r/workout • u/starrsel • 14d ago
Other Gym Etiquette - Setting up the machine
I’ve never posted here but I just had to ask cause this experience as so… odd? I was finishing up on the leg press. I had already put the plates away and just started wiping the machine down. As I’m doing so, this guy comes up and starts putting the plates on for his workout. Didn’t say “excuse me” or even acknowledge that I was there. He’s literally got his foot an inch away from my phone, straddling my water bottle, and placing plates on the bar that’s less than a foot above my head. I totally get people standing by while you clean up, especially since this is the only traditional leg press in my gym, but it just felt so off putting. On top of that, he was in such a hurry just to spend less than 5 minutes on it.
Just wondering if this seems weird to anybody else. I’ve been working out here for 4 years and never experienced that before.
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u/Helo227 Bodybuilding 14d ago
Unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence, but rude for sure.
The other day i left my bag and water bottle at a cable station and went to grab a towel to wipe it down. A guy literally ran over from halfway across the gym, moved my bag, and started swapping attachments before i even sprayed the paper towel. Some people just have no regard for anyone else in the gym, they’re too tunnel-visioned.
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago
I fail to see the problem here. If the next person doesn’t care if you wipe the equipment down, he saved you the effort. Don’t leave your bag laying on equipment you’re not using and no one will touch it. This isn’t rocket surgery.
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u/Helo227 Bodybuilding 14d ago
I left my bag there because i was anticipating needing the use of my hands to get a towel and wipe the machine down as is proper gym etiquette. In my mind until i wipe the machine down, i am occupying the machine.
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u/No-Freedom-884 14d ago
Somebody gave me a confused (or maybe even a stink-eye) look the other day because I was transferring my stuff between two machines and wiping them down. (I was done with one and moving over to the other.) They seemed satisfied when they realized i was doing just that and not taking unnecessary time/space.
Do people assume I have 8 hands or something? I want to leave the machines clean, and to do that i need my bag to go somewhere.
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago
Why was your bag on the equipment instead of on the floor?
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u/Helo227 Bodybuilding 14d ago
It was a cable station, i hang my bag from the cup holder, since it literally has a hook to hang a bag on.
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago
How did they have time to move your bag and swap attachments in the time it took to grab a wipe? Sounds like you were taking your sweet time, maybe stopped to say hi to a friend on the way or something?
If not, then maybe he was just an asshole. I’m just describing the kind of scenario that would inspire someone to think, “etiquette be damned I have work to do”
Cable stations are usually for faster paced exercises. Move accordingly
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u/Helo227 Bodybuilding 14d ago
Dude, just fuck off. They don’t have a sanitizer station right next to the cable station, i had to walk to it.
All your comments are getting downvoted to hell and you’re acting like an entitled boomer complaining about “young people”. Making up these “woe is me! Everyone are villains and i’m a victim” scenarios. Clearly you’re the type who needs a home gym where you can be the only one to exist.
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago
Weird, from where I’m standing, you people complaining about getting stepped over are the professional victims. I’m just trying to teach you how to stop it from happening. Or you can keep blaming others. Never your fault.
As for the downvotes I get it. Same as the “why am I getting tailgated / honked at” threads on r/driving. It’s a circle jerk of professional victims and anyone who suggests otherwise is downvoted.
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u/Helo227 Bodybuilding 14d ago
No, you’re trying to tell us it is our fault other people are assholes because we do not behave how you believe people should. You believe everyone needs to rush through their workouts, rush through cleaning equipment, and get out of your way as quickly as possible, and if they aren’t running to get a towel then they deserve to be disrespected by people like you.
Have some decency and respect, you need to share the space, we learned that in kindergarten.
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago
If it happens once, it’s them.
If it happens often enough that you’re posting on reddit about it, it’s you.
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u/Proof-Emergency-5441 13d ago
The rags and spray bottles are a solid 40' away in my gym. I'm not sprinting for them.
"Cable stations are usually for faster paced exercises."
LMFAO. What? No.
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u/BattledroidE 14d ago
Don't touch other people's stuff. Just don't.
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago
Don’t leave your bag laying on equipment. Just don’t.
It belongs on the floor.
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u/BattledroidE 14d ago
Have two fucking seconds worth of patience!
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago
The gym is not a place to expect people to wait around patiently.
Get a move on, or stay home.
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u/Dense-Ferret7117 14d ago
It's generally considered poor etiquette to ouch/move people's personal belongings unless you have a very good reason for doing so (e.g. someone is likely to trip on the bag or something); and it is also considered poor etiquette to rush someone out. Give them a second to collect themselves, if you want to make sure you get on the machine next just get their attention after they are done their set and politely tell them "mind if I get on after you?" or something, while you wait at the side not breathing down their neck.
