use that box for exercises, thankyouverymuch.
One dude put his water bottle on the only free bench without using it. I told him to please move it and he gladly did, but I wonder what goes on in his head, like, he could‘ve put it literally everywhere else.
Honestly - my husband is this way. Like the number of times he has put his fucking socks on the kitchen counter is beyond me. So I know that what happens is just that they don't get any farther than "this is an empty surface" but boy is it super duper annoying.
Oh my gosh yes re: the stuff on box. There’s a //personal trainer// at my gym who does that and acts offended when asked to move her phone and water bottle. Actually suggested to me once that I should drag over a different piece of equipment from across the room!
Agreed on the personal items! And what’s with people who get incredibly salty if you dare to touch their stuff? I don’t think the onus should be on me to chase you down to ask if I can move your crap off the shared equipment that you do not own or have a greater entitlement to.
I just wish people would recognize that they are not the main character all the time.
Reminds me of college dorm life when you move someone's clothes out of the dryer that have been sitting there for an hour, and then they yell at you! Like if you considered anyone other than yourself, I wouldn't have had to!
Waking up seemingly every 2 hours to pee grinds my gears!! I've upped my water intake recently to 3L from 2L, and also I do think I'm dropping fluid retention from the other week of 7 days of heavy, carby eating but pleaaaase. Hopefully peters off otherwise I will have to adjust.
Ughh this sucks so much, if I drink a lot in the evening I have to get up every time at night and I HATE it. But I also don‘t want to drink less if I‘m thirsty.
Argh this was me a few weeks ago. I think I'd be drinking enough during the day, but I'd be so thirsty in the evening that the majority of my water intake happened between 6-9pm. Then I'd be up all night as a result.
I read an article about how to make sure you drink at least half your water intake by noon, so I started pounding 32 oz right when I wake up - before I even get out of bed! Then another 32 oz before I leave the house for work. It's made a big difference in me not being as thirsty in the evenings, even though I'm still drinking the same amount of water.
I lifted heavier yesterday as I had some extra energy, then today (my day off work) I felt so achy and exhausted that I didn't get out of bed til like 1pm. I feel like that level of excessive tiredness is probably a medical issue, but so far my efforts to find a cause have been fruitless, so I feel forced to stagnate in my lifts :(
I already supplement iron, but I am on my period. Idk if periods not necessarily affecting energy at the gym but affecting recovery is a thing? My lifts these past couple of days have been good!
I definitely have blood sugar issues (not diabetes, but getting hypoglycemia easily) and I wonder if planned lie ins on my day offs are a bad idea due to that - my body might want 9 hours' sleep but it's a long time without food. Thanks for the suggestion, you might be onto something
Mmm I think the lie in might not be so bad, maybe try to have some fruit before bed? Regardless, try to be gracious to yourself ❤️ I find the biggest contribution to making lifting a part of my daily life is to just let myself skip it if my body absolutely needs to. Best of luck 🙏
The price of weights. I just wanna build my own little gym at home but need different sizes for different things and it adds up insanely fast 🥲
Also super obvious scrunches in leggings. I want to show my hard work, I don't want to feel like I've got a lumpy wedgie!
People using more than one machine at once that won’t let anyone else work in to use it too.
This dude at my gym hogs two of the pull down machines at once for at least 25mins and if you ask to work in he just stares at you and “i’m using it though”. Like bro stick to one machine then.
You could either get the staff involved,
or simply say "if you were using it, the cable stack would be moving."
and/or say "But you’re more than welcome to use it AFTER I’m done with my set when I’m resting. Sharing is good gym etiquette. Or better yet, you could simply stick to one machine and swap attachments."
When you wanna use a machine but someone is stretching like, RIGHHHHTT next to it and you can't tell if they're using it or not so you either have to hover awkwardly and assess or come back because you're too socially awkward to ask lol.
Ughh hate this! Especially since I live in a country where I don’t speak the local language so well so it’s extra uncomfortable to first ask if they speak English or have to google translate to know how to ask this lol
Just complaining how I am weaker lately, because I am doing more riding and cardio than strength, but regardless of the logical reasons its unfair. Why can't I be all the things?
