Cardiogirl: 19% body fat 100% fun

Boo Yah! I am first and I live on the west coast to boot! Hee hee!

Tough call– There is definitely a part of me that would not have wanted to offend by continuing to switch machines, which is ridiculous because he is clearly the offensive one with the horrible smell. So I probably would have suffered in silence, for fear of seeming rude. Just one more reason I hate working out inside gyms!

No shit Michelle! Sorry to be so vulgar on the first comment of the day but I thought the same thing!! Why am I worried about offending him when he’s the offensive one?!

But as usual, I sucked it up — literally sucked up his smell through my nose — because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. That’s so crazy seeing that in black and white, however, I do feel better knowing you would have done the same.

But instead her took the machine next to me on the right.

You have an extra “r” in that sentence. :)

I’d have just moved up a couple of machines. The guys issues with me moving are just that. His. Nothing to do with me. :)

Auughhhh! Damnation but thank you for the heads up, Solomon. Noted and changed.

That’s true, he should know what to expect. I still don’t know if I’ll have to guts to move next time, but hopefully there won’t be a next time.

And that would be why I don’t go to the gym–I cannot stand that crap!!! Why do I have to place mind games when I’m just trying to work out? I hate it. I don’t want to see the dude pulling on his jowls in his workout clothes that he wears EVERY single day–yeah he’s washing them every day. And Fart Man–the old guy who’s gotta get next to me and toot away. I don’t want to smell your stench, really.

I hate the gym. I like working out, but I hate all the disgusting people it draws in. Or maybe they think it is their chance to be disgusting and get away with it. Ick. Ick. Ick.

Ugh. Been there. Reason #23 why I don’t go to a public gym anymore. Back then, I didn’t say anything (well, sorta…for more, read my latest blog entry, inspired by you cardio!) but now I would. Part of being a curmudgeon, I guess.

so nasty. so terribly nasty. i don’t think you can report people for smelling bad at the Y, considering yesterday:

a dude comes in on crutches. okay fine. but he has one leg, from knee to toe, completely bare. and the leg is crusty, semi-oozing, and swollen. and then . . . you know it’s coming – he proceeds to dump the crutches and gets on the weight machines. and lifts with his legs, so that his crusty swolleness is touching the very surface i usually touch. i nearly barfed in my mouth. do i complain? i can try, but i think the Y is aware that a dude is walking around with a naked crusty foot because he had to pass right by them. acccccccckkkkkkkk.

Yeah, the gym attracts a wide variety of folks walking this fine planet. Definitely it’s a crap shoot every time I walk in. But my quest for thin thighs precludes me from avoiding the undesirables.

I’m going to respectfully disagree with Homeslice and say that you (and Homeslice as well) should discuss your concerns with the Y staff. For one thing, the man at Homeslice’s gym is a health hazard, spreading germs and the like, and if a health inspector had been in the Y when Crusty Grossness was in there as well, they may have gotten a write-up for it. They may have seen Crusty Grossness walk into the gym but not realized that he was going to put his disgustingness on the actual machines; they may have assumed he was going to work out his arms. It’s not like the Y employees necessarily get a whole lot of training.

Also, I’m pretty sure that the Y staff have had to discuss cleanliness issues with other patrons of the Y, so you wouldn’t be the first to bring that sort of thing to their attention. Some people really don’t realize how badly they smell, or how necessary a daily shower is. If his stench really is that bad, it’s disturbing the other patrons, and the staff should do something about it.

Sorry you had to smell that. I’ve had to breathe in some pretty noxious odors when I worked at the fabric store. B.O., thick cigarette smoke, major alcohol fumes… It’s amazing how people don’t seem to realize how much they STINK.

For all that is good and holy. I’m not squeamish at all, but Jesus H. Christ. There’s enough staph in a gym without crusty leg contributing. I understand this man has gone through something traumatic, but ah! I may have switched gyms.

I went to class once when I smelled like tequila. I showered, I swear. And my prof made fun of me and it was my Sociology of Drugs and Alcohol class. Patron is an evil mistress.

As much as I would have resented having to switch up a workout, I would have gotten the hell away from SSM with no concern as to appearing rude. So what if it offended him? He was offending EVERYONE. If he dared to comment, I just would have said I was sensitive to cigarette smoke and left it at that.

I hope you will not have any future run-ins with the stinkpot.

(Of course, if you really wanted to be rude, you could point and mention, “The showers are that way.” Heh.)

