I used to go to the gym… I went almost every day for a year or two. First during the day and then at night. During the day, the personal trainers “trained” the Hooters Girls (yes, my gym had actual Hooters Girls), and the serious body builders glared at anyone who dared enter the freeweight area. Groups of young girls in $200 sneakers and way more makeup than I wore at my wedding giggled and gossiped in the cardio areas. I stuck to the perimeter, did my own thing and got the hell out of there. Kind of like high school.
Eventually I switched to nights because I thought it would be less crowded. It was, but it wasn’t any better. In fact, it got worse. Enter the night shift, a group of young men who showed up every night without fail. I’m not sure what these guys were doing at the gym, but it was definitely not to work out. Swear to God they were dressed in street clothes, a la Night at the Roxbury, and sporting enough cologne for a football team. OMG WTF!!!?! These spiky haired clones looked ready to troll the nearest meat market for easy prey. Ok, so they did use a few of the machines (mainly the ones I wanted to use!), but not for working out. Instead they sat on machines making what I can only guess were booty calls. After about a week, I decided to call it quits. That’s how I became a drop out. I’m happy to say that it hasn’t taken much to continue my workouts at home. Just some hand weights, good music and a pair of sneakers. Now my workout doesn’t feel so much like work.
February 9, 2009 at 3:28 am
This is truly a sad gym. How dare these men sit on the equipment with street clothing on? They are not there to workout, so they should be told to leave. I left a health club that was open 24 hours because it was always crowded and I felt like I was always in someone’s way. But this sounds much worse. And the top of the line health club is too expensive for me. (You know the one, for $59 a month.) So I would like to say, good job for leaving that club!
February 9, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Thanks Gwen. It was pretty ridiculous. My gym was also open “24 hours.” Good for you leaving a health club that you didn’t feel comfortable in. I know that I am a lot happier going for walks and hikes and working out at home. What are you doing since you left your gym?
March 25, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I wanted to comment and thank the author, good stuff
December 14, 2009 at 10:47 am
Nice article thank you for sharing!