SRSC tainted by gym Nazis

Like many Americans, my New Year's resolution for 2002 is to lose weight. After a scary visit to a health Web site and calculating my Body Mass Index (BMI) (which, by the way, said that I was obese) I became motivated to shed some pounds. Obese is such a strong word, isn't it? I would certainly say that I'm overweight, but obese is a bit much. Obesity is indeed a proper clinical term to use, but it always lends itself to describing someone grossly fat. Anyway, I have started to eat healthier foods and, after a moratorium on exercising, I have returned to IU's haven for sweat -- the SRSC. \nUpon returning to workout at the SRSC, I've noticed one thing hasn't changed -- annoying and inconsiderate people. These "gym Nazis" (as I like to call them) typically use the cardiovascular equipment. I don't want to turn this into a gender issue, but the gym Nazis using the cardio equipment are mostly girls. Here's a scenario for you: I'm signed out to use the Precor Fx trainer at 12:30 p.m. on a given day. Because everyone's watches are not synchronized, I think the most logical thing is to follow the big clock sitting in the gymnasium; that way, everyone is tecnically "on-time." When the gym clock hits 12:30, I decide to walk over to the reserved machine when I'm hit with, "I have just one minute left." \nBeing the nice guy I am I just say, "OK." But, in that resignation, I enter a no-win situation. You say, "Whoa, Vince, that's a little deep, what are you talking about?" Let's think about it. \nWhen I give that girl her extra minute, I get started at 12:31 and lose a minute of my workout. If I decide to do my entire 30-minute workout, I'll run over my time and make the next person mad. Some of you are probably wondering why I am making such a big deal out of one minute. Well, often that "one" minute turns into three or five minutes. You can obviously see how one small instance can throw a whole day off. Why do people act like this? More importantly, why do so many people treat this daily occurrence passively? Hopefully people will start to speak up for themselves, but they could also be helped if the SRSC staff enforced the use of the gym clock as a standard time. So, folks, the next time you use the cardio equipment, refer to the gym clock for your time.\nJust a few steps from the cardio equipment is the area containing the strength equipment (machines, free weights, etc.). Often times a guy using a strength machine will do his entire workout (consisting of several sets) without getting up from the machine. There's nothing wrong with that except for the fact that there are almost always people waiting to use the same machine -- during peak hours, of course. Occasionally, people will ask if they can "work in" but their request is met with, "I only have two more sets." I'm always waiting for someone to challenge him and put him in his place, but to my dismay, this never happens. Similar to the girl on the cardio equipment, this guy thinks he's the only who uses the SRSC to work out.\nWhat is sad is the environment that is created by these inconsiderate people at the gym. It is common knowledge that the majority of Americans are clinically obese. The last thing we need is annoying people preventing us from losing that weight.