The gym can be a place of both physical and social exercise, and sometimes those two worlds collide. I recently encountered a situation at the gym that highlighted some common, yet frustrating, gym etiquette issues. ## The Super Set Snafu I was at the gym, ready to start my workout. I approached a machine and began adjusting the weights when someone interrupted me. They informed me that they were "using" the machine. I was taken aback because they were actively using a completely different machine at the time. I had even watched them move from one machine to another before declaring their claim on the one I was about to use. After my initial surprise, I inquired if they were using three machines simultaneously. They confirmed that they were, which is commonly known as super setting. Super setting involves alternating between sets of different exercises, often targeting different muscle groups, to fill the rest periods. While the concept has merit, it can create problems in a public gym setting. ### The Problem with Reserving Equipment The first issue arises when there aren't multiple of the same machine. By alternating between two pieces of equipment, you're essentially occupying the space of two people while only one person benefits. It's no different than two people using those machines independently. The second problem is that there's no real way to reserve a piece of equipment that you're not actively using. People are generally focused on their own workouts, not monitoring who intends to use what next. It's highly likely that someone else will try to use the machine you've "reserved" for your super set. While super setting isn't usually against gym rules, those who employ this strategy should be aware of these potential issues. These issues often lead to frustration for everyone involved. ## The Semantics of "Using" My second frustration stemmed from the person's use of the word "using." They weren't even touching the machine. What they meant was that they *intended* to use it imminently. Even that would have been frustrating to hear, considering I was in the process of setting up to use it myself. I was going to use it more imminently than they were. Furthermore, they didn't ask a question or make a request. They implied their request. A more polite approach would have been, "Hey, can you not use that machine? I'm going to use it next." Ultimately, I decided to act as though they had asked the question and I agreed to let them have it. In reality, it wasn't a big deal to simply do a different exercise and come back to that machine later. ## My Personal Gym Philosophy I don't typically do super sets because I don't like dealing with the consequences of the two problems I mentioned earlier. I don't like taking up more equipment than one person can use, and I don't want to face a situation where someone unknowingly jumps onto a machine that I intended to use next. However, if I were to do a super set and someone were to jump in, I would be fully understanding and would offer to work in with them. I would never tell someone that I was "using" a machine that I wasn't actively touching and using. Using a machine and intending to use it are not the same thing.