Gym-spiration and pet peeves

Yesterday, when one of my best gym buddies, Caity, texted me and told me that she was going to yoga & BodyPump back-to-back, I immediately thought, “no way!” Two classes in a row seemed like too much (not sure why, but I just had a complete mental block to the whole idea), so I told her I’d see her at Pump. When I got home from work, though, I quickly changed my mind, and told Caity to save me a spot at yoga!

Let me tell you – it was great. I loved the hour of stretching and mental exercise that was yoga, and then rolled straight into weight lifting like it was nothing. I felt so good! When I got home, I was full of energy and got a bunch of things done around the house that I normally wouldn’t have done. Gotta thank Caity for suggesting I push my own envelope – Wednesdays might start being my back-to-back class nights!

In the span of those classes, I experienced two things: a gym-spiration, and a gym pet peeve. First up, the inspiration!

There was a girl near me in BodyPump who seemed like she was sort of new (at least, I’d never seen her before – who knows!) and she asked me a couple questions during class. I liked feeling like I knew what I was talking about! Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that it seemed like she was watching me during a few of the songs (again, could be completely wrong, but this was in my head!) – and let me tell you, it was such a motivator! I felt encouraged to really focus on doing my moves correctly and pushing myself to work a little harder to set a good example for this girl. I wasn’t lifting more weight than usual or anything like that, I just wanted to ensure that, for example, my hands and feet were in the right place and that my posture was good. I could be completely crazy, and this girl could have been a pro and looking out the window in actuality, but having it in my head that she was looking to me as an example completely pumped me up. Gym-spiration! I know I have those people in class who are the ones I watch to see how they are doing things, so thinking that I could be that person for someone else is pretty inspiring!

 

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On the other hand – I saw not one, but two(!) of my gym pet peeves last night. The first is the girl on her cell phone during yoga – are you joking?? She had it on vibrate, but it was laying on the floor, so when it started going off, it seemed super loud! Then she picked it up and sat on her mat texting, while the rest of us were moving from pose to pose. Now, who knows, maybe she was having a family emergency, because she did eventually pack up and leave the class, but seriously? At least run out into the hallway to do whatever it is you need to do on your phone. The lights are dim and the music is low in yoga – I don’t need the fluorescent glow of your phone lighting everything up back there.

My second pet peeve is people who come into a class and then, instead of following the instructor, do whatever they want. For real? You’re opting to come into a class, where there is a set routine and a person leading you. If you want to do something else, go onto the regular floor! It makes me crazy when everyone is doing the same motion, like lunges, and there’s someone else who’s throwing everything off. Note: I don’t mean people who are modifying moves, such as for injuries or such. I mean people who refuse to go on the same counts as the rest of the class, or who want to do a completely different move than the rest of the class. There is a difference between someone who is modifying, and someone who is just doing their own thing!

Google Images is so great :)

I don’t mean to sound super bitchy or anything like that; I just think there is gym etiquette! If you’re working out surrounded by other people, in a group environment, there are just rules that you follow. It’s only polite! What’s your biggest gym peeve? Do you work out alone so you can break all the rules?