I’m trying not to let my blog turn into a continuous update of my every other day gym trips, as that would be completely boring. However it’s been five weeks since I joined the gym and I’m striving to make the gym a habit—and so far it’s working.
In order to enforce the habit, I’m actually moving other things around in order to ensure that I have time for the gym. For example, the morning after I got back from Scotland, I went to the gym first thing in the morning—delaying my trip to the office, although I ended up staying until something like 7pm, by which point I wasn’t actually sure which end was up.
I’m finally starting to recognize people – haven’t talked to them yet – but apparently I am there at regular enough times to see regulars—which is odd given that I go Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: I’m only there any given day, every other week.
While going through my routine I have to admit I wonder a lot about the other people at the gym. These are actually questions are eerily similar to the questions I pondered back in Indiana—like why do some of these people pay to go to the gym when all they do is stand around and do nothing.
I especially adore the people on cardio machines who either read newspapers or play games. Seriously – I watched somebody this past week read a newspaper while on an elliptical machine. His legs weren’t moving as the pages were turning and I imagine that it would be far more comfortable to read the newspaper while sitting on a couch as opposed to standing still while standing upon a machine. I also have watched any number of people take advantage of the built in games on the machines—game players are more likely to keep their feet moving, but still their pace is somewhat akin to my pace walking down the street atop slick, compressed snow.
Meanwhile once my workouts are over, sometimes I take advantage of my gym’s extensive sauna facilities. It’s a co-ed facility (although women have their own separate locker area that is past all of the generic co-ed locker areas—I guess it’s ok for men’s junk to be on display while women change in private) with four saunas and a variety of showers. Three of the saunsas are dry varying from warm, to hot, to holy shit it’s hot! Between the hot and holy shit it’s hot!, temperature wise, there’s a damp steamy sauna that is comfortably hot.
I can safely say, that although I haven’t used the sauna that much, and never for that long, I have now seen more naked women in the last five weeks than I had seen in my entire life until the day I joined the gym.
I’d be surprised if you’d seen ANY naked women before now! 😉
It seems the gym could save money by maintaining only one locker room. It is strange that women need their own private area to change clothes, but that they are perfectly comfortable with seeing naked men while they pass through to their own locker room, then have no problem being nude in the sauna with men present.
I wonder what social norm in Germany makes it necessary for women to be in private when they change clothes, but not when they are in the sauna?
I would think if it is OK for women to be nude in a co-ed sauna that it would be o.k. to have a co-ed locker room. *shrugs*
And be glad you’re simply seeing them naked, in nursing I get to not only see that but see all manner of things being put in and taken out of their lady parts, and not in a pornographic way.
mateo – I have. I played doctor as a kid.
Cynical Queer – It’s not that the women are really in private where they change, its just a dedicated set of lockers so that their lockers are only next to lockers of women.
There are actually three locker rooms at the gym: One Men’s, One Women’s, and one co-ed. The Co-Ed one is attached to the sauna facilities, while for people who are only working out and not steaming, they have the other two locker rooms that are divided.