Gym

I have asked people I know in the wider Reading area - but no promisingly quiet gym suggestions were forthcoming.

Some years ago, the last time I ventured into a gym in the Thames Valley (one which had been recommended to me by a relative as quiet - as it was a small membership club - gym and pool - as part of an upmarket hotel) ...my visit did not go well.

I walked in, heard a bunch of men in the circuit equipment / weights area all loudly huffing / puffing and, frankly, vocalising like wildebeest in must on the Savanna!

It was a soundscape reminiscent of Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia (Zambia being home to the second largest wildebeest migration in Africa) - atmospheric for a holiday ...but totally not my scene at stupid o'clock in the morning in a UK gym.

I didn't even break my stride - I just did a u-turn and repaired to the lounge for a decent coffee, in peace, instead!

Savanna version - Wildebeest from Birdbox Studio (2021)

www.youtube.com/watch

DormouseAtRest_25 said:

I walked in, heard a bunch of men in the circuit equipment / weights area all loudly huffing / puffing and, frankly, vocalising like wildebeest in must on the Savanna!

This is so common, but decent headphones cut out most of this distraction.

I have to admit that as you progress in the level of weights you have to move then it gets hard not to make some noise. There is a risk of ruptuting your lungs if you hold your breath when under a lot of physical load so you need to breathe out and when the body is being compressed by the load it makes it hard to avoid the noise.

You also see something like this in tennis where the players grunt when hitting the ball on serve - it is all about getting the most from your body to create the force.

Once you understand the mechanics of why it happens and mix in a bit of acceptance that some people are just a bit absurd in their "try hard-ness" then I find it easier to live with.

I keep my ears full of music when I'm working out and watch videos when doing cardio work so it creates my little bubble away from all the grunting baboons out there. The gossips on the bikes are just as bad with their high pitched laughs and incessent chatter though - the noise isn't just a male thing.

DormouseAtRest_25 said:

I walked in, heard a bunch of men in the circuit equipment / weights area all loudly huffing / puffing and, frankly, vocalising like wildebeest in must on the Savanna!

This is so common, but decent headphones cut out most of this distraction.

I have to admit that as you progress in the level of weights you have to move then it gets hard not to make some noise. There is a risk of ruptuting your lungs if you hold your breath when under a lot of physical load so you need to breathe out and when the body is being compressed by the load it makes it hard to avoid the noise.

You also see something like this in tennis where the players grunt when hitting the ball on serve - it is all about getting the most from your body to create the force.

Once you understand the mechanics of why it happens and mix in a bit of acceptance that some people are just a bit absurd in their "try hard-ness" then I find it easier to live with.

I keep my ears full of music when I'm working out and watch videos when doing cardio work so it creates my little bubble away from all the grunting baboons out there. The gossips on the bikes are just as bad with their high pitched laughs and incessent chatter though - the noise isn't just a male thing.