Hey everyone, thanks for joining me again.  Today I would love to talk about motivation and the pitfalls we face.  If there is one thing I’ve learned about losing weight, it is that it’s really hard to keep going, especially in the long run.  Sure, you finally buy the running shoes and the workout clothes and you hit the gym with the vigor of a young buck, but after a few days and exhausting workouts, you look in the mirror and realize that it’s going to take a lot more than 2 workouts to get that six-pack and it starts to weigh down the soul.  You might go one or two more times, telling yourself “I bought all this stuff, and I’m going to use it” but after that it’s just easier to sit in front of the TV and watch your favorite episode of whatever than it is to hit the gym and embarrass yourself to the really pretty girl that lives down the hall from you.  This is that moment, when you look back 6 months from now, that you realize you should have kept going because you would look awesome if you hadn’t quit way back when.  Trust me, I was there.  I went from 250 down to 209 in 6 months while forward deployed, only to start eating fast food again and not working out, whereas had I kept at it I would have been at that svelte 175 I’m dying for.  But such is life.  I was always told “Hindsight is 20/20, but your screwed now”.

You know what I say? I say that in the end the best you can do is push yourself.  You HAVE to think, everyday, about WHY you want to lose weight.  Is it to look attractive to the fairer sex in order to find a girlfriend? Is it just because you feel that you’re not healthy enough and you want to lead a better life? Did you look into your future and realize you want to live to 110 years old, and that triple whopper with cheese isn’t helping?  THAT’S your motivation, right there.  The very reason you decided to lose weight in the first place still exists.  Think about that reason every single day, even if you don’t work out that day.  When you go to get a bite to eat, or are about to make dinner, think about that reason before you hit up Burger King instead of Subway.  And speaking of Subway, thank you for you.  Those sandwiches are delicious, and much lower fat than the burgers I typically would eat.  Not a cheap plug (I’m not paid by them!), but it is the truth.  They have me eating a little better, which is great for me.

Next, when it comes to motivation, you have to have something to pump you up.  For me, I have several playlists on my iPod to exercise to.  I have my “Running Mix” which consists of songs that help me push myself while I’m running my one mile a day (or my 11 miles a day, like I did during that famed deployment).  I have my “Workout Mix” which is geared more for lifting weights, consisting of a ton of great adrenaline-rushing songs that force me to put that bar up just one more time.  And, most important of all, is my “Motivational Mix.” Nine songs that truly speak to my core, that make me want to be the better person I know I can be.  I listen to this playlist and it’s almost a guilt trip to be better at everything I do.  If I haven’t been a good boy that day, I’ll know it when I listen to this playlist.  But beyond that, it makes me strive to be better.  A little to lazy to hit the gym? By the end of the first song I’ve got my running shoes out of the closet, headband on my head, and I’m out the door.

So, the next time you feel just a little too tired, or “you’ll hit the gym in a few hours, right now I just want to play some video games”, think about that reason you wanted to better yourself, think hard on it, then put down the controller, grab a Protein Water, and go hit the gym.  Then do what I do and play video games AFTER THE GYM!

Posted in Nathanael Mulder | 2 Comments

Phase Twenty two of “appropriate behavior at the gym: the do’s and don’ts, according to a guy with an opinion about anything and everything.”

This my friends is the final chapter of this ongoing marathon of weekly do’s and don’ts at the local or personal gym. I wanted to just to wrap things up with one last concluding strand of thoughts.

There are many things that I brought up throughout this lengthy survey/rant that I must confess that I am guilty of from time to time. Half the reason I started writing this ongoing gym critique is because I wanted to try and catch myself on some of these things and try and curtail my own bad habits and let me tell you, it has really helped. Especially in those situations where I am super tired and might not wipe down that last piece of equipment or might find myself dancing around or breathing way too hard, well not anymore. Now, this blog sits over my head and makes me think to myself “what a hypocritical sasquatch,” I would be if I didn’t practice what I preached and it makes me follow the words that I spill on these pages (or in this case electronically transfer).

