I go straight from work to the gym now so I have to pack my gym bag at 6 AM, which isn't when I am thinking the clearest. Yesterday I tragically forgot to pack my ipod. The gym is a whole new experience without that to block the outside world, one I generally didn't enjoy.

First, people have a tendancy to want to chat a little more. One of the sweaty smelly guys in the hall at the handball courts told me he was going to pick me up one of these days and give me a ride to the gym. Uhh thats a little creepy and I would prefer to just walk by him like I normally do and not hear anything he is saying. I will miss walking the neighborhood but it kind of freaks me out when guys I have never met or talked to know that I walked to and from the gym everyday and they also know the route I take. I dont think I really realized how visible I was when I was walking.

The other benefit of listening to my ipod when working out, I don't have to hear all the guys grunting when they lift, which really grosses me out. I was on a flat bench and the guy next to me was on the incline sit up bench and every time he did a sit up I felt like I was listening to porn. There was also a middle aged man and an old man I had to listen to grunt and again I just cant help but think this is what you sound like when you are fucking, ick.

Finally, doing cardio without an ipod is PAINFULLY boring, especially when all the good sports like basketball and football arent in season to watch. The show that was on was some local sports show that followed the Giants game and a half hour on the stair stepper might as well have been a marathon mentally. After about 10 minutes I couldn't take it anymore so I made sure it was ok for everyone if I changed it and found Rocky IV, oooh yeah. I really started digging in when Rocky got to Russia and started training old school, it inspired my workout.

So I made sure to pack my ipod this morning so I don't have to deal with sweaty smelly men, grunting and boring tv.