You’ve been avoiding it for years but the time has finally come: you’ve motivated yourself to workout. Here are the seven things you’ll know/need to know if you workout at David Ross.
1. The Stairs
There are only two floors to walk up, but they make you feel like you’ve done your workout before you’ve started it. On leg day, the amount of stairs double, I swear. You could get the lift of course, but something feels just plain cheeky about using the lift at the gym.
2. The Gates
There always seems to be a problem with them. You’ll look like a lemon day in, day out when you swipe your card to enter and hear an angry beep, the red lights flash and the gates refuse to budge. Nightmare.
3. It’s Busy. All the time.
You will make a fast walk whilst staring intently at a free station at least once a session. Most days you’ll walk in and sigh at the sight of hundreds of people sprawled all over the mats, every treadmill running on full pelt, every station in use and no cages whatsoever. That’s David Ross before 4pm on a weekday. And Wednesday, the Sports Day? Don’t bother going after 12pm. When it is quiet, like in this photo, it’s bliss.
4. The Trek
For the healthier ones among us, the trek from one side of campus to the other to get to the gym is a pleasant workout warm up through the campus greenery. For the most of us, it’s a freezing cold, blustery trek up and down the monster hill that is the Downs. Again, it will destroy you on leg day.
5. The Climbing Wall
You will get distracted by the climbing wall that’s opposite the gym. Either you’ll look at it in intrigue and promise to book yourself an induction, or you’ll look at it in fear as you scale the stairs.
6. The Water Fountains
You will have to wait ten minutes to fill up your 500ml bottle at the dribble dispenser. (The fountain in the weights section is where it’s at).
7. Starbucks
It is genius to place a Starbucks right under a gym, with the smell of cake and chocolate and pastries and all the nice stuff you really shouldn’t eat after a good workout. You’ll come out after a good session and the smell of it will hit you and you will have never craved something so much in your life. One of two things will happen at this juncture. You will walk past, scowling at the sweet treats and the hot chocolates, or, you will treat yo’ self. Why not, it’s acceptable if you’ve had a good workout right?
Edited by Nicole Swain