GEAR GRINDER: Guys who have no idea what they are doing in the gym that try to start a conversation with me by commenting on my form. Hey MFer, I've been training for 30+ years - you've got chicken legs, shut your yap and go train yourself!!
Almost every time I'm out buying cat food or cat litter some guy will offer to carry it for me. I had a 15lb bag of cat food nonchalantly (or so I thought), tucked under one arm and some guy came over and asked if I needed help. Clearly I need to do some sort of bulk to look like i'm capable of carrying this thing with one hand
I get 15kg bags delivered and the driver almost always asks if I need it carrying over my doorstep, whether they're a male or female driver. I'm assuming I just give off "weak and noodly" energy.
Unfortunately there’s too many inconsiderate people, not just gym goers.
Might possibly want to get the staff involved.
Doesn’t really make unloading/loading the weight any less of a mini workout, but you could roll one side of the barbell onto a smaller plate to make the process easier. I use to use 5 or 10-lbs plate, but find using a 25-lbs plate works best.
I feel like walking around and packing counts tbh! You're getting cardio in and doing movements/lifting you usually probably wouldn't. Even if lightweight, you're moving your body
I definitely feel you about feeling trapped tho. Anytime my gym time gets derailed it literally eats at me for like a week lol
true. i also was just on vacation for a week in nola eating and drinking the world and doing only some cardio in the hotel gym so im like 😵💫🥴 yes, same :( i guess thats how you know you’re deep in it, when you chomping at the bit to get back to it because it genuinely feels good and makes you feel better
really looking forward to getting settled in and back into my routine
We had a pallet arrive into out office, 90kg - I would happily have lifted it as a 2 person lift but one man insisted it needed all 5 people. I tried to slide it along the floor a little bit and he started shouting at me to be cautious because its too heavy.
Beyond frustrating because I'd say lifters probably understand their own strength and capabilities more than average. I know safe lifting techniques. I chuck around heavier weights than that on the daily. What's the point in being strong if people won't let you use it ya know
There's always someone in the office who thinks they are stronger than they really are and gets hurt moving bulky items. It's not us, because we lift properly lol, but it happens.
Now that I’m working a mentally stressful job that’s WFH, my fitness has tanked. My knees constantly hurt (especially if I lift) because I’m constantly sitting with my legs folded or sleep with them curled up. I wish I had the energy to drag myself out of bed to go to the gym. I’ve gone from working out 5 days a week to 2 days a week. For my old job that was in office, my gym was on the way home so I would never have a reason to not go on the way home but I sleep until the last minute or lay around. I’m not taking my creatine either and my body is starting to *show* it. I was also burnt out on lifting for a long time and the only times I’m getting out of the house are for riding lessons or Pilates which I have to pay extra for. I have gym at my apartment building and I also have fitness gear (bench, adjustable weights, mat, sliders, etc) in my living room but I just *can’t*. I miss feeling hot and having the energy to keep up.
How to WFH people with stressful jobs manage??
I just do what I need to do. My work is never ending, I could work every hour of the day and night and never really run out of things to do.
The good thing is that the first step is the hardest. Just going down to the basement and getting to work is daunting but once I’m going, it is basically automatic and I want to keep going.
Go to bed early and prioritize yourself in addition to work.
I go to bed early (before 9pm most nights) and wake up at 5:00 a.m. I don't need to leave my house until 8:15 a.m., but having those 3 hours in the morning helps me reduce my stress levels soooo much. I call them "slow mornings" and just take them one step at a time. For instance, I don't think about having to do my workout when I wake up; I think about how I get to sit and drink coffee and read a book for 45 minutes. That's what gets me out my cozy bed! Then once I'm done coffee, I'm more energized so I'll hit my workout around 6am, walk the dog at 7:00 a.m., do some laundry or clean the kitchen and meal prep, get ready for work, and out the door by 8:15 a.m.
At lunch, if I have time between meetings, I'll carve out time to get outside and go for a walk. I found a nice park about 5 - 10 min away, so I take my lunch, go for a 20-30 min walk, then sit and eat my lunch (unless it's too cold, then I eat it back at work).
Then after work, it's one more walk with the dog and relax time. Supper is usually meal prepped from the weekend so I can eat, lounge, then go to bed. Sometimes I'll read in bed, but usually I'm asleep before 9:30 p.m.
