Michael R. Barrick

"your shoelace is undone"
so true that we look silly, but treadmills are a healuvah lot easier on your joints than running on pavement.

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I suppose. But so is roller-blading/skating, cycling, walking to the grocery store instead of driving, walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, dancing your ass off at a club (OK, people tend to look stupid doing that, too, but somehow it is different), and bunch of other stuff. Driving a gas-sucking SUV with a hair-trigger alarm downtown, paying to park it on the street, paying to go to the gym, buying expensive work-out gear in an effort to look less idiotic (and generally having it backfire), and then putting yourself on display in a shop window running like a gerbil just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

That's not to say I didn't use the treadmill in my building when I lived in Gastown. But it wasn't the greatest neighbourhood to walk through, and the treadmill was in the building and free. It's one thing when it is ones best option, and quite another when one passes over ordinary day-to-day opportunities to excercize (like walking to the store instead of driving, using the stairs instead of the elevator, etc.) to dole out cash to look silly in a gym window.

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kitsune-13.livejournal.com

I used to torture them by sitting on my baclony in the morning drinking a HUGE cup of coffee & smoking...some of those treadmill gerbils were in there 3 times a day! That's obsessive!

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"Lose all the weight you want....but you're still ugly"

"So how good do those SUPER SIZE FIRES feel now"

"If you were running on a real sidewalk - you would be home by now"

"Thats a good hamster - you may take a pellet"

"Boing Boing Boing"

"While you are on that treadmill - my girlfriend is stealing your
wallet from your locker"

"For the price of membership , you could buy some really good running shoes and some adventure gear at MEC"

"Shooting Amature PORN in here .. you are being recorded in the background"

"Are you really getting abs and buns of steel?"

I was greatly amused when moving N&S in how we were all on the balcony eating pizza , smoking , and drinking beer.

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Yeah...make fun of people trying to get in shape or get more healthy. That's nice of you.
I guess I'm a gerbil too.

Know why I go to the gym instead of going outside or doing it at home?

+It's fucking COLD out right now.
+I can see the progress I'm making by the digital stuff
+It's motivating to see other people working out, there's no distractions for me like "I feel like checking my email"

When it's warm out I plan to go outside more, but for now I like going to the gym.

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I think if you saw this gym you would understand where I am coming from with this.

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oh I know what you mean...I just think it's unfair to make fun :(

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"+It's fucking COLD out right now."
Good - that means you can exercise MORE without overheating...
and pedistrians hiding from the cold aren't in your way.

"+I can see the progress I'm making by the digital stuff"
I can feel the progress in how I look and feel - I don't need
no computer to tell me how I am supposed to feel.

"+It's motivating to see other people working out, there's no distractions for me like "I feel like checking my email"
Yup there is nothing as motivating for me as seeing a whole lota
testosterone Juice monkeys bulking out, or overweight girls with self esteem issues try to operate the machines between tripple
Bacon cheeseburgers- all in confined quarters lit by glaring flourescent lighting.

But seeing people who brave the cold weather to get outdoors , adventure treking through the park going places that no-one else
can go, getting rewarded with great views, a GENUINE feeling of accomplishment. Baptism of sweat and tears -- yup not motivating at all.

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Okay, I don't understand why I'm getting flack for this.
I do not go to a big gym, I go to the local rec center. And i think it's awful to make fun of "overweight girls with self esteem issues" because if they're at the gym, they're trying to do something about it.
I just don't get it...maybe I'm past the stage of making fun of other people. Let people do whatever they want.

Oh and just because YOU might not share the same motivations, doesn't mean they dont work for me. And it's whatever works for me that matters (to me).

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"And i think it's awful to make fun of "overweight girls with self esteem issues" because if they're at the gym, they're trying to do something about it."

No , they are at the gym becuse it's a meat market....

The girls that I saw through Nick and Sandis(now Barriks and Elains) window were not there becasue they wanted to be healthy
they were most obviously "performing" for the guy at the treadmill
who was "performing" for the thin chick on the exercise bike who was "performing" for the juice moneky on the weight rack.

