Vocabulary, Practices, and Proficiencies:

I began going to the gym earlier in the day before the prime-time hours between approximately 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM during which the general energy level and rhythm of the gym increased and it became the most crowded. During the non-peak hours it was much easier to observe and learn about the environment while getting used to the standard operating procedures that all the regulars already seemed to know.

I learned that generally, it is expected that people use specific pieces of gym equipment one at a time, occupying them for as long as reasonably necessary to perform multiple "sets" of an exercise. (Exercises are performed in successive "sets" each set consisting of anywhere from a few "repetitions" or "reps" to fifteen or more reps of the movement.) When only one piece of particular equipment is available, individuals often ask one another for permission to share the apparatus, usually asking "May I work in with you?" Or words to that effect.

In most cases, individuals using the machine for a similar exercise will welcome the second person, but I learned that this is not always necessarily the case. Just as it is considered socially inappropriate to take the seat immediately next to a stranger on an empty bus, gym members avoid asking to work in with others if another piece of the same equipment is available. Likewise, I noticed that individuals of similar proficiency and apparent experience are more welcome to share equipment than are individuals of vastly different experience levels. There is an etiquette for politely inquiring into the availability of a machine: during the time that someone using it is resting in between sets, one simply asks "How many sets do you have left here?" Sometimes, the response...

In that regard, I learned that it is not appropriate to ask to work in with someone if doing so requires continually stripping off substantial amounts of their weights, which is why individuals of similar relative experience are generally more welcome to work in. On the other hand, it is perfectly acceptable to quickly swap a different handle or bar for a slightly different exercise, although it is impolite to do so without mentioning it first and participating in a smooth exchange of handles in between sets that does not delay or inconvenience the original user of the machine. Likewise, the more people already sharing a piece of equipment the less appropriate it is to ask to work in. Finally, I learned the following terminology: chest muscles are "pecs" (short for pectorals; shoulders are "delts" (short for deltoids); "bis" and "tris" refer to arms (short for biceps and triceps, respectively); the muscles on the front of the legs are called "quads" (for quadriceps); those on the back of the thigh are called "hamstrings"; and buttocks muscles are called "glutes" (for gluteus).
Shared Values and Controversies:

Generally, those in the gym and fitness center community are used to seeing one another several times a week at roughly the same time. It is possible to get to know people but usually only in the context of conversational exchanges that do not interfere with people's workouts. Mutual consideration is a shared value and the easiest way to alienate gym members is to violate the most common etiquette, such as failing to respect other people's rights to equipment, forgetting to put away your weights, and leaving a piece of equipment without wiping your sweat from it first.