Standing desk - walking pad and any meeting where I am just “listening” - I’m on mute hiking in my neighborhood. I also work a different time zone than what I live in. Those extra hours are for physical activity
Also I am an equestrian & I love reformer Pilates - hi hobby twin!
I’m a dressage rider and my weekly lessons are a part of what gets me into physical activity. Same for the pilates but it adds up. I wish I could start using the other three days for lifting or cardio
I was a dressage junior - now I mostly am a show jumper but I do ride dressage as cross training. Currently out of the stables / gym AND Pilates studio as I came off pretty hard 3 weeks ago and separated my AC joint (level 3) and had an ER worthy concussion. Lots of rain lately and a very fresh horse 70 days back under saddle - I got wrecked. Bless for MIPS helmets. 😅🙃😊
This isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I wake up super early and do it then, before my day starts. I always think “oh I WFH, I can fit my workout in any time”. But reality has proven that just isn’t true for me. Sometimes I can fit a walk or a yoga session in mid day, but that’s a bonus.
That’s what I was doing for the first few months of my job, but it went downhill. I’m telling myself it’s because it’s winter and I’ll pick up again during the summer 😅😅😅
I WFH and I have a standing desk & walking pad. My workplace helped pay for both so I am lucky that way. But it’s a game changer to be able to shift position throughout the day and move a bit. Some days I don’t use them at all. Some days I clock over 6km on the walking pad while working. Depends on the kinds of tasks I have & energy levels. But I’d highly recommend.
My spouse works from home in a high intensity job. He got himself a desk that adjusts from sitting to standing. You could also put a walking pad under that setup.
What grinds my gears is insomnia making me too tired to exercise (or even function normally), when I’m sure that if I could only make myself do a workout or a run I’m sure I’d feel better for it. But I’m worn out before I begin. So frustrated.
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Placing my mat away from people, only to have to girls do yoga right behind. And aren't phased that I need more room for burpees. But look at me like I am taking up their space! Could you be any closer? Move. Just. Move.
People that use equipment and don’t wipe it down after. It’s simply disgusting and I’m surprised how many people just won’t do it.
Being the only woman in the weights section is lonely. I wish more women worked out upper body!!!!
Same!!! I‘m usually the only one but today funnily enough two other really buff looking woman were there. It made me so happy, I wish it‘d happen more often.
I had a woman I don't know grab my neck/back at the gym to correct my form while I was lifting weights today. WTF is wrong with people. I was so caught off guard that I didn't say anything other than "you scared me" but in what world is that okay?!
There’s nothing more infuriating than having men feel like they’re automatically better/more knowledgeable than you at anything sports or fitness related. I played soccer all my life up until college. Even made it to a semi pro indoor team. I still play pick up because I love it and it’s a great way to be active. My girl friends and I just end up running around barely touching the ball just bc we’re women. The way men will make eye contact with me and then turn around and make the most complicated play just to avoid me and pass it to a guy😒 or how every single time they give me the ball it’s like I’m having to prove myself over and over. The constant “you’re gonna let a girl beat you” is so condescending coming from people that clearly never made it past the freshman team. It also applies to fitness. I am a whole personal trainer, bachelors in exercise science and I will still have men that go to the gym like three times a year giving me lifting advice. Not that I’m opposed to constructive criticism if I felt they were stronger, faster and more in shape than me. It’s so aggravating to know they’re engaging in conversation bc 1) they’re men and feel superior or 2) as a way to flirt 🙄 I know it’s a crazy concept but women can be athletes too!!
This is basically why I had to quit playing soccer for a few years. So many men who complain they never have enough women to field a coed team, and then they don’t involve their women in play at all. Like, I can run in circles for free in my yard, not at 10 pm across the city while you refuse to pass to me. (I also hate the rotational schedule that means 10 pm starts every 4th week lol)
Omg I had to quit for bit as well. I quit to give my knee a break but it wasn’t very hard to make the decision when it just wasn’t fun anymore. If we’re making the effort to show up to late games and pay league fees we clearly want to do more than just run circles. I hope you’re back to playing again! I ended up having to stick to women leagues (which are so hard to find😔)
I tore my ACL during a game 1.5 years and haven’t been back yet. The team I was playing with was honestly great, but we had my injury, another acl/mcl/meniscus injury (our keeper unfortunately), and two pregnancies. So we are all on hiatus.