In the process of doing this I have also learned that I am by no means alone in the category of some of the things that constantly irk me. I have also learned from speaking with, interviewing and surveying people at the gym that my own selfish actions (not following what I write about) at the gym truly do affect others’ work outs.  The funny thing is that before this blog I simply just saw the gym as a personal space that I owned because I paid for it. And when someone would commit one of these so called faux pas or infractions that I was so diligent to point out I would simply take upon the attitude of well obviously they don’t care so I shouldn’t care.  But I quickly found out that these people that have this ‘I don’t care attitude’ about how they treat the gym, are in fact the minority, so to speak. The majority of the people that go to any gym are 90-100% aware that the gym is a shared space and that everyone is there because in one way or another they too pay for this shared time in this communal space. This really came to fruition within me about three weeks ago when I asked to work in with group of people at the gym and they made a comment to me. He said “of course man. Hey, my name is Manny… hey man you can use any of these. I don’t own ‘em, you don’t own ‘em and technically, the gym doesn’t own them either because we pay for them.” For people like this coming to the gym is truly an experience. They go to the gym because they truly get something out of it every time they go. They make new friends, find new ways to work out, find new ways to make the gym a better place for everyone else and above all they are beyond happy. I know that making friends and socially interacting with people when they go to the gym isn’t for everybody – hey, its not really for me if you want to know the god honest truth – but it was the attitude that came with this that captured me. I realized that I have been infinitely happier when I go to the gym now that I make sure that I am more aware of everyone else around me. Maybe it stems from me laughing at people on the inside that make these faux pas (now that I am not making them myself) or maybe it really does come from the collective interface that I have received so much of when I survey people at the gym. But whatever the case may be I have been happier when I have gone to the gym and I have to ultimately chalk that up to my new found consciousness and reverence for the local gym setting. Being happy has, in turn, made me look at working out, not so much as a personal choir but as an all around micro adventure that I get to experience five to six times a week. Because it truly does become an adventure when you develop a full awareness of your surroundings and open up to the collective nature of the gym. Things tend to just pop out to you that normally wouldn’t and you then begin to take a real interest in the culture that surrounds you at the gym.

I hope that you all enjoyed this little series and I will be back with a new set of blogs in no time. As always, this series has simply been based my opinion, take it or leave it.

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Phase Twenty One of “appropriate behavior at the gym: the do’s and don’ts, according to a guy with an opinion about anything and everything.”

Don’t: take the most popular attachment and put it somewhere obscure

Like I have said before, I work out at three different gyms and depending on where I am that day. Two of these gyms are corporate chains (each a different chain) and the third one is the gym at my condo complex.
It doesn’t matter what gym I go to some inconsiderate enthusiast seems to complete the deplorable task of misplacing everyone’s favorite piece of equipment or attachment. At both of the two mainstream gyms that I go to, it is an attachment that someone is always taking and misplacing. At one of these two particular chains it is the rope that is always here today gone tomorrow and at the other it is the straight bar attachment that seems to always be on the missing objects portion of the back of a protein carton. I always just assumed it was me and that I couldn’t find it or that it was a bad piece of equipment but after hearing some comments I realized it wasn’t. Every time the rope or the straight bar is actually there and I use it (mind you two completely different locations and two completely different gym chains), I hear comments like “where the hell did you find that thing,” or “since when did they bring the rope back” or even “ah, the fabled bar.” So after hearing a couple of these comments I started asking the workers at the gym what happens to these items. Between the two institutions I was given three basic answers.

Answer one: people literally steal attachments from the gym all the time. They simply put them in their gym bags slyly and walk out, according to staff at both gyms.

Answer two: personal trainers use these pieces of equipment or attachments in weird obscure (yet effective) ways with their clients in different areas around the gym (usually areas that are open). I am told that they put them back the second they are done (riiiiiiiiiight).

