Weirdos at the gym
January 10, 2008
Yesterday when I was at the gym with my cousin (because I’m sticking to my New Year’s resolution of getting healthier and into better shape, DUH), we were having a little bit of trouble (being the non-gym-goers that we are) figuring out some of those circuit exercise machines. Here’s the thing… the last time I actually worked out in the gym before 3 days ago was about 7 years ago when I was still in middle school. I used to go with my parents every once in a while, and one of them was usually on hand to tell me how to use a machine. Oh, and 7 years ago, that particular gym we used to go to didn’t have the fancy circuit machines… it was more of a treadmills, free weights and mats-for-crunches type of place. (read: not so much “Health Club” but a barebones “gym”)
Anywho, for some reason we were going about it as if we had our thumbs up our butts… but honestly I attribute that more towards our being slightly discomfited… a normal reaction in any situation where you’re unsure of what you’re doing. Having witnessed our giggly, and obviously pained attempts at not looking like complete morons, this somewhat disheveled looking slightly-older-than-middle-aged man with a mullet haircut and a furry mustachioed face cut into our conversation to explain the machines to us and gripe that most of the personal trainers “don’t know their shit.” He was obviously attempting to be friendly, and it was nice of him to give us some pointers. We thanked him and went about toning our muscles. But he started talking, and when he finished, we thanked him again for his help. Then he started talking again, and we thanked him again. Then, while I was on some machine that works out your back muscles, he came over and started talking about the machine, and he then he touched and rubbed a spot right in the middle of my back while explaining that if you squeeze right there when you’re bringing your arms back that you’ll really feel it.
Now, I could really care less about this guy being a chatterbox despite how many times the conversation sooo obviously was at an end… but… isn’t there some sort of gym etiquette against touching a stranger who’s not in any sort of danger of getting hurt if you’re not that person’s personal trainer and by whom you’ve so obviously already been dismissed? Did that make sense at all? I don’t know, it was just weird to me. It’s not like I reacted like “WTF yO why are you touching me?!?” (No, I was gracious, made sure my discomfort at his level of comfort with me didn’t register on my face and then I thanked him for his help, because well, he had seemed genuinely friendly and eager to help us out) but the question did cross my mind: How would other people react to being touched and slightly rubbed, even slightly, but on purpose (obviously) by a total and complete stranger? Anyway, he started talking again about something or other, and we thanked him again and he went on his way…. finally.
Uhh, and then let’s see… tonight at the gym there was a very loud and belligerent man who was on his cell phone from the time I got there to when I left an hour and 15 minutes later… trust me– I didn’t have my iPod
What bordered on hilarious to me was that this guy didn’t seem to realize just how loud he was being. The floor is, of course, open, and instead of maybe stepping outside of the gym to carry on his phone conversation, he moved to a corner of the floor. That obviously doesn’t do anything to lower the actual decibel level of one’s voice unless he/she purposely does so, and if anything, it almost seemed to make his voice reverberate throughout the room. It’s amazing really, because considering the large size of the room, with the background music playing, weights clanking together and the whirring all the machines make, along with all laughter, conversations, and the, uh, human noises, his voice was still loud, clear and dominated over all other sounds. Some people….
In other news, I’m happy to say that working out is already doing wonders for me. I’m not as much of a B-word, I’ve had more energy, and my mood has generally gone from “Bleh I think I’ll stay in the house.” to “Yay! Let’s go for a walk and then let’s sing songs about rainbows and kitties and sunshine!” Okay, so maybe not soooo chipper, but there’s definitely a decrease in moodiness. And to think, it only took the National Body Challenge to make me finally get off my butt, stop just talking about working out, and actually get into the gym! I’ve also started limiting my intake of caca junk foods and sugary drinks and increasing my intake of healthy foods and water. Yes, my friends, I’m definitely on my way to living a healthier, happier life! And of course, a healthier, happier, more active me will allow me to set a good example for littleQ to live a healthy, happy, active life 
Oh, you might want to check out the fitness DVD giveaway I’m hosting at MamaDivas.com. Check it out.. you can enter until midnight EST on January 15, 2008
Technorati Tags: weird people, annoying people, gym etiquette, workout, gym, health club, etiquette, exercise, cell phone etiquette
Now, the bathroom mirror does not lie. It can’t, the light in there is far, far too bright. Photographs (usually) don’t lie either, and that’s why you will not find a close up of my fair visage (lol) from anytime during my pregnancy. In retrospect, it was beyond silly of me, but for the first half of my pregnancy with littleQ I did not want my face to be the focal point of any photograph because I thought that it would look too swollen, then when the second half of my pregnancy rolled around, my face (my nose especially) really was swollen.