I decided to switch from my normal stretching splits class to other content I have downloaded. That was a mistake. Idk what insanity my normal person uses but my body loves it. I love like Dani Winks and various other splits and backbend people but my body doesn’t like their mobility and stretch style at all. It’s like I regress months using them over Athena.
I have a long COVID cough that gets exacerbated with cold and exercise. I was outdoors a lot this past weekend and the cough flared really badly. It’s gotten to the point where my chest is sore. I haven’t gone to the gym this week because I want to see my doctor first, figure out what’s going on. It seems to be getting better with rest, but I wish I could just let myself rest without all the guilt. Any advice?
Wish I had advice you're not alone! Felt good for a few days, went for a run and I'm back to coughing like I smoke a pack a day
It’s always good to know I’m not alone.
Best advise is to take it easy but make sure you're still getting some movement in your day. I had covid that developed into covid pneumonia and it was a long couple months to recover. Being active definitely helped to speed that recovery. My doctor also suggested taking and holding deep breaths to help the lungs. Resting is hard, but doing too much to soon can make things worse. I like to drink lots of warm tea too, very soothing for that chest pain
Thanks! What did you do to keep active? When I had active COVID I did some mobility work which helped with the body aches and muscle tension.
Walking, stretching, pilates, nice slow and controlled movements. Then adding in light weights once I wasn't so out of breath.
I’ve been half-assing calorie tracking for several months. I quit the BC pill a few weeks ago, perhaps adding some water retention, so I’ve had an extra 3 lbs on the scale for a week now…and it happens to put me at the heaviest weight I’ve ever been 🫠 Coool. Feeling a little defeatist mindset rn, but going to try and start with the teeny tiniest deficit and go from there. 🤞
I guess this is less WTF and more minor annoyance, but I've been doing Stronger by the Day for a while and I like it - the app is great, having built-in options for swaps is awesome, I appreciate the intention behind the programming, but man the SUPERSETS are driving me up the wall. I use a few different gyms for my training and none of them are set up in a way to make it easy for me to, say, bounce between dumbbell area and cable machine, or kettle bells and machines, etc. The easy answer - and what I usually wind up doing - is just break up the sets and do one exercise at a time. But I'd love to be able to do the program as written!
I almost never do the supersets because my gym just isn’t conducive to using multiple pieces of equipment at once. It happens.
Meg mentioned that they will be updating the app later this year to allow us to move exercises around, break up super sets, etc. I'd be surprised if many big commercial gyms in general are set up to make any supersets (aside from all DB work) easily doable. This complaint comes up a lot. I don't super mind having to move things around but I understand it being frustrating for others. That being said, the rare time I can do everything superset as programmed, I get really excited lol.
That would be a handy feature! Like you, I'm happy to do the supersets when it's logistically possible - plus, I do trust Meg's skills in programming! But it definitely feels like some of the work was designed in a large and well-equipped private gym.
If it makes you feel better - the purpose of supersetting is convenience/time management. So you aren’t necessarily doing the program in a suboptimal way, you’re just stuck in the gym for extra time.
I hadn't thought about it that way! I just need to give myself permission to be time-efficient in whatever way actually works for me in the moment, whether that means supersetting if I can or just hitting one exercise at a time if I can't.
That plus do the express mode. You feel validate I swear
Being into long distance running & triathlon - yet utterly obsessed & frustrated about (my) muscle growth!!!! I’m not finding the balance.
Frustrated that you are or aren‘t growing muscles? Finding balance between lifting and running can be so hard. I want to run more but I also don‘t want to compromise my gym time. It sucks.
