[rixatrix]

I too have noticed that the people in the gym during "after work" hours tend to be more annoying...we get a lot of high school/college kids at the Y around that time, and a lot of them don't know what they're doing, or are just plain screwing around. I also see more guys around that time primping and flexing in front of the mirror.

Personally, I go at 6 a.m., and people tend not to screw around that early in the morning. I see the same people on the same days, and have friendly relationships with most of them. I've never had a guy act like I didn't belong. I HAVE been annoyed by an apparent lack of sense on some guys' parts - like, do you really need to do shrugs right in front me doing lunges? Or are you too weak to carry those 60lb dumbbells two feet away so I don't have to look at your sweaty back?

I don't necessarily know if it's a guy/girl thing. I mean, I definitely was intimidated when I first started going to the weight room because of the gender inequity. But nearly all the men I've encountered have been supportive and impressed that I even bother to show up that early. I've even gotten a few compliments on the weight I was lifting, and not in a condescending way at all.

Sounds like that guy was just a jackass. And maybe it's just that we see men as a threat in the weight room because there are SO MANY more of them. It's at least five-to-one when I'm in there. So guess what? There's 5x more of an opportunity for a man to be a dick than a woman.

Don't be afraid to be confrontational. Seems that's how men do it. Women have this whole code about being nice and stuff...but if that happened to me, I'd be really tempted to just be like, "Back the hell off and use another bench, okay?"

It's like dogs, you know? You have to show them they don't scare you. And if they attack, just poke their eyes out.