I have been working out at a local gym now for about 4 months which in and of itself is not unusual. What is unusual are the strange folk that inhabit the workout facility at 5:00 am. Yes, there are quite a few normal people there as well, but it only takes a few odd balls to make heads turn. Let me take a moment to elaborate on a few of the oddest types.
The Singer
There are two people who regularly work out in the morning who feel that they should grace each and every exerciser with a healthy dose of song. One is what you might call a soft singer. She sings just loud enough for people within a machine or two radius to hear her. Not a terribly annoying person, just odd and of course, totally off key. The second singer is the one who belts out "Jingle Bells" at the top of his lungs as he moves between machines. In-between songs he will make loud and disturbing sounds such as clucking like a chicken. Perhaps they do this for attention, but my feeling is they are a few bricks shy of a full load. Clucking like a chicken while exercising is definitely padded room material.
The Grunter and Growler
These are the people who feel that they must make as loud a grunting sound as possible between each repetition during weight training. Now, I know that sometimes to make it through a demanding set it is ok, to huff and puff a bit, but this is the totally over the top grunting that the whole gym can hear. There are at least three of these types who can regularly be found in the mornings working out.
The Over-exerciser
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing someone who is obviously meeting their exercise goals and taking it to the next level, but that is not what I mean by "Over-exerciser." The over-exerciser is someone who exercises so intently that they end up using the exercise machine in a way that it was never designed to do. It is very difficult to explain this person, but I will attempt to do so. One over-exerciser lady at our facility is often seen bending down at 90 degrees while running like a mad women on the treadmill. She often does odd gyrations while attempting to do leg-ups. What kind of madness has overtaken someone like this?
The Wanna-be
He is the guy who picks someone else every week to try to learn from but never seems to get anywhere in his training. This is not horribly odd, but what is odd is the tenacity in which he tries to get advice. If he worked out as hard as he seeks advice, he would be one ripped guy. I feel sorry for this type of person because the reality of it is they really don't want to exercise they just want a friend, but they go about it all the wrong way and try way too hard.
The Life of the Party
We don't have a huge problem with this at our gym but we have a couple. I am afraid you know this type all to well from other life activities. This is they guy that everyone knows and he diligently makes sure everyone knows him because he goes from machine to machine talking to each person. Folks if you want to chat, then go to the coffee house. Keep it out of the gym please.
Conclusion
You know sometimes I really find the above people more than I can handle, but often I find them a true source of entertainment. After all we are all different and I know people think I am odd at times. So let's embrace the crazy folks in our life. I mean they are there, they are not going to go away, and sometimes they are just plain funny.
The Singer
There are two people who regularly work out in the morning who feel that they should grace each and every exerciser with a healthy dose of song. One is what you might call a soft singer. She sings just loud enough for people within a machine or two radius to hear her. Not a terribly annoying person, just odd and of course, totally off key. The second singer is the one who belts out "Jingle Bells" at the top of his lungs as he moves between machines. In-between songs he will make loud and disturbing sounds such as clucking like a chicken. Perhaps they do this for attention, but my feeling is they are a few bricks shy of a full load. Clucking like a chicken while exercising is definitely padded room material.
The Grunter and Growler
These are the people who feel that they must make as loud a grunting sound as possible between each repetition during weight training. Now, I know that sometimes to make it through a demanding set it is ok, to huff and puff a bit, but this is the totally over the top grunting that the whole gym can hear. There are at least three of these types who can regularly be found in the mornings working out.
The Over-exerciser
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing someone who is obviously meeting their exercise goals and taking it to the next level, but that is not what I mean by "Over-exerciser." The over-exerciser is someone who exercises so intently that they end up using the exercise machine in a way that it was never designed to do. It is very difficult to explain this person, but I will attempt to do so. One over-exerciser lady at our facility is often seen bending down at 90 degrees while running like a mad women on the treadmill. She often does odd gyrations while attempting to do leg-ups. What kind of madness has overtaken someone like this?
The Wanna-be
He is the guy who picks someone else every week to try to learn from but never seems to get anywhere in his training. This is not horribly odd, but what is odd is the tenacity in which he tries to get advice. If he worked out as hard as he seeks advice, he would be one ripped guy. I feel sorry for this type of person because the reality of it is they really don't want to exercise they just want a friend, but they go about it all the wrong way and try way too hard.
The Life of the Party
We don't have a huge problem with this at our gym but we have a couple. I am afraid you know this type all to well from other life activities. This is they guy that everyone knows and he diligently makes sure everyone knows him because he goes from machine to machine talking to each person. Folks if you want to chat, then go to the coffee house. Keep it out of the gym please.
Conclusion
You know sometimes I really find the above people more than I can handle, but often I find them a true source of entertainment. After all we are all different and I know people think I am odd at times. So let's embrace the crazy folks in our life. I mean they are there, they are not going to go away, and sometimes they are just plain funny.