I majored in Sociology. Suffice it to say, people, and their interactions, fascinate me. I’ve come to find that a great place to indulge this interest is none other than the gym. Ah yes, the gym; where one can find those whose lives revolve around working out, those who’re trying to shed those pesky extra pounds, those who view it as a prime date-finding arena, and even those who’re there simply for appearances. Because of the wide variety of reasons that people may be at the gym, gym-goers provide an excellent, and amusing, sampling of social culture as a whole.
One of the best occurrences at the gym is what I like to refer to as "vulturing." You know, when someone is eyeing a piece of equipment that's in use, staying close by, and then pouncing on it once the person's done with it so that no one else can swoop in to use it before them? Especially when the gym's busy, vulturing can be a very useful tool. Without fully developed vulturing skills though, one may wander just a wee bit too far and then find that suddenly it's anybodies' game. I've been there. There's nothing worse than seeing the object of your desire become available but as you work your way through the maze of sweaty people and oddly shaped workout machines your eyes settle on someone else who's moving in the same direction with their eyes on the same prize. Uh oh. Inevitably this leads to more than one person reaching the coveted equipment piece at the same time, at which point the proverbial "Oh, were you about to use this?" "That's okay, you can go for it" "Are you sure?" "Um, yeah, definitely" interaction ensues before the defeated person sulks away, vowing to A. run like the wind to beat the other person next time, B. tell the next person that "As I a matter of fact I am going to be using this right now, you'll have to wait your turn", or C. stand right next to the desired workout machine while it's in use next time, even if it's incredibly awkward for both people involved. . . which it most likely would be. I’m not exactly a fan of being on the receiving end of these events, but to witness others endure them while slaving away pumping iron myself? Wonderfully entertaining.
Some other favorites while at the gym include: the person who talks on their cellphone, loudly, the whole 30 minutes they’re on the elliptical (thank you for sharing your conversation with us – and I’m all for multi-tasking, but, really?!); the cute old men who attempt to make small-talk with anyone working out within a 10 ft. radius of them; the guys who never venture out of the free-weight area, are the exact same guys in there on any given day of the week, and as a result, are all good buddies with each other; and the people (yes, myself included a lot of the time) who have headphones in from the instant they walk in the door all the way up until they’re walking out the door, regardless of what they’re doing while in the gym.
One of the best occurrences at the gym is what I like to refer to as "vulturing." You know, when someone is eyeing a piece of equipment that's in use, staying close by, and then pouncing on it once the person's done with it so that no one else can swoop in to use it before them? Especially when the gym's busy, vulturing can be a very useful tool. Without fully developed vulturing skills though, one may wander just a wee bit too far and then find that suddenly it's anybodies' game. I've been there. There's nothing worse than seeing the object of your desire become available but as you work your way through the maze of sweaty people and oddly shaped workout machines your eyes settle on someone else who's moving in the same direction with their eyes on the same prize. Uh oh. Inevitably this leads to more than one person reaching the coveted equipment piece at the same time, at which point the proverbial "Oh, were you about to use this?" "That's okay, you can go for it" "Are you sure?" "Um, yeah, definitely" interaction ensues before the defeated person sulks away, vowing to A. run like the wind to beat the other person next time, B. tell the next person that "As I a matter of fact I am going to be using this right now, you'll have to wait your turn", or C. stand right next to the desired workout machine while it's in use next time, even if it's incredibly awkward for both people involved. . . which it most likely would be. I’m not exactly a fan of being on the receiving end of these events, but to witness others endure them while slaving away pumping iron myself? Wonderfully entertaining.
Some other favorites while at the gym include: the person who talks on their cellphone, loudly, the whole 30 minutes they’re on the elliptical (thank you for sharing your conversation with us – and I’m all for multi-tasking, but, really?!); the cute old men who attempt to make small-talk with anyone working out within a 10 ft. radius of them; the guys who never venture out of the free-weight area, are the exact same guys in there on any given day of the week, and as a result, are all good buddies with each other; and the people (yes, myself included a lot of the time) who have headphones in from the instant they walk in the door all the way up until they’re walking out the door, regardless of what they’re doing while in the gym.
Thank you gym and fellow gym-goers for indulging my people-watching tendencies, you make working out a bit more enjoyable.
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