Check out my progress on Gym Buddies
As you can probably guess from my posts over the past few weeks, I’ve been making full use of my apartment building’s fitness center. The gym is usually pretty empty in the mornings when I visit…except for one other person. Almost every morning over the past two weeks, I’ve noticed a elderly gentleman lifting weights in the corner. Initially, we exchanged the notorious “nod and smile,” and occasionally he would offer an encouraging “Good workout!” as I stepped off the treadmill.
It wasn’t until yesterday morning, however, that we actually engaged each other in conversation. I had just hopped off the treadmill, particularly pleased with my pace, when I heard him ask, “so how often do you run?” After I told him that it was a nearly daily habit, we soon launched into a conversation about all things running. I soon learned that this cheerful dude was a runner for 40 years until he incurred an injury (a herniated disc), preventing him from continuing the sport.
We chatted for a good 20 minutes while I stretched, and I’ve seen him a few times since then waltzing through the hallways, and again this morning at the gym of course. I think I’ve found a new gym buddy.
For you gym-goers out there, have you ever befriended someone amidst one of your workout sessions? Aside from this most recent gym pal, I am also quite fond of a certain treadmill buddy 
Here’s how I fueled all that gym chit-chat:
After experiencing the deliciousness of coconut milk in yesterday’s smoothie, I was anxious to use it again this morning in my oat bran. I also cracked open a fresh jar of cashew butter to make a completely luscious breakfast.
I was a busy girl today, cleaning the apartment top to bottom, doing laundry, and doing the grocery shopping. By the time I returned home from the store, I was famished. I slapped together a lazy girl version of Sloppy Lentils and called it a meal.
Amidst some refrigerator re-organization, I discovered a tub of lemon hummus just begging to be opened. Hence tonight’s hummus-slathered wrap, featuring a VeggiePatch Portabella Burger.
Alright, I am off to get the weekend started. Ciao dudes.
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
Haha you are your gym friends
Too cute.
I got a baggie of lentils a couple weeks ago…perhaps I’ll have to make some sloppy ones!
It’s nice you made a new gym buddy! I’ve never really made friends *in* the gym just because I’m usually all business, but I’m friends with the gym members and staff because I used to work for their “rival” gym before I quit and came to their gym. They thought it was pretty funny so we became friends over that haha
But..I’ll see a lot of gym people around campus or town and convos will spark up there. It’s easy to strike up a convo when you know there’s automatically something you share in common.
i am soooo antisocial at the gym. i’m just always trying to get in and out!
Nothin wrong with a gyn buddy
I love seeing elderly people while working. I know you came in contact with him with working out, but I just love elderly people in general
He probably LOVES talking to you– I’m sure it put a smile on his face.
That coconut milk looks lovely. I may just have to indulge *one* more time @ WF….
Seeing your lentil loaf the past couple of days made me crave it…just made some for my dinner. Already excited for my leftover stuffed pita tomorrow!
well, considering I live and LA and go to an expensive gym, this means I do crunches next to Renee Zellweger. I’m not kidding. but celebs are never friendly at the gym because they smell and sweat and hop you dont recognize them. I have “yoga buddies” but when I’m at the gym, I like doing my own thing and not be to bothered.
I’ve actually made a lot of gym buddies whilst working out. But the most bizarre buddy that I made actually turned out in the aquiring of my beloved Ipod Nano, Mortimer. You see, there was this one guy there who would always smile at me when I worked out and commented on how much harder I pushed myself on the ellipticals than he did. He finally introduced himself to me as did I, and then we just sort of kept up this friendly exchange whenever we saw each other. Then, just out of the blue, one day he came up to me and pointed to his ipod armband and asked if I would like one. Naturally I agreed thinking that it would be useful to have a storage case for my other music player. However, the next day he showed up and pulled out a brand new Ipod Nano from his pack and handed it over to me. I was so SHOCKED!! He hadn’t meant an armband, he had meant an actual working Ipod!! Turns out the guy worked for a company who was giving away free Ipods as incentives for joining a gym so he gave me one. Although I was extremely happy, from that day on I was so fearful that he would just come up to me and demand to have it back. To my relief this hasn’t happened yet though and I am very happy with my beloved Mortimer. Although it hasn’t been the healthiest lifestyle for me, being a gym rat definitely has its perks.
I am so happy to be back at my university–all my gym peeps are there! We don’t necesarily talk, but we nod at each other. There are some new guys too, like Icelandic Fairy–this slender, jacked guy with long ice blond hair. Hence the nickname.
Your gym buddy sounds adorable!
i’ve actually made a lot of friends at the gym! when you go fairly often and on a regular schedule, you start to see the same people each time and then you have that “morning runner on tuesdays and thursdays” bond, if y’know what i mean.
I love meeting people at the gym. It’s a great place to meet people with similar interests and it’s a great accountability
Thats awesome that you made a pal! Actually one of my really good friends started out as a random gym buddy! Yayy for lazy sloppy lentils- such a great, filling, tasty meal. Hope your weekend is wonderful
Aw, what a sweet encounter! I love when you form the most random relationships at unlikely places. I’ll bet you guys have a surprising amount of things in common!
I love befriending people at the gym! I always went early in the morning, and there were a lot of older people there, checking their blood pressure, going for walks/runs, etc. I loved chatting it up with them. And it always convinced me that I need to show up every morning, because they would notice if I wasn’t there.
Haha…
The sloppy lentils look great!
So nice that you made a gym friend! I usually don’t talk to people very much bc I’m always listening to music, but it would definitely be different if there were only 2 people in the gym at a time.
Hope school is going well!
There was a guy who wanted to be buddies at my old gym from my hometown. Only I am pretty sure he skipped the working out part and hung out in the sauna all day. I am not a sauna-talker or a sauna-friend-maker so I stopped going to that gym.