gym observations

I've often thought that I should write a book called In the Gym: A Collection of Essays Unrelated to Exercise or Physical Health. When I'm @ the gym, I seem to be so observant of everything going on around me. I mean, I still get in a good workout but I guarantee that I am paying much more attention to my surroundings than others are.

A family friend told me that a friend told her that she should start an exercise regimen by running for 12 minutes straight; then every week, she should "up" the running time by one minute. I usually run according to distances...once I reach a mile, I stop...even if I feel I have tons of energy left, I see the 1.0 mi on the treadmill and I stop. Tonight, I tried the 12 minute suggestion. 12 minutes was hard... a mile usually takes me an astoundingly sloooow 11 minutes...how could running for one extra minute make such a difference? Je ne sais pas.

My Ipod is helping me though... Had some Queens of the Stone Age playing, another band that I love; they broke up awhile ago. Every band that i start having an interest in breaks up shortly after my interest in them begins. It's so annoying.

Ok, tonight's observations:

1] Crossword puzzle guy...
Ok, so i am "taken," have been for 6 1/2 years...but I can still look at other guys. It's really fun:) I noticed this guy on the cycling machine... nice watch [why wear that when working out], sweatpants [in the middle of August?!?!], glasses, and... a crossword puzzle in one hand. This mystified me... working on a crossword while exercising---that's one thing I haven't seen before. And it is simple things like that that can make an ordinary guy suddenly appear attractive to me. As soon as I saw that crossword puzzle in hand, I thought: that guy's cute. I'm an odd one.

2] The grunting treadmill guy...
There was this big guy on a treadmill, BIG... I guess one might call him "fat," but he looked pretty strong too... He was in the weightlifting area for a bit and then came over to the treadmills. All I know was that suddenly I heard this LOUD grunting noise; I had my Ipod on full volume and still heard the grunt. I proceeded to turn my head to the right, as did everyone else that was near me. The big guy just made this random grunt; it was weird. At this point, it wasn't like he was jogging up a storm or anything... I liked how everyone around me turned their heads in unison.

3] The cheesy Dodge Rams in the parking lot...
As I was leaving, i noticed two Dodge Rams, side by side in the parking lot. Both had fancy rims on them; both had these showy blueish headlights. Both cars had their headlights on and left at the same time. The first thing I thought was, "How gay! [gay as in the immature way that kids use it...to mean lame or stupid]. " I just thought it was so silly... I mean, the trucks probably belong to some high school kids...I probably didn't see them throughout the duration of my workout because they were in the weightlifting area of the gym, where I never travel to. I just thought the idea of matching trucks was cheesy. I guess it is comparable to how some teen girls [and adults too] get similar purses or jeans...

On an endnote, I wonder when the crazy redheaded lady and I will meet again. She covers the time/calorie counter on the treadmill with a towel. She holds on to the treadmill bars for dear life and then proceeds to run like a lunatic. She runs at a speed that is way too fast for her; I await the day when the treadmill bar will fly off and hit someone [probably me..somehow whenever I exercise, she always ends up exercising on the machine in front of me]. This lady makes me laugh. She probably is a little too obsessed with working out and might have some "issues," but she amuses me:)