Why should gym be mandatory?

Why are the staff at my gym so judgemental?

• im 18 and i lift weights at the gym and on a few occasions i see the gym staff staring, laughing and talking about me, i look back at them to tell them to stop but they don't even hide the fact that they are laughing at me, these are adults! how could they do this? i payed for the gym. i feel like as if im being judged all the time and im sick of it, i mean i go to the gym to workout not to be judged, i go there to improve myself, to see this makes me feel uncomfortable and lowers my self esteem. i know i sound like im totally paranoid but i am so not. sometimes i dont even want to go to the gym because of this, i have seen it with my own eyes, i feel like their judging the way i breathe, the way i talk, walk, eat, stare and sniff im sure they dont do this to anyone else except me this may seem like a funny question but its all true how do you think i should deal with this?

• Answer:

  That is horrible and very unprofessional of them! If you truly believe they are doing this, here is what I would do. I know this will be difficult but just pretend to be super-confident and just do it. Next time you see this happening, march right up to them and say something like "is there a reason I often see you guys staring and laughing at me? I am here to get in shape just like everybody else, and I really don't appreciate it. I doubt your manager would find it amusing." They will probably try to deny it. Then you say "well I know what I saw, and if I see it again I am going straight to your boss." I bet it stops right then and there. If it does happen again, request to see the manager (or if one of them actually IS the manager, unlikely but possible, request his/her superior, even if you have to call them on the phone) and tell them you are cancelling your membership to go to another gym, and tell them precisely why. Those guys will be fired for sure, and you will also have shown them that you have major balls and won't be disrespected by some $10 an hour punks who happen to work at a gym.