Confession: I was one of “those” January gym people. No, not the January gym people who show up at the beginning of the year to fulfill my shiny new resolution and then stop coming at some point in February. I was one of those people you see on Facebook complaining about all the new people at the gym. And as I smugly congratulated myself on not being what we think of as typical January gym person, I started to feel less good about myself and more like an asshat.
First, can we all agree that the humble-brag is the worst? I hate seeing those posts show up in my feed. If you want to toot your own horn, for the love of god, toot your own horn and own it! If I want to be proud of myself for going to the gym, why can’t I just post about crushing it and going for the third time this week (I mean, let’s be real about how much time I actually spend at the gym)? Why do I need to sneak in a brag hidden in annoyance at someone else?
And secondly, who the hell am I am to judge anyone else’s gym habits? We all know that working out some is better than none, so even if you do it for a while in January and then fall out of the habit, what do I care? Good for you for getting any amount of workout in! I’m certainly guilty of being good about my workout schedule at some points and then being a total slacker at others (maybe you don’t check in with my gym about how often I’m there…thanks).
This shift in mindset for me really made the crowded gym much more tolerable. And even though I’m a total introvert at the gym (don’t look at me!), I’ve found that rather than feeling annoyed, I feel an unspoken kinship with my gym buddies, both new and recognized. That makes it all that much better for me. While I may have to adjust to a treadmill that is not my preferred treadmill, share a lap lane in the pool or switch up my sets to accommodate a few more people using the weights, I find I’m much less annoyed when I think about how happy I am we’re all in this together. And I feel like much less of an asshat (about this, anyway).
About Catherine
Yes, Catherine prefers the monotonousness of a good treadmill workout. She and her busted joints tend to fall down if she’s outside. True story. You can reach her safely indoors here.