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While the amount of so-called “third spaces” available to the public has diminished, people often forget that the oh-so-humble gym technically qualifies as one. However, at the same time, regular gym-goers know that, depending on where you are and even the time of day, one can run into a very interesting selection of people.

Someone asked “What's the strangest thing you have seen someone do at the gym?” and netizens share the unhinged encounters they’ve had. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to add your own experiences in the comments below.

#1

Man walking on a treadmill in a gym. I had an older gentleman, late 60s, ESL, from the Phillipines, very thin, come up to me and ask me in broken English if he could watch me workout. So I let him. He followed me to every exercise and would take notes, smile, and say thank you after each set. At the end of my workout he came up to me and asked what days and times I go to the gym. This started getting more weirder by the moment. But I was truthful with him. Fast forward to the next day. There he was doing the exact workout I did the day before. He came up to me and said hello and asked to watch me again. He did this for a few days straight. Basically he had no idea what to do for workouts, or how to ask for help/assistance with them, so he wanted to use mine. Totally creeped out at first. But that dude still goes to the gym to this day and he always says hi to me. He even got the same headphones as me now. And always has a huge smile on his face. Weirdest but most sincere compliments I've ever had at the gym.

WickedPizt , Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Sarah
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good for you! We all have to look out for each other and share

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    #2

    Gyms Aren’t Safe From Weirdness And These 30 Stories Prove It I was deadlifting 300 lbs once and this f*****g 3 year old child starts running around the place asking for my attention, I threw the weights down super hard and he started crying and was scared, a few minutes later his mom comes in and starts screeching at me like a banshee, I tell her to f**k off and she just turns away crying like a child, haven’t seen her ever since

    F*****g Home gym problems, I swear….

    HopefulLightBringer , NomadSoul1 / Envato Report

    #3

    Man in a gym outfit doing lunges in an empty indoor space, illustrating bizarre gym activities. Dude at my gym (YMCA) comes in and does about 20 minutes of normal looking calisthenics before busting out into some extremely vigorous Irish dancing all around the gym. Everyone just stopped what they were doing and watched with their mouths open.

    Turns out he works there.

    GenomeXIII , Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #4

    A woman in a white sweater with a baby in an orange sweater, indoors. One of my first jobs was working in a gym daycare. Honestly a great job.

    You could drop your child off for a maximum of 2 hours but we were really relaxed with that rule. Rarely did anyone go over that and if they did it wasn’t a big deal.

    Until we got this one mom. She’d drop her baby off and literally leave the gym. She’d be gone for 4 hours sometimes and we had to get the manager involved.

    Her husband showed up one day looking for her. Shocker, his baby was there but not his spouse. Turns out she was cheating on him. And I got to witness the confrontation first hand.

    I literally just wanted to take care of the kids and babies and somehow got sucked into a love affair.

    Living_Bath4500 , Kateryna Hliznitsova / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Say No to Downvoting
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I know this is not the point of the story, but how do people with small babies find time or energy to have affairs? I can understand the part where she leaves her kids a bit longer than she is supposed to but if that were me, you’d have probably found me in my car asleep or hurriedly responding to email/paying bills/doing taxes and all the other things I had no time or brain space with a baby with me.

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    #5

    Gyms Aren’t Safe From Weirdness And These 30 Stories Prove It I'm always amazed at the number who go to the gym but sit (often on an apparatus) looking at their phones instead of working out.

    Heavy_Direction1547 , Ladanifer / Envato Report

    #6

    Socks with flip-flops at the gym, an example of bizarre attire spotted by people. Saw an old man in china run 10k on a treadmill in the spa-offered flipflops.

    whatevenisthisnow , Ivana Cajina / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #7

    A person wearing a VR headset in a gym-themed setting, pointing forward, illustrating bizarre gym activities. My gym has a guy in his 50s who brings his VR headset and does (what I’d imagine) boxing classes. There’s also a guy who shows up in a full Wolverine cosplay outfit to workout in. He also has Deadpool and Captain America outfits but usually wears the Wolverine one. And no, he’s not jacked.