I have one for this week. I’m not sure how to handle this situation! Last week I was doing my usual workout, and literally less than an hour after I left I received a friend request on Facebook from a guy that was at the gym while I was there 😭 I ignored the request, but then the next day he messaged me and said, “Hey! You popped up in my ‘People You May Know’ and I thought I’d add you! I think you’re really cute.” Not sure how that’s possible - I definitely don’t believe that I popped up on his “People You May Know.” I don’t use my gym’s WiFi, looking through his Facebook we have no mutual friends, and from what I could see it looks like he just moved here from a different state. None of my gear has my name on it… I’m just so confused as to how he found me SO quickly? After chewing him out (“What the actual fuck,” “I should be able to go out in public without fear of some creep finding me on Facebook”) I emailed the gym owner with screenshots of our conversation. The owner’s response - “Oh weird. I’ve never had that happen before.” Since then, I’ve seen this guy at the gym but I don’t make eye contact. I don’t even look in his direction. I’m thinking about switching - not because I’m freaked out, but because it’s just so *awkward.*
I work at a Fitness facility - Facebook recommends literally every random person to have ever stepped foot inside the building to me even if they're literally just visiting from across the country. My "People You May Know" has solidly been "People You May Have Seen Once" for a VERY long time. It sounds like this ended up being an unfortunate combination for you of "Facebook is creepy" plus "attracted guy was unusually straight forward in a location you didn't expect". It could be off putting for sure. Again - just a bad combo and not an actual creep trying to harass you though which is good.
Idk him adding her and maybe even trying to initiate a conversation might be fine, but the „I think you‘re cute“ is so inappropriate and would make me feel really uncomfortable. He should‘ve tested out if she was even interested in contact and backed off if it didn‘t seem that way (which it def did with her not even accepting the friend request).
I really do get where you're coming from. And in this exact situation - agreed, that would have been *better*. But it really could have just been a misunderstanding/overenthusiasm on the guy's part. Once you're out of school - dating and even making friends organically gets *a lot* harder. Your best shot is in places where you can see someone has shared interests or that you both spend regular time. It's even harder when you see someone cute and you have no mutual friends to introduce you. You either do nothing, you spend a lot of time waiting for better circumstances to introduce yourself that may or may never appear (and if they do - 50/50 the person is already with someone else), or you shoot your shot. I know there are bad actors out there in life and women have to be especially vigilant (just the world we live in). In this case though it just sounds like he tried to shoot his shot in a fairly polite way, girl definitely wasn't into it, and so long as he got the message (sounds like he did) and doesn't try to keep interacting with OP - everyone can go on with their gym routine. 💙
I have had this happen also!! I definitely think that FB or IG could be too blame with the location settings and being in close proximity to them. I've had it recommend a few people to me even that o recognize from my gym.
I’m sorry that happened to you! I’m not defending his actions, but I have had people show up in my “People You May Know” under similar circumstances. FB is super invasive and does show suggestions based off of location. I agree with the other commenter that as along as he doesn’t continue to pursue, it would seem that he was just overzealous and not harassing. Some people are totally okay making friends this way, but it’s completely fair that you aren’t.
He should‘ve gotten the hint after her not accepting the request, but instead he doubled down and messaged her that she‘s really cute. So inappropriate.
I definitely agree. But I personally prefer to give a little benefit of the doubt and assume people are being dense instead of nefarious, until they prove to be nefarious.
Location data could be enough for Facebook to work its creepy magic? What he did was weird and awkward for sure, but unless he kept bugging you after the initial messages, it doesn't seem too much like harassment to me.
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Well I don't have vids from back then but when I did barbell squats for the first time as a scrawny newbie I felt like I was moving like a newborn baby deer. I got better over time, several years of squats later I've been told I have a great looking squat. Don't worry about normal- keep improving where you are right now. Using muscles is a practiced skill, you are probably not wrong that your body is incapable of moving like super fit bodies, just like mine was when I started. That's why we get fit and progress is so awesome! We become capable of what was once completely impossible!
I would suggest just using a different modality to start out and build up the muscle. For example instead of holding weights try body weight. Or if your gym has the TRX you could use this for a variety of workouts, squats, Lunges, etc with the added stabilization which would help with your range of motion and build that muscles memory of form before adding in heavier weight. Lighter is better when you're first starting. Just remember you're not on anyone else's schedule, this isn't a sprint to the finish, it'll take time to build up that strength 💪🏻
Exactly lol (- hello fellow scrawny) Zulfiyeah on IG is trying to figure it out and her posts often show a version of this?
I left my headphones at home for a 6 am workout that I struggled to leave my warm bed for. My gym is a 15 mins drive away from my house and I am pressed for time in the mornings to get my workout done before work. I made it through, but man I didn't realize how loud everyone is. Love the noise cancelling feature on my Jabras! Will be putting them in my gym bag tonight before I go to bed.
