Friday Firesmith – Coming Soon to a Gym Near You

If you’ve never had a long term relationship with a gym, you don’t know the sense of dread that’s coming over us gym rats right now. For most of the year, new people, one or two perhaps, will enter the Temple of Sweat, and perhaps they will stick around, perhaps not, but all in all, those of us who are there have been for a while, and we know what will happen soon, very soon. 

Right around the first of the year, the New Year New You people will arrive with new shoes, and new gym wear, and the influx will be serious. 

The Flashes will work out like fiends for a couple of days, it will hurt, and they will go away. The Miracle Seekers will stay for a couple of weeks, maybe longer, and not realize losing weight isn’t about how hard you work out in as much it’s about controlling your diet, and they will leave, too. Then there are those people, mostly guys, who think going to the gym will make them more attractive, sexier, and they’ll impress the women at the gym. They go down in flames fairly quickly. 

Women, by and large, do not go to the gym to get hit on. They dislike it intensely. They do not want you in their personal space. They will report you and it is embarrassing for a grown man to be told to leave women alone at a gym. 

Also, they’re in great shape. If one knees you in the groin, it will hurt. 

Of course, there is the first week of February influx, people who believe they can get ready for Valentine’s Day in a hurry, and then there’s the Beach Body Invasion, as soon as the weather turns warm, with folks trying to lose the extra weight the winter put on them. Many come, few stay. 

Most gym rats are like me. They have what they have in a body, and all they want to do is make it better than it was. We aren’t going to break records or impress younger women, or run a marathon, well, I might, but it will be a slow run. Working out isn’t about some goal with number or a finish line. It’s a dedication to keeping your body in shape, not eating junk food, and being sensible about your lifestyle. 

There isn’t some dramatic change that someone can make a movie out of, and there’s not going to be before and after photos that are stunning in contrast. It’s simply a way to live better. 

The odd thing, is women will try a variety of exercises, trying to find one that fits their needs. They’ll take different classes, swim, do cardio, and usually, women are going to be the ones who survive themselves. Men, on the other hand, lift weights. They think stronger muscles means they’re in better shape, and yeah, that is true. But there’s more to it. 

If I had to recommend anyone do anything to make a difference, it would be Yoga, because that’s where it all is. 

More on that another time. 

Take Care,

Mike

Mike writes regularly at his site:  The Hickory Head Hermit.

Opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the management of this site.