Gymiquette

Why do people who have no intention of working out go to the gym? This is a major pet peeve of mine.
 
Today at the gym, there were four girls, all of whom seemed to be good friends. They decided to sit on the raised platform where people work out their abs and have a good ole chat, effectively blocking anybody who wanted to do some abwork from doing so. Grumbling, I moved over to the free weights to work on my legs. The area was already crowded, and I had to sneak my self in between two muscley guys doing bench presses so I could do lunges by a corner of the mirror. Lo and behold, the girls trailed me to the weights, took up roost on a padded bench and continued to have their loud conversation. The whole while, blocking other patrons from using the weights.
 
This behaviour boggles my mind. Why come into a noisy, sweaty, smelly, cramped environment so you and your friends can sit, get in peoples' ways, bother people and have a chat? How can people be that oblivious to others around them? I am not against any talking at the gym, however. I often run into people I know, and stop for a quick chat. But I don't make my SOLE purpose of going to the gym one of chatting. If they wanted to talk so badly, why not go for a walk, or out for coffee?
 
It's simple GYMIQUETTE.