Exercise is a necessary evil that most people partake in to maintain their appearances. In the midst of a workout, many people try to distract their minds so they don’t get too miserable about the hard work they are doing. If you’re working out correctly, then you should be completely in the zone and focused on your fitness goals for the entire duration of your workout. However, for me, it is impossible to go even a few minutes without having an irrelevant thought. Even if I can go a while without distracting myself, there are always outside stimuli that take my attention away from where it should be. I often fall victim to distracted thoughts in a packed gym. Here are 8 thoughts that I have almost every time I work out in my local gym.
1. “Did I turn off my headlights?”
Perhaps it is just an excuse to postpone the start of my workout a little longer, but I always question whether or not I have turned off my headlights. Sometimes I’m able to quickly reassure myself that I have and that I don’t need to go outside. Other times I turn right back around and check. The latter is kind of embarrassing because I have headlights that turn off automatically.
2. “Do I need a new coat?”
When I head into the locker room to hang up my coat, the rack is always pretty packed. After all, there is only one gym in my town. I admit that my second stalling tactic is examining other people’s coats. This always buys me a few minutes before I have to hit the treadmill.
3. “How much cardio do I really need to do?”
I always start my workout with a cardio warm-up. Although jogging on the treadmill is my comfort zone, I’m not always in the mood. This is especially true when I arrive at the gym at 9:00 a.m. I find myself always bargaining down the amount of time that I stay on the treadmill.
4. “Wow, these pants make my butt look really nice.”
In most gyms every wall is covered with a huge mirror. I have a hard time fighting the human tendency to be vain, which makes it impossible to complete a workout without checking myself out in the mirror. What begins as an innocent check of my form usually turns into a full body inspection.
5. “Who is that beautiful creature?”
Naturally, the gym is packed with beautiful, fit individuals who like to stay healthy. Thus, the population usually has a few head-turners working out every time that I’m there. It is a unique experience to watch a beautiful person work out. Sometimes it takes a moment of embarrassing eye contact for me to return to my bicep curls after staring at someone for a full minute.
6. “Can that girl tell how much I’m sweating?”
When I get in the zone at the gym, I have the unfortunate tendency to sweat like there is no tomorrow. It is easy to feel self-conscious that someone else may notice that I am as slippery as a baby seal.
7. “Do I really care this much about my appearance?”
There is always a point during a hard workout where I feel like quitting and I question why I even came to the gym in the first place. This thought passes quickly because of the aforementioned mirrors giving me constant reminders.
8. “I’m free!”
In my head I always do one of those little jump-to-the-side-and-click-my-heels things as I’m leaving the gym.
