So, I recently switched gyms from a very small, quiet gym to a bigger, busier gym. Price was the deciding factor in the switch ($30/month at Snap Fitness and $10/month at World Gym) because I figured that a gym is a gym and lifting weights and using those machines would be the same no matter where it is. However, the change in scenery has brought a huge change in culture and an interesting glimpse into the habits of a gym rat.
Most guys at the gym are there to boost their own egos and to show off their man-muscles. Ego maniacal exhibitionists. Why do you think there are so many mirrors in front of the free weight section of the gym, yet there aren't any mirrors over by the elliptical machines and whatnots? Mirrors fuel muscle mania. Guys love watching themselves work out. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. I rarely look at myself in those mirrors, as I usually just people watch. However, many of the guys there are obsessed with their reflections. It is such an integral part of their work out routine that they wouldn't be able to do anything if it weren't there.
Case in point, when I was at the gym today it was rather busy and the free weight section was packed. I am by no means a gym rat and I don't really care about gym etiquette or anything so I just squeezed into the only free floor space I found, in between the benches and the weight rack. Apparently this was the wrong place to be. The guy that had been using the bench right behind me, I was in between the bench and the mirror, sat down with the weights he just brought over and was getting ready to do whatever it was that he was about to do. I saw him there just sitting in ready position waiting, waiting, and waiting for something. I realized that that something was me getting out of his way and by the time I realized this he had given up waiting and put his weights down and continued to sit there. Then, after I had had my fun disrupting him I stepped to the side and he immediately started his reps.
Is watching yourself, your muscles, really that important? Seriously, just get over yourself and just work out. Whatever, I think it is close impossible to fully reason with something that I don't understand. On a lighter note, I look forward to toying with many, many more gym rats for a long time to come.
Most guys at the gym are there to boost their own egos and to show off their man-muscles. Ego maniacal exhibitionists. Why do you think there are so many mirrors in front of the free weight section of the gym, yet there aren't any mirrors over by the elliptical machines and whatnots? Mirrors fuel muscle mania. Guys love watching themselves work out. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. I rarely look at myself in those mirrors, as I usually just people watch. However, many of the guys there are obsessed with their reflections. It is such an integral part of their work out routine that they wouldn't be able to do anything if it weren't there.
Case in point, when I was at the gym today it was rather busy and the free weight section was packed. I am by no means a gym rat and I don't really care about gym etiquette or anything so I just squeezed into the only free floor space I found, in between the benches and the weight rack. Apparently this was the wrong place to be. The guy that had been using the bench right behind me, I was in between the bench and the mirror, sat down with the weights he just brought over and was getting ready to do whatever it was that he was about to do. I saw him there just sitting in ready position waiting, waiting, and waiting for something. I realized that that something was me getting out of his way and by the time I realized this he had given up waiting and put his weights down and continued to sit there. Then, after I had had my fun disrupting him I stepped to the side and he immediately started his reps.
Is watching yourself, your muscles, really that important? Seriously, just get over yourself and just work out. Whatever, I think it is close impossible to fully reason with something that I don't understand. On a lighter note, I look forward to toying with many, many more gym rats for a long time to come.
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