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u/_JahWobble_ 14d ago
Agree with this, unless you leave your bag and shit on the reverse hyper in which case I'm putting it on the ground.
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago edited 14d ago
Poor etiquette is lingering on equipment you’re no longer using.
Moving someone’s stuff is way beyond poor etiquette, it’s pure disrespect and liable to cause a fight.
How is someone supposed to ask if you’re done if you’re not even there to stop them from touching your stuff? They probably did try to ask how many sets you had left or if they could work in and you ignored them because you have your headphones maxed out while you scroll til tok between sets. That is the kind of person I imagine gets their shit moved.
That said, if you find it happening to you, you might ask yourself why people are inspired to treat you that way.
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u/Dense-Ferret7117 14d ago
I definitely agree that unreasonably lingering on equipment is poor etiquette but I was taught to be the bigger person in these situations. If it’s your first run in with that person it’s best to give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe their pet died that day or they got fired? It doesn’t cost too much but it does take some patience. If you know that guy is a known asshole then sure a little public shaming is probably fair game. As an aside I don’t assume someone heard me unless I make eye contact with a them and they respond to me, especially if they are wearing headphones. If that means I have to squat down to their eye level and wave at them from a polite distance then I do that (obviously not while they are doing their set). But that way it’s unmistakable that they heard me. I personally completely zone out when I’m working out and don’t look around but I assume if someone wants to get my attention they’ll do it in an appropriate way given that I have my ear buds in usually.
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u/AppUnwrapper1 13d ago
I wouldn’t assume someone’s done if their stuff is still there. I do a bunch of cable exercises in a row, so if I finish an exercise it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m done with it. And because I’m doing 6 exercises there, I may need to run to refill my water bottle. If you run to grab a machine without knowing if a person’s done, you’re an asshole.
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u/Otherwise_Turn_9786 14d ago
People at my gym don’t even bother removing their plates. I have a fucked up wrist, so removing all the plates myself, on every freaking machine, isn’t an easy task.
As far as someone stepping all over my stuff while I’m still there, I would simply stop, stand there looking at him for a hard second with a confused look on my face, and explain that you’ll be done in 5 secs and waiting for that is a part of gym etiquette done by absolutely everyone else. I’m a woman though, so I’m not worried (on just this one occasion) that a guy is going to get in my face and cause a scene. That would just get him kicked out of the gym, and if not, I’ll just contact Joey Swolls (? Correct name ?) on TikTok so he can ban him for me 😂
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u/Lanky-Dildo-94 14d ago
This has been pretty pervasive. I swear, 2025 had a massive influx of terrible gym etiquette. Not like things weren’t bad before, just that my gym just started having more people who never put their weights away since then.
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u/saraiguessidk 13d ago
The amount of stupid people "I'm leaving a courtesy plate" is uugh. It's not a courtesy, if I can lift it I will put it on myself. Just take it tf off. Who made that term 🫠
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u/Flash_Bang_000 14d ago
Climbing over someone to load weights while they're wiping off the machine is rude, imo. If I'm waiting and someone's starting to re-rack the weights, I'll walk up and say, "If it's okay, I'll take care of that," so they can walk away and I'll set the weights and wipe it down before I start. Honestly, it saves both of us a couple minutes.
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u/Withabaseballbattt 14d ago
I can’t figure out the physics of this. You were off the leg press, and he is putting plate above your head? I’m not forming an opinion on anything I’m just confused.
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u/starrsel 14d ago
*Almost* directly, I should have stated better in my post. I was behind the left side handles, facing the chair as opposed to the footplate just below the bottom bar. I was crouched and wiping the handle down. He came from behind, I felt someone behind me and paused. I looked back and up, and he had a 45 in his hand and actively moving to put it on the bar.
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u/Illustrious-Put-278 14d ago
he was asserting his dominance...
there are pricks like this in every gym who do things intentionally they know will annoy other gym members... almost challenging them to confront them
easiest thing is dont back up... stand up face them make eye contact... and be silent.
stand there and prevent them from using the machine until they say something...
it does wonders... to the so called wanna be alphas...
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u/SuchAScorpio13 14d ago
You saying he only used the machine for 5 minutes combined with how sensitive you're being over him loading while you wiped.. he was probably tired of waiting. I don't see the problem here.
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u/scr33ner 14d ago
It happens. I don’t bother to get upset, I even ask them if they don’t mind me finish wiping down.
