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I work out weekdays at a small facility near my home from 0430 to 0530 where we have the benefit of a small class size, good equipment, and a fully competent trainer. Thursday morning just after 0440 with only myself, my workout buddy, and the trainer present in the facility, a man (early to mid-20s) came through the front door with some story about how he'd just dropped off a party bus and wanted to wait inside because it was pretty cool outside at that hour. Note, this man was wearing oversized t-shirt and shorts...no jacket. The trainer agreed that he could wait inside, so he sat down on a machine nearest the door. Within a minute or so, his friend (male, late teens to early 20s) wearing sagging pants and on oversized hoodie walked in without a word and stood against the wall next to the first guy.

Let me tell you, alarm bells and whistles were about to make my head explode at this point. I asked my workout partner if the hair on his neck was standing up like mine, and he replied that it was. Soon, the second man asked me if he could use the restroom, so I referred him to the trainer. The trainer agreed, and the guy disappeared in the restroom for about five minutes. When he finally came back out, he and the first guy had a somewhat quiet discussion about battery charges in their cell phones and who they were going to call to come get them. The second guy made a statement that his mom couldn't come, and the rest of the brief conversation was inaudible.

Finally, after maybe 25 minutes or so after the initial entry, the first guy asked what time the buses started running. We patiently explained that he'd need to walk approximately 5 miles south to get to an area serviced by DART. They left without a word within a minute or so of that little tid bit...Approximately 10 minutes after that, a woman came in to workout with the 0530 group and asked about the guys standing on the corner of the property near the street.

Ok...no concealed weapon on me (no place on/in my shorts to keep it, stored in my bag would not have facilitated the kind of control I'd be comfortable with) and I seriously doubt one in the truck parked outside would have made a difference should things have gotten froggy. Nothing available to us for defense other than dumbells, plates, bars, etc and one serious trainer who I have no doubt could have handled himself provided firearms were not involved.

I'm about 90% convinced that these two gentleman were up to no good and were interviewing us for some shenanigans since I found no evidence of a party bus anywhere near the training gym and their story simply made no sense. Besides, the situation just felt so wrong. My first instinct was to vacate the premises, but I was simply not going to bail out and leave the other two guys I was with. What I should have done was manned up and told the trainer to send them away, lock the door, and call the police to ask them to simply come by or gone outside and done it myself. Lesson learned there.

Although not 30.06 posted, carrying while trying to work out is not a viable option (not impossible, but would require a J-frame and holster purchase at the very least) and leaving a Glock unattended in a gym bag available to anyone doesn't thrill me either. The gym owner and I will have a conversation about this very soon because my biggest concern is the fact that on many days, our trainer would have been a woman (trust me, a real lady in every sense of the word and equally capable of going hands-on with pretty much anyone) and anywhere from two to four additional women there to work out. I think that scenario might have made a much more attractive target and made the two guys at least consider ignoring my workout buddy and myself or convinced them to take us out first.

This is one of the first situations that I've ever encountered in which I felt completely vulnerable to forces outside of my control. I need to be there to work out and simply changing my workout time/location would do nothing about the people who might still opt to be there. All I can come up with is recommend that the folks working there keep the doors locked...

Suggestions, comments, criticisms?

Afff_667 wrote:Suggestions, comments, criticisms?

Fanny pack. You don't think you'd have to actually wear it the whole workout (especially when your buddy is there), but it'd let you discretely keep your gun with you, plus you wouldn't lose your wallet, keys, cellphone, or first-aid kit if the locker room gets raided.

I have a small bag for wallet, keys, phone and a holstered M&P 9mm - goes with me and stays next to me.

When I workout at my neighborhood gym, I wear and/or carry a fannypack with me. People are free to draw their own conclusions. Inside that fannypack is a Kahr CW45. Nobody has commented on the fannypack to me yet. A couple of guys who kind of look like they might be aware in these matters have glanced at the fannypack, and then made eye contact with me; but they've said nothing. Now, I'm an old poot, and I most likely do not work out as vigorously as you do, but that fannypack does not get in my way.

