I have been going to this gym for about six months now, and I always try to avoid going past 7:00 pm because the vibes are off. However, yesterday, I had no choice but to go around 8:00 pm.
To my surprise, the gym was almost empty, maybe because it was Friday. I took advantage of the empty gym to do five sets of sled pushes. I don’t like doing them when the gym is crowded because people walk through the track all the time and that annoys me.
I started doing my forty-meter sled pushes, and after every round, I’d put my water bottle (a Hydroflask, not a single-use plastic one) on top of the weights while I sat on the floor next to it to do my sixty-second timed rests. The water bottle being there and me being maybe two or three feet away was enough to let other people know that the sled was currently in use. However, even if you’re not sure, seeing the bottle should at least prompt you to look around and see who it belongs to.
I was sitting on the floor resting before my last set when a woman walked to the sled and KICKED my water bottle. I took my headphones off and addressed the woman in as friendly a tone as I could.
Me: “Hi, excuse me! That’s my water bottle; I’m using the sled at the moment!”
Woman: “You’re not using it, are you? You’re sitting on the floor.”
Me: “I’m in between sets, which is why my bottle is there — so people know it’s in use.”
Woman: “Well, you can’t use a water bottle to reserve a machine that you’re clearly not using.”
At this point, I got up and stood between her and the sled.
Me: “As I said, I was resting between sets. I’ve not finished my sets yet. But by all means, feel free to wait until I’m finished.”
I then started pushing the sled one way and then back. When I got to the start position again, she started walking toward the sled, thinking I was going to walk away. Oh, baby, no.
I sat on the sled weights while resting because, as she said, I couldn’t use my water bottle to show people it was in use, so I was just going to use my body. She got really angry.
Woman: “What are you doing?”
Me: “Resting between sets. I know now that I can’t reserve the machine with a water bottle, so I’m just going to sit here while I rest.”
Woman: “This is unbelievable. How many sets do you have left?”
Me: “I don’t know, a few more.”
I put my headphones back in and started another set. She was still waiting. So I did another set. She was still there. I did another.
At this point, my legs felt like jelly, and I could barely finish my sets, but she was still waiting for the sled. It had been like fifteen minutes, and I forced myself to keep going out of spite. She looked so angry and was trying to talk to me, but I had my headphones in blasting music, ignoring her.
I ended up doing twelve extra sets before she walked away. I started unloading my weights from the sled when a group of three gym bros asked if I was done. I said yes and that it was all theirs.
As I walked away toward the changing room, she saw me and walked toward the sled track just to find the three gym bros loading it. I could see the disappointment on her face when she saw them.
The best part is that if she had been a decent human being, I would’ve been done in a minute and she could’ve had the sled all to herself because I only had one set left originally.