I tend to spend a fair amount of my free time surfing through various web-sites/blogs/magazines and often I stumble across people poking fun at fitness lifestyles. One theme I have noticed being repeated is; categories of “people who annoy me at the gym” or “people you should not be at the gym” and is always comprised of the same stereotypes. While many people can relate to the amusing and bizarre descriptions of fitness enthusiasts, it consistently talks about a negative gym experience – which is something that all personal trainers and health promoters want to avoid.

Today I would like to take a lighter approach and flip this topic to talk about the five types of people in the gym who inspire me and put a smile on my face each and every day.

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  1. The regulars. These are the people who are undoubtedly faithful to their gym routine and their fellow fitness regulars.  Rain or shine, they will not miss a workout and will hit the gym the same time each week. They are on first name terms with the staff and fellow patrons, and people notice when they aren’t there… as opposed to the alternative! I am truly impressed that these people have integrated healthy activity into their daily lives and made it a part of their routine.
  2. The Lady Lifters.  We can all be inspired by the lovely ladies in the gym who don’t shy away from the heavy weights or male dominated areas of fitness centre. These ladies have seen through the common misconceptions of heavy lifting and are reaping the benefits.  Take a page out of their book and challenge yourself!
  3. The Beginners. The ones we can all empathize with.  We have all been there and can remember how intimidating it was to tackle the gym for the first time. The countless unknowns, the intimidating crowds and inevitable muscle soreness that follows those first few sessions. Hang in there beginners, you will soon be regulars!
  4. The Studio Class-aholics. The faithful followers of any fitness plan the instructors throw at them. Many of these participants get full value of their memberships without ever stepping foot in the fitness centre. Don’t let that fool you, these people have done more squats and lunges than any of us can even imagine.
  5. The Re-habber. Hats off to all the people out there who bring their physio/ athletic therapy exercises to the gym with them everyday. It’s no secret that those exercises can be a pain in the butt, and most of us simply fail do them after the first day (but tell our therapist they have become an integral part of our daily routine).  Their efforts are definitely noticed.

Granted there are many other types of people that make the gym what it is.

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Do you fit into any of these categories? If not what classifiers do you fall under and inspire you?

So if you are a regular, now’s the time to try something new with our Spring/ Summer fitness programs and aquatic classes starting in May. For the lady and male lifters, we have Olympic Weightlifting courses kicking off. For the beginners, we have Learn to 5K, Walk N’ Tone and Get Fit for Golf. The studio class-aholics our value-added studio and spin classes start April 28. And for the re-habber, check out our Athletic Therapy services.