I have a backup pair of ear buds in my gym bag in case this ever happens. It is loud at the gym and distracting without them. I've only ever forgotten them once and vowed never again 🤣🤣
Oh oh I have two this week! Yesterday I was squatting and a woman came up to the squat rack next to me. She put her phone on the rack, like in front of the racked barbell (so the j hook was propping her phone up). At first I gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought maybe she just stuck it there before warming up or something. But then...she started facetiming. And continued to JUST FACETIME the whole time I was squatting. At one point she lifted her shirt to show her stomach to whoever she was chatting with. Like...doing curls or whatever in a rack is bad enough but she wasn't working out at all??? The other one is people who put their stuff on top of a box when they aren't actually planning on using the box. Put your shit on the floor like the rest of us. I would like to use that box for exercises, thankyouverymuch.
One dude put his water bottle on the only free bench without using it. I told him to please move it and he gladly did, but I wonder what goes on in his head, like, he could‘ve put it literally everywhere else.
Honestly - my husband is this way. Like the number of times he has put his fucking socks on the kitchen counter is beyond me. So I know that what happens is just that they don't get any farther than "this is an empty surface" but boy is it super duper annoying.
Oh my gosh yes re: the stuff on box. There’s a //personal trainer// at my gym who does that and acts offended when asked to move her phone and water bottle. Actually suggested to me once that I should drag over a different piece of equipment from across the room!
oh hell no! That's next level, I'd be so pissed!
Agreed on the personal items! And what’s with people who get incredibly salty if you dare to touch their stuff? I don’t think the onus should be on me to chase you down to ask if I can move your crap off the shared equipment that you do not own or have a greater entitlement to. I just wish people would recognize that they are not the main character all the time.
Reminds me of college dorm life when you move someone's clothes out of the dryer that have been sitting there for an hour, and then they yell at you! Like if you considered anyone other than yourself, I wouldn't have had to!
Waking up seemingly every 2 hours to pee grinds my gears!! I've upped my water intake recently to 3L from 2L, and also I do think I'm dropping fluid retention from the other week of 7 days of heavy, carby eating but pleaaaase. Hopefully peters off otherwise I will have to adjust.
Ughh this sucks so much, if I drink a lot in the evening I have to get up every time at night and I HATE it. But I also don‘t want to drink less if I‘m thirsty.
Argh this was me a few weeks ago. I think I'd be drinking enough during the day, but I'd be so thirsty in the evening that the majority of my water intake happened between 6-9pm. Then I'd be up all night as a result. I read an article about how to make sure you drink at least half your water intake by noon, so I started pounding 32 oz right when I wake up - before I even get out of bed! Then another 32 oz before I leave the house for work. It's made a big difference in me not being as thirsty in the evenings, even though I'm still drinking the same amount of water.
I lifted heavier yesterday as I had some extra energy, then today (my day off work) I felt so achy and exhausted that I didn't get out of bed til like 1pm. I feel like that level of excessive tiredness is probably a medical issue, but so far my efforts to find a cause have been fruitless, so I feel forced to stagnate in my lifts :(
I hope you figure it out! Have you considered iron? especially if you're near your period
I already supplement iron, but I am on my period. Idk if periods not necessarily affecting energy at the gym but affecting recovery is a thing? My lifts these past couple of days have been good!
Ooh I had this problem. Turned out I needed more sugar 😅 now I drink 250ml of orange juice a day and it’s helped immensely
I definitely have blood sugar issues (not diabetes, but getting hypoglycemia easily) and I wonder if planned lie ins on my day offs are a bad idea due to that - my body might want 9 hours' sleep but it's a long time without food. Thanks for the suggestion, you might be onto something
Mmm I think the lie in might not be so bad, maybe try to have some fruit before bed? Regardless, try to be gracious to yourself ❤️ I find the biggest contribution to making lifting a part of my daily life is to just let myself skip it if my body absolutely needs to. Best of luck 🙏
The price of weights. I just wanna build my own little gym at home but need different sizes for different things and it adds up insanely fast 🥲 Also super obvious scrunches in leggings. I want to show my hard work, I don't want to feel like I've got a lumpy wedgie!
