As Seen in the Gym

49 Comments

Over two years ago, I posted about various people “as seen in my gym”.  Now that I’ll be a regular at my gym again, I get to see the regulars here.

I belong to an Anytime Fitness less than a quarter of a mile from my house.  It’s pretty nice considering as it’s name suggests, it’s open anytime (including this past winter when it was snowing and roads were blocked) as well as Holidays.  There isn’t always someone working there, but each preson has a key to swipe in so you can access it anytime.

That being said, I don’t get to see the same people all the time because people come in at all hours. (Keep in my mind this is light hearted and no real names are used).

Voicebox:

This man is really friendly.  Hr works out hard.  He shared with me that he battled both smoking and drug addictions.  His smoking ended up causing throat cancer.  He now talks through a voicebox.  He has really turned his life around and a great guy.  He is extremely chatty.

Prying Paige

I am all for chatting but this lady wants to know everything and anything about your business.  She has asked some extremely personal questions as if we are best friends chatting with wine.  She will chat your ears off and pry into your business if you even look in her direction.

Awkward Angela

(No this is not me but could be).  This young woman is between the ages of 18-20.  She is very nice but has also asked extremely awkward questions.  Between her and Prying Paige, I try not to go the gym between the hours of 3-5 if I don’t want to chat.

Powerlifter Steve X 100

The thing about Anytime fitness is there are the cardio machines and right next to them are the free weights.  The hundreds of power lifters will lift and immediately drop the weights.  That’s great except sometimes I fear the AMT or elliptical will fall on it’s side due to force.  Grunt Grunt. Lift Lift.  I am strong.

The Karate Kicker

Also located in Anytime is a punching bag.  Occasionally the Karate Kicker will use it for kicks and god knows I’m terrified to every piss him off.

Cell Phone Cynthia:

I think this person exists in every gym.  They walk on the treadmill and talk extremely loudly on their cell phone.  I didn’t know so and so broke up with their boyfriend.  Tragic.  I could tell you more about her friends than probably they would like to think.  As long as I can blast my music louder than her chatting, I don’t have an issue…unfortunately that is not always the case.

That’s all I’ve got from this week.  As I continue to gym, I will be sure to keep you updated.  With over 500 members, everyone has some sort of story.  (Including myself).

Question for you: Who are some of the regulars you see at your gym?

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Published by Hollie

Posts are written and maintained by Hollie. I'm just runner who is blogging her way through internet life. If you see me in the real world, you might be dreaming. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to email me at fueledbyLOLZ@gmail.com

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49 Comments

  1. haha – funny stuff. The one thing you can be sure of – those prying and awkward people use your personal info on the NEXT person they are trying to get information from … it is like social currency for them.

    I was a member of the gym for about a year after we first moved here to Corning … and I am glad that I was warned my first day of work that EVERYWHERE you go there are Corning people at all levels. And it is true – I have been re-meeting gym people for 5 years now! 🙂

    The one good thing? I never really had the cell phone people to deal with back then as much … it was very rare. Can only imagine now!

  2. So funny and true. When I used to go to the gym by my house, I had to deal with the person who would always want to race on the treadmill. Or the typical meat head who would tell me I was too small to lift heavy weight, blah blah blah.

  3. ROTFL, I definitely see those types too.

    I also see one guy every morning, and he is wearing the t-shirt from the gym but with the sleeves cut off. It’s the shirt they give you when you join (or when you take the “fitness assessment” and get your picture taken, which we have still not done even though we’ve been members for 2 months now). I wonder if he thinks wearing the shirt is his ticket to admission for the gym, rather than the key card? I also hope he has managed to acquire multiple PF shirts (or at least that he does his laundry every day).

    At a gym I was a member of in Florence, we had a man who did 100 reps on the circuit machines. There was a counter on the machine and once you hit 100 reps, it flashed a warning and did not count any more. I don’t know why he felt like he needed to do 100 reps of any exercise, but he always did and the rest of us had to wait.

  4. My gym definitely has a Cell Phone Cynthia too!
    I think I must be a Monitoring Mary – watching other people use the machines first to check I’m doing everything right!

  6. Yup I barely go to the gym but still recognize most of these types! There is definitely always the nice older guy with a million crazy stories! I like that as it keeps me entertained. And the slow treadmill walker. I would also add the very slow indoor cycler reading a magazine or book. God knws what my type is! Kinds depends on my mood sometimes.

