As I've previously written, gyms have a great assortment of personalities in them (see day 49), and according to the racing snake I have a slightly evil sense of humour where categorising the regulars at my gym is concerned.
This morning I had the pleasure of Speedy Gonzales on the treadmill next to me. Now speedy gonzales is a regular, in fact every day of the week at 7.00am you'll find him abusing the equipment and his body.
What does this mean I hear you ask. Well, every gym has them, the people that do all the exercises wrong, they don't follow the safety guidelines, or any training on using the equipment properly.
Speedy Gonzales is certainly no exception. Every exercise is done at maximum speed, and usually with the equipment not set up correctly, so it makes nasty noises while being forced to do something it's not designed to do.
Want to do leg extensions? Well follow Speedy Gonzales lead and set it to maximum weight load, lock your knees and use them to pivot your entire body to raise the weights. Hmmmmmmmmm clever eh?
Time to use the ab trainer? Then rock yourself back and forward at the rate of curl 1 per second using your body motion to rock the equipment, not your abs to slowly raise and lower your torso. It's a winner isn't it? Does he have a flat stomach after doing it this way for nearly 3 years? What do you think.
Time to run on the treadmill? Then set the speed and lurch leaning at an angle so that you're nearly headbutting the treadmill console and flail your legs and arms like you have no motor control. Oh boy it's just so stylish.
So if you have the need for speed then follow Speedy Gonzales shining example of how not to behave in a gym.
DO NOT follow the above exercise examples as they are certainly not recommended for safe use of gym equipment or your body. If in doubt about the correct methods of operation then ask the gym personnel, don't guess.
Caution: As with all exercise, if you haven't exercised for some time, or if you have any medical conditions, you should see your physician first for a checkup. Tell them what you are planning to do so they can advise based on any medical history you might have.
