Gym-Side Antics

My hours at the gym are usually pretty normal, well, at least, normal for me. I do a class or two, warm up, stretch, cool down, and chit chat. I have a lot of friends at my gym. We take the same classes or two, stretch, cool down, and chit chat. We form a center of energy, if you will. People tend to follow what we do. We're like examples, or (dare I say) celebrities (hee).

Now, most of you know that, for me, working out is akin to breathing. I can't do one without the other. After I complete one day of training, I will already be thinking and planning what I will do tomorrow. And, as I mentioned, the people that I train with are an integral part of this. They are my core; my energy.

Now, there was one particular individual who stood out....exception so-to-speak. She was an odd sort of person. Didn't really fit in with the crowd, but wanted to. She would cling to the outer edge of our energy group. She'd really 'get into' the classes, and like us, woohoo her heart out.

One night, we were in Combat class. There's a lot of air kicking and punching that goes on in this type of class.....jabs, hooks, body rips. This particular evening, it was an intense class, led by our most favourite instructor. We were going crazy...hitting the peak runner's high. Out of the clear blue I hear 'hit me mo! go on hit me!'. Well, if I was at that runner's high spot before, I was certainly jolted back to reality when I heard this. I kept saying 'what? what?' and she kept saying 'go on hit me mo'.

I found this to be quite strange. No one had ever done this to me before, and I was kind of freaked by it. So I decided to try to change spots (we all have favourite spots you see, and no one should ever try and take our spot). When I changed spots, she would follow. When we kicked, her foot was inches from my head. When we punched, her fist would be right beside my face.

It was pretty darn creepy I tell you.

So time went on, and I pretty much danced around the gym trying to get away from her and her yelling at me.

Now, at first I thought that I was the only one who found this weird. But others did too. And there was more. Note that I didn't actually see what happened next, but it was recounted to me.

The story goes that this person was driving to the gym and noticed the car in front of her driving erratically. The driver tore along the road, speeding and ducking around cars. The member behind her kept watching the crazy car and then was able to figure out who it was. When she arrived at the gym, it was too late to join the class, so she proceeded to walk briskly around the gym; around the machines, around the weights. She didn't actually do anything. After her brisk walk, she must have been tired, and so she decided to lie down in the middle of the cool down area. She just grabbed a mat, and lay down.

And fell asleep.

Snoring peacefully on the gym floor.

With people stepping over her, trying to get to various pieces of equipment, and being careful not to awaken the sleeping dog.

She was out for about 45 minutes. Then she got up and left.

My days at the gym are normal again. She has since left us to go and irritate other unsuspecting individuals at some other gym. But, if you ever hear someone shouting at you in an exercise class......RUN AWAY!