    Puddles22 , Hammer & Tusk / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #8

    Green garden gloves on a wooden table, representing bizarre gym stories. Older man in his 70’s, doing squats in slacks, long sleeve button-up, dress shoes and gardening gloves.

    BattleSausage , Jonathan Kemper / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    MEB
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    OMG! It had to be my father! It is soooo like him to do things like that! Lol!

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    #9

    Gyms Aren’t Safe From Weirdness And These 30 Stories Prove It Well there was the dude who was working hard on his wrist strengthening exercises. but he was doing it in the shower room with the curtain half open, not in the weights section.

    oskarkeo , Victor Furtuna / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #10

    Woman with tattoo using gym equipment, illustrating bizarre gym scene. I didn't see it happen, but I saw the video as my boy was the security at the gym.

    Some women working out, and she goes up to get something. A guy runs over and either licks or puts his face in the seat she was in. She must have seen him do this, so she reported him. My friend had to escort him out when he put up a bit of a fight saying why, my boys like man, you know what you did to that women's workout equipment. Didn't even argue just got banned from all major gyms in the city. The same security company manager most gyms in the city.

    extrayyc1 , Matthew Sichkaruk / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    #11

    Fried chicken in a metal bowl, highlighting bizarre gym snack choice. Some guy came in dressed in his gym clothes, walked around with a steel bowl full of chicken and mayo. Ate it and then left.

    psychopathic_shark , Alfonso Rodríguez / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #12

    Man in a black beanie and gray shirt looking down outside, related to bizarre gym experiences. At my gym there was a guy who would blindfold himself with his beanie. He pulled it down over his eyes to concentrate. Good coordination but so funny to watch.

    Argument_Enthusiast , Spencer Quast / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    #13

    Hands adjusting gym equipment weight. Some dude that kept coming over between sets and taking weights off my bar instead of off the rack next to him, then acting annoyed when I asked him to stop.

    mayorsenpai , Gard Pro / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    liam newton-harding
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Some sort of idiotic, “assert dominance powerplay” he saw on a video, or listened to on a podcast, as he cried himself to sleep, at night.

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    #14

    Person pressing a button on a wall panel in a gym setting. Not particularly super strange, but I once watched a women use the elevator to beat the one flight of stairs, to then proceed to hop onto the Stair Master lmfao.

    chrishelg95 , Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Dog Mom to Zoe
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I kind of get this. Stairs are great exercise but most of them are very isolated. As a woman, I understand this.

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    #16

    Man lifting weights intensely at the gym, showcasing strength and focus. Some older dude next to a buddy and I would keep saying s**t to himself while working out. Stuff like:

    “Im the lion, I’m not a sheep”.

    “I’m a f*****g animal, you can’t stop this”.

    Weird stuff like that. It was pretty funny because this dude was locked in and dead serious.

    Icy_Bottle2942 , Anastase Maragos / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #17

    Man at gym standing confidently, showcasing strong physique against concrete wall backdrop. Worked at college as IT guy. Fixing a computer one day in the gym area and was watching the security monitors. Lady was trying to lift weights, guy posed in the mirror in front of her. She moved, he moved and posed again. This went on for 5 minutes before she left.

    docbobm , Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    #18

    Gyms Aren’t Safe From Weirdness And These 30 Stories Prove It I watched a guy running hard on the treadmill stop after about 5-10 minutes and then immediately go outside and rip a cigarette. Then he came back in and hopped back on the treadmill and repeated this for 2 more sets and left. Training lungs until failure I guess.

    spottedbananafish , Curated Lifestyle / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #19

    Gyms Aren’t Safe From Weirdness And These 30 Stories Prove It There is an older dude I see sometimes that kinda interpretive dances with the elliptical machine. He never just gets on and uses it he hops on one side and does a couple pumps, then hops off and pushes a couple rotations with his hand, then hops on backwards, the hops off and kinda dances. He just keeps going at it for 30 mins or so randomly using the machine in every way except how it was intended to be used.