Answer three: people take these attachments and use them on “oddity” machines in areas separate form the norm. Oddity machines I was told, were machines that lie in other parts of the gym away from where these attachments might originally be stored.

For Example the one minute rotation area of many different chain gyms, that is set apart from the other machines but contain machines that are compatible (but not intended for use of) these attachments. I was told that people often take these attachments over there and leave them when they are done. Two things then happen. Either “A” the attachment or piece of equipment just sits there or “B” a worker picks it up and sometimes brings it back to the office so that it can be put back (depending on if the office is closer than the original attachment/equipment area).  Both of the second and third answer made perfectly logic sense but the first seemed a little outlandish.
This brings me to the 3rd type of gym that I use, the one at my complex. When doing shoulder exercises I like to use the smaller weighted dumb bells and go extremely slow. Well, every other time that I go to do this at this gym the dumbbells are gone. I was always under the impression that it was the staff that was fixing them or cleaning them or trying to replace them, until about a week ago. This is when I noticed a middle aged alcoholic that I met at the BBQ area taking them out of the gym. So the next time I saw him at the BBQ area I asked him why he did that on a regular basis and his response was that he preferred the comfort of his own home. Of course his after response was “but I always put them back.” My thought in response to this was “then why the hell don’t you buy your own equipment you cheap ass! You live in a pretty nice condo complex obviously you can afford a set of fifty dollar weights!”

Do’s: put it back

It is very understandable that you take these pieces of equipment or attachments and move them to a machine that fits you best: I have no beef with that! It is absolutely unacceptable to take these things and remove them from the confines of the gym and it is just selfish and inconsiderate not to put them back if you removed them from their original area. How hard is it to simply walk less than a minute to replace something that you borrowed? If you borrowed your neighbor’s lawn mower would you not expect him to get pissed if you didn’t return it? Oh but I forgot… well, what good does his lawn mower do him if it is sitting in your garage? And for those of you who steal equipment from the gym, you are really just the worst type of person. Even if you put them back, you are putting them back at your own convenience. It is one thing if they are misplaced at the gym but it is another thing if they are completely removed – get it together and don’t pee in the watering hole so to speak! Does anyone else have this problem when at the gym, with people misplacing equipment or is it just me? Once again this is simply my opinion, take it or leave it.

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Phase Twenty of “appropriate behavior at the gym: the do’s and don’ts, according to a guy with an opinion about anything and everything.”

Ok back on track now. Here is another do and don’t entry about something that I tend to think does in fact have an effect on others around you.

Don’t: rest on equipment that you aren’t using

I don’t know how many times I have curtailed or rerouted my workout because I thought someone was on the machine that I wanted to work out on next, when in actuality they were either resting on it or using it as a seat to talk with a buddy on a machine next to them. In the good spirit of Peter Griffin, this is something that truly “grinds my gears.” Why am I altering my work out because you are using a piece of equipment as a seat or a conversation medium when others around you want to use it? This just doesn’t quite make much sense to me. I mean yes I could ultimately confront them and ask if they are using that piece of equipment or I can stop being anti-social and attempt to work in with them instead of just avoiding the machine all together, but why should I have to do that? If I am in a zone and am in that “ok what’s next mode,” I am going to look for the next available machine and if the one I want is being occupied I am going to go to the next.

It’s almost like extreme loitering in the sense that if you have a couple of “Jay and Silent Bob ” like loiterers outside of your store people are more inclined to avoid using your store especially if there is one right down the block that is loiter free. Which ultimately seems like it is fine to do but what if that store is the one place within a mile radius that has the Slurpee flavor you want and you are so put off by the fact that these people are always there that you simply skip out on that tasty treat, in which you are most certainly entitled to, because it is not an absolute necessity.

