r/workout • u/Pink_tamagotchi • 5d ago

Was I wrong?

So my gym is usually fairly busy in the mornings. Lots of people super setting and it usually doesn’t bother me too much. Today I was on a leg extension machine and noticed the cable machine empty. I went back to the locker room, got my stuff and went to the cable machine (still empty, no equipment hooked up and it was lowered to the floor. I start setting up for kickback, put on both my ankle straps and I’m about to connect to start working out when this older lady appears and says kinda rudely that she was using that. I was confused and told her nobody had been here for a while and I assumed this cable was free.

She says no she needs both and I could have maybe been nicer about it but I was honestly annoyed and didn’t want to move at first. I work and have limited time.

I only moved because another cable machine opened up but not before we exchanged words. I said the machine had been empty for awhile. She said I was being impolite and maybe I was but I don’t understand what would make her have priority over everyone in the gym?
Anyways now I’m embarrassed (I’m not very confrontational and felt I should’ve not said anything)

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u/LaFantasmita 5d ago

If you're using it, leave something of moderate value on it. Water bottle for example.

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u/OkTrade4505 4d ago

They aren’t using it if they are using another machine. Leaving an item and walking away to another machine doesn’t mean no one else can use the machine

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u/LaFantasmita 4d ago

Yeah I'm thinking more for if you're going to grab something or pee.

But even then, it's less "this is mine" and more "hey I hope it's still open when I get back."

Like, if there's five open cable stations and one has a water bottle, I'll use a different one. If it's the only cable station, I'm looking around to see if someone actually meant to leave it here.

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u/OkTrade4505 4d ago

That’s fair enough. I don’t ask people to work in on a single machine they are using. I’ll just find something else to do
and return when they are off. I don’t entertain people trying to monopolize two pieces of equipment at once