Monday, June 16, 2008

At the Gym: A continuation...

So I figured I would update you all since my gym attendance has increased signifcantly since the previous blog and thus my perspectives have as well...

I have transformed from going to the gym about 3 times a week to going 5-6 times a week for minimum of an hour each time. My classification wouldn't be "hard core workout person" but it's getting a lot closer! Let me update you on those people...

  • First of all, I have discovered the female's name who I referred to in my previous blog and have had a few conversations with her over the past month. She is human after all!... and she is very sweet. I've gained a little insight into her workout regimen due to our convos. She does 30 minutes on the stairmaster at level 15. If any of you have even attempted the stairmaster, you'll know that anything beyond level 12 is quite difficult. I, myself, have only been able to attempt level 12 for 13 minutes so far. She also jumps rope for about 10 minutes in addition to her weight lifting. I have yet to discuss this and her diet with her but stay tuned for the next "At the Gym" blog... I may have some more answers!
  • As for the hardcore workout dude, I haven't seen him nearly as much and haven't had the opportunity to chat with him. Sorry folks!

New people to discuss:

  • These are the "Deny we're in a relationship but we workout at the same time and always use machines right next to each other" people. There is a male and female who come in at the same time or close to as each other. They always get on the ellipticals next to one another and talk the entire time they are on them. If one isn't at the gym one day, you can sure as heck bet the other one won't be there either. It's very odd b/c I know one of them and he denies they're together even though they dated for 8 years. Anyways, what's even more interesting is that if she is there before him, she will stay on that elliptical for however long it takes for him to get there and get through his cardio. I'm not kidding you when I say this... she once stayed on that machine for 1 hour and 40 minutes straight! That's nuts!... Haha, that reminds me... on Sunday, as I was leaving the gym, he was already there on his elliptical, and she about ran me over flying through the parking lot to park so she could get in the gym and see him.

The gym has gotten a lot busier over the past few weeks b/c of people gearing up for the summer and heading to the beach. Good for them for getting in the gym but it's quite annoying when you're used to having free reign over most of the place and then these people who aren't familiar with the gym or gym-etiquette interupt your space. PERSONAL BUBBLES PEOPLE! We all need them, even at the gym! If someone is on the decline bench doing situps, and you see them going up then down, etc. Don't walk right behind them so that you almost nail them in the head... and PLEASE stop lifting in clumpy groups. Maybe we need to do the thing we did in elementary school PE: hold your arms out to the side and swing them around. If you touch someone, you're way too close and will likely harm them when doing an exercise...

Ok, that's enough for now... Be ready for another continuation in a couple of months!

At the Gym...

Have you ever noticed that the gym is an AMAZING place to people watch? It's what helps me get through my 30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill... well, that and my music. The people that come into the gym have inspired me to write this. I have decided to write out my thoughts on the many different types.

First off you have the hard core workout people. These are the people who you know spend at LEAST 2 hours every single day in the gym. There are two people in my gym like this whom I see every time I'm in there. One is a male and one is a female.

  • The female has a rock hard body I will give her that; however, her body fat percentage is so low that I doubt she enjoys a single piece of food that goes into her mouth. Her workout attire shows her stomach every time, and her stomach is not your normal female six pack (if there is such a thing). This stomach is more muscular than most men I've seen. Her stomach muscles are larger than my biceps. All of the physique aside, I must admit I am quite envious of her jump roping ability. That girl will jump rope for like 15 minutes straight and not stop. She twists that rope and hops in so many different ways that i know I would be done after 30 seconds. One of these days, maybe I'll get up the guts to ask her to teach me.
  • Now, on to the guy workout-a-holic. This guy comes in with his black workout pants and loosely fitted dryfit shirt. He gets on the elliptical and works that machine harder than I ever thought possible (my thoughts on the elliptical machine will be discussed later). Once done on there after about 20 minutes or so, he then jumps on the treadmill and runs at, I kid you not, 8 mph for another 20 minutes straight. By the time he's done, his clothes are drenched in sweat. but wait! he's not done yet. He then proceeds to jump rope like the girl mentioned above. His abilities aren't to the caliber that hers are, but the man just did hardcore cardio for at LEAST 40 minutes. Now, I don't know what either of them do on the weights b/c I get there after they're done with the weight training portion of their workouts. THEY ARE HARDCORD WORKOUT PEOPLE.

Next you have the people who are just there to get other people to look at them, which we do but it's b/c they're so ridiculous. I'm sure you know these people.

  • They are the men who come in with super tight Under Armour shirts, but their guts are hanging out. They get on the elliptical machine or the bike and go for about 10 minutes, come off panting and acting like they just ran a marathon. There's this one dude who is about 60 years old, has a gut the size of a large watermelon, but always walks around looking at others thinking they're looking at him. He gets on the stationary sit-down bike and while he is biking, he moves his arms up and down like he's doing shoulder presses. This wouldn't be so terrible except every time his hands reach the top, he makes a "ch" noise LOUDLY so everyone hears him working out.
  • Then there's the women who come in with their hair down. Why in the world would you go workout with your hair down if you plan on getting a good workout?! However, not only do they have their hair down but their makeup is also done like they just applied it to go out to dinner. They have diamond studs in their ears and wear perfectly matching workout outfits. Matching wouldn't be such a bad thing except for the fact that these outfits serve no practical purpose. Any female knows that a built in bra tank top provides NO support even when sitting down, let alone getting on the elliptical or stairmaster or bike or treadmill. What makes this worse is when some of them get on their cell phones!!!! Do NOT, and I repeat do NOT ever get on your cell phone while in the gym working out in the cardio area. Your loud gabbing ruins the music that keeps me in the zone while running. Just because you don't care to have a good workout, doesn't mean you have to ruin mine.
  • Along the same lines as the above mentioned women, there's another layer to add: the ones who are so skinny that the first thought that comes to your head when you see them is "EAT A CHEESEBURGER!" These women are similar to the men mentioned above. They get on the treadmill, elliptical, or stairstepper for about 5-10 minutes and get off acting like they just ran a marathon. THEY DIDN'T EVEN BREAK A SWEAT. Every molecule of makeup and piece of hair is in the same place it was in when they began.

For those of you gym goers, I'm sure you know the people I'm talking about because the above mentioned people are everywhere. However, if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have much entertainment during my workout. So thank you Mr. and Ms. Hardcore workout people and Mr. and Ms. I'm Here to be Seen!