Cell Phones at the Gym: A Rant

I felt compelled to write this blog post after repeatedly witnessing phone obsession at the gym. I find it amazing how obsessed people are with their phones. They cannot even go for a 30-60 minute workout without logging on to facebook or checking instagram.

This one guy at my gym takes the cake. Let’s just call him Steve. Steve looks to be in highschool. This guy is glued to his phone. When Steve walks in the gym he stares down at his phone all the way to a machine. He will sit on the machine, play around with his phone and then do a set. After the set he immediately grabs his phone during rest periods. Don’t worry it gets worse.

The other day he had his phone charging on the side of the gym. He would do an exercise and then race back to mess around on his phone. The most comical one was something I saw today which kind of sparked this article.

Steve was walking over to the water fountain (of course looking down at his phone). He got to the fountain and put his head sideways to drink. While doing that, he held his phone sideways and looked at his phone while drinking at the fountain… I can’t make this up people! He couldn’t even take a 5-10 second break from looking at it.

Steve is the worst I have seen but others are pretty bad too. You should be in the gym to work hard and forget about social media for an hour. I know I know, it’s tough to go to the gym without telling everyone in the world that you went. You have to check in on facebook and then post a gym mirror selfie right? (although I will say gym mirror lighting is fantastic…lol).

There are some good things about phones though. Phones are great for music and to write down workout notes. All of my clients actually get access to a phone app that have their workouts on them. But they should only be used for that.

I personally use an iPod touch. I only have notes and music on there. This way I am never tempted to go on social media, text someone or be bothered with a call.

I think the gym should be a time away from technology. You are around that all day, it’s good to have a break. Focus on your workouts and go kick some ass!