Waiting for Weights (Hotel Gym Day 2)

The hotel gym was much busier this morning than it was yesterday, even though I was still there by 5:30. Today was my “weight training” day, and I decided to warm up with 30 min on the elliptical.  Even though there were several people there already, there were plenty of machines to choose from, as you might guess from the picture I took yesterday when the gym was empty:

The ellipticals were a fancy LifeFitness model, similar to the treadmill that I used yesterday:

I chose the forward/reverse interval program for 30 minutes at level 3.  I don’t know if the machine I picked had a programming bug, or if I just didn’t understand the program, but it was not what I expected.  The first forward interval was at zero incline, and then the first reverse incline was at max incline.  I seriously could barely make the pedals move! The next forward interval was back to zero, and then back to maximum in reverse again. I tried adjusting the level, but that didn’t seem to have any effect on the resistance.  After 20 minutes I gave up and switched over to the “manual” program, which was responsive to level changes. I wanted to take a picture of the incline screen, but it vanished too quickly at the end. Just imagine an alternating series of 0’s and 10’s. 😉

I refilled my water bottle and headed over to the weights area.  Again, a picture from yesterday when I had the gym to myself:

There also were a bunch of Cybex machines between this area and the cardio machines.

Since I use free weights at home, I stick with free weights at the gym. For my usual routine, I use 10 lb, 15 lb, and 20 lb weights.  Although the gym had a full set of plate-type weights, I find those awkward for some moves–I’m sure I’d conk myself in the head if I tried to use them for French presses! There were a few “regular” dumbbells, so I used those for French press ( 2o lbs) and lateral raises (8 lbs), and used the others for lunges, squats, bicep curls and military presses.

All in all, my whole routine takes about 25 minutes (I do supersets for maximum efficiency). The whole time some guy had a towel draped over the one and only bench, even when he wasn’t using it. Now, maybe I am spoiled from working out at home where I have all of the equipment to myself, and maybe I am too self-conscious about gym etiquette that I just can’t fathom being so selfish, but it really bugged me! I may or may not have wanted to do chest flies or tricep dips, but his towel kept me from even considering them. There were 3-4 other people using the weights, and I’m sure they were impacted by his territorial grab too.

Anyway, I got a solid workout in (including push-ups and ab work on a fitball) and rounded out my workout with a walk to Starbucks for coffee and fruit to start my day.

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What are you views on gym etiquette?

Do you stake a claim to equipment that you aren’t using constantly so you will be able to cycle through your routine?

Are the rules different at a hotel gym when most people have the same window to workout (before/after conference sessions), or is being considerate just as important at regular gyms when people are squeezing in workouts before/after work or school or while the daycare/babysitter clock is ticking?