That is really how I feel when this happens at the gym. Sure, I went and used another piece of equipment that did the same thing, but the piece of equipment that I wanted to use originally just works the muscles so much better. This also becomes a problem for people who are very non-confrontational (even if the confrontation is a positive one).  I tend to get into this mode every now and then, so I thought that it might be kind of beneficial to ask around and see if this was a problem for some people. About 3 quarters of the people that I spoke to said that they would just ask to work in or ask if the person was using the machine. But that other quarter did not even want to take that route. They just avoid almost all confrontation or interaction with others while at the gym (which made it rather difficult at first but manageable in the end to speak with them). They get to the gym, do their thing and then they are out. Which means that a simple laziness factor on the part of others around them deprives these gym goers from making the most out of their time at the gym.

Do: walk around, stand or simply rest on your equipment

There is not much to say about the do’s, they are pretty self explanatory. If you are doing an exercise that requires you to stand, walk around after you do a set. Gets the blood going; it is actually much healthier to do this than to sit down. Don’t finish lifting and because you do not have a seat go sit on another piece of equipment and rest. If you are trying to have a conversation with someone while they are working out, stand by them out of the way and talk to them. Once again don’t just plop down on a machine and use it as a seat. Now I’m not saying that if you are only one of four people at the gym that it is not OK to sit down on another piece of equipment. I bring this issue up because I see it happen quite a bit during rush hour at the gym. And if you absolutely must use machinery (that you are not in fact using), as a resting bench be observant of your surroundings. If you see someone approach or kind of hesitantly hover around this said piece of machinery or bench that you are using a temporary throne, ask them if they want to use it or say oh “I’m not on this one, it’s all yours.” Don’t just be a “pud” and sit there or say that you are really using the machine (and “half-assing” some kind of motion on it) so that you can continue a conversation. What do you all think? Do you think I am being too anal retentive on this one or are you in agreement? Once again this is simply my opinion, take it or leave it.

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Phase Nineteen of “appropriate behavior at the gym: the do’s and don’ts, according to a guy with an opinion about anything and everything.”

Piggy backing on the last entry I am going to write about one more personal inquiry that I felt needed to be thrown out there and established. Once again this isn’t a do or don’t and it does not really effect anyone else, for the most part. This week I am going to bring up the “the man in the mirror.”

There is a very fine line when discussing “the man/woman in the mirror” when talking about the subject in conjunction with the gym. The “man in the mirror” refers to someone who is stuck in a constant state of checking themselves out in the mirror. The gym itself is a fortress of reflective obsession in that everywhere you look there are mirrors. But the mirrors in the gym most definitely serve their purpose. They are put in place to allow you to watch yourself workout so that you can make sure your form is correct, and they are also there for a little vanity from time to time (who doesn’t want to see the way their body is progressing). But my issue doesn’t lie with looking into the mirror to check your form or catching that occasional glance at yourself every now and then. No, instead, my issue circles around the people that spend more time looking into the mirror than actually working out at the gym. At first I noticed a couple of people checking themselves out a little to intensely (I’m talking like 3 inches away from the mirror and doing little turns and moving limbs and flexing), and I thought to myself, “that is a little bit too much” but whatever. Then I noticed that these same people were habitually doing this – about once after every other set. On top of that, I began to notice that it wasn’t just a couple of people; it was a whole group of them! At any given time in the gym I came across about 5-8 people who completed this act on the reg. Which in reality accounts for about 8-15% per gym area.

Check ME out!