In any case, I think in hindsight you might not have experienced an "interview," as they were A) talking about when one of their moms could come pick them up, and B) they didn't rob the place while they were in there. They left of their own accord, right? If they were hanging around on a nearby corner, and they didn't do anything, isn't it possible that you were alarmed simply because they did not seem to be an ethnic or cultural fit for the normal traffic in that neighborhood? Maybe they were just as freaked out by being stranded where they felt like they did not belong, and they just badly wanted someone to pick them up and get them out of there?

Just a thought....

i've been pondering this since I started this CHL journey. I work out 3 times a week and take a class called Body Pump (weight training with low weight but high repetition). It requires changing weights frequently, jumping, push-ups etc. I can't see keeping my gun on body with the amount I perspire and I sure as heck don't want to leave it on the floor next to my work out station while I change out weights or refill my water. If I put it in a locker I may as well leave it in the car.

Thougths and ideas??

jayinsat wrote:i've been pondering this since I started this CHL journey. I work out 3 times a week and take a class called Body Pump (weight training with low weight but high repetition). It requires changing weights frequently, jumping, push-ups etc. I can't see keeping my gun on body with the amount I perspire and I sure as heck don't want to leave it on the floor next to my work out station while I change out weights or refill my water. If I put it in a locker I may as well leave it in the car.

Thougths and ideas??

Yes..... I sweat like the prodigal son in a turkish house of earthly delights, and I've never had my gun get wet in its fannypack. I've never had the fannypack get wet. My clothing may become sweat-soaked, but it does not penetrate the ballistic nylon of the fannypack.

I don't think that a fannypack is the ideal way to carry, but sometimes it is the only way to carry. I use mine accordingly.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

jayinsat wrote:i've been pondering this since I started this CHL journey. I work out 3 times a week and take a class called Body Pump (weight training with low weight but high repetition). It requires changing weights frequently, jumping, push-ups etc. I can't see keeping my gun on body with the amount I perspire and I sure as heck don't want to leave it on the floor next to my work out station while I change out weights or refill my water. If I put it in a locker I may as well leave it in the car.

Thougths and ideas??

Yes..... I sweat like the prodigal son in a turkish house of earthly delights, and I've never had my gun get wet in its fannypack. I've never had the fannypack get wet. My clothing may become sweat-soaked, but it does not penetrate the ballistic nylon of the fannypack.

I don't think that a fannypack is the ideal way to carry, but sometimes it is the only way to carry. I use mine accordingly.

You are trying your darndest to get me to buy a fanny pack aren't you?

I will give it a try no matter how dorky I look.

The Annoyed Man wrote:In any case, I think in hindsight you might not have experienced an "interview," as they were A) talking about when one of their moms could come pick them up, and B) they didn't rob the place while they were in there. They left of their own accord, right? If they were hanging around on a nearby corner, and they didn't do anything, isn't it possible that you were alarmed simply because they did not seem to be an ethnic or cultural fit for the normal traffic in that neighborhood? Maybe they were just as freaked out by being stranded where they felt like they did not belong, and they just badly wanted someone to pick them up and get them out of there?

Just a thought....

Thanks to everyone for their valuable input.

I've turned these thoughts over and over in my mind several times, but I keep coming back to bad intent. I drove around the area several times after I'd completed my daily butt-whipping in the gym and could find no evidence of a party van anywhere within several blocks on all sides of the gym. I factored in that the three of us in the gym (hopefully) presented a more imposing presence than a group of women (no sexism or disrespect intended) and, discretion being the better part of valor and all, the pair moved on without causing trouble. In other words, we didn't provide an easy target. Although I delibertately left out the ethnic/cultural aspect of it, these men were not WASPs and actually fit in perfectly with the ethnic/cultural make-up of the surrounding area. They could live in the immediate area or easily faded into the woodwork, so to speak.