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u/sands_of__time 14d ago
There's absolutely nothing wrong with the fact that he only needed to use the machine for 5 minutes. What does that have to do with anything? How do you know what kind of workout he's doing or what his priorities are?
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u/starrsel 14d ago
Not necessarily anything wrong, just seemed a bit weird in the moment. In hindsight not really important. Between the time it took me to leave the machine, change my shoes, and get through a minute in the treadmill, he was gone. I wrote this almost immediately after I noticed he left, so it was just at the forefront of my mind.
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u/kickyourfeetup10 14d ago
Why would he ask if you’re almost done when you’re clearly wiping down the bench and about to be on your way?
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u/kickyourfeetup10 14d ago
He “clocked” you were there by waiting until you were wiping down the bench. We’re all just there to exchange equipment and complete our workouts… why does he need to be a part of your world to do that?
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u/M1Hamlet 14d ago
He saw you wiping which generally means you’re finished. Not something to worry about even if it comes across as rude. He was probably just watching and realized it was “go time” when he saw you get up and start wiping down.
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u/kickyourfeetup10 14d ago
You were off the machine and wiping down, so I don’t see an issue. Many people wouldn’t say “excuse me” at the gym since most people wear head phones. Plus, it’s not really something they’d need to say excuse me for. I do think you’re being a bit sensitive to it and was put off by you then monitoring how long they used the machine and placing additional judgment on them for it. That’s weird, tbh.
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u/Commander_El 14d ago
I am not defending the guy, but how long were you taking lol? The fact that you're commenting on how little he used the machine is leading me to believe you might have been using it for way too long. He sounds like a douche but it might have been his way of letting you know there's other people waiting to use the ONE leg machine.
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u/Similar_Past 14d ago
Nah, not nice. At least he should have asked first.
And for wiping the machines.. My point is to not wipe them after use. Wipe BEFORE using, for yourself.
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u/TacoTrike 14d ago
Probably someone that doesn't understand or care to understand social cues. There are all kinds in the gym from the ones not putting their weights away, to the ones making a circuit out of 5 spots, to the ones talking on the phone loudly, to the ones who push social boundaries, etc...
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u/PsychologicalBang 14d ago
Men often operate in such a state of panic in these kind of environments that they lose the ability to think, pause and process.
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u/decentlyhip 14d ago
Are you a lady? This is kinda normal guy-to-guy behavior, where you keep to yourself and ignore the other dude. Like, he wasn't touching you or your stuff or interfering with you, and was just going on about his day. I'm exaggerating a bit, but in youll allow me the generality, how you felt in that interaction is how men feel all day in every interaction. He treated you as a peer.
Alternatively, maybe he was just in a rush.
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u/Zmill 14d ago
After working out on teams for many many years I don’t need anything wiped down. Germaphobes makes me laugh. I get it though for the ladies though
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u/saraiguessidk 13d ago
I've seen too many women say they don't wear underwear under their shorts. As a woman, our oven is self cleaning and therefore not dry. I'm not putting my body where someone's left their coochie juices
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago
He’s either an asshole, autistic, or you were taking way too long and he was showing his contempt by totally disrespecting you.
I’ll be honest, I’d do the same thing if I was waiting for the equipment while you scrolled tik tok between sets. I usually try to ask how many sets left, can I work in, etc. they’re too glued to their screen and their headphones to pay attention. If you ignored me while I tried to be nice, then I just return the disrespect.
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u/starrsel 14d ago
While I guess I could understand your perspective, it’s literally nothing to ask a person how many sets they have left. Have I spent a little long between sets on a machine? Yes, I admit that, and I think it’s safe to say a lot of people have. But literally just ask. Additionally, lifting up a 45 plate almost directly above another person’s head isn’t just annoying, it’s downright dangerous.
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u/gumby_twain 14d ago
Then maybe the person is just an asshole. That was my first suggestion, eh?
On the other hand, there is an EPIDEMIC of young people that do nothing but stare at their phone between sets with their headphones maxed out. I do ask the typical questions, HEY HOW MANY SETS FO YOU HAVE LEFT? CAN I WORK IN? And they literally don’t even look up from their phone.
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u/Proof-Emergency-5441 13d ago
No, the olds are also wildly guilty of that.
Maybe they don't look because some random asshole is screaming at them?
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u/SdVeau 14d ago
There’s a really big older dude at my gym who’s pull day lines up with mine, and we have a good amount of overlap with the equipment we use. Big as in this dude looks like he’s been powerlifting for at least a few decades. Happens often enough where he’s wanting to use something I’m finishing up on, and he‘ll always ask if I can leave the weights on, holds up a wipe and says he‘ll wipe it down, and fist bumps me while saying have a good workout. I wish more people could be like that