I have worked out for a few years, not on any particular routine or program, but I have stayed relatively active.

On average I would say that I get in a good exercise three times a week and at best I’m at an average fitness level.

But besides how many cable machines they have, or what brand of weights they carry, nothing really changes.  There are still people and it seems like the same type of people come with the equipment.

Sometimes the gym feels more like a bar than it feels like a place where people are getting exercise.

I have seen people adjust their hair in the change room before heading out. Gyms now have signs up asking people to stop wearing cologne while exercising. Some people spend more time looking at themselves in the mirror than I do at my BlackBerry.

In the past I have even been criticized for my gym attire and to be fair I was wearing a thrift t-shirt and shorts that were left at my house. In fact most of my gym shirts are from the thrift store, but it shouldn’t matter should it? I’m there to be healthy, to get exercise and be fit.

The gym shouldn’t be so much about image, but about improving your overall health. It doesn’t matter what brand name you wear, it’s not going to make you lift any more weight, or run any faster.

This judgmental and elitist attitude in the gym is what scares people out of it.  Others have told me that the gym is an intimidating place and I have to agree with them. A man repeatedly slamming hundreds of pounds of metal on the ground is, in fact, intimidating.

To all the people who have shied away from the gym for this reason, I say, if you would rather go to the bar then go to the gym, it’s going to be the same people at both places. Sometimes the people who are the most obnoxious at the gym, are the same people who you would decline a drink from at the bar.
At least at the gym, they are too busy staring at themselves in the mirror.