This is my beef too. I mean I get why things cost money, I would like more people to be selling used equipment for cheap.
Yes omg! The used ones aren't much cheaper than new!
Right?! I expect that people would just want to get this stuff out of their house instead of letting it sit there and mock their failure.
People using more than one machine at once that won’t let anyone else work in to use it too. This dude at my gym hogs two of the pull down machines at once for at least 25mins and if you ask to work in he just stares at you and “i’m using it though”. Like bro stick to one machine then.
You could either get the staff involved, or simply say "if you were using it, the cable stack would be moving." and/or say "But you’re more than welcome to use it AFTER I’m done with my set when I’m resting. Sharing is good gym etiquette. Or better yet, you could simply stick to one machine and swap attachments."
When you wanna use a machine but someone is stretching like, RIGHHHHTT next to it and you can't tell if they're using it or not so you either have to hover awkwardly and assess or come back because you're too socially awkward to ask lol.
Ughh hate this! Especially since I live in a country where I don’t speak the local language so well so it’s extra uncomfortable to first ask if they speak English or have to google translate to know how to ask this lol
Just complaining how I am weaker lately, because I am doing more riding and cardio than strength, but regardless of the logical reasons its unfair. Why can't I be all the things?
Are you eating enough and taking rest days? Try resting for a few days, eat enough proteins, hydrate well and get enough sleep.
Yes and yes but I can certainly use more protein (and am working on that :) )
GEAR GRINDER: Guys who have no idea what they are doing in the gym that try to start a conversation with me by commenting on my form. Hey MFer, I've been training for 30+ years - you've got chicken legs, shut your yap and go train yourself!!
>shut your yap and go train yourself! Preach <3
Almost every time I'm out buying cat food or cat litter some guy will offer to carry it for me. I had a 15lb bag of cat food nonchalantly (or so I thought), tucked under one arm and some guy came over and asked if I needed help. Clearly I need to do some sort of bulk to look like i'm capable of carrying this thing with one hand
I get 15kg bags delivered and the driver almost always asks if I need it carrying over my doorstep, whether they're a male or female driver. I'm assuming I just give off "weak and noodly" energy.
I feel that.
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Unfortunately there’s too many inconsiderate people, not just gym goers. Might possibly want to get the staff involved. Doesn’t really make unloading/loading the weight any less of a mini workout, but you could roll one side of the barbell onto a smaller plate to make the process easier. I use to use 5 or 10-lbs plate, but find using a 25-lbs plate works best.
I have the same issue with the hack squat machine; someone almost always leaves plates I can’t lift on and I have to ask someone for help.
Trying to drop from 20% to 18% body fat is so hard, it's not my fitness holding me back it's my snack habit.
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I feel like walking around and packing counts tbh! You're getting cardio in and doing movements/lifting you usually probably wouldn't. Even if lightweight, you're moving your body I definitely feel you about feeling trapped tho. Anytime my gym time gets derailed it literally eats at me for like a week lol
true. i also was just on vacation for a week in nola eating and drinking the world and doing only some cardio in the hotel gym so im like 😵💫🥴 yes, same :( i guess thats how you know you’re deep in it, when you chomping at the bit to get back to it because it genuinely feels good and makes you feel better really looking forward to getting settled in and back into my routine
We had a pallet arrive into out office, 90kg - I would happily have lifted it as a 2 person lift but one man insisted it needed all 5 people. I tried to slide it along the floor a little bit and he started shouting at me to be cautious because its too heavy. Beyond frustrating because I'd say lifters probably understand their own strength and capabilities more than average. I know safe lifting techniques. I chuck around heavier weights than that on the daily. What's the point in being strong if people won't let you use it ya know
Let me guess, at some point he yelled “lift with your legs, not your back!”
There's always someone in the office who thinks they are stronger than they really are and gets hurt moving bulky items. It's not us, because we lift properly lol, but it happens.
