I also do
a half hour to an hour of exercise, including playing Dance Dance Revolution
and doing a toning tape.
There are
a lot of regulars at the gym, people I see just about every time I visit.
A lot of them are friendly and like to talk to each other. I usually prefer
to be left alone, because I get through my workout more quickly, but I
sometimes talk to people when I'm in the mood.
Here's a
guide to some of the people I encounter there.
Church
Lady
Strangely
enough, I did not come up with this nickname. This is what other YMCA
members call her, and she's in on it. "Hey, Church Lady!" they
say when she arrives.
I'm reasonably
certain it's because of her penchant for church lady hats, the wide-brimmed,
colorful hats that many older women in this area pair with a matching
suit to wear to church. If the hat is small enough, she wears it while
she works out. If not, she hangs it on the coat pegs.
She's an
older African-American woman, which tends to be the demographic that wears
such hats. She always answers cheerfully to her nickname, and she doesn't
take any guff.
Spandex
Lady
While Church
Lady favors hats, Spandex Lady has an inordinate fondness for tight-fitting
body suits, usually black, most of which look like they were purchased
in the 80s. She's got a very unflattering poodle perm, creating a ball
of fluffy hair.
The problem
with the outfit is that you'd have to be an athlete, living in about 1989,
to consider it a good look. She, on the other hand, is a middle-aged woman
who's not obese but definitely not athletic.
She works
out with gusto, but in the time I've known her, she hasn't visibly gotten
in any better shape. Maybe she has bad dietary habits.
She, however,
is completely self-confident and has no trouble strutting what she believes
to be her stuff.
The Silver
Fox
The Silver
Fox is an older man in about his 60s with gray, slicked back hair and
swaggering self-confidence. He's a dedicated weight lifter, and he's got
great muscle tone for a guy his age.
He's friendly
and outgoing, always chatting with anyone nearby, and I often catch the
older women checking him out.
The Sweat
Meister
Middle-aged,
tall and relatively thin, The Sweat Meister seems to have one workout
outfit, ill-fitting green running shorts and an oversized white T-shirt
that is always soaked in sweat. I don't know why, but I think that he
uses the cardio equipment before coming over to use the weight machines.
Whenever
he gets up from a machine, he leaves sweat puddles. It's absolutely sickening,
even though he's relatively consistent about wiping it off with a towel.
I usually go over it once more with a paper towel, just to be sure.
The Gossip
A tall brunette
in about her 40s with a Philadelphia accent, The Gossip loves to talk
while she works out. She seems to know just about everything that's going
on in the community. This is another reason I don't talk too much at the
gym.
Miscellaneous
People my
age seem to be either in pretty good shape or obviously obese and just
starting a workout program. In fact, there was a woman who started just
after New Year's this year who clearly has a lot to lose. I haven't seen
her lately, but it could just be a timing issue.
There are
also a lot of young guys who work on building up their upper body, while
their legs remain toothpick legs.
There are
a number of YMCA volunteers who assist members in their workouts. One
has cerebral palsy and has worked hard at getting in shape, which helps
counteract his condition. In fact, you can barely tell except for some
slurred speech and the fact that he lists from side to side when he walks.
He's very helpful and quick to provide weightlifting advice.
A young
guy just started helping there, and he's very enthusiastic. Perhaps he's
accumulated a little too much information, though, and eager to relay
his knowledge. When I saw him yesterday, he was introducing some older
women to one of the machines, explaining it in such intricate detail I
think they were overwhelmed.
But there's
also an older volunteer who doesn't know the equipment as well as she
should. Once, in fact, I had to jump in and correct her when she was giving
bad information about the machine.
And finally,
there are the people who come and go who aren't there often enough for
me to recognize them. The other day, an older woman, who was really petite,
sat down to use the leg press and was shocked at where the peg was set,
at 275. She moved it down to 110 and said, "Whoever used this last
must have been really strong. Probably a guy."
I didn't
have the heart to tell her it had been me. Then again, I've been lifting
weights for a good six or seven years now, and I certainly didn't start
at the level I'm at now.
I've lost
quite a bit of weight since I started working out at the YMCA. People
that I haven't seen in a while, when they see me working out, tell me
how great I'm looking. Which is one great thing about the YMCA regulars.
For all their quirks, they are, overall, a friendly, supportive bunch.
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