Does Lean = Mean?

Tell me ladies, what's up with all of the mean muggin' at the gym!?  We are all there for the same basic purpose, right?  Personally, I treat it like if I were passing someone on a narrow sidewalk.  I stay out of everyone else's way if possible.  But if we happen to occupy the same space at the same time, I smile and make eye contact and say "Excuse me."  Sounds simple enough, right?  That's where you'd be wrong.

In most cases like this, I find the lady I am trying to move past glaring at me like I just stepped on her kitten.  Why?  I'm not racing them to their machine.  I'm not showing off my muscular physique (HA!) in tiny clothes and chatting up their man.  Mostly, I am trying to churn out my cardio and make a run for it.  I like to get in, get it done, and get out.  I wish like hell that I was an exercise lover, but alas, it isn't to be!

So, why do rules of engagement and politeness not apply at the gym?  Like it or not, we all have to be there at some point.  Why not make the best of it?  Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to form lifelong bonds while I'm there.  I'd just rather not have the other people staring daggers at me the whole time.  Maybe I have broken some unspoken gym rule?  If so, merely say so.  Gym-savvy is definitely not how I'd describe myself!

As for me, I am choosing the higher path.  Well, if by higher path you thought I meant chanting the "Golden Rule" repeatedly as if I were on a grade school playground, then you'd have hit the nail on the head...  Look at me being a grown up!