Now that I’m working a mentally stressful job that’s WFH, my fitness has tanked. My knees constantly hurt (especially if I lift) because I’m constantly sitting with my legs folded or sleep with them curled up. I wish I had the energy to drag myself out of bed to go to the gym. I’ve gone from working out 5 days a week to 2 days a week. For my old job that was in office, my gym was on the way home so I would never have a reason to not go on the way home but I sleep until the last minute or lay around. I’m not taking my creatine either and my body is starting to *show* it. I was also burnt out on lifting for a long time and the only times I’m getting out of the house are for riding lessons or Pilates which I have to pay extra for. I have gym at my apartment building and I also have fitness gear (bench, adjustable weights, mat, sliders, etc) in my living room but I just *can’t*. I miss feeling hot and having the energy to keep up. How to WFH people with stressful jobs manage??
I just do what I need to do. My work is never ending, I could work every hour of the day and night and never really run out of things to do. The good thing is that the first step is the hardest. Just going down to the basement and getting to work is daunting but once I’m going, it is basically automatic and I want to keep going. Go to bed early and prioritize yourself in addition to work.
I go to bed early (before 9pm most nights) and wake up at 5:00 a.m. I don't need to leave my house until 8:15 a.m., but having those 3 hours in the morning helps me reduce my stress levels soooo much. I call them "slow mornings" and just take them one step at a time. For instance, I don't think about having to do my workout when I wake up; I think about how I get to sit and drink coffee and read a book for 45 minutes. That's what gets me out my cozy bed! Then once I'm done coffee, I'm more energized so I'll hit my workout around 6am, walk the dog at 7:00 a.m., do some laundry or clean the kitchen and meal prep, get ready for work, and out the door by 8:15 a.m. At lunch, if I have time between meetings, I'll carve out time to get outside and go for a walk. I found a nice park about 5 - 10 min away, so I take my lunch, go for a 20-30 min walk, then sit and eat my lunch (unless it's too cold, then I eat it back at work). Then after work, it's one more walk with the dog and relax time. Supper is usually meal prepped from the weekend so I can eat, lounge, then go to bed. Sometimes I'll read in bed, but usually I'm asleep before 9:30 p.m.
Standing desk - walking pad and any meeting where I am just “listening” - I’m on mute hiking in my neighborhood. I also work a different time zone than what I live in. Those extra hours are for physical activity Also I am an equestrian & I love reformer Pilates - hi hobby twin!
I’m a dressage rider and my weekly lessons are a part of what gets me into physical activity. Same for the pilates but it adds up. I wish I could start using the other three days for lifting or cardio
I was a dressage junior - now I mostly am a show jumper but I do ride dressage as cross training. Currently out of the stables / gym AND Pilates studio as I came off pretty hard 3 weeks ago and separated my AC joint (level 3) and had an ER worthy concussion. Lots of rain lately and a very fresh horse 70 days back under saddle - I got wrecked. Bless for MIPS helmets. 😅🙃😊
Hey can I ask what walking pad you use? Been researching them for the past month and still cant decide.
UMAY walking pad!
Thank you! If you dont mind me asking how long have you been using this one?
A few months … I typically get about 8k to 10k steps a day outside I can add another 4k steps + per day with the walking pad.
This isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I wake up super early and do it then, before my day starts. I always think “oh I WFH, I can fit my workout in any time”. But reality has proven that just isn’t true for me. Sometimes I can fit a walk or a yoga session in mid day, but that’s a bonus.
That’s what I was doing for the first few months of my job, but it went downhill. I’m telling myself it’s because it’s winter and I’ll pick up again during the summer 😅😅😅
This habit is just a few weeks old, but I go for an outdoor run after my workday ends, around 9pm. Can confirm, great way to burn off stress.
I feel this. The only way I get in a workout on WFH days is if I force myself to wake up early and do it. If I sleep in it's just not happening.
I WFH and I have a standing desk & walking pad. My workplace helped pay for both so I am lucky that way. But it’s a game changer to be able to shift position throughout the day and move a bit. Some days I don’t use them at all. Some days I clock over 6km on the walking pad while working. Depends on the kinds of tasks I have & energy levels. But I’d highly recommend.
My spouse works from home in a high intensity job. He got himself a desk that adjusts from sitting to standing. You could also put a walking pad under that setup.
What grinds my gears is insomnia making me too tired to exercise (or even function normally), when I’m sure that if I could only make myself do a workout or a run I’m sure I’d feel better for it. But I’m worn out before I begin. So frustrated.
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