Anyone who’s ever walked into a gym, specifically the free weight area, knows what a gym douchebag is. Chances are you’re familiar with this specific species of tool even if you’ve never set foot in a gym or fitness club. They are a blight and a cancer when it comes to the fitness community, and they end up ruining the experience for everyone. So, do us all a favor and don’t be a gym douchebag.

Some of you might not be clear what typifies a man as being a gym douchebag. The parameters and requirements are quite broad, ranging from the types of clothing someone wears in the gym to the type of attitude they portray to those around them. Regardless of the wide variety of types, at the end of the day, gym douchebags have the same traits, most common among them being arrogance, ignorance and chauvinist tendencies.

Oftentimes, meatheads are mislabeled as being gym douchebags, and this is a pretty simple mistake to make. A meathead is somebody who spends a decent amount of time in the gym working towards a specific goal. Being a meathead is a good thing, but this is obviously my opinion. A gym douchebag is often a man who struts around the gym, harassing and flirting with women who want nothing to do with him, and going out of his way to try to intimidate the people around him. This is the guy who, when lifting a serious amount of weight, will drop the weight on the ground and yell some type of profane language in an attempt to gain the attention of all those around him. Chances are relatively high that his form is also incorrect since he’s only focused on the amount of weight he is lifting and not the technique used to correctly execute such a lift.

These nimrods also tend to carry around a big bag filled with various supplements and “gear,” using the aforementioned bag and its contents to claim territory around a certain machine or lifting station, and woe to the individual who attempts to violate their space. The concept of “claiming” a machine or a rack in the gym is idiotic and one of the greatest hallmarks for a gym douchebag. Serious lifters understand that there are a limited amount of stations in the gym, and they adapt to that. If you’re using a specific station, bench or machine and someone asks if they can work in with you, then you should accommodate them. They’re working towards the same thing that you are, and you shouldn’t get in the way of that. It might take a little more time to finish your routine, but it honestly comes with the territory of working out in a busy gym during prime time hours.

With New Years right around the corner there will be a massive surge in gym memberships as men and women work towards their own specific resolutions. It happens every year and is, honestly, predictable. A gym douchebag will go out of his way to make these new members feel out of place and weak, while a serious lifter will adapt to their presence and work on what he/she needs to work on. You can be serious about your health and fitness without being one of these tools, and you should make sure the people around you understand the difference. It’s because of these douchebags that Planet Fitness, with their idiotic rules and regulations against heavy lifting and gym “attire,” exists in the first place. Be a meathead, not a douchebag.