'This is what happens when you text and run...': 30+ Gym-going goofballs who are working out the wrong way

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Jul 22, 2023 5:00 PM EDT

There are rules at the gym, but you wouldn't know it by the way these people tried to work out.

Let me tell you a story. The year was 2011, and a brand new Planet Fitness opened up in my area. It was so cheap back then that even as high schoolers, my friends and I could pay monthly to go work out. Gym class? Nah, we couldn't be bothered. We felt like we were adults, and we wanted to work out like them. It didn't matter that we didn't know how to use any of the machines; we'll figure it out as we go, we thought.

However, what we didn't plan for was that basically every young adult and high schooler in the area had the exact same plan. They were new to the gym too, and you could count on hearing the Lunk Alarm blaring a few times an hour. You could always tell if someone had wiped off their machine or left their sweaty leg prints behind for the next person. For the first few months after this new gym opened, it was pandemonium. High schoolers were trying to lift hundreds of pounds to impress their friends, things got stolen from the locker rooms, and all the people who got tanning included in their plan turned bright orange. A lot of shenanigans went down! It was a learning process for all, and at times, it looked a lot like these photos below.

Check out these gym-goers who really need a refresher on how to use the machines. Then, check out this update to this employee who told her boss, "Guess I'm not a team player."

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via The4thWiseMan
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"Please do not leave weight on the pad as this will damage the equipment," reads the sign

via u/1FreedomOfSpeech
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Trying to imagine the sounds and smells in this room

via Zergcollective
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via The4thWiseMan
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via u/firstchildkid
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via Zergcollective
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Right in front of the "Please return weights" sign?

via u/[deleted]
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This trend comes and goes, but the lifelong injuries remain

via u/MrPresidentDino
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"How much can you lift, bro?" "All of it"

via u/KaiserBobby
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Pre workout meals are so yesterday

via u/huddy0415
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When you have that one weight you love more than all the others

via u/el_roger5
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via u/jmp11c
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When they say "Lift with your knees," this is not what they mean

via u/tommorris27
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Chess?

via Zergcollective
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Don't let them hate on you brother, this is genius

via u/koreanhillbilly
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via Zergcollective
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via u/Dr_Krocodile
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This spider wants to be your trainer, dust up

via u/mezmerise1
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Pulling weights while you balance on a ball? What could go wrong?

via u/logannewbanks
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via u/fauxreal21
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These bros brought their own raw steak and entire heads of broccoli, because these gains won't gain themselves

via u/TrickPuzzleheaded
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via u/JacobusTheHuman
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via u/[deleted]
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via Zergcollective
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via The4thWiseMan
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Motivating the bros at any cost

via Zergcollective
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via Zergcollective
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via Zergcollective
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via Zergcollective
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There's probably no rule barring you from eating ice cream while working out

via Zergcollective
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via Zergcollective
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The gains never halt

via Zergcollective
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When the homies know you need more motivations

via Zergcollective