Now, I am not knocking them for being a little vein and trying to check out what their bodies are becoming. I am knocking them because of their compulsion and flagrant demeanor in a public setting. I will be the first to admit that after a good work out I go right to the mirror in the bathroom (but that mirror is in my home not in the middle of a public watering hole), it only occurs once and it only lasts for a couple of seconds. I just think it is funny that people so blatantly gawk and ogle at themselves in front of complete strangers for elongated and continuous time frames. This occurrence at the gym really doesn’t bother me at all but it makes me kind of laugh because it is something that I just wouldn’t do. Your muscle mass isn’t going to drastically change from one set to another in its appearance, so what is the point in checking and looking every 5 min? It is one thing to look at yourself for a few seconds before you start your workout and then maybe once in the middle and then at the end. But doing this as frequent as I see some people doing it, seems a little bit on the ridiculous side. Then again, maybe it’s just me. Maybe I don’t quite fully understand the complete spectrum of the gym culture. I know that in many ways the gym culture stems from a level of vanity in the sense that many people go to the gym to keep up appearances or change them for the better, but this seems like it is taking that concept to a whole new level. I tend to think that most people might agree with this because like I said I only see about 8-15% doing this in any one given area at the gym. But as always I am really curious to see what everyone else thinks about this. Is it ok to do this at an irregularly increased volume because the setting is the gym or is it just common social knowledge to not be this obsessive about your looks in public? What do you think? Once again this is simply my opinion, take it or leave it.

Posted in Lucas Hart | 2 Comments

Phase Seventeen of “appropriate behavior at the gym: the do’s and don’ts, according to a guy with an opinion about anything and everything.”

Piggy backing on the last entry I am going to write about one more personal inquiry that I felt needed to be thrown out there and established. Once again, this isn’t a do or don’t and it does not really effect anyone else, for the most part. This week I am going to bring up the “dudes with the short shorts.”

Who Wears Short Shorts

I don’t think I will ever quite understand why men feel the need to where these things to the gym. It is one thing (and this is a stretch), if you are older and you wear some questionably small running shorts. I have no beef with that and you are not who I am talking about. I am talking about dudes in their 20-somethings wearing specialized bun huggers, as what appears to be some sort of personal statement. What is the purpose of this? How does having your shorts end at the start of your thighs or having them exuberantly skin tight benefit you in any way as a male lifting at the gym (unless of course you are recovering from a hernia)? To me, you are definitely the dude at the beach rocking the leopard Speedo – WHY?!? And when I say why I am really looking for an answer here. I want to be able to understand what would possess someone to wear these things.
When I first noticed this I thought to myself “Ok this guy is a little out of place”, “That is odd”, and of course “Who does this guy think he is?” But then I noticed that he was definitely not some outlier on this skewed chart. An outlier tops becoming an outlier and joins into the category of a trend when it is no longer alone. I see a good handful of men wearing these things when I am at the gym – mainly at mainstream popularized gyms. Man, if that is your style than far be it from me to say anything about it, but please don’t ask me to try and understand its functionality if you cannot give me a completely logical explanation as to why you need them. Even at that I am still not going to agree with you, but at least I will be a lot more understanding. If you are a super gym enthusiast who treats lifting as a sport, then by all means, if you get some type of benefit by wearing these things go for it. But if you are the typical “hipster/mid-level frat boy (the two seem to be fusing these days) with the perfectly quaffed hair” that I always see rocking these things as some kind of fashionably sound joke, please refrain from doing so.

What happened to the good old gym/soccer/basketball shorts that we have grown to socially love and accept? When did guys stop going to “big five” to get things and start going to “American Apparel” for gym shorts? I am by no means an uberly manly man or some type of fashion guru but I still feel that when you go to the gym you should just be putting on some old crap that won’t upset you if you get it soaked in sweat. Maybe I am old fashioned (at 24)? I thought it would be worth while to throw out there because after having several conversations with both women and men alike at the gym about this particular subject I have come to learn that it teeters on between weird and unnecessary. What do you think? Once again this is simply my opinion, take it or leave it

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Phase Sixteen of “appropriate behavior at the gym: the do’s and don’ts, according to a guy with an opinion about anything and everything.”

Piggy backing on the last entry I am going to write about two more personal inquiries that I felt needed to be thrown out there and established. Neither one of these is a do or don’t and neither of these really effect anyone else. This week I am going to bring up the specialized “wife beater” or “workout shirt.”

