Why I Hate Box Gyms

I don’t know if i mentioned this, but since im going out of town, i wont be able to post friday-sunday.
 
RANT TIME
 
I DID go to the gym last night amidst my busy schedule, which I was quite proud of. I think i really only went to procrastinate about my packing, but a work out is a work out. I stupidly went around 6 when the gym is just jam packed full of people that just got off of work, which I really hate. I just want to do my workout and get out. There weren’t even any mats left to stretch so i spent a lot of the time wandering around waiting for some spot somewhere to open because i didnt want to start lifting before i stretched. Finally, some big sweaty dude returned a mat so I grabbed that one and nabbed a spot by the front desk.
 
Im stretching, listening to atreyu on my i-pod, already peeved at the occupancy, watching the goings-on. A middle aged woman walks up the counter and a scrawny pip-squeak 16 year old boy walks around the side and leads her right next to me. It was her first workout at the gym and was using what I would assume to be 1 of her free personal trainer sessions you get with certain packages.

 Im an excellent eavesdropper. Even with earbuds in.
 
The boy sits on a stability ball and instructs her to do pushups, crunches, etc. And by instructs, I mean he says, “now, do 20 pushups.” 20. for her first workout. This woman, judging by her appearance and horrendous form, which the boy did not correct once, was not accustomed to exercise. The boy bounced up and down on the ball silently as she went through what he told her to do. They then disappeared to some machines for what I am sure was much more of the same “training.”
 
They appeared again a bit later, and the boy led her to the Wall O’ Supplements and proceeded to tell her of all the things she needed: creatine, protein powder, herbal enhancer (which i thought was for penis enlargement….i get emails for it every so often) Thankfully, she kind of brushed him off, saying she didnt need anything and left.
 
I was appalled.
 
I honestly almost said something the manager that was at his desk next to me, who is a character in and of himself. Overweight, over-tanned with a shaved head to mask his balding. Being bald is fine, but dont mix it with a fake tan and a douche-bag, holier than thou attitude. not so hot.
 

i was thinking to myself that there are two possibilities here, both of which make me mad.  The guy doesnt know the first thing about training, so he must not be certified. If he is not certified, he should not be leading people through a workout. Its unsafe, unethical, and cheating this woman out of a real chance to learn and get results. He looked way too young to be 18, but what do i know. He very well could have been. So if he was certified, he CANNOT push supplements. Its in most certifications code of ethics. Sales people can do that but certified personal trainers are not allowed. Our advice is taken as gold from people that don’t have experience with fitness, and telling them they should take something so you can make money, instead of advicing them to get their nutrients through a well balanced diet is pretty low.

So I sat and stewed about this, instead of saying anything of course, which made me increasingly mad, so I finished up my workout and left.

So this is what I do. I complain here, because you are a captive audience. Well, I guess you can easily hit the back button or the little X in the corner to leave so you aren’t exactly captive, but if you are thinking about doing that, I don’t want you here anyway. Get out. Go on, GIT!