GYM RATS - #9
“Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
In good times, in bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for”
~Dionne Warwick & Friends
When we joined the gym the point was to lose weight and improve our health. That’s it. Show up, work out, come home.
However, there are two basic types of members. Those like us who are mainly there for business and those like Chatty Kathy Guy who are there for a little pleasure as well. Chatty Kathy Guy used to have a work out buddy whose ear he would talk off the entire time. Maybe that’s why his buddy stopped coming to the gym. So now poor Chatty Kathy Guy roams the gym looking for other ears to bend.
Don’t get me wrong, Chatty Kathy Guy is really nice. He is a salesman so he has that outgoing personality and friendly demeanor. He is happiest when some of his gym buddies are there to talk to in between sets on the weights. I feel bad for him when none of his friends are around - he looks like a sad puppy dog. But if you fall for that look then you risk being sidetracked for a while as he chats away. He’s always eager to make friends, be it on the treadmill, weights or just wandering around.
There is another chatterbox who gives Chatty Kathy Guy a run for his money. The original Stairmaster Man doesn’t do any talking - just sweating. But Stairmaster Man II will go on and on and on and on about sports to any of the guys that wander within range of his Stairmaster. I don’t know how he can hold a conversation on that thing but he never tires of a good discussion.
For the ladies, classes seem to the best method for meeting friends since talk about the class is a built in conversation starter. Guys don’t generally seem to take classes but I do admire the brave few who do. They risk being laughed at by their macho buddies but they have plenty of opportunity to mingle with the babes.
But if you have all the friends you want you can just pop in your earbuds and tune out the world and get in an uninterrupted workout. Maybe if I spent more time talking to the Gym Rats around me I wouldn’t have to refer to them as Chatty Kathy Guy and Stairmaster Man II. But where would the fun be in that?
Click here for previous editions of Gym Rats
and tell us who you want to hear about next!
4 comments:
As always, so good. I really love your gym rat posts. Another advantage of going to the gym - good fodder for your posts.
I'm not generally an unfriendly individual, but you've just listed the exact reason I avoid the gym.
Well, along with my natural aversion to exercise.
There are a LOT more than just TWO types of personalities at any given gym or fitness club...how about the know-it-all Networker, the Barbies and the gay aerobics instructor...otherwise known ast the gym DIVA. The gym is a microcosm of society, and precisely why I DO GO to the gym...It's free entertainment! The gym is the equivalent of the modern-day neighborhood bar.
CHEERS minus alcohol and secondhand smoke,plus sweat and endorphines...
Do more than blog...post your own gym rule, blast the management for dust bunnies in the locker room, and tell other gymrats about your most recent spinning class crush...
At www.gymratrules.com
For years I attended a good old fashioned gym where everyone was fixated on working out. Then they tore it down to build vacation rental houses. Ugh! Haven't been able to find a gym I like since. I'd even settle for a few Chatty Cathy Guys!
Post a Comment