So I went to my college campus gym for the second time today. The first time I was too scared to really even go in the weight room because of all the big, hulking, sweaty, jocky guys, but this time there weren't many people there at all, and only two guys in the weight room, so I went in to do my squats/bench press because those are the only two excersizes that there aren't any machines for.
The two guys didn't seem intimidating either, they were lying on mats on the floor throwing a ball to each other and doing planks and stuff. But when I went over to the smith machine to do my squats and started trying to unload the weights, I heard them snicker. I just kind of ignored it and went on with my work out, having already read all about the horrors of the gym weight room and the duncehead guys that lurk there.
They snickered again when I started squats on an empty bar, but I did both sets, all reps, then walked right over to the bench and bench pressed my sets with, again, the empty bar. They were throwing snarky looks at me the whole time but I didn't let it scare me away--I had last time and my workout suffered.
It was really unpleasant, and that was just with two of them in there. Usually the place is packed. I'm going to start trying to figure out what time of the day the gym (especially the weight room) is most deserted and go in then, at least until I fit enough to squat my own weight and shock their jaws off or something.
I was wondering if anyone else had encountered unpleasant situations at their own local gyms?

Ick! That sounds awful. I have never encountered that before but I know how self aware and awkward I feel at the gym, especially when you haven't used a machine before or something so I can imagine how bad that would feel to have them snickering the whole time.

Is it possible they were laughing about something completely different? You never know, it could have had nothing to do with you.

wow, that sounds really horrible. when i was in university, this never happened to me...but i was so worried about it that i refused to use our gym and instead joined a gym with a women's only room down the street.

i don't really know what to tell you....is there any other gym that is possible for you to visit? what kind of equipment do you use? these days i do most of my working out from my bedroom & jog outside.

cooperistic--they could have been laughing at something else, I didn't look directly at them, just out of the corner of my eye. But if they were, it was highly convenient timing. haha.
avie--I'm not going to worry about switching gyms. The one at the college is free and has a basketball court and a pool and a great fitness center. I'll just have to get in better shape so it won't seem so absurd when I lift the weights (empty bar) I guess. sounds like something I can do.

by the way, is anyone having a super-hard time getting onto the forum? my computer freezes up every time I try.

Honestly, I would just ignore them. I know it might sound hard, but you know, if you keep going then people might see you as a regular and then any sort of novelty of you doing squats would be gone, you know? Perseverance is the key here I think.

man that sucks, how immature of them. But they wont be snickering when you are hot and strong and pressing more weight than they are I would ignore them. Or maybe take a friend? Then you two can snicked back at them

You know, at least you're OUT there, DOING something. Don't let idiots get you down. Because at the end of the day, do you want to put YOUR success in the hands of a couple of DORKS????
You have just as much right to be there, doing your thing, as they do.
Just go to the gym, do your thing, and in a few months, they'll be asking you for your phone number...
And, I'd take an iPod or mp3 player, or HECK, even EARPLUGS if I didn't want to be distracted by hearing anything that I might think would be directed towards me.
Kira

I get icky vibes from the weight room at my gym (and I like my gym).

But I really don't think it has much to do with my presence. I think when guys lift, they get into that "mode" and the ego comes out in general... not directed at me, but just at their workout.

And whenever someone gets pushy (hovering over me because they want my bench), I phase it out and tell them to chill out. They can wait. That part is annoying, but it's like once they know they can by pushy, thet will...until they learn otherwise

Hold your head up, stand your ground and you won't have any problem.

Amen. I also work out at a university gym and it took me a LONG time to get over my fear of the weight room. When I go, I'm often the only woman in the room. I've come to the conclusion that all the meatheads who hang out in there are so busy looking at their biceps in the mirror that they don't even notice me.

I think taking a friend along is a great suggestion. That way you'll have moral support AND someone to spot you!

I'm always intimidated to go to my gym. That is probably why I can't get into a steady funk of going. But there is TONS of beefy, fit guys that go there. And I'm sure that they really aren't looking at me and judging. I think we think they are and let them bother us. Granted there are some guys that DO snicker/laugh/comment. But we shouldn't let them bother us. We're trying to do better for ourselves.

Wow! That is completely rude, BUT on the other hand I get the sense that they are snickering not AT you, but because they assume you have no idea what you're doing. You are kind of setting foot in man-territory and ontop of that you are lifting an empty bar. In their man-brains that goes completely against everything they think is proactive in the weight room.

Don't be intimidated. Those guys look the way they do for a reason, and you can tap that infinite knowledge in a blink of an eye with a smile and a willingness to try some new stuff. In fact, I would make it a point to casually mention to some of them that you see them there a lot and were wondering if they could give you some pointers. Some of the best tips i've ever gotten about toning and using weights was from a bunch of meat heads. Use that resource, girl! I got a better workout and knowledge out of it, and they have been nothing but helpful every time i've seen them since. Who knows, you might make some new friends.

What jerks! I've never encountered that at a gym! I'd bring a friend or just keep your iPod in so you don't have to hear them.

The first gym I joined when I was 17 was actually a body-builder gym. They had like 5 cardio machines and the rest were weights (it was cheap and I went with my mommy) but the meathead guys were always so nice! They minded their own business, and if you needed help they were always willing to give it. My experience was they were too caught up in lifting and staring at themselves in the mirror that they didn't have time to watch us, same with my current gym. Those guys just sound like immature morons. Keep up with it and just ignore them.