(An “Own It” series for Dudes)

Last Saturday, I watched something I’ve never seen. You rarely know a stranger’s story, but this dude had a story. 

We walked into the Manatee Avenue Planet Fitness at the same time. I always have a plan for my time in the gym. It most likely is get on the treadmill, run my preplanned distance or time, wipe down the machine, leave. Recently I’ve also joined the masses who plug in to their phone or the TVs to let music, news, or sports pass the time. This is what most “gymmers” do. They have a plan. They get it done. They own it.

This dude wasn’t an owner. I’m not sure what you’d call him. Maybe a wannabe. A poser. Bored. A leaner. Lost. From my observation, I’d definitely say he was confused about what to do when you go to the gym.

I never saw this dude pick up, get on, or much less turn on any piece of equipment. He touched a couple of pieces, but that was just to lean on them. No joke. For 25 minutes I watched him move from one elliptical to another, one bike to another just to lean on them and “change channels.” He’d stare at the TV above the machine for a minute or two, never plugging in mind you, and move over a machine or two to watch a different TV. Apparently he likes closed-caption viewing. This is all he did for 25 minutes. And the last time I saw him, he was walking away from every piece of equipment heading toward the exit. He’d leaned enough. Gym time was over.

Call me crazy, but what in the world? Hard to give, much less get credit for going to the gym when you might as well have stayed in the living room moving back and forth from the couch to the love seat. The recliner might have required some energy.

All kidding and judgment aside, when you are committing to a fitness plan, you really need to do just that-COMMIT. Playing at it makes a mockery of it. And the only one losing is you. The gym doesn’t lose. It doesn’t care if you commit or not. It’ll gladly take your monthly automatic deduction and roll on. If you actually hire a trainer, they don’t necessarily lose either when you don’t commit. You won’t be their favorite or star client, but they’ll also take your payment and work out any frustrations they may have because of you when they go to the gym.

Going to the gym, committing to a fitness plan is rather simple. At least from the logistic view. 

• Schedule it. 
• Develop your goals. 
• Determine your action steps. 
• Do the work. 
• Enjoy the benefits.

If this isn’t working for you, then it’s time to ask yourself a different question. It could be worded something like, “What am I really doing at the gym? Why am I not owning this commitment?”

For the, I’ll say, 89% of dudes in the gym who are owning it, good job. Keep at it. Keep owning it. Like the two of you I was happy to share the gym with this morning.

One dude had an artificial leg. He got on the treadmill and owned it. The other dude had a significant limp and walked with a cane. He owned his gym time with free weights. They weren’t leaners or posers, lost or confused. They had a plan. They were getting it done. They owned it.

(I must give about 8.9% credit for this series to my dude Mark. He’s an owner.)