Stop your natter and I shall have my turn

I like to workout as often as I can. When I drive in to work, you would often see me park my car in the far off spot in the parking lot, so I could walk the extra steps to get to my cube. I like to take the steps instead of the lift except at times when I am carrying something heavy. I try to go to the gym whenever I can, even if it is for a 45 minute cardio workout on a machine or being in an aerobic class for half an hour (class is usually hour long). I try to make my trips to the gym whenever Yash is at his class, either in Kumon or Tae Kwan Do. I would drop him at his class 5-10 minutes earlier and pick him up 5-10 minutes later after the class ends. During that time I would hit the gym. So now you can see how I am crunched up on time at the gym.

During my visits there at the gym, I try to get my cardio done along with other machines. On any given machine, I do 3 sets of 10-12 reps with a couple of seconds of break in between. So on any given machine; I would be there for about 10 minutes at the most. There are also notices on the wall that says not to use the machine more than 15 minutes so that others get a chance to workout on any machine. This is a way of making sure that no machine is hogged by any one gym freak and that everyone gets a turn to use that machine. With the given time I have on hand, I hate to wait for machines and I work on the machines that are free, coming back to the hogged ones to see if they are free in between.

One thing I like about the gym that I go to is that it is open 24x7 unless it is a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving where they close early. I try to go when the gym is less crowded, usually before 5pm or after 8pm. Times that I am during the rush hour at the gym, I end up wasting my time waiting for machines rather than getting an actual workout because there are many people at the gym during those times. But those many people are they there for getting a workout or are they there for socializing, catching up with their friends or gossiping. It is just not women who talk, men do talk. They would put a towel on a machine, to let others know that the machine is taken and they would either be sitting on the machine or stand beside it with their hand on the machine and be talking to others who are working out with them or someone they met at the gym.

I think most people come to the gym just to socialize or market themselves to other genders. I understand that men and women who are in the market have to look out for availability where they go but not at the expense of having others to wait. Yesterday I was at the gym and I was waiting to get to my favorite leg machine only to see that there was a towel on the machine and a woman and a man talking besides it. I went and asked the woman if she was using the machine and she said she was starting in a few minutes. I went to workout on another close by machine, watching her chitchatting with her acquaintance. Ten minutes passed by and I was done with my machine and then again I went to the woman asked her if she was done with the machine. She again told me that she was still working out, standing besides the machine and talking with her acquaintance. Another ten minutes passed by and I was getting annoyed with the woman who was not letting go of the machine and not working on it. I went to her and asked if the machine be free or not for me to use, only to hear her say she was using it. I told her maybe she will be done if she stops chatting and starts her workout on the machine instead.

We go to the gym or workout elsewhere to let go of our tension and relax our body of our stress. But to workout if we are to put up with such cases, what is the alternative? People should be considerate at the gym. If they met someone who they have to catch up with, then they should step aside from the machine and talk all they want, so that others can use the machine. Don’t hold on to a machine and pretend to be working out, making others wait for no reason. You are there to workout your body not just your tongue. You do not need machines and gym atmosphere if your goal is to workout just your tongue.