Sweat With A Smile: Gym Etiquette

I would guess that this is a topic that comes up all the time, in other fitness blogs, forums, and message boards everywhere.

My biggest "beefs" with the gym:

people who stink, and I mean STINK, like they didn't wash their gym clothes all week
people who stand on the equipment and talk to the person next to them and don't work out
people who talk on the phone while working out
people who sing along with their ipod while on the treadmill
not wiping up the equipment after your sweaty butt was on it
the women who wait like vultures in order to claim their spot for step aerobics or yoga
people who come in to yoga LATE or leave EARLY
women who dress like they are ready for the bar in full make-up and reek of perfume
people who work out in jeans or dress clothes
women who only wear their sports bra and shorts

My biggest "beefs" at the studio:

those who complain about everything
those who complain they haven't lost any weight, and only come once a week and rave about all the food they ate
and people who bring their kids to the studio and don't watch them, but really why the heck are you bringing them there in the first place?????

Which brings me to what happened last night...
As you may know, I had to get progressive lenses this year. I just got them, and they cost me a small fortune. The lenses alone were around $400. I wore them into the gym, and proceeded to remove them and place them in my cube (you know, those shelves with cubes to store your stuff) between my purse and my Nook. I pushed it back into the cube, then folded up my sweatshirt and put that on top an in front. At about this time, another client in my program walked in with his two twin 6 year old boys. He lets them play until his wife shows up to pick them up and take them home. These kids are wild. I know that Jeff does not appreciate that they do this, but is tolerating it for now.

So - I box for an hour, I do strength training with Jeff and one other person, and as I am gathering my stuff, and I cant find my glasses. My sweatshirt was wadded in a ball, my purse and Nook were there, but where the hell are my brand new glasses??

I get Jeff, and he and I start looking. We moved the cubes from the wall, we check every shelf, and look everywhere - and nothing. Finally after looking for about 15 minutes, and me being in a complete panic and almost in tears, we find them thrown in a shoe that was near the cubes. WTF. They were full of greasy fingerprints and looked like they had been played with. Yup. those bratty twins had to have gone through my stuff and got a hold of my glasses. I cannot tell you how angry I was to know that a parent does not have enough sense to teach their children not to go through the property of others, and play with things that do not belong. Who leaves 6-year-olds alone in a place with cement floors and heavy gym equipment? Apparently these people do.

Needless to say Jeff was PISSED, and promised to resolve the issue. Apparently this is not the first time these kids messed with stuff up front in the cubes. This morning he emailed out a new set of "rules" - in particular, he addressed the glasses situation. Let's hope she abides and keeps those kids at home.

TONIGHT'S WORKOUT: