Gym Etiquette

08/09/06

Besides putting weights back to the stack and wiping equipment after use, what else are the gym etiquettes?

I have to say making noise during working out and dancing on the gym floor should be included in the etiquettes as well.

Some people tend to make a lot of noise while they are lifting weight. I am not sure if that is the way to release their muscle tension or they just have some forms of attention deficit disorder. Some hunks I experienced moaning like they were hitting multiple orgasms. Chit-chatting in the gym is normal but some gym bunnies talking so loud that I know what restaurant they are going that night or how many people they have gone out for a date the past week.

I really don't want to know. All I want is to work out in a quite peaceful enviroment.

Dancing is a joyful way of expressing ourselves but only either in clubs, at our own places or some appropriate settings.

Let’s talk about dancing in the gym a little bit. I have noticed that only male gym goers who can actually work out and dance together. I have never seen any female do that at all. It seems to me, men are more expressive than women in the gym. From my experience some people are really into it. They express their feelings not only through their move but also their face. Some of them remind me of Lady Gaga.

This evening there was an African-American man who I had never seen before working out in my gym. He looked rough and muscular kinda like Van Diesel. While I was working out on my shoulders, I saw him dancing salsa in front of the mirror. I thought it was kinda cute.

Then I saw him dancing hip-hop while I was working on my triceps. I started giggling to myself.

I have to say I did not want to look at him at all but he was working out right beside me. I don't think I was the only one who was drawn by his different dance moves, perhaps all the people in the gym were amused by him. Ten minutes later, he started dancing like Justin Bieber (I guess he is in his late 30s). I thought it was sort of funny. He still kept going on and on until suddenly, I guess the music must have hit his g-spot, he started moving around and sang like a ballet dancer taking on the stage. That was not cute anymore; I thought it was extremely annoying and obnoxious.

I know this is A.M.E.R.I.C.A.-the land of freedom where people can express how they feel to the whole world but they should be mindful if their expressions annoy other people around them. I just guess this dude must have some kinds of attention deficit order. He danced like he was in the Webster Hall.

I do understand how much we can get into the music when we listen to our favorite songs. I did it sometimes but much more subtly. When my favorite songs are played while I am working out, I just move my body to the melody and make it like I am working out. In the worst case, when I cannot resist my love of dancing, I just lock myself in the bathroom and start dancing in front of a mirror (fortunately, the bathrooms in my gym are big enough for me to do some dance exercise).

At the end of my work out, when his dancing became so disturbing, I walked away graciously with my favorite song- Got To Be Real by Cheryl Lynn.

Tae Athikomvittaya