I Am No Gym Class Hero

I am no ardent fan of gyms, there is no hiding that. In fact, I will go so far as to say that I detest gyms. Please excuse me when I say this, but I just do not see the logic in paying good money just to get yourself intimidated by beefier looking men who are probably bench pressing several hundred pounds more than you will ever hope to while looking good at it. Of course muscled men aren't the only natural inhabitants of those dreary dungeons that reek of sweat, testosterone and cheap deodorants but who wants to talk to the fat boys?

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So I passed a gym the other night. Now, I know how big they can get, but this one was obscenely huge. It stood like a monolith in the middle of other, more sensible buildings. The bright lights and loud, upbeat sounds coming out from that monstrosity of a construction only served as bait to curious visitors who, if carelessly enough wandered into the compounds, would instantly be transformed into mindless slaves to the treadmill.

No, even that is too much drama for my standards but judging from how religiously some people go to the gym to flatten their stomach or try to magically conjure up perfectly sculpted abs from a mound of fat, one (especially yours truly) can't help but wonder whether the returns are really all that worth the effort required of them?

Now, I can fully appreciate the mantra 'no pain, no gain' and I absolutely understand that you need to break a leg if you want to ace an exam, or dishonestly claim some insurance money from false claims that 'a car ran over me'. But doing 300 bench presses just to acquire the biceps of King Leonidas is pushing it a tad too far. There is a fine line dividing greatness and madness, and this happens to be one of those lines.

Still, I have no beef whatsoever with beefy macho men. By all means, if walking several hundred kilometers on the treadmill is your idea of fun, be my guest and walk several hundred more. Just do not intimidate me at the beach by ripping off your shirts and showing off those fabulously sculpted abs of yours.