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Comment by hsod | Hacker News Reader

It's probably because the sound of a hundred people grunting and panting in a silent room would be weird

It's weird that a gym sounds like a gym? There's also strangers in funny clothes sweating next to yiou. This is what one expects at a gym.

There's a difference between what you expect, and what you like. It doesn't mean it can't be a little better. Having something playing in the background makes the other noises less weird. It also makes me less self-conscious when I make my own grunting noises.

You're telling me if they invented a machine that stopped anyone in a room from sweating or smelling, you wouldn't want your gym to have them?

>"Having something playing in the background makes the other noises less weird. It also makes me less self-conscious when I make my own grunting noises."

Which is presumably why the overwhelming majority of people in gyms are wearing earbuds and and enjoying their chosen music.

Okay, but unless I can get every single person to wear earbuds than it will still make me self-conscious to grunt in front of the ones that aren't. Also the gym staff. Etc.

If you have your own earbuds in, why does it matter if the gym is playing music?

Do you really believe that if I am working out next to you that I can't hear you grunting if the gym is playing music?

If you read the discussion you can see that the issue if you have to compete with the house sounds system which is much more powerful than your earbuds.

> Do you really believe that if I am working out next to you that I can't hear you grunting if the gym is playing music?

Not that you can't hear me. But that I'm not the only thing you hear.

It's a psychological thing. I'm no longer worrying that the only sounds for people near me to hear are my grunts. The music lets both of us tune it out. If you want to focus on me and listen, you can still do that, but it's weird.

> If you read the discussion you can see that the issue if you have to compete with the house sounds system which is much more powerful than your earbuds.

I've never been to a gym that I couldn't comfortably speak at a quiet level above the music, and wouldn't work out at one that does. This isn't actually a discussion about gym music, it's crappy gyms vs non-crappy gyms.

>"This isn't actually a discussion about gym music, it's crappy gyms vs non-crappy gyms."

It seems like its more a discussion about your own self-consciousness.

Correct. A crappy gym doesn't try to accommodate members needs like self consciousness or an overbearing music volume. A good gym does, among many other things.

I meant weird in the sense of unpleasant/unsettling, not unusual or surprising.

It's a f...ing gym! If people can't deal with the sound from other people working out they can get earplugs or get a headset.

"can't deal with" seems like an unnecessarily personalized argument. Maybe they just like music better?

Ift's fine if they like music better but their need can easily be satisfied by wearing earphones. It's harder for people who don't want music to remove it.

if you listened to your arguments for the "other" people, you might consider getting ear plugs or noise-canceling headphones yourself.

Music at the gym should be opt-in, not opt-out.

There's still always going to be some "opt-out" sounds at the gym. I'd prefer it be any kind of music rather than "Hnnnggg, urrgghh" and clink-clanks.

Or just ban the grunters... sigh.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/no_grunting_allowed_at_the_...

Wow imagine getting publicly scolded and thrown out of a gym after having successfully benched 500 pounds. That’s surreal.

Plenty of ways to cancel that out from an owners' perspective.

Number one would be fans. Number two would be a noise-masking solution.

Music is a pretty widely-accepted noise masking solution, though.

What about using white noise?

That would open them up to hundreds of copyright infringement claims!!!

Even 4'33" of silence might!

Were I a member of staff, or even a frequent user who doesn't want his own music, I'd hate having to listen to white noise for extended periods.

They play white noise in my building at work and, your first week you really notice it but, once you get used to it being there you don't notice it all.

Except maybe when something happens and it turns off and then it's so loud that you wish it was on again.

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