I took over my coworker's 'reserved' squat rack at the gym and it got weird.
By @onesecpls · Work
This guy from my office goes to the same gym and has a habit of draping his towel over a machine to save it, then disappearing for 20-30 minutes. Today I'd had enough and just started using the squat rack he'd claimed.
The full story
There's a guy from my department at work, we're friendly enough but not friends. We both use the gym in our building. He has this incredibly annoying habit where he'll walk up to a popular piece of equipment, like the main squat rack, put his towel and water bottle on it, and then just walk away. He doesn't just go get weights. He'll go use the cable machines, do some dumbbell stuff, chat with people, literally anything but use the rack he's 'saving.' Today I wanted to squat and saw his stuff there. I looked around and spotted him clear across the gym talking to someone. I waited a solid five minutes. He wasn't even looking at the rack. So I just moved his stuff to the floor and started my warm-up. About 15 minutes later, mid-set, he walks over looking annoyed. He just stood there staring at me until I finished the set and then said, "I was using that." I told him he'd been gone for a while and the gym has rules against saving equipment. He got all passive-aggressive, muttered "unbelievable," and walked off. Now I feel like it's going to be super awkward at the office tomorrow. Was I out of line?
How people voted
- OP Is Right — 29% (74 votes)
- Both Messy — 37% (94 votes)
- OP Is Wrong — 34% (86 votes)
Readers are split: “Both Messy” leads with 37% — 254 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@stellaok — I have a feeling you weren't as polite about it as you're letting on.
@zoeyok — the vibes at the office will be immaculate.
@ameliaa — Dude's soft.
@itsmeagain — He has a major entitlement complex and can't handle being told no.
@alsofine — Good for you for standing up for yourself! He's the one who should be embarrassed, not you.
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