NO TALK DURING SET

A gym set got interrupted by a stranger who would not take the hint, and by the end the poster was left wondering if a few nods and a headphone sliding back in had turned rude.

It happened a couple of days ago, while the poster was doing what they called "me time." They go to the gym pretty regularly and keep it simple: headphones on, focus on the workout, don't get distracted. The whole point, according to the post, is to stay in their own lane.

Then, in the middle of one set, the girl beside them tried to start a conversation.

The poster had headphones in and was clearly mid-workout, but she kept talking anyway. Rather than ignore her completely, the poster pulled one earbud out and answered when she started in with basic gym small talk, how many sets were left, how long the poster had been training, that sort of thing. The answers were brief. The earbud went right back in. The workout continued.

A few minutes later, she tried again.

This time, the poster did not really engage. They said they just nodded and kept lifting, trying not to be rude but also not interested in having a conversation in the middle of a set. The post does not say whether the girl was a stranger or a regular, or why she approached in the first place. What is clear is that she kept pushing after the first short exchange.

Eventually, she stopped trying. But as she walked away, she left one last parting shot: "guess people don't talk anymore."

That line is what stuck with the poster. A couple days later, they were still thinking about it and asking whether they had been wrong for "now talking back to her??"

The post is simple enough: headphones in, workout underway, someone keeps trying to chat, the poster gives short answers, then withdraws back into the set. The only real question is whether that counts as being rude, or just trying to finish a workout without stopping for a conversation.