5 Mistakes When Picking Up a Gym Date
Let’s face it, at one point or another we all started working out to try and impress chicks. For myself, I was about 11 years old, reading flex magazine and trying to get sick bicep pumps with gallon milk jugs, so that I could go to school and impress the girls in 5th grade. Most of us now go to the gym to make some gains and hit PR’s but the truth is that the gym can be a predatory zone for potential daters to creep. So save yourself embarrassment and a dumbbell to the nuts by reading some of biggest mistakes you can make when trying to land a date at the gym.
Don’t talk to her mid-set
Sure if she’s just at the gym to watch the real housewives on the elliptical, it’s probably not a big deal to interrupt her session; but the majority of the female lifters out there will not want to be interrupted during their workout. Many women who lift weights have strong type A personalities and although they may be very nice and sweet, they’re usually also pretty serious about their training and their workouts. Don’t interrupt her session just to give her some creepy and inappropriate compliment then expect her to want to chat.
Read her body language and wait for a natural opportunity to approach her and initiate a conversation. If she’s timing intervals or seems to be in rush, be sure to keep whatever it is you’re going to open with extremely brief, yet memorable. The best time to approach her would be following a set while she’s taking a rest or while she’s changing her music or has taken a break to shoot a text.
Don’t Compliment Her Body
Her Lululemons may leave little to imagination but mentioning her body is the biggest creep move you can make. Her mindset while on the treadmill is completely opposite of when she’s at the club, so modify your approach based on your surroundings. Even a well-intentioned compliment can strike fear in many girls and will automatically put you into the creeper zone. Instead, initiate a low-key conversation with context to whatever she may be doing at the gym. Talk about training, exercises, local races, or anything that allows you to actually have a back-and-forth conversation.
Don’t try to impress her with your training
You may think your 500lb squat or the fact you can stand on a physio ball while bicep curling may catch her eye, but the truth is she probably couldn’t care less and isn’t even looking. Save yourself the embarrassment and the injuries by focusing on impressing her with your personality and not your double bicep pose or deadlift PR. Leave your ego behind and show her you’re not just a meathead but also are funny and charming.
Don’t be inconsistent
People tend to hit the gym at similar times based on their lifestyle. If you choose to workout at random times during the day and are very inconsistent in your training, then your chances of being seen by your gym crush will decline greatly. The more times your seen by your gym bunny the more natural the conversation will be once you initiate it. If she has never seen you before, she naturally will treat you like a stranger and will be more likely to reject you.
Don’t Be a Know It All.
Helping someone is one thing, but a lesson in broscience is the last thing she wants to hear. “I can't stand when a guy tries to correct my form, especially when he has no idea I can do more pull-ups them him,” says Rachel Buschert, a personal trainer at Rachelvfitness. Rather than advising her on how she’s doing things wrong, push the ego aside and find something that you can honestly compliment her on. Be sincere in what you say otherwise it will come off as patronizing. An example of a good opener could be saying ‘Wow I don't how you can do a plank for so long, they are so hard!’ If she smiles, you know you can begin a friendly conversation. If she rolls her eyes, she's just not into you, so move on.
