Gym Rats @ 5AM

So my schedule has changed now where I hit the gym at 5AM instead of the usual 8AM. It may seem like a 3 hour difference but...what a difference it makes.

5AM gym rats are definitely a different breed. In Ohio, you would never see a person at the gym at that hour. I mean, you want to do some physical labor go bale some hay. Here I am in Universal Studio L.A. Fitness at this ungodly hour thinking I'd be completely alone. I was wrong.

There is a special type of person who gets up early to go to work. You would assume these are the people who have really early working hours. I mean, it was the case with me. Unfortunately this is not true. They are, for the most part have issues that need to be sorted out.

In Los Angeles, you can usually tell the meeting place for AA meetings. There are people standing outside a church late at night chain smoking. This is similar to gym night rats. They aren't necessarily bleary eyed, which is a dead giveaway...they are focused and they beeline to the machines. Once there, they put their headphones on, select the machine workout and pump away furiously. Almost as if to outrun whatever it is that drove them there in the first place. Some you can tell are overcoming addictions. This is the only release they have for the day for peace of mind. The other 23 hours, their brain is a pinball machine. There are people who show up to socialize (like the day rats), while others seem to be biding their time before their inevitable death. I see a LOT of senior citizens there. They aren't really dressed for the gym, but they hop on a machine, do half-ass workout and start pacing the floor. If I were to equate this type to anything, it'd be like a zombie, who in their dying light they're going through the motions of who they once were.

The ones that really stand out, are the ones training for something. There are a few that rotate marathon t-shirts. They are slim, trim and tend to wear body formed shorts. But odd thing is, they still have a gut. Everything on them tells me that they are athletic except the spare tire they're probably there to get rid of. I'm sure they've run marathons before. They seem very focused. Very gung-ho about...everything. There is no real form to how they exercise, only that it is done with authority. You get the feeling that these are the ones with the biggest issues. Whether it be a relationship they can't get out of, or one they can't get into. No one in this population, if espoused, would put their mate in a situation where they leave at 4:45AM to make the gym at 5. And not on a non-school day.

I shouldn't judge though. I mean, I'm there. I go, mostly, for the free shower. And to catch up on my podcast listening. It's a nice quiet time. I know my previous schedule was more hectic. Pretty girls later in the day though.

I dunno. Sometimes I think I may go too much if I'm thinking about what people are like at gyms this early. Maybe tomorrow I'll just sleep in.