At the start of every new year, everyone tries to stick to their resolution to work out more. This means that the gyms are more crowded, especially on a college campus. At Ohio State, with such a large campus, there are of course multiple gyms, but no matter what one you go to you'll see the same types of people.
The professors
While professors don't get free gym memberships, you can still see them at the gyms. It's not that professors set fitness related resolutions more, it's just that with every semester you know more professors and they are more easy to recognize than normal students.
The professionals
They're the people who would be at the gym whether or not they made a resolution. They definitely look the most in shape, and they probably have their own equipment. They're the people who are the most intimidating in the gym, and everyone knows who they are whether or not they've seen them at the gym before.
The people waiting for a class
Right after the new year, fitness classes are most popular. I've seen lines for the classes wrap around the gym equipment. People get there early in order to make sure that they have a spot in the class. They're the people who are normally waiting outside a room, and sometimes are even just working on homework.
The groupÂ
Whether they're together in order to keep everyone accountable or because one person is showing the others how to use the equipment, they're normally huddled around one machine- because it's the only one that's available- and are generally just interacting with each other.
The people who are just studying there
Some people go to the RPAC just to eat or study since the building is so large. Normally, they're just sitting at the tables outside of the gym section, but they're still a part of the people who you run into at the gym.
Those who aren't dressed for the gym
While at Ohio State, I've seen people who look like they didn't know they were going to the gym that day. Whether or not they actually knew what they were doing with the weights, their outfits make it look like the people have never gone to the gym before.
The people who have their "thing"
If you go to the ARC, then you'll find the people who are really good at rock climbing. There are also the people who love to do yoga or powerlifting at the other gyms.
The people who only use the cardio machines
There are people who definitely only come to use the cardio machines. There's nothing wrong with just working out on these machines, but these people generally have a lot of confidence in the cardio area, but not as comfortable in the other areas of the gym. These people can spend hours on the cardio machines with no problem.
Those who never use the cardio machines
These are the people who are the opposite. They have a ton of confidence in other areas of the gym, but avoid doing cardio as much as possible. They probably can't do more than 10 minutes on a cardio machine without feeling like it's been a harder workout than when they were lifting.