This one time, at gym camp...

If you're an avid people watcher like me, then drop everything and get over to your nearest Virgin Active. Here lies the breeding ground for the interesting and bizarre.

I recently joined the gym, Wembly Square Virgin Active to be precise, and have been astounded by the social dynamics infested here. I am a swimmer and enjoy the more aquatic side of exercise. This has impeded my ability to people-watch due to the fact that the swimming pool is on the lower level of the gym and I spend most of my time under the water. Today has been different, however. I was stuck in the tedious 5pm Cape Town traffic and decided to do an about turn revisit the gym where I had just come from.

This is now peek hour, meaning people...LOTS of people. So I decided to hang around and just merely do some observing, a favourite pass time of mine. This time I went nowhere near the boring pool but instead upstairs to the land lovers. Here, I was greeted by a watering hole for a collection of different breeds. I'll paint a picture for you.

We have on the one side, the beautiful 20-something women bouncing up and down the treadmills and exercise bikes accompanied by the older crowd trying desperately to keep up. These girls don't just throw on their gym clothes, hop in their car and arrive at the gym. No, its obvious that a lot more effort has gone into their appearance for their performance that day. I say performance because that's the impression one gets while watching them. Their stage (the treadmills) is perched perfectly alongside the railing of the second level of the gym in the center above the pool providing optimal viewing pleasure for their audience. Their run is not so much a plow forward but rather a graceful hop accentuating the flick of their hair and the movement of their assets. All the while they are flanked by the 40-somethings trying desperately to hold the youth being exhibited. 

Turn now to the weights section. Here, vanity can be considered a mild, understated description for the breed under study. This area of the gym is wallpapered with mirrors. BIG mirrors! A ballet studio probably has fewer mirrors. Testosterone pollutes the air and giant men in tiny clothing can be seen completely fixated with their own reflection. I could probably parade around the weights section in a purple Barney suite and nobody would pay me the slightest bit of attention. The environment here is stained with a perverse ambition to be bigger than the guy next to you. Ironically, these people wouldn't be able conduct such a comparison as that would require their attention being directed toward someone other than themselves.

 

Then there are the old people. They're not here to improve their image or build self confidence but rather to hold onto life. They don't confine to a specific area of their own, instead they're found scattered around the gym trying everything. I admire these folk for their zest for life and ambition to stay alive and healthy. However, this admiration dissolves the minute I walk into the changing room. I'm not accustomed to any form of change-room etiquette but I'm pretty sure it would dispel birthday suites as a dress code for these fossils. Don't get me wrong, I love old people. Their sage wisdom and matured outlook on life make them essential beacons of guidance for the youth. I just prefer them with their clothes on. For example: In the sauna, is it really necessary to do your post work out stretches? Could they not be done in a more private setting without the involvement of a reluctant audience?

I'm sure my perception of the gym and gym-goers alike may seem to be somewhat patronising. Let me remind you that I, too, frequent the gym. Therefore I consider myself to be one of the many specimens under study here at Virgin Active. People-watchers surely look at me and critique how I conduct myself during my exercise regime and probably have a good laugh. What I want to know, is this:

People who go to the gym are there to improve themselves. 

This must surely mean they are insecure of concerned about something to do with their appearance. 

Why then would one choose to address this concern in a public exercise facility?

My understanding is that people choose to endure the grueling exercises, watchful eyes and inevitable comparisons for the promise of better health, improved physical condition and an overall self esteem boost in the end. The pain surely must be worth the gain.