On a trail - there is no-one to show off to , you have no-one to impress but yourself - THAT is where self esteem comes from.
Not from a gym, not from peers, but from within.

also .. it is worse to pitty someone than to make fun of them
becuse when you pitty them - you have no faith in their ability to help themsleves.

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i run on a treadmill too...much better for the knees...and i like being able to control my pace...but i go the "ywca" so i don't get the same crowd...but i would laugh too if i looked at it every day like you get too...luckily i don't have to see myself on the treadmill, except when i'm on one of the ones in front of the mirror...ha ha...

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but i also walk everywhere, play ball hockey in a league, and play golf...so i do the other things too...

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movtivations are only important to the person they inspire...doesn't matter what it is, what matters is if it inspires you to improve yourself...only cynical, bitter, people concern themselves about what motivations others have...you have the right attitude live and let live, but michael was just having fun...don't take things too seriously...

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Indeed you do. I come from an absurdly athletic family (my mom was an Olympic-level swimmer, my sister swam at a national level, trained triatheletes, etc.) and I've spent my fair share of time in a gym, usually training for other things. Ryan's right on the money with this gym. It's arranged like a fishbowl (or gerbil cage). Most everyone is intentionally on display, cruising or, as Sandi pointed out, out of obsessive vanity. There are exceptions and it's easy to spot the ones who are there for what I would call "legitimate" reasons.

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yeh there are some gyms that are only to be seen in, then there are others to get healthy in...most people who are into getting healthy/training use the community centres, or the 'y'...

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Yup. All in fun.

Bearing in mind, of course, that I am an asshole ;-)

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nothing wrong with that...i suffer from the same affliction from time to time...

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oh i totally understand what you are saying, that's why i stopped going to the gym. i mean it was only a rec. centre, so i paid student prices that were $2.75 drop in, but when you are a student that 2.75 means a lot, and walking is free! i just have a bad lower back, so if i did decide to go running again, it would be better for me physically to do it on a track, which is right by my house anyways, or a treadmill. *more cushion for the pushin!* :P
and lord knows i wouldn't be the gerbel running in front of the window, i don't have that much to show off!

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It's funny how you think you know everything about everyone when you've only seen them through a window.
I certainly don't go to the gym to show off. I'm going because I want to be in better shape because of my future goals.
But you didn't see me through a window so I guess you wouldn't have known that.

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I'm not even mad at michae, i was just voicing my opinion.
it's the person who keeps droning on about it who's irritating me.
but I agree with you, thank you for being an intelligent and understanding human being.

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now that you've mentioned all this i can see why you have that opinion.
you have to understand i come from a small town and don't deal with vain and on-display people. i've never been in that sort of situation, so my apologies for getting mad.

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I wish I could run! But I can't...I tried for 2 months continuously and I never gained any endurance. And now I do the same motions on an eliptical machine (no impact) and can go forever with no stopping and no breaks for water.
I buy a month pass now which is cheap as long as you use it enough.

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sure do! HAHAHA!!! :P

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it's ok that you can't run, it's not for everyone, i had a helluva time getting to that point, and honestly i don't do it anymore cuz i have trouble breathing when i get going too fast.
besides everyone has to start somewhere, and you have to remember that nobody gets on a treadmill for the first time and pumps it up all the way for a half an hour. just set little goals and watch your progress, and soon you won't even worry about if you can run or not.
just do things you are comfortable with, i used to go to aerobics (which is so super girly and nerdy) with my mom and we had a blast!
and i totally know what you mean about it being so cold outside! i go on walks all the time, but i sure bundle up!

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Really, Lorra, you have to watch this place for a while. It's pretty obvious. Just yesterday Elaine and I were laughing at this guy who, despite there being a fair number of open treadmills chose to do his running right beside this cute Japanese girl. He kept hamming it up, puffing out his chest like a robin and looking over at the girl. She kept looking away from him and clearly was trying to ignore him as completely as possible. I presume the girl was there "legitimately". There are a number of language schools nearby and tons of Japanese student/tourists around. I'm guessing it's probably the closest gym to wherever she is boarding.

