Please dont' sweat on my towel!
James and I normally head to the gym first thing in the morning during the week. It's a great routine--we usually start working out around 6:40 am and go for about an hour. Afterwards, I drop James off at his office, stopping at Tully's on the way for our standard tea and coffee (and in case you're wondering, he has the tea and I have the coffee!).
Although I consider myself a natural 'night-owl', I have to admit that it's pretty exhilarating to be up so early and get the gym-thing out of the way so early in the morning. And cliche aside, working out really does seem to set me up for the day and put me in a good mood; more importantly, it "wakes" me up, so that by the time I'm back home, I am coherent enough to make phone-calls and write e-mails to family and friends. The routine certainly makes me feel like I maximize my time in the mornings, so night-owl tendencies aside, I do like it.
Besides, what better time to work out than when you are still half-asleep?!
This morning, however, I woke up simply irate at the world. I cannot explain what brought about this seeming mood flip from the night before (although I suspect hormonal influences), and try as I might, I could not convince myself that things would get any better by going to the gym.
James did try to persuade me otherwise, but bless him--gave up shortly and let me snooze on in peace.
I'm glad he did as I am convinced that I would have bitten someone's head off if we had gone... I keep picturing the scene yesterday morning when per routine, I was pedalling away on the elliptical trainer, probably half way through my work out and this one guy walks up and says hello to the guy on the ET next to me.
Now, as in most gyms, the exercise equipment is set up so that they are not super close together, but then again, given the premium on space, they are certainly not acres apart either.
Gyms are where people work out and consequently sweat and smell. I accept this. Still, I admit to a certain anal attitude in the gym, whereby I always wipe down cardio equipment that I am about to use, making sure to wipe it down again after use.
I also always have a towel I use for myself; specifically, I lay the towel down wherever I am about to sit or lie on a mchine so that I am not sweating where someone else will soon be sitting or lying, and conversely, so that I am not in contact with the sweat of those who do not take such precautions.
Occasionally, in using the cardio equipment, I will use the towel on myself, to wipe away that inevitable sweaty build-up.
So there I am, on my elliptical trainer, plugged into my mini-iPod, noticing out of the corner of my eye this guy speaking to the guy on the trainer next to me. But then this OTHER guy shows up with literally BUCKETS of sweat pouring off him, and he stops in front of my machine to say hello to the conversationally engaged pair to my right.
There is a row of treadmills in front of the row of elliptical trainers, and although the distance between the two might not be considered very wide, it's certainly wide enough to accommodate a couple of guys stopped in between the rows for a few moments, without getting in anyone's way.
Not that there were many people there--the gym tends to empty out around 7:30am, before seeing the second round of morning gym-goers at around 8:00am.
Nevertheless, Sweaty Man decides to stop and sway RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY MACHINE.
I have my sweatshirt and towel hanging from one of the sidebars of the ET and although there is plenty of room, he seems not to notice that he is sweating enough to make Niagra Falls blush, and that he keeps backing INTO my sweatshirt and towel!
One of my girlfriends asked me as I told her the story whether I said anything to the offending gentlemen; okay, pehaps I should have done, although I'm still not sure how I would've worded it--certainly the title of this blog could not be so easily uttered by most, I would bet...
And while I winced watching all of this, you could argue that I should have simply REMOVED my personal items and placed them on the other bar. But I was convinced that in doing so, my towel and sweatshirt would inadvertently dry MORE of Sweaty Man's body than was already the case!
Needless to say, I was in a state of shock and totally unprepared for what my response should be in such a situation. I'm still working on a strategy, but hopefully next itme, I won't be be as paralyzed as I found myself yesterday morning.
Still, given my near-foul mood early this morning, I can't be sure that I wouldn't have bitten-off some poor person's head given my irritating recollection of yesterday's unpleasant experience.
Let's hope the hormones settle down and I am in a better mood tomorrow in my quest for fitness and higher serotonin levels...
Although I consider myself a natural 'night-owl', I have to admit that it's pretty exhilarating to be up so early and get the gym-thing out of the way so early in the morning. And cliche aside, working out really does seem to set me up for the day and put me in a good mood; more importantly, it "wakes" me up, so that by the time I'm back home, I am coherent enough to make phone-calls and write e-mails to family and friends. The routine certainly makes me feel like I maximize my time in the mornings, so night-owl tendencies aside, I do like it.
Besides, what better time to work out than when you are still half-asleep?!
This morning, however, I woke up simply irate at the world. I cannot explain what brought about this seeming mood flip from the night before (although I suspect hormonal influences), and try as I might, I could not convince myself that things would get any better by going to the gym.
James did try to persuade me otherwise, but bless him--gave up shortly and let me snooze on in peace.
I'm glad he did as I am convinced that I would have bitten someone's head off if we had gone... I keep picturing the scene yesterday morning when per routine, I was pedalling away on the elliptical trainer, probably half way through my work out and this one guy walks up and says hello to the guy on the ET next to me.
Now, as in most gyms, the exercise equipment is set up so that they are not super close together, but then again, given the premium on space, they are certainly not acres apart either.
Gyms are where people work out and consequently sweat and smell. I accept this. Still, I admit to a certain anal attitude in the gym, whereby I always wipe down cardio equipment that I am about to use, making sure to wipe it down again after use.
I also always have a towel I use for myself; specifically, I lay the towel down wherever I am about to sit or lie on a mchine so that I am not sweating where someone else will soon be sitting or lying, and conversely, so that I am not in contact with the sweat of those who do not take such precautions.
Occasionally, in using the cardio equipment, I will use the towel on myself, to wipe away that inevitable sweaty build-up.
So there I am, on my elliptical trainer, plugged into my mini-iPod, noticing out of the corner of my eye this guy speaking to the guy on the trainer next to me. But then this OTHER guy shows up with literally BUCKETS of sweat pouring off him, and he stops in front of my machine to say hello to the conversationally engaged pair to my right.
There is a row of treadmills in front of the row of elliptical trainers, and although the distance between the two might not be considered very wide, it's certainly wide enough to accommodate a couple of guys stopped in between the rows for a few moments, without getting in anyone's way.
Not that there were many people there--the gym tends to empty out around 7:30am, before seeing the second round of morning gym-goers at around 8:00am.
Nevertheless, Sweaty Man decides to stop and sway RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY MACHINE.
I have my sweatshirt and towel hanging from one of the sidebars of the ET and although there is plenty of room, he seems not to notice that he is sweating enough to make Niagra Falls blush, and that he keeps backing INTO my sweatshirt and towel!
One of my girlfriends asked me as I told her the story whether I said anything to the offending gentlemen; okay, pehaps I should have done, although I'm still not sure how I would've worded it--certainly the title of this blog could not be so easily uttered by most, I would bet...
And while I winced watching all of this, you could argue that I should have simply REMOVED my personal items and placed them on the other bar. But I was convinced that in doing so, my towel and sweatshirt would inadvertently dry MORE of Sweaty Man's body than was already the case!
Needless to say, I was in a state of shock and totally unprepared for what my response should be in such a situation. I'm still working on a strategy, but hopefully next itme, I won't be be as paralyzed as I found myself yesterday morning.
Still, given my near-foul mood early this morning, I can't be sure that I wouldn't have bitten-off some poor person's head given my irritating recollection of yesterday's unpleasant experience.
Let's hope the hormones settle down and I am in a better mood tomorrow in my quest for fitness and higher serotonin levels...
posted by Joli at 5:24 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home