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Having been going to the gym since high school, I have witnessed several interesting, odd, and downright rude behaviors. Although every gym is different, and has its own rules, there is a set of behaviors that are generally accepted as "to be avoided" at most any gym. A few of the most important, and unfortunately, most widely ignored:

1) Don't spend twenty minutes talking on your cell phone. And if you must spend a couple minutes talking on it, don't put it on speaker. It astounds me first of all, that anyone would want their conversation to be heard by everyone around, but it astounds me even more that anyone in their right mind could even think this is acceptable behavior. Not only is this rude to the other people in the gym, it is rude to the person on the other end, who may not be aware they are on speaker, and could say something they thought was private.

2) Don't grunt excessively when performing a heavy set. I understand that sometimes it just sort of happens, and I am not at all opposed to a little noise when doing a heavy set, no one aside from the people immediately around you need to hear it. I have witnessed far too many people yelling so loudly that it is obvious they just want the whole gym to look and see how much weight they are lifting. Any true bodybuilder or power lifter is not doing it for anyone but themselves, and seldom make much noise. If you feel the need to make everyone aware how strong you are, I suggest you go to a real power lifting gym and compare yourself to the regulars there. More than likely, you aren't all you crack yourself up to be.

3) Sweating is perfectly acceptable, and normal, but please wipe up the puddle you just left when you're done with the machine. And if you sweat excessively, you may want to consider changing your shirt halfway through the workout. It will help regulate your body temperature better putting a dry shirt on, and you will be more comfortable as well.

4) Don't throw weights on the ground. If you can't control the weight to let it down after a set, you aren't strong enough to be lifting it. Have your spotter (which you should be using) help you return the weight to a manageable position until you are capable of doing it yourself.

5) If someone gets up from their machine, have the decency to ask them if they are done before you jump in. I hate walking three feet away form my machine to grab my water off the ledge, only to turn around and find someone has jumped on my machine. And along that note, when

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