    I have not seen him use another machine, just pace around. I once saw him in the parking lot and he was parked at a very odd angle to a planter bed that was not a parking spot.

    Dude is definitely marching to the beat of his own drummer.

    RaoulDukex , Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Jaya
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They always say the best sport you can do is one that you enjoy, because that way you won't give up, and this guy really took that to heart 😁

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    #20

    A woman with long hair in a leopard print top poses by a brick wall. I once watched a woman on the stationary bike ride for an hour. Except she had leopard print legging, matching top and leather jacket on while doing it. The piece do resistance to is all were the aviator sunglasses.

    The-Distant-Blue , Jamar Crable / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #21

    Polished brown shoes resting on carpet, an unexpected sight at the gym. I have known multiple guys who work out in dress shoes. Like full leather oxfords.

    Hb1023_ , Clem Onojeghuo / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    troufaki13
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've seen some people run a full Marathon in dress shoes. And they're pretty fast too!

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    #22

    Man using leg exercise machine at gym, wearing teal and red. He was just doing a normal leg routine. The strange thing is, that must be all he does. Waste up he looked like a lanky 110 pound kid. Legs down he looked like an absolutely jacked professional hockey player.

    SillySub2001 , Andrej Lišakov / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Christos Arvanitis
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A lot of pro cyclists look like this. Upper body like an adolescent and legs like tree trunks.

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    #23

    Man in a gym climbing a stair machine, focused on his workout. This one guy on the treadmill was yelling and grunting like a anime character in their training arc 😭.

    justaguy095 , Sergio Kian / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Jaya
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Fine at your home gym, but don't do that at a shared gym.

    #25

    Empty gym bench with dumbbells in background, highlighting bizarre gym moments. I saw bite marks on the pad of a machine right before i was about to start using it.. i picked up my things and went to a similar machine instead lol.

    DoubleB8411 , Andrew Valdivia / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    #26

    Smartphone on tripod recording unusual gym activity. An awkward gal that carried around a tripod with her phone mounted to it an had someone on FaceTime for all of her workouts. Never could figure out if she was talking to a remote trainer or just what. But she spoke to no one in the gym and acted like it was totally normal.

    Justbeingme_92 , Justin Min / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    ScarletRos
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is only one person I’ve seen using a tripod to film themselves at my gym and it’s an 80 year old woman who used to be a professional ballet dancer and is still very flexible (way more than me and I’m half her age).

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    #27

    Woman doing squats with pink dumbbells at the gym, wearing a blue sports bra and patterned leggings. Once had a woman do squats literally less than 2 inches from me while I was on a yoga mat doing stretches. Had no clue if she didn’t see me, was coming on to me, or was some kind of dare, either way was odd.

    sexisdivine , Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #28

    Gyms Aren’t Safe From Weirdness And These 30 Stories Prove It My wife saw an older lady light up two young girls for taking selfies in the locker room mirrors, that specifically stated “no selfies” on a sticker.

    nosmr2 , Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Offbeat Quinoa
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Usually when there’s a “no selfies” sign, it’s because they have problems with people hogging the sinks/mirrors to take photos of themselves while others are waiting to wash their hands or whatever

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    #29

    Hands typing on a laptop keyboard, sharing bizarre gym stories. Writing an essay at my school gym hahaha. ripped a set then put his laptop on his chest and wrote.

    FatheroftheAbyss , Kaitlyn Baker / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Jaya
    Community Member
    1 day ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I kinda like that idea to be honest. (as long as he's not hogging the equipment of course)

    #30

    A 2-liter Coca-Cola bottle on a car seat, possibly related to bizarre gym activities. Saw a guy working out with a personal trainer and during his resting period, he would chug from a 2 liter bottle of coke.

    xsamsta , Erik Mclean / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Jaya
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If previously he would sit on the couch and chug 2 liters of coke, then he's made a major improvement to his life. You don't need to change all your bad habits at the same time, you can just start with one.

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    Note: this post originally had 51 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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