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"It's funny how you think you know everything about everyone when you've only seen them through a window"

Well considering the window is as large as it is ,
and there is no relections off the window to block the view (the apartment is abouve the fitness centre. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look in and figure out whats going on.

You're a biologist .. you know the courtship signs that mamals use. The change in behavior patters when a member of the opposite sex is around. The tilting of the head and touching of the exposed neck to show submission , the suck-in-the-gut-throw out the chest that the men do , the slight bent over stance with the posterior raised in the air (presenting) - even other signs (change in running patterns to exentuate the size of the breasts) - all of it points to primative mating rituals.

No I don't know what they had for breakfast - but I can see the difference between exercise and showing your goods.

And as far as your future goals... you aint going to find no injured baby owls at fitness world. Golds Gym will prolly be plumb out of condors
Sparticus is not likely going to have orphaned
Egals ....hmmm.. so where might one find these - oh yes - OUTSIDE!! In the cold.... In Natural surroundings.

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i realize that, the comment was directed at the other party, not michael...that was just an aside...

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*hot tip*
this is the part where you are supposed to say that he doesn't suffer from that affliction at all, and that he is a wondeful person who treats you well and makes you happy...hee hee...

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Okay that was just dumb.

I'm a biologist? News to me. I thought I was just a volunteer.
And another assumption you made...that I don't go outside. That's WRONG. I go to the gym at night anyway.
Anyway, I don't deal with gyms like that...if you had been nice about it maybe I'd see where your coming from, like Michael already explained in a different comment. I don't see people showing off to each other in a small town rec center. I do see people in the Fitness World sometimes on Davie Street, and I don't even look long enough to notice. I simply don't care. If people want to cruise at the gym, fine. That's their business. I've also been IN a Fitness World a couple of times in the past and actually really enjoyed it for the huge amount of stuff they offer. I never came across people showing off. Granted this was in Richmond and not "on display" like the one on Davie is.
Maybe I'm just oblivious to it all. I'm concentrating on my own reasons for being there, anyway.

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Also its sort of amusing that you think you know what my future goals are. You know nothing about me, I guess.
You sure like to assume, eh?

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"he knows that and it's not important who else knows that...
well except of course for me...and that's for me to post in my own post..."
:P!!

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kitsune-13.livejournal.com

it wasn't the poeple trying to get in shape that bothered me (more power to them!), it was the obsessive barbie doll porn star style clones that were in there THREE TIMES A DAY that became the object of mockery.

I mean cripes, these people were so "Gap style perfect"..what the hell did they need to be in there three times a day for?

I agree tho, GO OUTSIDE..walk, rollerblade, mountain bike, whatever, but isn't there a reason we live in BC? There's so much nature to enjoy, I can't fathom why people would want to be inside on a beautiful day.

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An asumption based on a breif conversation we had at Sanc

"Trebas institue really ripped me off, but now I volunteer in an animal shelter helping injured birds.. I really like doing that and I can see myself doing more of that..."

silly me.... an asumption on what people want to do with their lives based on what they said they want to do with their lives.

But you're right , I should just stop listening to people or taking an active interest in what they do and what they are about
I remeber the conversation because it was a change from the
ususal "I do nothing but dress up and come out to the club"
It was unique and unusual.

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"aybe I'm just oblivious to it all. I'm concentrating on my own reasons for being there, anyway."

I however do look up , observe , note , absorb
(and base my theories on observed behavioural patterns)

I am a captive audience to the human condition

And that is what precisely drove me from the gym
The showing off , the meat market , the limitations
(clausterphobia?) .. all the wrong reasons for
beinging there.

Jogging is free , hiking is free , climbing is free
cycling is free (granted you still have to pay for the gear)

I spend all week couped up behind a desk and on the phone
to studios, artists and film companies.

So why would I want to PAY huge ammounts of money to be couped up
in a stinky , sweaty , flourescent light, meat market.

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No no no...sure, I can see myself doing more than that but that is not THE goal...people do have more than one goal in life you know, usually :P
Anyway this is getting way too catty for me Just let it be. You do your thing, I'll do mine. How you decide to work out is fine, how I decide to work out is fine. We both have good intentions, we're in it for our own health and well-being, so why be bitchy to each other?

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