How to deal with entitled gym users? Some say the best response is to simply walk away.

SINGAPORE: After a local Reddit user was bothered by the rude and aggressive behaviour of a gym user, he took to the platform to ask what others would have done if they had been in his shoes.

In a recent post on r/askSingaore, u/hahas018 asked about gym etiquette in Singapore after an encounter with an “entitled fella” that day.

While the post author was doing a short cool down, he saw another man on his phone seated at the rowing machine. Thinking that the man was using the machine, u/hahas018 moved to the pull-up bar for his cool down, shifting the stool to a vertical position.

“He suddenly gets up, kicks the stool back to horizontal, and keeps staring at me while I set up the resistance bands. I was confused, so I stopped, apologised, and asked if he was using the common bar, but he gestured to go ahead with my workout,” the post author wrote.

But when the post author moved the stool out of goodwill, the other man got aggressive and asked the post author if he wanted to shift the stool back for him.

U/hahas018 wrote: “At this point I was like, what the?! I asked if you’re using the punching bag, but you didn’t correct me that you are using the pull-up bar. Had he said so, I wouldn’t have even shifted the stool, as I can position myself anywhere with the resistance band.”

He then simply asked the other man if he was using the pull-up bar, returned the stool to its place, finished his last set, and then walked away.

The post author added that if he had encountered this man in the past, before he was married and had kids, he would have started a fight. And while he knew that he had reacted correctly, he felt indignant anyway that the man got away with his bad behaviour.

“How would you guys have reacted?” he asked.

Many commenters told him he had done the right thing, which is to simply walk away.

“As I grow older, my favourite response to everything is look at them, then sigh loudly and walk away, no point wasting any energy on people like this,” wrote one.

“You are a mature and sensible person to avoid altercation,” added another.

“This just feels like a minor communication breakdown, thus led to a misunderstanding. You did the most sensible thing by walking away. Some people are just not worth our time arguing with,” a Reddit user opined.

Regarding gym etiquette, a commenter chimed in with, “My own rule of thumb, if nobody is near some equipment, first-come, first-served. Case by case if someone looks to be standing near the equipment, just ask.

He was an a** for not telling you he’s using the stool. Since you said he’s using his phone away from that equipment, nothing wrong with you moving it. Not everything in the gym belongs to him.

If he has a problem, he can talk to the gym staff and let them decide.”

Another gave this bit of advice: “Roid rage, maybe. Just report and enjoy the rest of your day.” /TISG

Read also: ‘The gym is not your personal toilet!’ — S’porean asks all gym bros to stop their ‘guttural, vein-popping grunts’ because ‘nobody is impressed’