I’m not sure I’m gonna win any popularity contests at the
gym these days. Not even remotely. And I’m not altogether sure it’s even my
fault. Not that I’m entering any such events (or that they even have them).
Yes, something
happened. Lesson learned.
I was plodding along merrily (OK, maybe not exactly merrily)
on a treadmill, minding my own business. I was zoning out to the headline
subtitles on one of my favorite news channels (staring at the monitor mounted
on my machine), while jamming to tunes on my headphones.
Suddenly, my TV monitor channels started changing at a rapid
clip. I picked up the remote control, pointed it at the little cable box
(mounted to the treadmill base), and clicked it back to the news headlines.
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| Adapted from public domain photo |
Then it happened
again … and again … and again.
A man appeared next to my treadmill, waving at me. I hit
PAUSE on the treadmill and slipped my headphones out of my ears.
“You’re changing my channels!” he said. “You’ve been doing it
for 30 minutes.”
“Sorry, I had no idea,” I answered.
“It’s OK, he said. But please stop,” he replied. He walked
back to the stationary bike in front of my treadmill and resumed his workout.
I went on with my own run. Then I noticed that my own TV
channels continued to change. With a sigh, I clicked off the TV, stored the
remote control in its slot, and kept running. As I did, I glanced at the guy in
front of me, who was shaking his head. I noticed his channels continued to
change, although he had both hands on the handlebars.
A moment later, he stood up and left. He didn’t even wipe
down his machine. Another guy promptly climbed aboard and began his own
workout. And so did the rapid changing of his channels.
I glanced at the two rows of machines behind me, which were
fully occupied. A woman directly to the back of me was shaking and clicking her
remote, as if it were giving her trouble.
What’s the moral of
this story?
Either the gym needs to do a more strategic redesign of
machine placements, or members need to develop better aim with their individual
remote controls. Maybe both.
‘Cause there’s a whole lotta changin’ goin’ on … but it’s
not necessarily all about improvements in physical fitness.
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