All the different types of gym goers you’ll encounter at Rutgers gyms

If you’ve ever stepped foot into a Rutgers gym, you can easily see that there is a large spectrum of students. The spectrum ranges from SpongeBob Squarepants trying to lift a bar with two stuffed animals on it to Rocky Balboa. Wherever you fit on this scale, you’ve definitely witnessed all types of gym bugs and their workout antics.

A Rutgers student getting his fitness on.

The guy who can’t lift that thing he’s about to lift
Yes, it’s true; men tend to have a super competitive nature. And at the gym, it is really important that you focus on your own workout rather than trying to keep up with other people. We all have different body types, strengths, and endurances, so what works for one person may not work for you. There is always that one guy at the gym that looks like he is about to pass out and is evidently struggling with his workout to the point of physical harm. The guy who can’t lift that thing he’s about to lift needs to learn the virtue of ~patience~ and the difference between challenging yourself and overestimating your physical abilities. His facial expressions on his beet red face are difficult to watch, because it’s being made clear that he’s going through some sort of unbearable pain. What I’m trying to say is that you’re definitely biting off more than you can chew, buddy. Start off slow.

The girl who needs to either get off of her phone or get off of that machine I’m about to use

We’ve all been here. You see a machine, the perfect machine for your workout. It’s sitting there in all its glory, you’re approaching it, and BOOM. Out of nowhere some girl snags it. Okay fine, you think to yourself, I’ll keep myself occupied with *fill in the blank* machine and wait my turn. Time’s passing by and you’re periodically eyeing up the machine you so badly want to use. You realize this girl has been on her phone, not just for a song change, but to aggressively text her group chat, probably about how hard she’s working at the gym. In all seriousness, this is inconsiderate, and I recommend that you stand to the side and text all you want, but don’t hog the machine. Gyms are meant for working out, you can text at any other time in the day, gossip girl.

Two spin class lovers trying to go for the gold.

The person next to you who NEEDS to win

You know the person next to you, the one who keeps looking at your shoulder to check your amount of burned calories or rate. This person is making it very obvious that they are trying to pedal, run, and or just move faster on a machine than you. Like I previously mentioned, the gym is NOT a competition people, we go for the same reason, to better ourselves physically and mentally. So hop off my machine and keep your eyes on your own prize!

The hiders
There is a very high chance that you have at least once forced yourself to go to the gym and just weren’t feeling the gym vibes. This is when you retreat to the locker room after one set of crunches and hide out until you feel like you’ve been in the gym environment long enough to justify yourself. On days like these, the hiders may feel the need to go home and eat a huge slice of cake, and that’s okay. Tomorrow’s another day. We've all hid out at one point or another so let them be. Sometimes it is just amusing to realize we all struggle to keep up that gym flow.

The person without headphones

Personally, I find it best to crank the music as loud as possible when I workout. Not only does it drown out distractions, but also I hate the sound of my own breathing when I’m working out (it kinda freaks me out). If you feel the same way and do your best with headphones in, you’ll appreciate this one. When you have a set of headphones in, you’d like to think that everyone else around you does too, just incase a weird noise comes out or embarrassing spaz move goes down on your part. If the people around you have headphones on, there’s no need to feel the shame because they can’t hear or aren’t paying attention. But the person WITHOUT headphones is everyone’s worst nightmare. For your sake you hope the person doesn’t judge you for aggressively gasping for precious air after 5 minutes on the treadmill. Headphone-less ears cause worry among all of us. Please wear headphones so I don’t feel bad about myself. I’m begging you…

Swimmers WITHOUT headphones. Forced to listen to the sounds of their breathing.

No matter which one of these people you are, I give you credit for even showing up to the gym, and I hope you continue to be self aware and fit, because eating well and going to the gym are great habits to lead, especially here at Rutgers where all the eating and drinking can catch up with you before you know it. Keep doing you, Rutgers peeps.