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Health and Wellness

People's Thoughts While At The Gym

Twelve thoughts you'll have, eventually.

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People's Thoughts While At The Gym
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Let's be honest, the majority of the people who go to the gym, don't actually want to workout. If you think about it, the gym is gross anyway. It's a place where sweaty people lay on plastic, covered in other people's sweat, while aggressively grunting like Freddy Kruger just stabbed them; all while lifting heavy objects that, if dropped, could possibly kill them. If someone gave you a choice between eating or going to the gym, nine times out of ten, eating will win. But since we know we have to workout to stay healthy or get in better shape, we go anyway.

While at the gym we force ourselves to get motivated and mentally prepare. This is when we think to ourselves -- we will get stronger or fitter -- and anything else that will help. But after that motivation dies down, our mind wanders. Here is a list of 12 thoughts people have while at the gym.

1. I need to burn off last night.

This is what people think before and after a night of drinking or eating like crap. Telling ourselves that we are gonna workout the next day, justifies us eating and drinking like crap the night before.

2. Do I need to do cardio today?

For about 90 percent of the people who go to the gym, and lifters especially, doing cardio is the equivalent of being force-fed grape flavored cough medicine when you were a kid. You know it's good for you and you need to do it, but you are going to resist and possibly throw up. No one wants to do cardio, it's awful. However, at some point everyone looks at the treadmill and faces their fear. After about five minutes you think, "Oh god I can't breath, I'm dying. That was a good .2 miles."

3. All right, I didn’t come prepared, what should I do first?

Most of the time people come to the gym because they know it's healthy or they want to look like they just came down the runway of a fashion show. Whatever the reason, you got yourself there, but you forgot to plan your workout. This ends up turning into a bunch of random workouts that don't even correlate, but you do anyway just so you don't look like you're standing around.

4. Every girl is only running and doing abs.

I don't know if the girls are scared of the weights or just don't know how to use them, but I only see girls run and do abs. I will have completed a two-hour workout and a girl will still be on the StairMaster as if she thinks she is actually climbing the stairs and just hasn't reached her destination yet. I understand, you want to lose weight and model up, but in actuality, doing weights is very good for you and helps you tone muscles and achieve your goals faster.

5. Every guy in here is doing upper body.

I don't know what it is about some guys, but they seem to be going after the: "I want Arnold Schwarzenegger's upper body and Pinocchio's legs" appearance. It's weird, it's like looking at pencils hold up a tree, and it can't be comfortable. I understand to an extent, leg day sucks. But the majority of the guys in the gym are only doing arms. Every guy looks in the mirror and flexes a little, simultaneously. But, you can't always do upper body, you gotta mix it up a bit, Bro Science.

6. Get off the machine!

Especially for bench press! Unfortunately, because the upper-body-only segment exists, you will most likely not get a bench for the day. Not only will they take your machine, they will use the machines you need for at least an hour. And not only will they use it for a long time, they will only do five sets and wait 15 minutes in between each set, so they can talk to other jacked dudes in the gym. Get off the squat rack Terminator!

7. I'm gonna act like I'm stretching or getting water while waiting for my machine to open up.

There will come a time when not just one, but all your machines are taken, so you have to wait. But that just looks awkward. Standing around in the gym is weird. You look like you're there to observe people. So instead of looking awkward, you'll go stretch and get water until your machine is open.

8. How loud should I grunt?

Grunting is a big part of lifting, not only does it help release energy while lifting a heavy weight, but it also asserts dominance. The louder you grunt the more people know you're a heavy lifter. But you have to pick the right grunt for the workout.

9. How long has it been? Not even an hour? Ugh.

For those who force themselves to go to the gym, being there and lifting heavy weights seems like an eternity. You constantly look at the clock and question if you've been at the gym long enough to feel better about yourself.

10. Do I really have to do abs?

The second most asked question, next to the necessity of cardio. Doing abs for some reason is one of the hardest things to do. People also spend less time on it than any other muscle group. Usually what happens is: you do 50 crunches and a 30 second plank, contemplate if you think you've done enough based on the amount of pain you're in, wait five minutes, do Russian twists, check for a hernia and then leave.

11. I better see my six-pack when I get home

Everyone expects to look like Zac Efron after doing abs. But it's true, we all look at our progress in the mirror afterwards hoping we don't look as bad as when we got to the gym. But hold your horse speed racer, you can't expect to look abtastic after one ab workout; it takes time.

12. I worked out hard today, I deserve a cookie

People think they should be rewarded for working out and taking time to go to the gym. What a better way to reward yourself for going to the gym, than going home and eating the calories you just burned off.


The gym can be a scary place. It's filled with more in shape people than you and a bunch of machines that you have no idea how to use. However, we all go to the gym because we know it's good for us. So, whether it's your first time going to the gym or you're an active customer, eventually you'll have these thoughts.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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