Feel awkward at the gym?

faithNlove212

I love this post! Made me chuckle. :-) It's true.. since getting married I no longer care what anyone else's opinion really is besides my own and my husband's. Some more quirky people:

10.) Gym groupies - young girls that go to the gym in designer workout gear with hair done and a full face of fresh makeup; i.e. they spent more time preparing to go to the gym than actually working out.

11.) Butterflies - people that only spend a few minutes at each cardio machine before changing their mind when it gets hard and moving to a different machine; i.e. treadmill, bike, stair stepper, elliptical

@ your #10 !! I KNOW RIGHT?!?! LOL Yesterday I saw a group of girls come in all dressed in tight tanks that were so tight it made there breasts pop out! Hair all done as well as makeup like they were going to a dance. They basically sat on the mats in the corner checking out all the guys lifting. The entire time I was there they didnt exercise!

mommy23skllm

I used to have a gym membership but was always so freaked out by people looking at me work out. Thankfully I now have my own treadmill. I do some strange things when I'm working out that I don't think people would want to see. If a good song comes on my playlist, I bust out in dance, I sing, I talk to myself, I skip lol, I make some crazy faces when I'm pushing through my cardio really hard, but most of the time I have a big ol' goofy smile on my face because working out makes me feel happy.

Love this list. Thanks for posting.

jennylynn84

I love this post! Made me chuckle. :-) It's true.. since getting married I no longer care what anyone else's opinion really is besides my own and my husband's. Some more quirky people:

10.) Gym groupies - young girls that go to the gym in designer workout gear with hair done and a full face of fresh makeup; i.e. they spent more time preparing to go to the gym than actually working out.

11.) Butterflies - people that only spend a few minutes at each cardio machine before changing their mind when it gets hard and moving to a different machine; i.e. treadmill, bike, stair stepper, elliptical

@ your #10 !! I KNOW RIGHT?!?! LOL Yesterday I saw a group of girls come in all dressed in tight tanks that were so tight it made there breasts pop out! Hair all done as well as makeup like they were going to a dance. They basically sat on the mats in the corner checking out all the guys lifting. The entire time I was there they didnt exercise!

ALL THE TIME! I used to be at the university gym, which is right near sorority row. I guess it was a cheaper night out than the mall or the movies, because they would definitely come in and go straight to the mats and "stretch" for a good half hour or more (they were always still there by the time I moved on from weights to the racquetball court). And they'd fix their hair and talk about guys the whole time.

I have to agree too, that going all the time, or recognizing some of this stuff for the crazy nonsense it is does NOT mean that I haven't had all my stuff fall out of the elliptical cupholder, including my overly large and loud keys and my iPhone, which I then proceeded to some how kick on their way down and get headphone cords tangled in the machine. Awesome right? I've also been hit in the face by the hubs with his racquet and had to request ice. Which is not quite as funny as when MY overswing hit ME in the face.

jackpotclown

I have a gym membership and some home equipment, but the truth is I like to feel like I'm part of something.....doing things at home just doesn't have the same benefit for me.

Honestly, by the way your list was going, I wish you would have left it. I think there's a ton of quirks etc that really are funny....especialy the guys who you can't help but hear screaming at the other end of the gym, like they gave birth on each rep.

And for those of you who feel intimidated by the skinny people, don't be. I've seen the handle jockeys, the grunters, the sprinters, the lay-arounds (you know, the one who sits on the machine forever for the next set), the area hogs, and the OCD's (if you're in the path of their circuit, you will mess up their whole workout). Believe me, you won't look ridiculous to anyone who's been around the gym block.

I've been around the extreme of that too where I was too disgusted to watch at least one anorexic (and I don't exaggerate) on the elliptical, knobby knees and all, waste away.....and think wow someone should really step in and put an end to this nonsense.

kbellnurse

Wow do I ever feel you on this one. I have alopecia universalis (I have no hair on my head or anywhere) so I wear a bandana or a headscarf when I work out. I never really went to the gym before I lost my hair so I have no idea how it would feel to be any other way. Despite already being self conscious about my weight and the way my face gets all red when I'm lifting, i'm also almost always the only bald woman in the gym!
I used to wear a hat over my bandana so no one could tell but it was just awkward and hot. I think quite often the men don't really pay much notice but I know that most of the women do. Especially in the change room when I need to take my bandana off and put my wig back on. To be honest if I were them I'd probably look too!
My gym peeve (hope this wasn't already said and I missed it) is..
The girls that go to the gym in groups and have loud gossipy convos on adjacent cardio equipment. I always feel especially self conscious because they're barely working and just looking around all the time. Or the girls that sit on the leg press machine and text!! Put your freaking phone away! It says at the front of the gym "no cell phones/ respect privacy" I wish anyone would enforce it. Do they enforce that at any of your gyms?
Good luck battling the gym woes everyone.

Dteg

I loved reading this! It made me take a look at how i feel at the gym. I am so glad that i am not the only one to feel wierd or awkward at the gym! Thanks

kwardklinck

I like my gym. There are lots of older people that go there. Yes, there are the young hardbodies that frequent the place but most people are at least my age. Many of them are senior citizens. I think it's great that they go and try to live active and healthy lives. My only really awkward time was trying to do step aerobics. I've never done anything like that before and my body just doesn't want to cooperate.

Hijinxed_Heather

I think every one of us can relate to this awkwardness that seems to hang like a dark cloud over the gym. I have always felt uncomfortable at gyms and made up excuses not to go to avoid the anxiety I would feel when I got there. Even though everyone is doing their own thing while they're there, I felt like all eyes were on me because I was the "fat one" in a sea of physically fit college students. I go to the university gym so I constantly get reminded of the skinny women that run for miles and miles on treadmills, and I could just feel the shame wash over me as I compared myself to them. But then I remind myself that they work hard to maintain a fit body and that's why I'm there now. So I push past my anxiety, turn on my iPod and concentrate on the music, not my surroundings. I just keep in mind that what I'm doing is for me, and if the other people there have a problem with it then ignore me. I'm entitled to my time at the gym just as they are.