I would mention it to the staff, that’s disgusting. You can’t be the only one suffering. And at the very least, I would be moving machines if allowed. I know sometimes they’re all sticklers for staying on the machine you signed up for, but that’s how you could bring it up. Yo, Y staff, I need to change machines because dude over there smells like Bourbon Street after Mardi Gras. Shoo…

Thanks for making me smile after waking up in a terrible mood.

Maybe you should sneak and post a sign were everyone will see it, “BE POLITE, AND WASH YOUR BUTT, BEFORE WORKING OUT!” I’m just saying. You’re not the only one he’s offended with his smells. No one should be subjected to such torture :).

I would’ve most likely handled it the way you handled it. You are a super hero for lasting as long as you did.

Also, I found myself holding my breath while I read your post! :)

“then bury your nose in your own armpit to stop the smell” that was the line of the week and it’s only Tuesday!

Wow…once again similar issues different lives…lol

Last night at class, I kept getting this strong cigarette smoke odor (thankfully only 1 level of odor and not BO) but couldn’t figure out who it was coming from. I contemplated moving but it wasn’t constant and I didn’t want to have to deal with moving my laptap, bag, etc. As you would guess, I probably wouldn’t have moved from the elliptical either. However, I might have considered acting like my back was bothering me, couldn’t see the tv, needed more fan, etc. That way I could “justify” moving away from him without be overt about it. Btw, when I first read you post, I thought that Mr. Smelly had followed you to the bikes right after you got off the elliptical. That freaked me out and I was renaming him Mr. Smelly Stalker…lol

She is indeed, but dang is she good!

Ah the smelly gym man…I know this person all too well. Luckily my local La Fitness is the size of a Super Wal Mart and I have the ability to move to another machine and appear as though I am leaving the building. In any event I feel for you Cardio. I assume if I were in your shoes I would have grinned and bore the BO until the end of the workout. It’s so funny how many of us put others feelings above our own. In an attempt not to be rude we subject ourselves to some not so pleasant situations.

I’m not sure what if anything the Y staff can do to make this man wash before coming to the gym. Can they have a sit down conference with him and enforce a strict hygiene checklist he must follow before he’s allowed back in the facility?

I remember working as a cashier at Marshalls with a woman who smelled pretty much like raw sewage and three day old tuna. Management finally said something to her when customers began complaining, and by complaining I mean avoiding her line. She smelled good for about two days and returned to the sewage/tuna combo shortly there after, so much for enforcing appropriate hygiene.

I think I would have done it your way… and also worried that I appeared “rude”, too.

Bad BO Boy – familiar with him. I encountered him accidentally – he was using the stair master and I took the only open eliptical which happened to be next to him – and a much lower level in comparison. He proceeded to build up a tremendous amount of sweat and drip it all over me. He also stinks when you get near the vicinity. He is also a chatty Kathy. I high-tailed it off that machine as soon as a treadmill opened up. At least he wipes down the machine. Incredible Sweaty Man never does. That is an even worse offense – people literally look up at the ceiling for the leak that caused all the water on and around the equipment he has finished using. I am much happier now at my small office gym all to myself! But thanks for the memories – good times!

perhaps i would have sniffed the air and asked him if he smelled anything…but that would require talking and eye contact. i would have moved then, or you could bring freshener and spray the air.

I loved your, uh, response to that dude over at your pad, Steve. That was stellar and probably couldn’t have been planned ahead of time.

Also, I enjoy that you’re embracing the role of curmudgeon. Besides that’s a cool word.

@homeslice That’s simultaneously amazing and disgusting about Crusty Oozing Man. That’s actually making me feel fortunate.

But I am surprised that he’s lifting with his legs if one of them is swollen and oozing. Did he wear a shoe on that leg?

@Liz I have those thoughts about infection as well. When I think too long about it I really get freaked out and disgusted. So I try to push the thought out of my head at all times.

@blue I’d like to think I’d report that crusty guy. Certainly it’s more of a open and shut case with him versus bad BO. I do wonder if the folks with really bad BO catch a whiff of themselves after a while.

Hard to tell. I’ll stick with a daily shower just in case.

@Liz I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever smelled of alcohol. Chocolate, maybe, but not alcohol.

As you have probably figured out my first experience with him was on Monday so I wrote about him on Tuesday morning.

I have to admit that I threw caution to the wind on Tuesday’s workout and chose an elliptical in the back row — against my better judgment. I really waffled for a minute and decided to shun the front row.

Guess who showed up 8 minutes into my workout? He did leave a space of one machine between us but I caught enough of his essence for it to be problematic. So I left after 15 minutes and headed to the front row.

And I have to say, after reading these comments yesterday, I didn’t feel bad about leaving for one minute. It was actually very liberating.

