The Unbearable Banishment: A Gym Membership Can Wreck Your Body

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A Gym Membership Can Wreck Your Body

Several months ago I noticed a new member at the gym. She was as cute as can be and to my eye she was already in tip-top condition. She had some nice, feminine curves and a softness about her. As far as I could tell she was in perfect health and was there just to maintain her wellbeing.

After about a month, I noticed one of the trainers, a hulking XXL mound of muscle, go up and talk to her every time she was on an elliptical machine. I think it was a combination of flirting and fishing for a new client. Apparently, he must have had a pretty good rap because soon thereafter, she was exercising under his tutelage each morning. The regime looked brutal—far more extensive than what I subject myself to—but that’s what you get when you hire a trainer.

As the months peeled away, I could see a noticeable change in her physiology. The results were dramatic and, to me, tragic. She is now solid and cut—pure muscle—but not in a good way. She lost all of her femininity and the aura that made her so beautiful has vanished. I believe it even changed her face. She’s not—and I know this sounds awful—as pretty as she use to be. Her face now has some angles and a tautness that do not flatter.

There’s a cautionary tale in there somewhere

9 Comments:

Blogger Please Don't Eat With Your Mouth Open said...

The lesson: Gyms are bad, bad, bad places. And that most women have a messed up view of their own bodies.

I wonder if she's happy with her new body. Probably.

August 14, 2008 at 9:06 AM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

Gyms are not inherently bad places. They’re dull, time consuming and sometimes painful, but not bad. People’s motivations are bad. I hope she’s not TOO happy with her new body because eventually it’s going to deteriorate. And where will that leave her?

August 14, 2008 at 9:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yet another reason why I don't go to the gym and prefer to spend my time running around after an egg shaped ball.

Much better for you. You get fit and yet, due to the amount of beer drinking involved, don't lose those womanly curves ;)

August 14, 2008 at 9:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it's the reason you go. You're either there to stay in shape (i.e., most married, working professionals), or (in this case) see to what nth degree one can take one's own fitness.

For me, it was useful to have a gym down the street because I'd just moved, and until I could figure out a running route outdoors, the treadmill was an interim grace.

August 14, 2008 at 11:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

perhaps the lesson is find a trainer that you want to have sex with.

women who are getting lots of sex have a certain look that is unmistakeable to the practised eye

it's not the look you describe :-)

August 14, 2008 at 6:04 PM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

nutty: Please don’t lose your curves. It’s your best feature!

sonny: The gym MUST be nearby. If it ain’t convenient, I ain’t going.

nurse: Now that you mention it, she sports the look of someone who hasn’t gotten any in quite some time, although I doubt that’s the case.

August 14, 2008 at 8:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

the self-image thing runs deep... we don't really know what we look like anymore. never good enough.

at 46, i'm just kinda, sorta getting beyond some of it. but just because i'm lazy, in pretty good shape (ie: my physical condition doesn't prevent me from doing anything i want to do), and have given up on "turning heads"...

hope she's happy. doubt it. proud? probably...

August 14, 2008 at 11:14 PM  
Blogger Sid said...

Thank you. Thank you so much for writing this piece. I'm glad that you appreciate curves. I hate that magazines constantly portray waifs as beautiful. Forces me to believe that maybe I shouldn't eat chocolate and should run 10 km each day.

August 15, 2008 at 1:32 AM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

DF: Men are plagued with the notion that a young, beautiful, fit woman will bring him happiness the say way that women are convinced that a wealthy man holds the keys to paradise. I think there’s something biological about it that is hard to fight.

Sid: I believe most men prefer some soft curves on their women. It seems the only people who don’t subscribe to that notion are fashionistas and members of the advertising industry!

August 15, 2008 at 9:10 AM  

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