For many of us, the gym is a safe haven where we can go to train when we’re looking to make some serious gains, and bust some stress in the process. Gyms are not so much as workout facilities, but rather they are virtually considered as places of worship for a lot of us. We love the gym, we love training in the gym, we love the
atmosphere in the gym, and we love how the gym makes us feel. Those of you that regularly train in the gym however, will no doubt have noticed that each gym they train at will have its regulars, and will have its own unique set of characters. Take a look at the following list of gym characters and see how many you recognise from your local training facility.
The fashion models – You may think we’re referring to women here but in actual fact, we’re talking about men and women. Yes, gyms up and down the country, and all over the world, often see certain members treat the gym as if it was a fashion runway or catwalk. There’s nothing wrong with taking pride in your appearance, but we go to the gym to sweat and workout, not to show off and attract a mate. Often you’ll see girls caked in makeup with pristine hairstyles, dressed in outfits that are extremely revealing. The guys are not much better, as they’ll obviously have gone to the trouble of styling their hair and carefully choosing their outfit to workout in. To make matters worse, these characters will often hold back when training, for fear of breaking a sweat and ruining their hair and/or makeup.
The meathead – All gyms have at least one meathead. Meatheads are generally guys that train in a Gold’s gym stringer vest, even during the winter. They’ll be used to throwing around heavy weights and will scream the gym down with every working set they perform. Meatheads walk around the gym like they own the place, as if they’re carrying a huge rug underneath each arm. Meatheads are generally big and stocky, with classic ‘powerlifting physiques’. They lift heavy weights, base their workouts around compound movements, and only seem to want to perform heavy sets when they’re certain they have an audience.
The jock squad – Next time you’re in the gym, keep an eye out for the jock squad. These are usually made up of three or more high school or college jocks in their late teens or early twenties. They typically train in the same outfits as one another and have very similar hairstyles. You’ll often find them camped around the bench press or performing dumbbell curls in front of the mirror. Jock squads will typically hog upper-body equipment, will roast each other like they’re on the school playground, and will barely perform a single leg exercise in their lives.
The couple – Another set of
gym characters to watch out for the next time you feel like getting a workout in, is ‘the couple’. The happy couple will often be seen staring affectionately at one another, taking 10 minute-long pauses between sets. Typically you’ll find the guy trying to take charge and offer advice to his partner, in a bid to convince her that he is the manliest personal trainer in the gym. He will also be sure to throw extra weight on the bar when he’s sure she’s watching, in yet another bid to show her how big and strong he is. Sadly to the other gym members, he will make himself look a fool as the weight he is using will be far too heavy, and his form will therefore be absolutely terrible.
The ‘selfie’ guy – If you didn’t post about going to the gym on social media, did you even go at all? Well, some people have taken this statement a little too literally and actually spend the majority of their workouts trying to find the mirror with the best light, so they can snap a selfie to upload to their social media channels, to show people how big and ripped they looked while training. The selfie guy will jump from mirror to mirror, snapping pictures, editing the sharpness and clarity of them, and uploading them to his social media page with some form of motivational quote talking about lions and sheep. Before snapping said selfies however, he’ll be certain to crack out several dozen sets of bicep curls, just to make sure he has a good pump before flexing the guns.
The sweater – We all sweat when we train, at least, we all should sweat when we train, as that is the sign of having a good workout. While many of us will get slightly moist pits, and maybe a few beads of sweat on our brows, there are some gym characters who sweat profusely, no matter what they’re doing. The sweater is an individual that apparently walks into the gym drenched in sweat, who then proceeds to drip sweat everywhere they go. Each time they use a bench they will leave a puddle of sweat behind. If you’re lucky, they will give it a quick wipe with a very questionably smelling towel, leaving it slightly damp with their sweat, rather than absolutely soaking.
The personal trainer – The personal trainer can be a guy or a gal, who seemingly lives in the gym. No matter what time you train, whether you train early in the day, or late at night, the personal trainer will always be in there. Dressed head to toe in compression wear, they train 7 days per week, seemingly for 18 hours at a time. Seen training alone, or with clients, the personal trainer will not socialize with others, as time spent talking could instead be time spent working out and sculpting the perfect physique.
