I had my first encounter with an asshole at my gym this morning. I almost never go on Saturday but I missed my session last night to visit my friends' new baby. It's definitely a different crowd on Saturday mornings--more crowded than Sunday and several old guys take up multiple areas by leaving towels and bags around. They aren't really "supersetting" so much as claiming territory; they rest for long periods and don't move back and forth to different stations in sets.
This huge older guy was spread out on the deadlift platform, a dumbbell bench, and a smith machine halfway across on the other side of the gym. He had all his stuff everywhere and was mostly talking to a trainer. I wanted to deadlift, but figured I'd warm up on the treadmill and bench first and see what he was doing.
I warmed up for about 30 minutes. During this time he mostly stood talking and occasionally used the dumbbell bench and the smith, but he wasn't doing anything on the deadlift platform.
He did a set on the smith and was loading more plates on, so I decided to politely ask if he minded me jumping on to the deadlift fast in between his sets. He stared across the room at the deadlift area and said, I sort of mind.
I said, you don't need to do anything, I'm just going to jump in fast when you're not there. He said, I'm using it.
He walked to the platform and I followed, still not sure how he could be claiming to be using it right this minute. I figured I'd take one more shot and said, you can leave everything, I'm just gonna jump on fast.
He said, NO! I don't like anyone messing with my movements!
He started repping clean and presses on it, abandoning the half-loaded smith machine. I just walked away.
A while later he went to the smith and did another set. A girl had been waiting near it and she asked if he was done. He unloaded it for her and went back to the deadlift platform. The same girl asked him if he was still deadlifting when he was at the dumbbell bench and he told her he was. She waited around a while but gave up and left.
