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I've had enough.
Honestly, I've absolutely had enough.
I'm 50 years old. I've been training since my 20s, back when people actually went to the gym to train. You went in, got your head down, did your sets, grafted, maybe had a bit of banter, wiped the sweat off your face, and got on with it. Simple. The gym was for work. It wasn't a social club, a lounging area, or some kind of mobile phone charging station with
dumbbells.
Now?
Half the gym looks like a bloody airport waiting lounge.
Everywhere you look, someone is perched on a machine like they've signed a tenancy agreement on it. Leg press? Occupied. Bench? Occupied. Cable machine? Occupied. Smith machine? Occupied. And what are they doing? Training? Pushing hard? Trying to improve themselves?
No.
They're sitting there scrolling on their phones for about three working days between sets.
One set. Ten minutes on Instagram. Another half-hearted set. Back to WhatsApp. Little grin at the screen. Another message. Another scroll. Another video. Meanwhile, the rest of us are stood there wondering whether they're actually using the equipment or waiting for a bus.
And this is the bit that really gets me: why are you sitting on the equipment if you're not actually using it?
That's the part I cannot understand.
If you want a rest between sets, fine. Everyone rests. I'm not asking people to train like lunatics. But if you're going to spend half your life on your phone, then get up. Stand somewhere else. Walk around. Lean against a wall. Go stare at yourself in the mirror for all I care. Why are you glued to the one bit of kit everyone else needs?
It's pure selfishness. That's what it is.
It's this strange modern attitude of: I'm here, so this machine is mine now, regardless of whether I'm actually using it. No awareness, no courtesy, no urgency. Just this lazy, vacant, self-absorbed nonsense where everyone else has to work around them while they check their notifications for the 48th time.
And before anyone says, "Maybe they're tracking their workout," don't make me laugh.
Tracking your workout does not require you to stare at your phone like you're defusing a bomb. Tap your reps in, put it away, and train. We all know the difference between someone logging a set and someone watching clips, replying to messages, and basically living on the machine.
I find myself getting more wound up every week.
At my age, I don't want aggro. I don't go to the gym looking for confrontation. I go there to train, clear my head, stay strong, and do something good for myself. But these people push you to the edge. You stand there waiting, trying to be polite, trying not to lose your rag, and inside you can feel it building. Do I ignore it? Do I say something? Do I ask how many sets
they've got left and prepare myself for the usual blank stare? Or is today the day it turns into an argument because some entitled muppet thinks common courtesy is optional?
That's where I'm at now - and I hate it.
Because you shouldn't have to feel like you're one bad reply away from a row just because you want to use a bench in a gym you're paying for.
There have been moments where I've thought, Say something. Other moments where I've thought, Leave it, John, it's not worth it. And then a few moments - honest moments - where you can feel that old switch flicking and think, If this bloke answers me the wrong way, this could go badly.
Rest of the article is here..
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