The “Other” in the Gym

One of my silent (but deadly) philosophies is that it’s great for all people to get fit and to use the gym - so long as they are not hogging my favorite equipment. I am lucky in that I have not had to deal with treadmill hogs for months, but I have had to deal with a free weights hog.

The free weights hog is someone I will refer to as “Annie”, because she reminds me of someone I once knew by that name. Every time I see her, I use this name, as well - as in, “I hope Annie doesn’t get to the weights first today.” I do not know her name, or else I would refer to her by her real name.

Annie comes to the gym every weekday, just like me. She normally arrives when I am in the middle of a run. Her cardio machines of choice are the elliptical and the bike - which she never stays on for more than half an hour. Most of the time, she will leave the cardio equipment after 5 minutes and grab the 10-pound free weights and the stability ball. This is the same every day. Then, she will do a series of arms-only exercises on the stability ball that exceeds 30 minutes.

My workouts are planned months in advance, thanks to the marathon training. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning, I use the 10-pound free weights for arm work. It is possible for me to use the 15s, but I notice that my form suffers on key exercises when I go above a 10. Plus, for runners it is better to complete more repetitions of the right size weights than fewer repetitions of heavier weights. My routine takes me about five minutes to complete. It is normally the very last thing that I do before leaving the gym.

On occasion another resident will use the 10-pound weights, but most of the time they are free - unless being used by Annie. She is my main stopping block, and consistently so.

In all of our time spent together in the same gym, we have had one conversation. It occurred when I approached her because I needed a floor mat that she wasn’t using. This was on a Friday, when I use 15-pound weights for leg work.
Me: Excuse me, are you using the mat?
Annie: I’m about to... but do you want these? (Points to free weights)
Me: No thank you, I’m not using those today. (Walk away disgruntled)

I try to put myself in Annie’s shoes. In many ways, we are very similar; we work out every weekday at the same time, and we both prefer the 10-pound weights for arm work. I am sure that she also has her workouts planned well in advance. However, I fail to believe that she has attempted to put herself in my shoes. Most Tuesday/Thursdays, it’s a matter of who can get to the weights first - but I am sure she has noticed that my arm series is a small fraction of hers. What if she had to wait for someone who took at least 30 minutes each day with her favorite weights?

Because we are similar in a couple of ways, I imagine that Annie and I could maybe be friends outside of the gym setting. However, because she and I vie for the same equipment, she has taken on the role of “the other” - like two nations fighting over access to the perfect lake, river, or island.

This situation will come to a resolution, and if I have it my way, it will be as diplomatic as possible.

Here are some thoughts that I had on how to resolve the silent dispute. I think that all of them are in line with Periclean values for treating others, and that they could all lead to a mutually beneficial decision.
1. Take the time out of my workout and talk to her, ideally when I am in possession of the 10-pound weights and have a little more leverage. If she is open to it, we can come to some sort of agreement on how to manage our limited resource.
2. Buy my own weights. I would hate to incur another expense while training for the marathon, but if I bring down my own weights, I will never have to worry about someone else hogging them. The only downside is that I would need to use them in my apartment on days when I run outside, because I go directly to the gym and not back to the apartment on these days.
3. Ask the building management to buy more weights. Out of all of the weight sets, I believe that the 10-pound set is the most popular. I can bring up the situation to building management and see if they will agree to purchase a smaller weight set to improve our satisfaction with the fitness facilities.
4. Do my arm work at a later time. I have access to a fitness facility at work, so I could take fifteen minutes from my lunch break and get my arm series in then. The only downside is that my muscles would not be warmed up, so this could increase injury.
5. Take Annie to lunch. I can take a page from the TED talk and really surprise Annie - this would be one of the best mechanisms to come to a mutually beneficial agreement.

What do you think? How should I handle my situation with the “other” in the gym?