Yesterday when I was at the gym I noticed a man working out on one of the weight machines. What drew my eye to him initially was his attire. He was not wearing standard workout clothes nor was he wearing a ratty old t-shirt and jeans. No, this person had chosen the hands down winner of “odd gym outfits”. He was wearing a turtleneck (yes a TUR-TLE-NECK) with a pull over sweater on top (think Cliff Huxtable in The Cosby show), beige dockers, socks and leather loafers. What…the…heck??? Truthfully he did not seem to be working out all that hard. He would wander from machine to machine, do a couple of reps and move on. At one point he ended up on the bike next to me and pedaled for a good 3 to 5 minutes before moving on to the next machine. Odd, I know. So “sweater guy” got me thinking of all the odd people I have observed at the gym over the years and believe me there are many. Here are just a few of the interesting people I have seen.

BIG GULP GUY--Big gulp guy was at the previous gym I belonged to and I kid you not he was there EVERY time I went. It did not matter if I went at 8 in the morning or 9 at night. Big gulp guy was there. He is aptly named since he ALWAYS carried a big gulp size cup from Jack in the Box, which happened to be across the parking lot from the gym. Big gulp guy walked around the gym just watching people, occasionally trying to engage a woman in conversation and sipping his over sized soda. Never once in all that time did I see Big gulp guy touch a piece of equipment or even appear to exercise. I think big gulp guy was just hoping to get lucky some day.

STRIPPER GIRL--Stripper girl got her name not only from her half silicone physique, but also from her choice of clothing. And no stripper girl… sports bras or not shirts! Stripper girl also likes to practice her moves on the machines. You never want to be the unlucky person on the treadmill or elliptical next to stripper girl because there is a good chance you will get knocked off your machine during her “routine”. She does more gyrating and shaking than my Kenmore washer on the spin cycle and don’t even get me started on the soft porn moves that go on at the weight machines. Who knew the gym door needed a rating sign on it?

BRAZILIAN BOO-TAY GIRL--She got her name since she left the gym one day with a concave derriere and the next time she was seen in the gym she had a very pronounced bootie that was clearly surgically enhanced (googling was required to see if this was actually possible). Said surgically enhanced bootie received great exposure since I think her shorts are purchased in the kids department.

Honorable mentions include
Silk shirt lady-Older Asian woman wearing a long sleeve colorful silk shirt, silk pants and what appeared to be slippers while on the treadmill.

Flip flop girls-two teens in short shorts, tank tops and flip flops on the treadmill. They must have confused the gym with the poolside at the MGM.

And last, but not least the man who put us all to shame and made me realize I will never have an adequate excuse to skip the gym.

Oxygen tank guy-yes he was pulling his portable oxygen tank along behind him during his entire workout. Trudging along on the treadmill with his tank beside him. Talk about dedication!