The one that gets me the most is the one that I see the least of and that is the netted tank top. I only see about two regulars wearing this at any given time and maybe a passerby from time to time in the gym, rock this “get up” of hilarity. What is funny about is the correlation that I have found that flows almost a hundred percent concurrently with the netted tank top. Out of all the people I see at the gym and out of all the behaviors I constantly notice, the only two people I have ever seen asked to put their shirts back on while at the gym (more than once might I add) are the same two regulars who constantly wear these tank tops. Consequently, every time I have seen them without any type of shirt on they had been wearing a regular shirt and not a one of these specialized tank tops. Who knows, maybe they over heat so badly that they either have to wear XXX looking mesh or they need to just go prison yard all over everyone and skin it out. I can’t imagine that being the case but I have to give them the benefit of the doubt. No harm is done here, its just kind of funny that  I will go into the gym in San Diego and immediately be transported to a 1983 Miami boardwalk. The other one that I constantly see is latex inspired, prefabricated sleeveless shirt that no matter what your body type makes you looks like you came to the gym with a shirt painted on your torso. Not only do these things cost anywhere from $50-$75 dollars, they make you look like a character out of X-Men (maybe that is what they are going for).

With both of these two clothing prototypes, we will call the first one the AC Slater and the second the 50 Cent, I find it hard to find the purpose behind them. A regular tank top or wife beater or an old tee with the sleeves cut off, are all perfectly acceptable at the gym. For the AC Slater I can see that a wife beater or a regular tee might be too tight on the body not allowing it to fully breathe, but a tank top or an old tee with the sleeves cut off allows for optimum air flow throughout the body, much like the Portuguese fishing net parka that you prefer to wear. As for the 50 cent look, the whole point of the sleeveless shirt (other than its vanity roots) is to curb overheating while in the midst of exercise. Something that is pretty much tattooed to your body is not going to do that instead it is going to further perpetuate overheating, so really there is no point to it. Both of these prototypes, to me, seem to exist purely out of a branching form of narcissism – but that is just my opinion. There are plenty of other options that make more sense, a regular tee shirt being at the top of that list.

I can really care less about either and like I said before, these are bringing no harm to anyone at the gym. I just thought I would throw it up there like a Hail Mary and see what others think about it. What do you think about it? Do you think I should just mind my own business? Do you think these things are just as ridiculous as I think they are? Are you someone who wears this gear (yikes)? Wear on, those of you who wear either of these, it is your personal choice and who the hell am I to tell you otherwise. I just personally think it is hilarious, ridiculous and definitely not needed – but at the same time you might think the same about me and these blogs. Once again this is simply my opinion, take it or leave it

Posted in Lucas Hart, Real People | 3 Comments

Phase Fifteen of “appropriate behavior at the gym: the do’s and don’ts, according to a guy with an opinion about anything and everything.”

There is no real do or don’t on this one, it more of a personal inquiry that I felt needed to be thrown out there and established. No matter how I say this it is going to come out wrong so please bear with me. I am having a hard time understanding why personal trainers at various gyms (and even in personal resident gyms) are not in shape themselves. I am by no means talking down to people that are not in shape, unless you are out of shape and are a personal trainer at the gym. This is an anomaly to me. When you are supposed to be teaching others how to become fit and practice a healthy lifestyle, you yourself should be an exemplary model for your pupil to follow suite.

Now, I understand that this trainer might have a degree in physiology, kinesiology, have been through several trainings and/or courses to qulify them as a trainer (or maybe none of the above) and they do in fact know what you are talking about, so their expertise can theoretically be trusted. But things that are theoretically sound do not always apply to real life practice and pursuit. We can lay out an efficiently sound plan to re-build our economy that looks great on the bill but it doesn’t mean that it is necessarily going to work when applied to the economy and its fiscal droughts. It is hard to get motivated by someone and trust them with your personal conditioning and well being when they themselves are not physically fit.

