Ask a Trainer
Two elite 24 Hour Fitness Trainers tackle your most burning in-the-gym questions.
Is there a right way to ask someone out at the gym?
-- Josh, San Diego
Hell, no! Don’t do it!
I would definitely say there is—but only if you wait until they’re between sets, or before or after their workouts. It also depends a lot on what time people come in to work out.
[cutting in, still fired up] You don’t want to get a reputation as that creepy gym guy or that creepy gym girl. And if it doesn’t work out, somebody’ll have to get a different gym. And you don’t want to get a different gym.
I met my husband here at the gym! He’s a chiropractor. I had actually popped out a rib, so I went over and said, “I’m so sorry to bother you, I have a question,” and the conversation took off from there. But getting back to the original question: I do think asking someone out depends on when they’re at the gym. People who come in the morning tend to be very serious—they’re here to work out and go. The lunch crowd is also pretty serious, but the evening crowd is very different. The women have more makeup on, the outfits are really cute and matching, it’s definitely more relaxed and social. I see a lot more people stopping between repetitions and talking to each other.
I still don’t think it’s a good idea.
I think when you’re on the cardio machines is a great time to speak to somebody—unless they’re wearing headphones, of course. If you see someone who looks bored and is looking around, they may be looking for someone to entertain them—or, at the very least, be open to it.
[unconvinced] Maybe. And I don’t think maybe works in this situation. I think it’s got to be a real lightning bolt, and man, you better make sure it singes both of you. ‘Cause if it doesn’t, you’re going to get the creepy-gym-person rep. And you don’t want that. Because you want your gym, you love your gym…
Meet the Experts
Two trainers, both with impeccable credentials but very different styles.
Brandy Bachmeyer, 28, a former Olympic weightlifter, is a rare amalgam of brains, brawn, and perkiness. Sort of like a cross between MacGyver and a local TV weatherperson. In a good way. An elite trainer at San Ramon Supersport Club in California, Brandy regularly puts in 12-hour days, sometimes joining them as they train for half-marathons—even surveying the contents of their sub-Zeros.
Scott Nunes, a trainer at the 24 Hour Fitness in Escondido, California knows firsthand that getting fit doesn’t just happen. “I used to be a bona fide couch potato,” Nunes avows. When Nunes was in his mid 20s, he had back surgery, developed arthritis, and found himself weighing in at 260 pounds: “When my one-and-a-half-year-old son raced me to the top of the stairs and beat me, I started doing pushups and sit ups that day,” he recalls. Nunes, 37, got in great shape, which helped him raise his son, who’s now 14.
COMBINED WISDOM When in doubt, don’t ask out. But if you’re sensing the stars have aligned and your ideal date is on the next stationary bike, there’s no harm in starting up a conversation.
