It’s that time of year again! You know, that wonderful time of year when you reevaluate your physical fitness and determine you can do better! If you didn’t take my advice from “You Can Take Your Gym Membership and SHOVE IT!“, you likely enrolled in a fitness center. So, you finally get enough motivation to Prioritize Physical Activity. You make time in your busy schedule, go to the gym and BAM!!! Everybody and their momma (or so it may seem) has the same idea. A multitude of the newly motivated bodies decide to Prioritize Physical Activity. In fact, they also decided that the best time to show up, was when you decided to show up.
Don’t fret. You can either weather the storm, find a spot in the corner and focus on using free weights OR you know what they say about the early bird. No matter when you decide to go, it will pay off if you keep gym etiquette in mind. Especially if it is crowded.
There is a distinct difference between tapping into others as sources of motivation versus comparing yourself to them.
ACTIVE-DAD
For My Newcomers
Thou Shall Not Double Park!
I’m not talking about the parking lot here. One of the biggest things you can do to frustrate your fellow patrons is park yourself smack dab in front of the rack of free weights and start exercising. Picking up your dumbbell and planting yourself in front of the rack causes you to not only block access to the other weights in front of you, but it also forces people to navigate around you. RUDE! This is not prime real estate to view yourself in the mirror. This area is for transit. What you want to do is pick up your desired dumbbells, carry them out of the path in front of the weight rack but still in view of the mirror, and step up shop there.
PUT IT BACK!!!
My loving, perfectly perfect wife, to whom no faults can be found…tends to remove my washcloth (where I come from, we call it a rag) from my well-established spot inside our shower and into the dirty clothes basket. I may, or may not, have a habit of harboring a rag for an extended amount of time, but that is beside the point. What she often forgets to do is replace my rag in the shower. This often results in me going to take a shower and expecting things to be as I left them. I am frequently confronted with the lack of a rag to shower with and the need for me to traverse the cold, barren and now wet tundra that awaits when I am forced to retrieve a new rag.
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to other dudes in the gym, on social media, even others promoting fitness and health online.
ACTIVE-DAD
Have you ever been to a gym that had dumbbells and barbell plates scattered to and fro? I have literally seen guys hoard 3 pairs of dumbbells, finish using them and permanently walk away with them on the floor. Like the example in the paragraph above, new gym goers may not know the error in their ways (no matter how much you tell them or post signs), but DO NOT be that guy. When you are finished using the weights, put them back in their designated spots. This way, other patrons know where to find them and the clean up for staff is minimal. This is simply good etiquette.
Sharing Is NOT Caring
I am an excessive sweater and I am ok with that. However, it’s my sweat and I should keep it to myself. I carry a towel with my whenever I am at the gym (usually a towel swiped from a hotel stay, shhhh). The towel doubles as a barrier between me and the equipment I use AND to reserve my spot if I need to move between areas (like from the free weight rack and the bench). This works wonders in a crowded gym, where if you step away for a few seconds someone may assume you’re finished. Try not to hoard several pieces of equipment in this manner because that’s just not right either. But if you’re primarily using a piece of equipment and want to avoid confusing others, throw your towel on it.
Seek the advice of dudes at the top of their game or simply observe what they do and emulate it.
ACTIVE-DAD
The Not-So Newcomer
If you are further in your fitness journey, you likely showed up to your sacred place, your place of Sweatship, your place of exertion, endorphins and euphoria (The 3 Es), to find new faces everywhere. You likely showed up to YOUR machine, your HOLY MACHINE that you had planned your workout around, being used by some body that was not YOU. HOW DARE THEY! It’s ok! Calm down. Take a few breaths. Try not to throw shade (at least not AN excessive amount, especially if they are bigger 😊). Regroup and adapt your workout plan. The new patron may not be on the apparatus the entire time you are there. In the meantime, GET STARTED!
Be the Best Version of YOU! (No One Else)
I know what you’re thinking. It sounds super cheesy, corny and cliché. And it is ALL THE ABOVE. But I sincerely mean it. It is so easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to other dudes in the gym, on social media, even other men promoting fitness and health online. I catch myself doing it too. Just the other day I started watching a video recommended by YouTube with Simeon Panda. Now, I never heard of the gent before, but some might say he has the perfect body. I started questioning my whole approach! His hard work clearly deserves admiration. However, realize there is a distinct difference between tapping into others as sources of motivation versus comparing yourself to them. Your journey is not theirs. Your starting point is not their starting point. This is one reason why ACTIVE-DAD is not centered around chiseled abs and big biceps. Our mission is to encourage dads to PRIORITIZE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.
What you CAN do is seek the advice of dudes at the top of their game or simply observe what they do and emulate it. If the person next to you at the gym is getting results that you are seeking, compliment them first, then inquire about their approach to physical activity. Try this; “I’ve been trying to get as lean as you for months. What exercises do you focus on?” It doesn’t have to be exactly these words. Just start up a conversation to gain so valuable input and try not to be too creepy about it.
The Wrap-up
These days, excuses are about as commonplace as opinions. I challenge you to seek reasons TO take action rather than finding reason NOT TO take action. They say it is not how you start but how you finish, but getting started is equally important. You cannot finish something you’ve never started!
Stay Motivated! Stay Healthy!