I have very few pet-peeves. I consider myself a fairly laid back kind of guy. However there are some things that just bite at me until I find it incredibly difficult to continue to tolerate. When at the gym, it’s gotta be the grunters and shadow boxers.
I’m not talking about under your breath grunting that comes with the strain of the last few reps of a set, I’m talking about what often sounds like yelling or moaning as though in excruciating agony. And it’s one thing to let out a few weeps when you’re struggling, but does making an incredible amount of noise really help get through some warm-up curls? Maybe I’m being a little harsh, but sometimes it seems like a form of attention seeking.
The shadow boxers are the other group of gym-goers that occasionally make my eyes bulge. The gym that I attend has a fairly large number of martial arts classes and thus many of the gym’s members practice some form of boxing. But just because you’re practicing for an upcoming Muay Thai competition, it doesn’t give you the right to run around the gym, in between sets, punching and kicking the air. It gets kinda freaky, actually. Again – do you just want attention?
For the most part, I like my gym best when it’s quiet – when everyone is actually working out – when I can focus – just me versus machine. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. So please, if you can, do others a favor and leave your shadow boxing in the ring and save your grunting for when it’s actually needed.
