I used to go to a womens only gym because i always felt like a piece of meat at the co-ed gyms. Guys were always staring and making me feel uncomfortable. Now that im a bit older and more focused on my goals, i go there with my headphones on and stay oblivious to the people around me. I'm there for ME...so i could care less about those silly men who stare. They obviously need more focus...lol.

I do my best to ignore people, But sometimes their are funny character that go to the gym. Like mine has a woman that loves to rock out dancing on the elliptical machine.

Funny how ignoring them just makes them look at you even more, but dont care too much about it, they are just admiring the results of your workout. I would try the womens only but I am cheap so the park's public fitness room does just fine, staring men included.

I don't really care what people think about me, but I just freeze up when other people are around. I'm very uncomfortable in crowds and parties, anywhere there's a bunch of people I don't know. Maybe because I was teased a lot as a child, maybe I just don't trust strangers, but I can't see myself ever being totally comfortable at a gym. But whatever, I'm doing very well working out at home.

I usually ignore people at the gym.

The only "gym-types" I don't like are the ones that hover over you and ask you "Are you almost done with that machine?" (esp when the gym is dead!) So rude!

I really don't care what the people at the gym think of me. As long as they aren't pointing and laughing at me it's cool. Most people at the gym are paying attention to their own workouts, so they could care less about the people around them.

not true. I find paying attention to what the person next to me is burning calorie wise pushes me. A little bit of competition!

I could really care less who looks at me, as long as they don't touch or talk to me Anyways, sometimes when I get checked out it boosts my self esteem! I know the gym IS payign off

Maybe I'm the only one, but I use my thinking that other gym-goers are watching me as motivation to push myself during my workout and go for just a few minutes longer than my more lazy self wants to.

HA HA HA see xxkrist24xx?? You use motivation that someone is watching you, and I watch as motivation!! We motivate each other without even knowing LOL

When I was younger, I went to a gym full of super-buff guys concerned with how big their arms were. My friend and I would just laugh at them to ourselves, because they looked so funny. We were the ones getting in shape, so we didn't care what they thought of us.

I am self-conscious at the gym during 2 situations:
1) when I know I have a panty line, but I didn't feel like changing undies just for the gym,
2) when I'm wearing my light gray sweats and after a run, I go to the stretching area. when I stretch my legs, you can see the sweat mark in the crotch-area that looks like I peed myself. I hate that. but those pants are so comfy.

I'm the person-watcher at the gym... between sets in the weight room, I look around at different people... and of coarse my mind wanders... "listen to that dude grunt!" "why does that woman have on a full face of makeup?" and of coarse... sometimes I lose track of time staring at the Shea-esque guy doing pull ups... but hey, that'll happen.

I go to my school gym, its a small gym and I know most of the people that use it (mainly the athletes) , so i will usually say hi or talk to someone that I know.

The other day when I went to the gym a bunch of the basketball players were in there, half of them were working out and the other half were just sitting around talking. I don't really know any of them so I tried to go about my workout without paying attention to them, but I had to walk by some of them to get weights. The first time I went by two of the guys that were just sitting there not doing anything starting making comments to each other about my butt. I don't know if they thought i couldn't hear or if they didn't care that i could hear them. Then I had to go past them again to put the weights back and I really tried to ignore them but they started asking me to help their teammate with his push-ups because he had his butt sticking up. They were being really obnoxios and it was not something I wanted to deal with during my workout. I ended up leaving a little bit before I was done, I decided everything I had left (push-ups, crunches, lunges etc.) could be done at home.

So anyway sometimes ignoring people doesn't work but most of the time it would.

I ignore everyone else at the gym, I care a little about what they think but mostly I ignore them. I can't let them control my desire to get fit.

I'm naturally shy and when I first started going to the gym its was kinda nerve racking. However, now that I have been going for over a year and half now... I really just don't care. I try to focus on myself. Music can really help block out people and distractions. It is nice however to see a cute guy checking you out sometimes. Creepy staring guy... that's a different story...

I'm naturally shy and when I first started going to the gym its was kinda nerve racking. However, now that I have been going for over a year and half now... I really just don't care. I try to focus on myself. Music can really help block out people and distractions. It is nice however to see a cute guy checking you out sometimes. Creepy staring guy... that's a different story...

Well that's annoying...

Yea but at my gym we have ex-con lookin' kinda guys in there that work out with timberland boots, blue jeans and white tank tops! And when you walk by their all like "Hey beautiful!!!" URGH!!! I hate that!

I usually have on sweats and t-shirt from Victoria Secrets PINK line on - I can always count one of them to comment on that " ooo yea I love PINK too."

OR they're taking pictures of themselves working out- lifting weights! I dont even think you're allowed to take pictures in a gym...but they are there flashing away. I guess they need to update their myspace pictures.