Glad I could make you smile, Liz!

For some reason I always feel like odor is subjective and there’s not definitive way to argue the case. And then I worry that someone will say I stink. It’s a conundrum, for sure.

I’m positive I’ll stick with avoidance. Although I do love this line, “… dude over there smells like Bourbon Street after Mardi Gras.”

In fact, you have just earned the Gold Star of the Day, Liz. For that line alone. Way to go!

I did start to wonder if he could have turned things around by using a wet wipe on his ass and pits before his workout. If he had taken a European Shower beforehand maybe things wouldn’t have been so bad.

Too bad I couldn’t ask him to do that, just for the sake of the experiment. I’d be willing to provide the wipes but he would definitely have to do the dirty work.

Thanks strugglingwriter. I did feel like it was an endurance race, but one I could not win. And surprisingly, my competitive nature was squelched in this one instance.

I’m glad you enjoyed that line! While helpful, my own stench was not as strong as I needed it to be that day.

Cigarette smoke alone is really terrible, I think. Don’t you wonder if smokers can smell the smoke on other smokers in a setting like that and if so, does it bother them? I would imagine they’re used to it.

If he had followed me I would have totally lost my shet. Not sure what would have commenced at that point.

Man that would be awesome to workout in such a huge gym. Although I guess since it’s so large the clientele is probably large to accommodate it. And damn! The ability to perform the fake exit and return is awesome!

I want that feature in my next gym.

It is a dicey situation. I’m not sure what the staff would do if I mentioned it. And the Sewage Tuna Woman sounds. Completely. Disgusting. And. Vile!

Auugghhh! But it brings up another question. Can management fire a person like that without worrying about a law suit? Man that’s a Seinfeld episode right there. I can see the lawyer screwing up his nose as he accepts the case with a handshake and then wipes his hand on his jacket.

I need to get a thicker skin. Although I did move the next day when I ran into him. See KarmaCat’s reply comment for the full low down.

I will say it felt liberating and I didn’t worry about his feelings one bit. Stinky punk.

That is the most disgusting story I have ever heard, Bumbles. I cannot believe that people are looking for a leak in the CEILING around him! Damnation sister.

I’d actually have to think about reporting that guy. And I’d be so pissed off he tried to talk to me. I really would tell him, “Nothing personal, but I don’t like to talk during a workout.” (Cranks the volume on her headphones.)

Gah.

True but there’s no way I could handle the contact. I would love to see the look on his face as I was spritzing Febreeze around him. Can’t you just see getting off your machine and walking about in a circle around his machine as you spritzed the air?

Definitely I couldn’t do that, but I’d pay someone else to do it.

p.s. You look good as a redhead/red head. (Is that one word or two?)

I absolutely cannot and will not work out next to someone who stinks. At our Y, the elliptical machines are right on top of each other. I pity the fool next to me, because I usually hit him with my ponytail. I think you SHOULD be able to report people with BO — it’s even worse than talking on your cell phone or bringing your baby into the workout area.

Sometimes I encounter Cologne Man at the elliptical machines. He may or may not have other layers of stank; I can’t tell. The cologne is so overpowering, I’d almost prefer BO. Almost.

Yeah, we get the “stink fumes” at the Depot of Home too!

“I would have gotten the hell away from SSM with no concern as to appearing rude.”

ROTFL! Sorry…. it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the subject-matter OR your response, KarmaCat, but my town’s name (Sault Ste. Marie) is often shortened to “SSM” and I REALLY get a kick out of that line. ‘Cuz I REALLY want to get away from SSM…. I’m REALLY starting to not care if I appear rude when I finally do it, too…

It takes real effort, a la, uncountable amounts of shots. I really like liquor. I smelled like chocolate, too. My mom worked in a candy factory.

Woo! Fist pump.

When you described his smell it reminded me of my college town on Sunday morning, but I figure Bourbon Street was an easier metaphor. Strangely enough, there’s a bar called Bourbon Street and it does smell the worst.

Yes, we can smell other smokers in a smoke free environment. The smell bothers me when our clothes smell smoky after a night of partying, but if I do smoke at home, it’s always outside.

I can’t say anything for people who smoke in their homes. That smell is so pervasive and I imagine you don’t smell ever. Have you ever noticed cigarette smoke is so much more pervasive than weed? I knew guys in college who smoked weed all the time and their apt just smelled like a college guys’ apartment.

Yeah cigarette smoke is definitely stronger and stays around longer than weed smoke. I used to hang out with several hard core cigarette smokers that smoked in their houses.

