One of the perks of belonging to a gym vs. working out at home is the opportunity to watch the people around you. Even if you are a confirmed health nut who doesn’t need a workout buddy to keep you on track, it’s still nice to have visual proof that you aren’t the only one who has to devote a portion of your day to exercise in order to keep things running and looking right.

I’m pretty sure that I entertain lots of people at Planet Fitness between my manic pedaling and sprinting alternated with bouts of more reasonable speeds on HIIT cardio days and the hilarious collection of squinched up GRRR-ly faces I make when I am trying to squeeze/push out the final reps of a set of lifting exercises.

I’ve seen myself in a mirror before, so I know I look like a kook. Or, as my ex has claimed, a really mean wench with PMS.

I’ve tried to maintain a calm, Zen-like demeanor before on those last reps, but I don’t think it’s possible if you are actually working hard. Sure, reps #1-15 of 30 leg presses at 335 lbs might be Zen-compatible, but #’s 20-30 are usually accompanied by a lot of mental cussing, much gritting of teeth, loud huffs of air, and a certain “OMG, she’s turning into She-Hulk!” expression.

I realize that my facial contortions and angry grimaces aren’t exactly ladylike, but geez, neither is leg pressing nearly three times my body weight, so :bite: me. Gasping, heaving, and sweating buckets after HIIT cardio probably isn’t very classy either, come to think of it.

But isn’t it interesting that the people who do all of those wacky, unattractive things are usually the ones with the best results?

Long live the bitchy GRRR-ly face!

(Loud, annoying, totally unnecessary grunting, on the other hand, is never acceptable. :yuck:)