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Thoughts I Have at the Gym

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.

Alright, I’m done with class and I told myself I’m going to the gym.

Ok, here we go.

Even getting to the gym is a struggle. The long walk to the gym should be considered a workout in itself. It’s the question of whether I should just turn around to go back home and watch Netflix.

I walk up to the cardio machines, and head to the sign-out board. I sign out elliptical 4. And there is someone on it. I tap her on the shoulder and ask, “Did you sign this machine out?” noticing that she has only been on the machine for three minutes. She replies, “No, sorry.”

So, here I am, saddened by the lack of gym courtesy, I turn to the treadmill.

Ugh, the treadmill. Running is so hard. So I’m just trying to have a good time over here, like:

All done now (thank god). I clean off my machine, and as I do, the girl next to me finishes and leaves. She leaves WITHOUT cleaning the machine. To those people who don’t wipe their sweat off the machines after they workout: I have no words.

Okay, abs time.

Pull out a blue mat, do some stretches…and now what? Let’s be honest, I’m the girl who looks at what the person next to me is doing as their workout. Some girl is doing splits, and a guy is doing planks with a 50-pound weight on his back…needless to say I cannot do either of those things nor will I attempt to.

Is sitting on the blue mat and doing crunches enough? Cool, I did 20. Boom, done.

But I still feel that I need to do a little more, because now I am motivated. I am rearing to go and want to push myself! (this happens only on a good day)

Okay, weights.

Walk over to the machines, and (discretely) look at the diagrams to see how the heck this machine works.

Wow, a lot of these people look like they are in pain. Lifting weights is hard. There are people grunting, sweating, pushing themselves to lift JUST a little more.

And then there are the “buff” guys who think that they look cool deadlifting 200 pounds. They don’t put the matts down when they drop the weight, so the whole place shakes.  

*cue the Sports & Rec worker who comes over to tell him to put mats underneath*….and *cue him not doing so after he or she walks away* (really?!).

POST-WORKOUT GLORY. I did it! I completed today’s workout. This is how I think I feel and look:

But in reality, this is actually what I look like:

Until next time, fitness center. I’ll be back. Namaste. 

 

Bagel lover and coffee aficionado from the East End of Long Island. You can find her brunching in DC on Sundays and harmonizing to every song on the radio.