Gym Bitchiness?

My Seasonal Wreath

Happy Halloween for those who celebrate. And who doesn't celebrate here in America? Unless you're also celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, signifying the victory of light over darkness. I saw a few posts where people left refreshments for their delivery drivers during the hot summer months, and I thought I'd do the same today since we never get Trick or Treaters. (Trunk Or Treats is what's popular among the school age set and their parents, and those occur at school parking lots or behind the big firehouse in town.) 

Treat Yourself

I got back from the gym this afternoon and saw a few small packages on the front steps, and I'm pretty sure the delivery person grabbed themselves a few candies. They weren't sitting in direct sunlight so hopefully they weren't melted into a gooey mess. It was 79F when I got back home.

I got to the gym well past noon. Two of the four elliptical machines were occupied and I wasn't about to pedal between them on a clunky machine that has a broken cup holder. I got on one of the Life Fitness cross-trainer machines and pedaled for 15 minutes. Because I really came to push some weights around and cardio is just a warmup for those instances. I chose a machine that is directly in front of the a/c ceiling vent so I didn't sweat much. It's hot today, peaking temps near 80F even though there'll be frost at night in a few days. Seasonal roller coaster weather... usually Halloween isn't quite so warm though.

I find a Nautilus bench and start my DB Shoulder routine. Everything is going fine even though it's a bit crowded in the free weight area. The Odd Couple are split between a bench next to me and the squat cage behind me. It feels claustrophobic because there are too many people in too small a space. But everything's okay until I get to the sets where I need the 20 lb DBs. There should be 2 sets on the rack and there are none. No one near me is using any of them. I walk around all the benches, thinking that some dolt didn't re-rack. 

Instead, I find two HS guys standing next to a bench at the far end, and both sets of 20s. I ask if they're using them, 'cuz obviously they're not. They start to make excuses about uh, just one more set. Really? Two guys with ONE bench and two sets of DBs? Are you doing simultaneous shoulder presses sitting next to each other? 

I bit my tongue and grabbed one pair when the smaller dude said he wasn't using the one at his feet. Because what I really wanted to say was, "Poser." What I said instead was, " Well, you're just standing there talking and no one's using either of them."

There wasn't any gym ambient music and I had my earbuds in, so maybe I was a bit louder than a small middle-aged Asian woman should be. Because I definitely felt a lot of eyes on me when I grabbed the DBs and walked back to my bench. Most of the time people tell me they can't hear me because I speak too softly (and my voice is low). Apparently not today. Bitchiness? Yeah, maybe. The HS kid did one more set and then left. I've worked out in a lot of gyms. A lot of muscle head gyms. And I don't think I'm wrong here.

Honestly, I don't want to politely wait around while people chat. I don't come to the gym to chat. I can barely bring myself to nod at people I know, and people who know me know that they're not getting any conversation unless it's in the locker room. Because when I'm focused on my workout, I'm locked in on that and only that. I got everything done in the Aerobics Room, and even added back Walking Lunges. Which of course, didn't help the Wall Sits at all. Nope. Screaming inside my head the entire two minutes. Tomorrow's Cardio Day is gonna be a lot of fun. Not.

31 Oct 2024 12:25-1:46

Thursday — Mix for Halloween

Hot Sunny Day — Timolol / sciatica

Life Fitness X-Trainer #5

Program Manual L1

Time: 12 (+3min cool down) = 15

Distance: 1.44

Cal: 116

Avg Hr: 109-120

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys

10 lbs x 25/15/25

15 lbs x 25/15/25

20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 3

20 Hip Bridges

Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

DeadBugs 20 x 5

Piriformis stretches

Quick Child’s Pose

Cat stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Push-Ups 25

Arm rotations 20

Walking Lunges 20/20

Air Squats 25

Neck stretch / Eye yoga

Wall Squat 120 sec (so painful!)