To the over confident bulky lifter, the seemingly harmless old man, the age-appropriate but weird lingering guy, or any other breed of man that finds himself staring at women while at the gym:

Stop.

It's not a confidence boost to feel your eyes check out my ass while I walk from machine to machine. I don't take it as a compliment when you say 'hey,' and then let your eyes rake over my whole body, like some kind of predatory animal trying to seduce their prey before going in for the kill.

In case you couldn't tell, I find it completely repulsive when you smirk at me. It's inconsiderate for you to be throwing your sweaty ego around, especially considering that gyms are actually meant for exercise - not unsolicited flirting.

Just to clear up some of the apparent confusion that a multiplicity of males at the gym seem to have, here is a list of things you should already know:

1) I did not wear this outfit to impress you, I wore it because it makes my workout easier when I don't have to concern myself with pit-stains or loose shorts riding up my ass.

2) I did not come here to watch you lift an unimpressive amount of weight whilst grunting like some sort of confused gorilla.

3) I did hear you say hi, but I am pretending that I didn't because of my ear buds. I actually just have no desire to acknowledge your creepy advances.

4) I do not want your opinion about how much weight I should be lifting 'for my size,' and I do not care if you think lifting will make me bulky (spoiler alert: my body has more important functions than just being aesthetically pleasing for you).

5) I have no interest in acknowledging lurkers, yes I can see you following me from machine to machine, yes I know you're waiting for me to talk to you; but, no - it will never, ever happen. Move along, please.

If you know somebody who exhibits this kind of gross and unruly behavior, do the whole world of women who workout a favor: tell them to stop being so damn creepy and use the gym for what it's for... exercising.