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I am also in the "no chit chat at the gym" club. I go 1st thing in the AM and just want to get my hour in and done. I'm not purposely unfriendly, though, and I'll wave or just say hi to the other earlybird regulars.
I am also in the "no chit chat at the gym" club. I go 1st thing in the AM and just want to get my hour in and done. I'm not purposely unfriendly, though, and I'll wave or just say hi to the other earlybird regulars.
For many people at the gym it is their refuge, their escape from stresses and annoyances of the day. They are there to focus on themselves, detach the mind and work solely on the body. They may not want to deal with the same social obligations the rest of their life demands. When I am in the middle of a physical routine, a program, workout, a discipline, that's what I am focused on, not the other people in the room. Its kind of the point actually. If I'm working hard enough I hardly see anyone else let alone think about what they might want me to say or do for them!
No one goes to the gym for chit chat, they are hoping that if they pretend to not see you, you won't stop and start a conversation.
Smile, nod, say hi, and don't stop to chat. You can say hi with their name if you know their name. Other than that, leave people alone and keep moving.
There are plenty of boutique fitness places where people do go and build community. If the OP wants that, s/he should try one of those. I went to one place where they wanted people to go up and introduce yourself to someone (or four) you didn’t know before class or even during class. In terms of going on the gym and getting on an elliptical, that isn’t as sociable all the time... It really depends. I don’t really socialize with people when I am on the elliptical. I just get on and watch my TV show (I don’t have live TV at home) and do my own thing.
There are plenty of boutique fitness places where people do go and build community. If the OP wants that, s/he should try one of those. I went to one place where they wanted people to go up and introduce yourself to someone (or four) you didn’t know before class or even during class. In terms of going on the gym and getting on an elliptical, that isn’t as sociable all the time... It really depends. I don’t really socialize with people when I am on the elliptical. I just get on and watch my TV show (I don’t have live TV at home) and do my own thing.
Yes - it's different if you're talking about a gym class where you may have a few minutes before or after to chat and you do see the same people in close quarters for each class.
Just in an open gym - doesn't really work that way. A nod is about the most I see people do unless it is an actual workout partner they are there with.
I am on the road a lot. I attended several gyms across the country. Men tend to act tough, focused, etc. Women seem nicer, cordial but not necessarily open to conversation because I am a guy. I dont think greetings are not common place in the gym...because it's a gym. The only people that talk are old people. Oddly old men like to talk in the locker room. They can sit there all day talking, naked or not. Very weird!
At the gym they might talk more in the sauna or hot tub after their work outs, rather than while they are working out.
I don't find it strange to talk to strangers at all, but then I live in a fairly safe, small town. We smile and say hi to strangers and it is comfortable.
In a big city like Toronto, some people look at you like you are crazy if you say good morning to them. You can just see the discomfort while they stutter a "good morning" back to you.
When I'm at the gym.. I want to focus on my workout, not interested in talking to anyone that's why I have headphones on.
When I'm at school, I'm there to learn, not make friends with people I don't know. I have enough friends already.
Some people just aren't interested in interacting with you, it happens.
As I said in my opening thread, I’m not looking to to socialize at the gym. I just find it odd the number of Folks I see there month after month who fail to even make eye contact and say hello in passing. But I think perhaps it is just an observation of how our society has changed in the last couple decades. Folks in general seemed more “reserved” for lack of a better word, than when I was younger.
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