Sweat Box

Question: What is nasty, gross, smelly, damp, hot, germy, and disgusting?

Answer: Working out in the gym right after work with 50-75 other sweating people.

Abdul warned me that the gym would be packed if I went right after work, but I knew I had to go then because if I waited until later in the evening, I knew I wouldn't (I stayed holed up in my house painting till midnight). Not only was the gym packed with people, it was packed with sweaty, smelly, nasty people. And, sadly, as soon as I walked in, I became one of them.

I hopped on the last treadmill available and started running my three miles at a 9.5 minute/mile pace. Most of the people on the treadmills were walking, but one woman was running next to me. I thought she was running pretty fast, but it was just an illusion because she was running like 12 minute/miles or something. I think it seemed like she was running faster because she was working pretty hard at it, but I think that's because she wasn't moving her arms. Anyway, I digress... That gym was so full of sweat just hanging in the air that I knew I had to get out of there ASAP. So after one mile I picked up my pace and ran my 2nd and 3rd miles at a 9 minute/mile pace. And, what do you know?, I survived and actually felt pretty good. This means that my body is capable of working harder and running faster; I'm just too lazy to make it do that most of the time.

In the midst of my disgusting treadmill run (where once, I swear, I felt someone else's sweat fly across the room and land on my leg), I noticed one strange gym phenomenon: Large women in tiny little sports bras and fit men in sweatshirts. First, the women: I don't understand why, if you were even slightly overweight, or even at the correct weight, you'd wear a sports bra--and only a sports bra--to the gym. An older, overweight woman was wearing a kind of skimpy white sports bra two treadmills over from mine. It was not attractive at all. Maybe she wore it as motivation to loose weight; I don't know. I didn't think it should be allowed though. It seemed like all the women who were more correctly proportioned had the good sense to remember to put on a shirt before they left their houses. Second, the men: I saw this the other day and then again yesterday too: Men working out (hard) wearing sweatshirts in a gym that was 100 degrees. Do they wear these in he hopes of sweating even more and loosing more weight? But these men weren't fat...I don't get it. It was like working out in the shower there because it was so hot and sweaty...I don't know why you'd wear a sweatshirt. So, why are women showing off their fat and men covering up their muscles? Personally, I think the man last night wearing the sweatshirt should have taken it off and given it to the white sports bra women and she could have lent him her little bra.

Okay...on to tonight...four miles...probably at the gym again too. I'm going later tonight, though, since I'm meeting my friend, Shannon, for dinner.