Gym; /jim/ (n):
A land of grunting, amped-up people and clanking weights with the lingering smell of either perspiration or motivation (we all know there comes a point where you are unable to tell the two apart).
Getting up and going to the gym is hard for most; because who would ever want to work out and sweat for the fun of it?! If you so happen to be a wild individual who needs the gym like humans need air to live, here are ten things you probably find to be painfully true. Gym addicts, unite!
1. You can never get enough.
Your friends don't call you "gym rat" for nothin'! You find yourself constantly building and adding to your daily gym routine- even if that means you're there for long hours at a time, late night, early morning or twice a day. Your love for the rush of a good workout and a broken sweat knows no boundaries.
2. You schedule everything you do around your gym time.
"Want to hang later? It's going to be a stellar time!"
"Ah that sounds so fun but... I think I'm gonna go to the gym."
3. Protein powder is never scarce.
It gets put at the top of your shopping list, even if it's not completely gone yet. Maybe next trip, you'll buy two or three cases... just to be safe.
4. You definitely get the no-gym blues.
Extra busy week? Wild n' crazy weekend? You probably skipped the gym for a day or two. What you feel: a solid combination of pissed off, sad and a false sense of weak muscles. You swear to your friends you're getting weaker by the hour but they insist they see no difference. Guess you'll have to double up on your routine tomorrow. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
5. Your laundry piles up- fast.
You can only wear the same athletic gear for so many days and you can't leave it sitting in your hamper or else your room will start to smell like gym socks. Unless you're into that smell; in that case, go ahead and climb that laundry mountain!
6. You've made best friends with the gym's employees.
Dave at the desk wants to know if you've seen the latest Game of Thrones episode when you check in and when you leave, everyone says "See ya tomorrow!" in which you respond with a smile and wave because you know that you will actually in fact see them tomorrow.
7. You've taken at least one mirror pic and have felt guilty about it... but not too guilty.
You started out by nonchalantly sneaking a snap here and there but now you full-on flex for a gnarly progress pic. How else are you going to keep yourself accountable?
8. You always feel the need to mix up your routine but know that you will probably end up going back to your original workouts.
Change is good for a while but your original plan is what got you to where you are now, right? Maybe you can just keep adding on more weight and upping your reps and sets.
9. You have that one song...
You know the one: you're sitting at a party, playing it cool, when suddenly, your hype song starts playing. You feel the urge to pump iron and get on the floor to tear up your core routine. You probably hold it back well enough to hide that on the inside, you are absolutely RAGING.
10. Even though you feel broken down sometimes... you always end up feeling damn good after!
You know what they say: if it doesn't burn, it doesn't count! You may have Jello legs and noodle arms when you leave but it all makes up for it when you wake up the next day with that wonderful "I worked hard" soreness. No pain no gain, friends!
Keep it up, gym fanatics. We are all routing for you to reach every single one of your goals!