They didn’t seem to notice the smoke smell at home or on them and neither did I after the initial whiff. However, once I left their presence/house I could definitely still smell it on me and my clothes. Now that all public buildings in NJ are smoke free, I’ve become much more sensitive to cigarette smoke.

At work the smokers have to go to a small outside shed type place to smoke. A lot of them will take the elevators back to their offices. I can really tell when someone just came back from a smoke break because the smell lingers in the elevator for awhile. So even if no one is in the elevator it still smells like smoke.

My guess is that if management enforced some sort of personal hygiene policy on all employees it would probably be ok. But the practicalities would become difficult. For example would all employees have to go through a sniff test on their way in? and who would be the “calibrated” nose?? …lol

The other key would be to ensure that the policy was uniformly enforced. If the company attempted to set up a specific policy or agreement for that individual then there would be big problems. Another consideration would be if due to the smell the person was incapable of doing their job. If they were a salesperson, the fact that they stunk would likely make it very hard for them to get people to talk to them long enough to make a sale.

As a result, the company would have a little more leverage to work with that person. However, if the smell was due to a documented medical condition and not just poor hygiene then the company would have to try to make reasonable accommodations for that person (assuming that it met the definition of a medical disability). Ok…so much for the mini-bar review answer…I’m done. :P

Oh you just reminded me of this guy who I used to work with. He would work out at lunch and then instead of taking a shower he would drown himslef in cologne to cover up the BO. Problem was that there was soooo much cologne that you could actually smell it 4-5 offices down the hallway. In addition, it had this BO undertone to it. IT WAS GROSS!! I know several people made miscellaneous comments to him regarding the excessive cologne use and smell. But nothing official from the company. I remember demonstrating to him the “spray and walk away” cologne application technique that Carson Kreslie (sp??) used to talk about on Queer Eye. I don’t know that anyone actually ever said anything to HR but just grumbled amongst ourselves.

Wow – I feel honored to own the most disgusting story. Makes the experience worthwhile now!

@beanie That’s another level of stink — out and about in public. I guess I would sort of expect it at the gym, if that makes sense, but not outside of the gym. Gross.

@Liz I wouldn’t mind smelling like chocolate. I wonder why no one has come up with perfume that smells like chocolate. I’d buy it if it really smelled like it.

(laughs) It does have a fun connotation when you look at it that way, doesn’t it?

I guess that’s an example of truth in advertising. Sort of.

@Liz I’m surprised you can smell it as a smoker yourself. I just assumed your nose got used to it. I haven’t ever paid attention to the hang time on pot.

I was around it in college but not enough to make note.

@Buf Oy on the elevator hang time. That would make me use the stairs every single time.

It’s funny that the smokers have a shed now. Back when I was working they had to stand outside the doors and I often saw tons of people shivering in the middle of January smoking away.
Of course they stood right by the door so the smell came in as soon as you walked past.

Buf I have to admit your mind is cranking away the legal sense and I’m impressed that you can turn any comment into a legal case. You’re going to ace that test.

I’d love to have the job of calibrated smeller.

(laughs) See? There’s always a silver lining somewhere — even years later.

@JD You’ve seen someone bring their baby into the workout area?! I’ve run into Cologne Man as well in the weight area. It’s actually sort of nice because I just get a whiff and then he’s gone. If I had to workout right next to him for an hour that would suck.

@Buf GROSS! No more words necessary.

It gets old. The Twix cookie smell, good stuff. I guess that’s why warm vanilla sugar is so popular.

I don’t smoke every day, which may have something to do with it. I think after years of packs a day your senses do get ruined.

Hmm, I suppose that makes sense. But what are you doing smoking at all, young lady?

Mmmm, Twix bars. I’d like to be the judge of that — whether it gets old or not. Although, I know you’re right. I wonder if people who work in bakeries and candy shops initially gain weight and then lose it as they get desensitized to the products.

I would have gone on the treadmill for five minutes then come back to a different X-trainer.

I always wonder if you can report these people too. There should be signs up in gyms warning people that if they stink, their membership will be revoked.

My mom was a size 4 until she was 40 and she was head of Sensory (tasting, quality control, etc.)
They spit it out.

I never did desensitize. One day I went to the candy drawer after she retired and it was empty and remember thinking, “Wait, I have to go buy candy? WTF, man.” Both of us have tried chocolate for Lent, never works, to this day.

I had sweet tea and a peanut butter twix for breakfast a lot of mornings. Or just the cookies dipped in chocolate. Mmmm… I do miss that. Granted I don’t weigh a buck five anymore either.

I really like it, did from the first inhale. Hate cigars. Very strange.

Especially when I’m drunk which I am atleast once a week…atleast.