  7. Hahaha you made me nearly spit my water all over my desk at with this post Hollie lol. At my gym I’m not as the “runs forever” guy because most come in and see me on the mill and as they leave I’m still on the mill 🙂

    1. The runs forever guy. I love it! Glad you didn’t spew any water and damage your laptop 😉

  8. I love this! I see quite a few regulars at my gym, but I don’t know if I could come up with such great observations about them. I’ll give it a go anyway:

    Pretty In Pink: This lady is basically the twin of the singer Pink. She wears incredibly bright colours and is obsessed with doing classes, particularly Zumba. She literally does 4-6 hours of gym classes every day…I don’t think her family will remember who she is soon.

    Why Do You Have Children? This lady has what seems like 5,000,000 kids and she never sees them. Okay, so she actually has six children, but all she does is complain about them. She’s another one who spends at least 4 hours at the gym per day, and she is in a constant state of anxiety over the fact that her kids cut into her gym time. She is multiple stress fractures in both feet and will not stop doing high-impact classes. She’s also really rude and bitchy to other gym members, and since she is like Regina George from Mean Girls in many ways if she takes against you, you are not in the ‘cool’ gym clique.

    Badass Firefighter Lady: She can lift more than most of the men in Body Pump. She’s a firefighter and I absolutely love her. She takes no crap from anyone (least of all Why Do You Have Children) and I get a huge kick out of watching her destroy the ego of every man in the room.

    Mr. Sweaty and Mr. Stinky: I think there’s one or both of these at every gym. The former makes every class hazardous by sweating so much that it’s all that you can do to keep your balance on the soaking wet floor. God help you if Mr. Stinky is within 100m of you, because you’ll have to hold your breath for the entire class or session on the treadmill. He also has no concept of personal space and everyone else has to dodge out of his way, lest he kick you in the face in Body Combat or Attack. I very much doubt he would even apologise if he did ever seriously injure someone.

    There are way more characters than that at my gym…it’s full of them! But I won’t bore you to death with any more ramblings as this comment is almost a novel already 😉

    xxx

      1. Gah, people who have kids and do nothing but complain about them. The worst. It was your choice!

        No wait, perhaps it is worse when people publicly complain about their significant other on social media. Um, your choice. 100%. Get out if you don’t like it.

      2. Omg, I see all of these people! My favorite is Mr. Sweaty. There is one at my gym. I’ve learned my lesson on getting a treadmill next to him!

    2. I enjoyed it! I’ll never understand people who complain about their kids or their significant others. Personally I do not want children and I don’t pretend like I do! I think the best thing you can do about that is not have children.

      You should do a post like this Jess! I would love to hear more!

      1. I could almost understand it if she only had one kid, but to keep on having children only to make her poor family feel like a burden just doesn’t compute with me.

        I might well do a separate post if you’d enjoy hearing more about the cast of characters at my gym 🙂 I was thinking of posting more about the classes (there are new releases of all the Les Mills classes out) and the way the gym affects me, but I love the structure of and ideas contained in your post a lot! If I do post I’ll obviously link back to yours as it was your concept to start with 🙂

        xxx

  9. I need you to come to my gym and see tweedle dee and tweedle dum….. you’d have a field day with them. Matching outfits on BEEFY men, walking on treadmill while on phones…and talk loudly to themselves while lifting.

  10. Hahaha oh my gosh these are so true. I hate when people try having a conversation with me while I’m trying to work out. I’m a social person, but this is my quiet time, haha

  12. Oh the cell-phoners. They’re so frustrating! I was at the gym a few months ago and a girl sat down on the treadmill belt and fought with her boyfriend on the phone. Not exactly the place to have a heart-to-heart, ya know? haha 😀

  13. One of the things I miss about belonging to a gym was seeing the regulars… but that’s also one of the things I -don’t- miss about having a membership 😆 Some of my favourite people were the grunters… you know, the kind that make sure you can hear that they’re working out REALLY hard 🙄

  14. Lol! I am glad that I am not the only one who experiences this at the gym. I saw a lady last week working out in full makeup and a fan in her hand so she did not sweat it off. Oy vey!

  15. i remember when you did this post the first time; crazy to think i’ve been reading your blog that long. time flies.
    anyways i go to an anytime fitness too and there’s some oddddd regulars there. to each their own though, i’m just happy to see people being active and living a healthy lifestyle 🙂

  16. I just LOVE to people watch – I could probably do a post on this too! The one upside to treadmill running is plenty of blog material 🙂

    Debbie Dancer – wears her headphones and dances around the gym. Also, most amusing is her dancing strut on the treadmill. Get it, girl!

