Gym Rats and Social Butterflies
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
You can find my sister and me at the gym four to five times a week. In addition to providing a hard workout, it’s a fun place to people watch, since there are so many egos and mirrors. We’ve been to most of the area gyms—Gold’s, Bally’s, Esporta, Sport and Health, Fitness First—and have observed two types of people (in general): Gym Rats and Social Butterflies.
Gym Rats are those people who focus solely on their workouts. You can find many of the men lifting weights and the ladies taking a class. They work out hard, sweat hard and don’t give much thought to their appearance since they aren’t there to make impressions. Hence, you may not recognize a Gym Rat friend or acquaintance at the gym since they usually look completely different at work, at the mall, and out on a Friday night.
The Butterfly category is made up of men and women who use the gym to socialize, flirt and possibly get a date. They sport form-fitting, matching outfits; the ladies wear lipstick and jewelry. Many of them chew gum for fresh breath; some stroll around with a personal trainer. At times they spend up to an hour and a half at the gym and only work out for a total of 20 minutes.
My sister and I are Gym Rats. However, we’ve definitely been approached by Social Butterflies. You may observe people striking up a conversation on a rowing machine, in passing or while sipping on an energy drink at the juice bar.
Have you used the gym to socialize? Maybe you’ve met someone there. Can you relate to either category I described or perhaps both? Write and tell me about other caricatures you’ve observed. Send me your experiences, comments and opinions at littleredbook@northernvirginiamag.com.
–Katie
Tags: Bally's Fitness, Dating, Esporta, Fitness First, Gold's Gym, gym rats, gyms, Katie Greenan, Little Red Book, relationships, social butterflies, Sport and Health