I guess the thing that makes me the most frustrated is that if I am going to choose a profession, I would want to be the best at it or at least at the top of my game. And with a job like personal trainer, where your physical appearance does have quite an impact, I would think that it would be a motivator for you yourself, as a trainer, to get into shape. You are actively trying to change some.

Like I said before I may be completely off basis with this one. I guess I can see two main counter arguments to this. One being: it doesn’t really matter what the person looks like as long as they know what they are talking about and I can trust them with my body’s well being. And I do pretty much agree with that in a logical sense, just not in a practical one – but once again that is just personal preference. The other counter to my argument that I could see as being somewhat relevant is that it might be beneficial to have an out of shape trainer in the sense that it boosts your morale. For example if I am out of shape and so is my trainer, it is going to boost my moral if on a daily, weekly and monthly basis I can see that my overall physical fitness level is exceeding that of my trainer’s. This would boost confidence levels and might increases personal drives and performances.

Both of these counter examples are purely based out of speculation. I have no idea as to what people think on this subject. And seeing how I am noticing this more and more these days I wanted some outside perspective on it. That is why I wrote this specific entry. I want to hear what you all have to say about this. What do you think about personal trainers who are out of shape? You all know my opinion on the matter, do you agree, disagree or put simply you could care less? Once again this is simply my opinion, take it or leave it.

Posted in Lucas Hart, Real People | 2 Comments

Side note: this is phase two of the mini series “Three Amigos of Cell abuse.”

Phase Thirteen of “appropriate behavior at the gym: the do’s and don’ts, according to a guy with an opinion about anything and everything.”

   Don’t: attempt to complete a life altering business merger or try to get your life together over the phone at the gym.

   All three of the aforementioned phone conversations seem a little extreme and maybe even far fetched for an everyday workout at the gym, but at least once a week while I’ m working out I notice one of these three occurring. Now, I work out at three different gyms in three different areas every week and I have seen this at least once a week since I started noticing these “do’s and don’ts of the gym world.” Even more disturbing is the fact that I go at sporadic times and I am only at the gym usually for an hour to an hour and a half. That in itself isn’t the disturbing part, the disturbing aspect of all of these statistics is that if I am catching this at least once a week, at any of the three given gyms that I go to at an of the given times that I am at them, then holy hell this must be happening a lot.
And with this one it’s not just mainly a male phenomenon. Ladies, you in no way are exempt. I have seen women trying to setting up high powered business appointments, trying to change cable accounts and of all things attempting to organize their finances all while mid workout in the middle of the gym floor – guys I see the same things go on with you as well. I say of all things, because isn’t the gym a place you can go to leave all of that other crap behind for a hot minute. You go to the gym to get the day started on a good foot or to break the day up or to work the day out of you. These financial, business and personal conundrums are all very important and are all matters that should be high on your priority list but you need to make them their own priority. Just like people make going to the gym a priority. They do so because it is its own entity and as such it should not engulf or encompass any of these other entities or priorities. In simple terms make the business mergers at the office or step outside of the gym if it is absolutely that important. Change your cable plan when you want a break from the everyday or when you want to step away from your desk. And above all things don’t try and maintain your financial stability at the gym. Do you really think it is a good time and place to talk Wells Fargo while Bruno does squat thrusts next to you? This one is just plain annoying, not disturbing. This is more of a heads up for your own well being. Leave that crap for some other time and leave it outside of the gym. If you want to work out at your own home gym with a Bluetooth in your ear in front of your own T.V. be my guest – that is a power play in a half. But most of us cannot afford that and that is why we go to our gym, where we pay fee’s to work out, to shape our selves into someone else for a brief period of the day. Enjoy the workout that you went to the gym for and leave life’s stresses at the office when you leave or at home, don’t bring it into a place that is supposed to relieve stress.

   I am holding all of the do’s for the last phase of this second mini series because they will apply to all three of these. And like so many of these offences do… I don’t want to waste your time. Although, I probably already do by posting this mess. Just kidding…but seriously. Once again this is simply my opinion, take it or leave it.

