I started a new exercise the other day, that my physical therapist keeps telling me I'm doing wrong. (I believe her; my body just hasn't figured out yet how to do it.)

At any rate, I went over to the mirror wall for the first time, to watch myself do the exercise, and I discovered two things. First, the mirror can't help me with the exercise since I need to see myself from the back.

Second, no one need worry about people watching them because of the mirrors. The great majority of the people around the mirrors are totally focused on themselves. In fact, most of them are so self-absorbed that they don't even notice that they're blocking access to huge amounts of equipment.

Basically, the safest strategy to being ignored at the YMCA is to be close to the mirrors but not blocking equipment, you're not using.