First and foremost is how I felt at the time. Their presence there at that time of the morning with what I felt was a rather implausible story set off my alarms. Things just didn't add up for me, and it didn't add up for my workout buddy and the trainer. I could be wrong, heck I hope I'm wrong, but I try not to ignore that little voice in the back of my head telling me that something just ain't right.

The take-home part, I suppose, is that I should/will investigate an alternative way to carry in the gym and that I will definitely recommend to the owner that the trainers keep the doors locked very early in the morning, although that last one may be problematic because the doors currently have no panic hardware installed. I really wish some unicorns or fairies would make 9mm S&W Shields more readily available...

jayinsat wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:

jayinsat wrote:i've been pondering this since I started this CHL journey. I work out 3 times a week and take a class called Body Pump (weight training with low weight but high repetition). It requires changing weights frequently, jumping, push-ups etc. I can't see keeping my gun on body with the amount I perspire and I sure as heck don't want to leave it on the floor next to my work out station while I change out weights or refill my water. If I put it in a locker I may as well leave it in the car.

Thougths and ideas??

Yes..... I sweat like the prodigal son in a turkish house of earthly delights, and I've never had my gun get wet in its fannypack. I've never had the fannypack get wet. My clothing may become sweat-soaked, but it does not penetrate the ballistic nylon of the fannypack.

I don't think that a fannypack is the ideal way to carry, but sometimes it is the only way to carry. I use mine accordingly.

You are trying your darndest to get me to buy a fanny pack aren't you?

I will give it a try no matter how dorky I look.

I recently bought one just to take to the gym. Be able to keep my firearm, two extra magazines, my DL, CHL, vehicle keys, money, etc. with me while doing what is necessary.

I recently purchased a 5.11 fanny pack with the intention of carrying while working out, but now, since I can't bring myself to wear it (and my wife teases me), I can't find it in to me to work out.

Rrash wrote:I recently purchased a 5.11 fanny pack with the intention of carrying while working out, but now, since I can't bring myself to wear it (and my wife teases me), I can't find it in to me to work out.

I no longer care what I look like to someone else, so if I look dorky with it on, I'm not even aware of it. If I look dorky wearing it when my son is with me, well.....that's just sweet revenge.

Afff_667, I'm not suggesting that you're wrong. I just thought that was worth investigating. It's good and wise to live in condition yellow, but living in a constant condition orange or red can be exhausting, and it will eventually lead to a degradation of your alertness. It's like leaving your amp turned up to 11. Eventually you'll pop a tube. But hey, if your Spidey Sense really was tingling, then it is better to pay attention.

I don't know if there is any really "good" way to carry while working out, but you might look at some of the camelbak packs. Many hydration packs have small compartments in which you could easily hide one of the many pocket pistols on the market today. It would not look weird or stand out in the gym. The drawback is a slow draw and if you are on your back doing bench exercises, you would need to slip it off. Small compromise though if you have safety concerns. I run about 40 miles per week and generally carry a hydration pack with a pistol stashed in it. Works pretty well without looking strange and depending on what kind of exercises you are doing, they don't flop around like a fanny pack can. Plus you can take a drink from your holster!

Proximity card reader locks would be useful in that situation. Nobody enters without a card. Nonmembers of the gym would stay nonmembers.

karder wrote:I don't know if there is any really "good" way to carry while working out, but you might look at some of the camelbak packs. Many hydration packs have small compartments in which you could easily hide one of the many pocket pistols on the market today. It would not look weird or stand out in the gym. The drawback is a slow draw and if you are on your back doing bench exercises, you would need to slip it off. Small compromise though if you have safety concerns. I run about 40 miles per week and generally carry a hydration pack with a pistol stashed in it. Works pretty well without looking strange and depending on what kind of exercises you are doing, they don't flop around like a fanny pack can. Plus you can take a drink from your holster!

I use one while mountain biking.

Are you bros with the owner? If so work with him to place shotguns discretely around the gym :)