Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Working-In

I've been working out for about 15 years and I've been a member of many gyms including Printing House, New York Health & Racquet Club, New York Sports Club, and Empire Fitness. In all these places letting someone work in with you between sets was always considering common courtesy.

However, when I was at the gym today working legs that was not my experience. I was alternating between leg extensions and leg curls. After doing a set of leg curls I went back to the leg extension machine and a lady with her trainer was using it (actually she was taking a break in between sets).

Not knowing how long it had been since her last set, or how soon she would start her next set, I waited for her to finish her next set. When she was done, I asked her and her trainer if I could work in. Her trainer replied that she only had one more set. So I asked her if she was going to take a break in between sets and she replied "no break." Then she told her client to start whenever she was ready, and her client started right away.

I give this lady, the client, all the credit in the world. She's an older lady, and not in great shape, but she's at the gym all the time, busting her but. She looked like she was having a hard time with the set, and afterwards she was having a hard time getting off of the machine. I suggested that she might have been better off taking a break. She replied that she "does circuit training and does not take breaks."

I probably should not have said anything to her, but I was just so appalled at how blatantly inconsiderate the trainer had been to her client. I don't understand why she would have her not take a break in between sets. Especially since she had taken a break between her first and second set.

This is especially aggravating to me considering that I was sent a letter about how allowing members to "work-in" on equipment during multiple sets is one of the gym's rules.

1 comment:

  1. Circuit training is a type of interval training in which strength exercises are combined with endurance/aerobic exercises, combining the benefits of both a cardiovascular and strength training workout. 'Circuit' means a group of activities and refers to a number of selected 'stations' positioned around the facility that are to be visited in rapid succession.

    This was not what the client was doing, as she had just done three consecutive sets of leg extensions. What's more she did take a break between her first and second set.

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