Pace yourself. I don’t know CPR!

Today, I resumed my A.M. workouts. I took a holiday hiatus from the routine. And as a result found it impossible to get up the last two days.

But today was different. I had to get back into the gym. Apparently, a wide assortment of New Year’s Resolution makers felt the same way. It was overrun with new faces.

Usually, at 6:45 a.m. the athletic center is pretty vacant. There’s me and the guy in the white sleeveless shirt. He runs on his treadmill for 5 minutes at a time, then disappears to do some strength training, I suppose. Then, he’s back on the treadmill pounding it out.

Then, there’s the Pool Pair. The man does laps and the lady, well, she sort of wades around then hits the sauna. And on the upper level there may be 3 more ladies on ellipticals. On Wednesdays and Fridays, there’s spin class with no more than 5 of us participating.

The regular morning crowd is pretty cheery too and we typically greet one another with a “Good Morning!” and part with a “Have a good Day!”

That’s how it used to be anyway, before New Years Day.

Today, I saw newbies in mass. On the treadmill, one man, I’ll call him New Guy in the Glasses, spent more time off the treadmill stretching than on it. At one point he was squating with his head down between his knees. Baby steps, Mister, baby steps. I’m just glad he didn’t pass out on my watch.

In the ladies’ locker room New Extremely Naked Lady had her things all over the place. She left her outfit laid out across an entire bench, then went to take a shower. Very inconsiderate. It was crowded. Doesn’t she know benches are critical preparation spaces meant for sharing?

I hope these new people get it together soon.