Behave yourself at the gym

I found this article on MSNBC today and thought that a lot of you have probably experienced the same situation at your gym.


By Jacqueline Stenson
MSNBC contributor



Heading to the gym to blow off some steam? Good idea, as long as you don’t take out your stress on everyone around you.

It’s likely that anyone who’s spent time at a health club has seen some bad behavior, including the equipment hogs, the slobs who leave cardio machines dripping with sweat and the muscle men who grunt loudly as they lift oh-so-heavy weights that they have no intention of putting away.

But these are just a few of the ways that exercisers can be rude and obnoxious at the gym, fitness instructors say. Sometimes, things get downright nasty.

“I had to break up a cat fight,” says Peggy Gregor, group exercise director at Healthtrax Fitness and Wellness in Bethel Park, Pa.

It happened after a woman new to an ongoing fitness class took the spot on the floor that another attendee regularly claimed. A verbal argument ensued and quickly turned physical.

A yoga instructor in New York says a participant in her class let loose on the whole group — after she took a call on her cell phone.


She “rummaged for a good two minutes in her bag in the middle of class for her techno-blaring phone, then screamed into her cell phone at her boyfriend not to call her during yoga class, while we were all staring at her from our down dogs,” says Sadie Nardini, owner of the new Fierce Club yoga studio in Manhattan. When she got off the phone, the woman snarkily shouted back to the astonished group, “Sorry, I had to tell him not to call me during class!”


Nardini says that when she took her aside after class to talk about the diva behavior, the woman was offended, saying, “Well, I paid for this class. I can do whatever I want.”

The stress of the times could be one factor fueling this type of bad behavior, says Nancy Lerner, a psychologist in northern New Jersey. “What underlies anger is anxiety and fear,” she says. “There are a lot of angry people out there. The gym is another place for them to be pushy.” While exercise can be a great stress-reliever and mood-booster, some people’s behavior might be worse if sports or other forms of physical activity bring out aggressive tendencies, she says.

Lerner herself is currently involved in a dispute with another woman at her co-op gym who refuses to turn down the volume on the TV. The woman blasts “Frasier” reruns — refusing to let go of the remote control — while Lerner is trying to read on the treadmill.

“I asked her to lower the sound and she told me that I would have to get some noise-canceling earphones,” says Lerner. “I plan to attend the next board meeting and strongly suggest closed captioning on the TVs when others are working out.”

While stress may underlie some bad gym behavior, it’s a poor excuse nonetheless, says Diane Gottsman, an etiquette expert and the owner of the Protocol School of Texas in San Antonio, which specializes in corporate etiquette training. “Just because you’re more stressed doesn’t give you a free pass to be rude. We’re all stressed.”

Oftentimes, the way people behave at the gym is similar to their behavior outside of the gym, says Gottsman. So the person who’s rude at the gym is likely to be one of the people cutting in line at the coffee shop or screaming at a kid’s soccer coach.

As Nardini, the yoga instructor, puts it, many of the rude participants she sees seem to lack an “etiquette gene.” Others just want to be noticed. “They want the audience,” she says. “They don’t want to be a participant. They want to be the star.”

The Soccer Mom weight loss program is here!

It's finally here!!!!!!

The Soccer Mom weight loss program has officially been launched!! This is so exciting! I truly feel that this is a life changing opportunity for women of all ages, lifestyles and sizes!

I have been working on this program for about a year and 330 pages later, it is finished! Finally, a realistic weight loss program for women that allows us to be healthy, happy, fit and lean while still be able to enjoy life!!

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when in Rome....

Five years ago I was fortunate enough to spend 2 glorious weeks aboard a Mediterranean cruise with my brand new husband of 3 days! It was a fantastic honeymoon that allowed us to discover a number of iconic spots like Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Nice, Monaco and Florence. The trip we enjoyed so much was the epitome of romance for a couple of kids in love.

Kevin and I were both looking forward to tasting the food and wine and let me tell you, we certainly did a lot of that! However I was surprised to see that in countries known for the rich, high fat, high carbohydrate foods the only obese people we saw were the thousands of other North Americans on board. The majority of the Europeans we met were lean and athletic looking. We did see overweight Italians but they weren't from Venice or Sicily, they were from Jersey.

Common sense would imply that pastas smothered in rich sauces paired with copious amounts of wine, bread and cheese would pack on the pounds, but after we had spent some time there, the authentic European diet revealed itself as far more healthy than the American version. Our pizzas here are loaded with fatty meats and pounds of cheese atop thick crusts. The pizza I had in Venice was small with a thin crust, about an ounce of cheese and maybe an ounce of pepperoni. I would estimate it was about one fifth the calories of what I would be served on my side of the Atlantic.

We found this to be the norm in Europe. Yes the food is delicious and rich but the portions are very small and the dining experience is centered more on the social aspect with lively conversation, clinking glasses with good friends and enjoying the evening. Dinner is an event, not a chore and it is not uncommon for it to last for 3 hours or more. People take the time to enjoy the food taste by taste as opposed to wolfing it down as if it were a race.

We should take a few cues from the old world and learn to enjoy the culture of meals. Sit down to dinner with your family or friends and enjoy the conversation while also taking time to enjoy a meal. Not only is this practice good for your relationships, it's also good for your waistline.

Working out without the workout

Quote of the day

People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas. ~Author Unknown


Tip of the day


There are so many ways to burn a few extra calories without feeling like you are exercising. Incorporate more activity into your everyday routines like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, add an extra ten minutes onto your walk with the dogs or spend a little more time working in the garden.
Having a date night with the hubby? Go dancing or take a walk together in the park or on the beach. You could join a ladies soccer or softball team, take martial arts lessons, join a friend in her yoga class or take tennis lessons.
Play tag with your kids, learn to wakeboard in the summer or discover salsa dancing. Use your imagination and you’ll come up with so many new ways to be active and at the same time, have some fun, spend quality time with your family and make new friends! There are lots of options out there you just have to try them!


Joke of the day

Girl: I'd like a triple vanilla ice cream sundae with chocolate syrup, nuts, whipped cream, topped off with a slice of cucumber.
Waiter: Did I hear you right? Did you say top it off with a slice of cucumber?
Girl: Good heavens, you're right! Forget the cucumber – I'm on a diet.

Almost here!!

Happy Friday everyone! So I'm pretty excited (and a little stressed) about my new program coming out. It's a big one! Kevin and I have started a new company called 'Live the Lean Life' hence the name of this blog, and we are about to launch a series of health, fitness and weight loss products over the next 6 months.

The first product is my baby and it's a complete digital weight loss program designed for the busy woman, career gal and/or soccer Mom! It's super user friendly and realistic with menu plans and recipes that your kids (and your man) will have no problem with! The workouts are designed to take as little time as possible as we are all so pressed for time! That's all I can say for now, you'll have to wait for May 1st to get here before you hear the rest! :) Stay tuned!