Ignore them?!?! That's why I go to the gym in the first place!!!
If other people bother you - work out at home!

I ignore people. I'm not there to make new friends, I have plenty of friends now. Then again I don't really try to look approachable either, hence I don't smile and make eye contact if at all possible.

i just ignore people that stare at me but i'd be lying if i didn't take notice of the people at the gym. and i totally do judge - "why is that guy wearing jeans?" "why is that tiny woman trying to lift that much weight?" ect. but it doesn't bother me if someone is watching me. i don't stop or change what i'm doing. except for when i was 18 i was at the gym, running on the treadmill, and this guy who i'd talked to once before because we were running beside eachother and he decided to strike up a conversation (hate that!) anyways, i'm off track, this guy about a week or two after that conversation walked by me as i was cooling down on the treadmill and slapped my ass!! i lost it on him. he got a warning from the gym that if they had one more complaint about him he was out. that was a freakn' brutal gym moment.

I go to my school gym too and it is wayyyyy too packed. Our school is filled with beautiful skinny people haha, seriously. It's intimidating. Everyone at my school looks like A&F models Oh, it kinda sucks when people smell so bad though and you have to get off the treadmill or something because you can't breathe anymore! Have some consideration people!!!!

I'm kind of a people watcher at the gym. (I mostly glance though...I would never stare!)

I like to see people that are really giving it their all, even if they aren't in super great shape yet. Or women that might not be super skinny but can squat a ton of weight and have strong healthy bodies. It is inspiring.

I also look to people that seem really fit, and watch what kinds of weights they are lifting, or how many sets they do. Mostly, I point out to myself that the people with the rock hard bodies look that way because they are committed -- they work out as hard as they can, and spend a LOT of time in the gym. If I want to be that fit, I need to devote that much time too!

First I found a gym that wasn't a meat market of singles who were cruising for their next mate.

Then I bought an iPod and realized that I am at the gym for myself not to watch other people work out. I was never rude at the gym but everyone that was at my gym was there to de-stress and work-out.

I found exercises that I love to do and focused on those and become obvious to everyone else around me until I collapsed and those people that I ignored came to my rescue.

I don't really pay attention to anyone at the gym. I listen to my mp3 player and as I work out, I go off into my own little world. I hit my zone and very rarely even notice that anyone else is around me.

There are lots of middle aged/married/parent type people at my gym so I don't feel like it's a meat market at all. Everyone there is there for the same reason I am.

People think I'm quite the b*tch because I rarely acknowledge anyone else at the gym.

I definitely people watch, and sometimes gossip with my BF afterwards (sooo bad... but it can be pretty entertaining watching someone go way overboard with the weights or treadmill!)
But because I do that, I tend to wonder what people think about me while I'm working out. I tune it out with my ipod and a good magazine.

i used to dread going to the gym, but now i really do try to think of it as my "me time." the gym i go to has tvs built into the machines, so i can just plug in my headphones and zone out.

I agree with kitkat87. The gym is the piece of my day that I set aside to be selfish and concentrate on me. I go for my body, my health, my self-esteem. I decide what I do, what's on my MP3, how long, how much weight, and I think about me and my life. I work hard all day long and have a lot of interaction with coworkers. Then, I go home and I concentrate on my family and household chores.
I don't want the gym to become a place where I have to interact. It's just my time for me.

I use to care when men would stare but not anymore

I used to feel self conscious but now I don't care anymore. Stare all you want.

I think there is a real problem when so many people feel uncomfortable at the gym. I would venture a guess that a majority of the members at health clubs feel uncomfortable in some way. Zoning out is a great thing when you are working hard, but in a perfect world, you would know the other people at your gym which would make you feel more at ease.

Through my experience, I see the much of the same people everytime I go to the gym, but I still don't know them. I find it easier to just smile as I pass by people. I am focused on my workout, but I am not hiding.

Since I am a male, I probably have a much different experience than many of you.

Just my 2 cents!

i am very hard to intimidate, even though i'm 160lbs. i guess it just depends on the up-bringing and character, i can't handle a lot of weight on my machines yet, but i don't care. but i am very curiuos about other people and what they are doing... my gym is full of 120lbs girls with long legs - everyone is so thin there. my previuos was full of fat people.

i ALWAYS ignore ppl at the gym...i hate when there's someone that i know who feels the need to talk/say hi and i never like to pay attention to what otehrs are doing. i'm sure that ppl make fun of me since i typically work out with my eyes closed and my music turned up so i don't have to deal with who's around me.

I think people use the whole "I-don't-like-people-staring-at-me" thing as a big fat excuse not to work out at the gym. MOST of the people at any gym are there to work out, not judge you for being a little pudgy or uncoordinated. Seriously, when I first started working out, I was definitely on the fat side and I still went to the gym full of skinnyminis because I figured that soon enough, I'd be skinny too.