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Side note: for the next three phases of this ongoing mild rant I want to bring up are similar to the IPod trio, but unlike the IPod trio they are much more annoying and bothersome to me and others around. These next three phases I will refer to as Three Amigos of Cell abuse. All three of these things bug me to no avail, almost a little more than any of the other “self proclaimed” offenses that I have mentioned in the past.

Phase Twelve of “appropriate behavior at the gym: the do’s and don’ts, according to a guy with an opinion about anything and everything.”

Don’t: talk on the phone and try to work out for extended periods of time

I see this one happen on a regular basis on so many different fronts with so many different levels.

Level one: the “What is happening tonight call.” This call at the gym always seems to come when others are waiting for your equipment. Rightfully so, you yourself might have waited for the equipment and that with that being said are in fact initialed to use it how you see fit. But that does not include making people wait an extra five to ten minutes because you want to find out what club your bro Chad is going to be at tonight. A lot of people are pressed for time at the gym, and while I know that is a personal issue there should be a medium. Now if I am in a hurry and I go to the gym and equipment is simply not readily available because others are diligently using it and I am not able to get a full work out in, then it is my own fault for trying to squeeze in a work out when I didn’t really have enough time to begin with. But if I am in a hurry and want to use a machine but the person on the machine tells me to hold off because they just have a few more sets, and then they answer there phone to talk for another 5 min and then do their sets then I am entitled to be a little pissed off. Why do I have to wait for you to wrap up your phone conversation so that I can use the equipment? Most people who answer the phone at the gym realize this and are at least decent enough to let you work in or move away form the equipment and let you use it. But there is that 25% in this category that instantly transform themselves into the power tool isle at Home Depot. And yes, I do mean the whole isle. By doing this you are going past being a singular tool, you are stepping into a whole new realm where your tool-ness is pissing others off and is no longer just something that other people laugh at your expense. I feel so bad for people that are actually nice and wait for these H.D.’s to not only finish up their sets but also their telephone conversations. I have no patience when it comes to crap like this, which probably makes me an ass and which probably puts me on someone else’s “gym offender’s type cast list.” But on this one I don’t care because I am not budging on my stance regarding this issue. I have only had this happen to me personally once and at first I was cool about it. I said to myself “ok this guy told me to wait because he is almost done… for sure I will just wait for him to finish up.” But then I see him answer his cell, and again I think to myself “I will just wait for him to wrap up this call. He will probably tell whoever is on the other line that he is in the middle of working out and that he will call right back.” Wrong. I waited for about a minute until I realized that he was not about to end the conversation, and then I signaled the old “can work in with you.” And he so toolishly gave me the wait one sec gesture. At this point I was still patient, but yet another minute went by and he had yet to commence in doing a set or getting off of his phone. So I literally hopped on the machine and started doing my own sets. He looked at me like I wasn’t wearing pants, like he could not believe what he was seeing. He was like I am still on that…so I did what any normal person pushed to the brink of being an a-hole by someone else would do…I gave him a taste of his own medicine. I told him “hey man that’s cool you can work in if you want.” That irked him to no avail, but who the hell cares…I certainly don’t. And like I said, in some regards that makes me a hypocrite. But what is he going to do. Is he going to pick a fight with me? Is he going to just walk away still talking on his cell? Or is he going to hang up and finish his sets in between mine? And for that matter what m I supposed to do. Go tell on you like a little child? Sit their and wait another ten minutes? End my work out short? Or do what I did and then bitch about it three weeks later in some off the top blog? I am going with the last option on this one.

I am holding all of the does for the last phase of this second mini series because they will apply to all three of these. And like so many of these offences do… I don’t want to waste your time. Although I probably already do by posting this mess. Just kidding…but seriously. Once again this is simply my opinion, take it or leave it.

Posted in Lucas Hart, Real People | COMMENT ON THIS BLOG