MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE I’m from the south. Maybe it’s because when I have work to do, I just “do work.” Maybe it’s because it typically takes a high-standard of person to make me even want to be around them. Maybe it’s just a combination of those and many other things, but I hate crowds.
So, you might be puzzled about the southern thing. Well, unless you live in only the handful of large cities (Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, etc.), we’re used to having our space. And I also feel like I should specify which types of crowds I can’t stand — the aimless type.
A crowded NFL stadium, for instance, doesn’t bother me. Everyone’s there for a reason. They’re getting a beer, finding their seats or rushing to the bathroom. Even at a mall or a fair or something, I don’t mind those crowds.
No, the kinds of crowds I can’t stand are the ones where the people are just aimlessly wandering around. Not going anywhere, but not standing still. Ironically, the kind of crowd I remember between classes in high school (when the lil’ bastards SHOULD be headed somewhere).
Where am I most likely to experience my hated type of crowd these days, you ask? For me, mostly in the gym.
Again, the people should be there with a purpose. But they’re not. Now, I’m speaking of the crowd in general. I’m sure at any gym, there are people there who are extremely focused. But the folks that are there just because they want to say they went to the gym … they get in the way of everyone else. They cause logjams with the people who are there to focus on the workout, which creates a clusterfuck for everyone else.
I must say, I’m in neither the group of super focused on working out nor the group just there to play grab-ass with their buddies. I’m somewhere in between — but more so on the side of the focused.
The real people getting screwed are the ones who are seriously trying to get in a focused workout. But I don’t care about them. I don’t care about the hangers-on either. I care about me. Screw everyone else.
I prefer to find the times at the gym where almost no one is there. This used to be between lunch and about 4:45. But more and more people are cluing into that these days, it seems.
I wrote in an earlier column, about how my work schedule is getting a little old these days. When I get off work, my wife is already asleep. Well, I’ve decided to take advantage of that, somewhat, for right now.
I hit the gym last night after work. I’m lucky in that there’s a 24-hour place just a few exits down the road. I worked out from about midnight – 2 a.m., and while there were a few people (and a dog) in there, one certainly couldn’t call it a “crowd.”
I’m going to see if I can stick to this post-work, late-night routine. I certainly can dig the lack of people in there.
My ideal workout scene, however, would be to have a full gym experience at home. I know so many people who say they’d never work out at home, or that if they had it at home they’d never use it. I’m the exact opposite.
I lived in two houses growing up that would be great for my home-gym dream. The one I lived at from third grade through seventh would be perfect. It had a large building in the back yard — high ceiling, large door, one window and big enough for three cars. It didn’t have any power, which could easily be fixed. I’d run some power out there, hang some lights. It even had exposed beams, perfect for hanging a heavy bag. That out-building was perfect!
Where I lived from eighth through finishing high school, there was a two-car detached garage. It already had power and lights. It had a gravel floor, but I could make it work. When I lived there, we used it for parking.
Photo by Alex Castellá / credit below
But I saw a house on the market — we’re in no position to buy a new place right now, btw — that had an attached garage (side of the house) and a detached two-car garage (obviously build after-market by a previous owner as a workshop of sorts). The detached garage even had a bonus room upstairs. I can’t tell you how I’ve daydreamed about turning that garage into a home gym — a squat rack, flat and incline benches, dumbbell racks, heavy bag and maybe even a clean-and-jerk platform. Damn, that would be sweet.
But for now, that’s just a daydream. I’ll have to make do with my 1 a.m. workouts.
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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexcastella/ / CC BY 2.0
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