A manager at fitness company Gymbox has told a woman who complained about a rude gym user that “high testosterone levels” can lead to “extreme reactions” from men.

Elena Bunbury, 22, raised concerns about a man who displayed “unfriendly, judgemental and aggressive attitudes” while she and her friend were at the gym in Westfield Stratford City.

In email exchange which she later posted on Twitter, Ms Bunbury detailed how she and a friend were taking turns to use a leg machine when the man approached to ask how long they would be using it for.

After determining the women still had several sets each to complete, the man - who they did not know - walked off and "made an under breath comment about the weight we were using being light”.

Ms Bunbury asked her friend what his problem was and the man, upon hearing her, turned around and came back to demand they tell him what they just said.

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He then told the women: “If you’re laughing and smiling when you’re doing legs then you’re not doing legs. Pathetic.”

Ms Bunbury added: “He then proceeded to throw weights on the floor dramatically and huff and puff whilst staring at us and linger around us [in] the gym."

Gymbox studio manager Viktoria Vakratsa wrote in response to Ms Bunbury’s complaint: “It is unfortunate you had such an experience in our gym, I have never had similar issues with members. I understand that what was said was inappropriate and rude.

“From my personal point of view, it is an unfortunate situation where a guy was rude to you, but it could have happened anywhere.

“We are in a gym where testosterone levels are high especially during workouts. This means that reactions to situations can be a bit extreme especially for men."

Ms Bunbury told The Independent she was particularly shocked by the Gymbox manager's manager's response because she was also female.

“Everyone who contacted me after I posted Gymbox’s response on Twitter thought it was a man who had replied me,” said Ms Bunbury.

“It was as if she had been brainwashed into believing that. I do believe it gives men an excuse to behave badly at the gym.”

She added: “When she said ‘it has never happened to me’, I felt like she was shaming me – somehow it was my fault or the hormone’s fault.

“Quite a few men who reached out to me after I posted about it have actually been offended by the suggestion that testosterone was to blame for bad behaviour– it’s like the male equivalent of the myth that periods make women crazy.”

In a second email, which was sent after Ms Bunbury posted the initial exchange on Twitter, Gymbox general manager Dominic Rowley apologised and said: “I would like to address the situation with my studio manager and her response – I will be speaking with her as I too can see that this wasn’t the correct way to address this situation.

“I will ensure that we investigate it and further training is implemented to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

He added: “We do try to emphasise that as a ‘culture’ in the gym, when busy, or machines being used that members feel confident to ‘drop in’ on someone’s workout/machine – however the approach that [the other member] made can clearly be seen as aggressive and fully unnecessary.”

Ms Bunbury said she would like to quit the gym, but added: “The problem is that I signed on to a year’s contract that I don’t know if I can get out of, and I get on really well with my personal trainer.

“If I didn’t have such a good personal trainer, I would leave immediately. I’m still unsure of what to do.”

Gymbox drew criticism earlier this month when complaints surfaced over a billboard campaign that appeared to suggest people should hit the gym to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace.

The billboard featured a flowchart that read “Sleazy boss – Gymbox – Muay Thai – #Knee_To”.

Ms Bunbury said if she had seen the adverts before entering a contract with Gymbox, she “would have never done it”.

“What a crap campaign – to try and capitalise on sexual harassment is so sickening. They’re trying to make money out of someone who may feel vulnerable after being harassed at work and is thinking of how to defend themselves. It’s awful,” she said.

Gymbox said in a statement to The Independent: "We take any incidences of harassment in our gyms very seriously. Everyone should be able to enjoy our gyms without being made to feel uncomfortable, and we recognise that in this instance our response to this customer's complaint has fallen short of what it should be.