Gyms are places where respect and shared space make or break the experience.

So when people treat shared equipment like personal property, it’s only a matter of time before someone pushes back.

But when one gym goer did just that, the other entitled gym members tried to make him the villain.

Read on for the full story!

AITA for moving a placeholder bottle in the gym?

I hit this gym the same time most weekdays and the benches are always the bottleneck. There is a simple share rule on the wall and people usually rotate fine.

With the exception of a couple annoying people, that is.

Lately a duo has been filming a lot and spreading bottles across benches like placeholders. I had a short window and my plan needed a bench, period.

The gym was packed and every bench was taken. A duo had three benches marked with bottles and towels.

They were filming sets and chatting. I waited and watched one bench sit empty.

So this gym goer decided to do what he needed to do.

Minutes kept sliding and nuh uh, I’m done. I picked up the placeholder bottle and set it by their bag.

I wiped the bench and set up my weights. Duo approached me and I nodded and kept lifting.

The couple soon tried to intimidate him for moving their stuff.

One person hovered and counted my reps out loud. I focused on form and blocked it out.

My set ended and I moved to the next move. They sighed and filmed on another bench.

This gym goer was simply standing up for the rule of the gym.

Benches are for people who are actually lifting, not props and bottles. Holding three benches while one sits empty is not rotation, bro.

Film if you want, but respect the share rule like everyone else. If your body is not on the bench, it is not yours, simple.

AITA for moving someone’s placeholder bottle off a gym bench so I could actually use it?

No shouting, no arguing. He just did what he came to do and moved on.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter thinks the rule of law in this gym is definitely on this gym goer’s side.

A bottle is not a real way to reserve anything.

It’s high time to get management involved here.

And while management is at it, they should ban all cameras too.

Even if others grumbled, he should be secure in the knowledge that he was the one who actually followed gym rules.

Weight benches are for lifting, not storing bottles — and that’s just common sense.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.