    The Reader – brings in reading material, or sometimes even knits. Stay on a machine for at least an hour, usually a bike, and is completely oblivious to the world around them.

    The Couple – works out together, and practically never leave each other’s side. The male spends most of his time coaching his girl.

    Distracted Dan – does about 2 reps of each exercise. Spends more time getting situated or setting up to do an exercise than actually doing it. Tries to seem casual about reaching up to do a single pull-up, then moves on to the next.

    Groupie – Those who belong to a group of friends at the gym and they always travel in packs. They frequently “save spots” for each other in crowded workout classes.

    2. Ooh – I’m the Reader! But I didn’t think reading at the gym was odd. It’s funny – I see something odd with someone who dances around the gym but wouldn’t think twice about someone who is reading since that is what I do. I guess my own quirks don’t seem so quirky. Ha! So maybe Debbie Dancer has no clue and she thinks someone reading is a freak. So funny.

      1. Haha – nice! I don’t know how anyone can possibly read, gets me too dizzy! I wish I could though, multitasking is nice (major props to you!!!). We all have our quirks – that’s what makes us unique. I wish I could be as confident as Debbie Dancer – she STRUTS and doesn’t care who sees!

      3. I can’t run and read. Too much bouncing! Walking works okay (for now … until i fall off)! Ha

  17. The only real personality I had at my gym was a gentleman who would sweat profusely and then not wipe the machine down after. You could always tell which machine he had used before as there would often be a puddle surrounding the machine.

    1. I had one of those guys at the last gym I was at. I think I might have nicknamed him “The Lake Beast”.

  18. Omg, this is a GREAT post! I could so write a similar post, because I can completely relate to so much of what you have said – and what some of the above commenters have shared as well.

    I would add:

    Elliptical Eric: Eric is always on the elliptical. You can go to the gym at 6 a.m. and he’s there. 6 p.m.? Still there. 9 p.m. on a Friday night (it happens!)? He is always there, always on the same machine. I’m beginning to wonder if he has anywhere else to be, or just lives on the elliptical.

    Diet Mtn Dew Donna: Debbie is always at the gym with her can/bottle of Dt Mtn Dew. She is in spinning class but also on the treadmill. She works out extremely hard, and always has her dew to fuel her.

    The “twins:” These girls dress alike, look alike, and go to the gym at the same time. They’re (probably) not related, but they’re always in the same classes (saving a spin bike/yoga mat/etc. for one another), next to one another on the machine and at the water fountain together. They are never (ever) seen at the gym without one another.

  19. 1. OCD MMA guy. Always wears full sweats and hoody. Never talks to anyone. Sanitizes all equipment (to include dumbbells) before and after he touches them (the dumbbell thing is a little extreme imo). The kicker? He always finishes his workout by hitting the purell dispenser by the door to wash his hand and then…uses a paper towel to open the door so his hands don’t touch the knob. 2. Just spotted today after I read your blog (same Navy gym), 70’s porn guy. Porn mustache (ask your father) and a terry cloth head band. Really? I did not think you could even buy one of those things. Only thing missing was short shorts and tube socks. LMAO.

    1. Is this secretly you at the gym Gene? ;). Hahah he sounds awesome and quite the character!

  20. Haha, I love it. Being in a college gym, though there aren’t too many exciting characters to deal with. We all just want to work out and go study. Or work out instead of study.

  22. I love my gym… I’ve finally become friendly with some of the regular, smart, hard lifters and truly look forward to going and bantering with the crew for a bit while still getting a good workout

  23. Powerlifter Steve…UGH. We get it, you lifted a really heavy weight, you’re really strong, and you like to make sure people look over due to natural instinct every time you drop a weight on the floor. One day it’ll drop on their toes and teach them a lesson 😉

  25. I belong to an Anytime Fitness where I live and feel like I see the same people. Like Powerlifter Steve, pushing me out of the way to get to the scale. I was like, “Are you for real?”

  26. I have been spending a lot of time at my Y trying to avoid the heat and humidity. My favorite are the two girlfriends who STAND on the treadmills chatting. Why are you even at the gym? Or the girl who runs super fast but needs to hold on to the treadmill. Why is that? I’m not super fast, so maybe I’m just clueless. Fill me in, Fast Hollie.

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