Working out FAIL

Does anyone else absolutely HATE it when people talk loudly on their cellphones while working out in public?  In my opinion, this is The #1 Gym Offense.  I mean are you really that busy/important that you have to have a full on conversation on your phone while you workout?  A brief, quiet phone call is one thing.  Or, if you are on call and need to have your phone with you at all times that is another thing.  I guarantee you that the average person is not busy/important enough to warrant talking on the phone at the gym.  This is just rude and inconsiderate to the other people who are working out and not bothering others.  Trust me, NO ONE wants to hear you talk about American Idol, your amazing date last night, or how much you hate your boss. 

Of course, I have an example from my personal life.  I went to the gym today around 2:00 PM and could not wait to log some time on the elliptical machine while flipping through the September issue of Harper's Bazaar.  The gym was not very crowded, and I chose a machine two machines down from another woman.  Let's call her Britney.  She was listening to music on her iPhone when a call came in.  Britney answered the call and proceeded to talk quite loudly.  I tried my best to ignore her, but it was next to impossible since she was talking so loud.  *Note to people who talk on the phone at the gym: OTHER PEOPLE CAN HEAR EVERY WORD THAT YOU ARE SAYING.*  I had to keep turning my music up to hear it because all I could hear was every word of her very annoying conversation. 

At first, Britney was talking about some event she was going to and was clearly trying to make plans for a friend to join her.  Then, the conversation became interesting when the person must have asked her what she was doing.  Her is what I heard:

"Oh, I am at the gym on the elliptical right now. 
Oh yeah, I can talk, I like ALWAYS talk on the phone when I am at the gym.  (Great, just my luck.)
Yep, you know I have to keep up my figure to attract younger men.  (HA!)
Yeah, I usually go for the young ones.  I mean, the last guy I dated was like 26. 
People always think I am only like 28.  (Britney appreared to be in her early 30s.)
I like, always get carded, and I love it.  (I think I threw up in my mouth at that point.)
People think my body is so hot, so I have to work really hard to keep it."  (Too bad her face did not match her 'hot' body.)

At that point, I had had enough.  To avoid coming to physical blows and getting arrested for striking someone, I got off my machine and chose a machine SEVEN machines down from Britney.  However, even with my music turned up AND the new distance between us, I could still hear every word of her very candid conversation. 

What is the moral of the story you ask?  If you absolutely MUST answer a call while at the gym, either talk quietly and make it brief, or excuse yourself like you would do in any public place.  Let's have manners people.  I don't know about you, but I love leaving my phone in the car and not having to worry about it while I work out.  Also, do not EVER answer your phone during a yoga class.  If you forget to turn your phone on silent (shame on you), the least you can do is to just let it ring or silence it.  Every few months, someone answers their phone during yoga, and they get death glares from every single person in the class...worst of all from me. 

The other gym offenses and/or grievances I have are as follows:

1) Talking on the phone
2) Wearing denim, khakis, etc-you clearly can afford a gym membership, can you not afford a pair of gym shorts/pants?
3) Carrying around a gallon of water, protein shake, etc-really, do you need to drink that much?
4) Coming into a class extremely late (as in more than 10 minutes)-people come into my yoga class at least 20 minutes late all the time-FAIL!
5) Blatantly staring at girls while they work out-at least be less obvious guys

All of that being said, I am glad people are working out and being active.  Let's just try to mind our manners while we do so.