People Watching

Now I know that everyone has been guilty of people watching at the gym at least a time or two! There you are in the middle of a workout or cardio session and you see that girl out of the corner of your eye, with her headphones in, rocking out to her favorite song, bobbing her head and singing along. It’s hard not to notice these types of things! As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time in the gym (both for myself and as a personal trainer) and I have seen a lot of crazy stuff in the gym!  So I thought it would be fun to list the types of members that we all know exist and come to mind as you read through! 

“Chatty Kathy”- That person that always seems to come up to you in the middle of a set or in between sets to strike up a long conversation.  You rarely ever see them getting any actual work done!

The “Big Wigs”- This is usually a business professional that will talk on their cell phone the whole time or answer it in the middle of a workout or training session.

“Meatheads”- The type of guys that make it very well known that they are lifting the heaviest weight physically possible then drop the dumbbells on the floor with a very loud thud to make sure everyone saw them. Come on… If you are strong enough to lift the weight up, you are strong enough to put it back down without making a scene.

“Moaners”- Believe it or not I heard this coming from a woman working out the other day while I was training a client near by. You would think there was something explicit going on, but really she was just struggling for those last reps!

“Grunters”- I’ve seen a lot of men making this noise during a tough set of exercises. They all but turn blue in the face!

The “Whiner”- I have come across one of these clients a time or two as a personal trainer and they will always ask you “How many more reps?” “Why are we doing this exercise?”  “When is it time to stretch?” “You want me to do THAT?” “This is really hard!”

The “Poser”- These are the ones you will catch constantly checking themselves out in the mirror while holding a rep on an exercise. Who knows, if they flex hard enough they might get that extra muscle separation and can keep the bad diet!

The “Multi-Tasker”- This is the person that can talk on their phone, eat, read, or play with their iPod WHILE doing an exercise!!

The “Hypochondriac”- This is the type of client that will show up to every training session with a “problem” or “ailment”. “My knees are bothering me today.” “I have had a bad headache all afternoon.” My back hurts today, can we take it easy?” This person always finds an excuse not to work hard!!

“Fashionistas” – These are the girls that come to the gym in heavy makeup wearing next to nothing for clothing! Sports bras and tight booty shorts mainly. Now, don’t get me wrong… as a female I work out in my everyday makeup because I feel it is part of marketing myself as an athlete and personal trainer. But ‘going out’ or club makeup?!  Forget it!

“Pig Pen”- This is the guy or girl that has such terrible body odor, that it lingers wherever they go!  There is nothing worse that spending 10+ minutes on a piece of cardio equipment with someone next to you with BAD HYGIENE or even heavy perfume/ cologne. Gross!

The “Rockstar”- This guy / gal you will find in the cardio area or weight room playing the air guitar, head banging or even singing aloud to the music they are listening to on their iPod. Nothing fuels a workout like a great playlist of songs!!

The “All Business” member- Forget about stopping this person to chit chat, they are usually on a mission!  I would have to put myself under this stereotype Headphones on, world OFF! These people are in the gym to get it done and go home. These people may look stand-offish but don’t be fooled! They just take their training seriously

“Cardio Queen”- Don’t expect to find this diva anywhere near the weight room, this kind of girl is perfectly content with maintaining her figure on the step mill or treadmill. But don’t forget the saying “slim girls look good in clothes, fit girls look good naked!”

I hope you enjoyed my little gym member run-down! Just remember, no matter what stereotype YOU fall under, the gym wouldn’t be the same without ALL of you!!!

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