A Day At The Gym

I worked out at the big gym close to my house this weekend. It’s a 24 hour fitness and I think I got there at peak time because the place was packed. I used to work out at this gym a couple of years ago but I would usually get there much later when the place was less occupied. Since those times, I’ve been working out at a small gym in my office complex.

I have to admit that my first idea for this post was a little bit of a rant against the people at the gym who made my workout a less than stellar experience.  You know who I’m talking about, the people who don’t put equipment back, the people who won’t let you work in and so on.  However, on second thought I realized this was a bad idea.  Ultimately, I got a good workout at this gym and I did enjoy my time there.  So rather than being negative about my experience, how about a little thank you to all the folks there who helped me enjoy my time?

Thank You

Thank you to the gym employee at the front desk who greeted me with a smile and then looked me up in the computer when I realized I forgot my wallet in the car.  I know you didn’t have to do this and you didn’t have to be so cheerful about it, but you did and that made me feel better.

Thank you to the gentleman who saw me looking for that other 45lb dumbbell.  He not only told me where he saw the other one, he also went over there and got it for me.  He even apologized along the way, telling me it was him who forgot it there.  You know what?  That’s ok, we all make mistakes and forget things, but you owned up to it and helped fix things, which really saved me a lot of time.

Thank you to the couple working out on the weight bench who saw me standing around and told me they’d be done in just one more set each.  I didn’t even have to ask.  They told me it would be a couple of more minutes which is fine, it let me do another set of another exercise while I waited.  When I came back they were wiping down the bench and getting it ready for me.  That’s great and it makes my experience much better.

Thank you to the personal trainer who agreed to spot for me even though I wasn’t his customer.  His customer and I were alternating bench press sets on the same bench.  Both the customer and the trainer were nice and considerate.  The client was pretty new but she seemed like she was enjoying herself, which is always nice to see.  I remember when I was that new.

Thank you to the pregnant woman on the elliptical machine next to me.  She chatted with me for 30 minutes as we both exercised on the machines.  It was a good change from listening to my iPod or watching the news while I workout and it made the time go by faster.  Before I knew it I was done with my workout.  I think we both kept going for a few extra minutes just to keep chatting.

It All Counts

All of these people made a difference.  It may have been a small difference but it matters.  It made my day better and it sure made my workout more enjoyable.  Sure, I would have gotten a good workout even without them and I would have kept working out even after one bad experience, but that’s not true for everyone.  There are many people who go to the gym once and then never return because of a bad experience.  So please, take note of what these people do and if you’re at the gym, try to be more like them.  The gym doesn’t have to belong to over muscled men and women in too much makeup and too little clothing.  It can belong to us, people who want to enjoy a good workout with good company.  All it takes is a little bit of friendly attitude.

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This post started out as a rant but I’m glad it didn’t end up that way.  Thank you to everyone who has made a difference, at the gym and in the rest of my life.

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