Fairfield is home to the wonderful brand new Leslie C. Quick, Jr. Recreation Complex right at the entrance of campus. The new facility is home to high-tech equipment on two different floors to suit everyone's fitness needs. Now as someone who has only recently gotten into the gym scene, I can say that it took a while to get used to the gym environment. However, it did not take long to begin to notice some patterns in the kinds of people that frequent the gym whenever I am there. So if you have gone to the RecPlex recently, you have probably run into more than one of these characters as you were running on a treadmill.
1. The regular
The regular knows what they are doing and the day that they are using a particular machine. They have stacked claims on their machines and have their workout routines categorized by day of the week and time of the day. While these individuals can be intimidating on your first visit to the gym, they are definitely someone to try to imitate if you want to look like you know what you are doing.
2. The obviously way more than just a regular
We have all seen that person not only in the gym, but also on campus. There is no apparent need for the individual to be going to the gym for the mere fact that I can't understand how one finds clothes and fits into normal chairs when their arms are the size of my entire body. There comes a point when it is not even attractive anymore, it's just scary. It is even scarier to think about the sheer amount of work and effort that it must have taken to look like that. It is already hard to get out of bed in the morning, let alone five hours a day of lifting heavy objects and putting them back down again.
3. The newbie
We were all there at one point. Being the new guy at the gym is never fun, especially if you don't know how to use the equipment. Just watching the poor newbie go from machine to machine trying to find the start button brings a nostalgic tear to the eye. I can almost hear the sad violin music now.
4. The Victoria's Secret wannabe model
Not to say that these people don't exist in all gyms across the world, but it seems that Fairfield's RecPlex houses way too many of this specimen. Sometimes I wonder how long it takes some girls to get ready in order to go to the gym only to sweat in over-priced, perfectly coordinated outfits. Then again, they probably wear those outfits to class on a daily basis and now is the first time that the fabric has seen the gym lights.
5. The try-hard
My most recent encounter with such an individual came a few short weeks ago while on the treadmill. While I had known the poor fella from class, I was not going to pause my workout to start a conversation. It was not until he put the treadmill next to me on full blast and subsequently dropped his phone onto the belt — sending the device shooting across the room — that I even looked his way. His face was bright red, his phone was surely broken and he left the gym as quickly as he came into it.
6. The grandpa that makes you feel inferior
Every time I go to the gym, there seems to always be a much older gentleman that puts my athletic ability to shame. Watching a man roughly in his mid to late-60's, or sometimes even 70's, run mile after mile drenched in sweat is demoralizing when you yourself need to take a break after about two. I hope to be like that when I'm older, but then again, it would probably be even better if I were like that now.
7. Your average Joe / plain Jane
While not a regular or a newbie, this individual goes to the gym when they can, but school or other obligations come first. They may not be perfect or know how to use every piece of equipment, but they know how to put in a good workout without be noticed or judged by those around them. In a sense, they know the gym life well enough to get by, but their life does not revolve around the gym.
