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January is a time when many decide to recommit to healthy
eating and increased exercise, driven often by New Year’s resolutions. Grocery
flyers feature sales on frozen diet dinners while department stores slash
prices on athletic wear and exercise equipment.
Going to the gym on any given day in January, you’ll find a lack of
parking spaces outside and a shortage of treadmills and Stair Masters on the
inside.
Like many, I too try to make more of an effort in the cold
winter months to get to the gym. In warmer weather, I prefer walking or biking
outside in the fresh air. But when there’s snow and bitingly cold wind, I’m
left with the option of working out indoors or not at all. So off to the gym I
go.
In a spin class the other day, I found myself at odds with
another participant over the temperature in the room. People seem to fall into
two workout categories: those who like their area chilly and those who don’t. I
prefer the former. She prefers the latter.
“Just take off a layer and you’ll be fine,” she dismissed my
complaint.
A gentleman nearby offered this sage advice. “One could say
that if you’re chilly you could just add a layer.” I was glad to have another
chill-seeker on my side.
“I do have several layers on already,” she pointed out.
“Well, that’s because you don’t have any insulation.” I
replied. This was my joking attempt at a compliment on her lack of body fat,
but apparently she didn’t take it as such because what came out of her mouth
next was this:
“Come here every day and maybe you will too!” Oh snap! I was so completely taken aback by
her stinging remark I had no handy comeback.
I spent the rest of the class fuming over the remark. I
pondered revenge fantasies, like eating a bean burrito and situating myself on
the bike directly in front of hers. Part
of what bothered me the most was the truth of her statement. Yes, if I did go
to the gym every day, and took multiple classes back to back for hours at a
time I might have less “insulation”. But it was the implied judgment that came
with the remark that bothered me more.
She knows nothing of my life. She has no idea about family, work and other
commitments that prevent me from spending several hours in the gym every day. I
could have a medical condition that prohibits extensive exercise. She is
nowhere near my age, and may not know (yet) about how joints and cartilage fail
and metabolisms slow. Perhaps I was
being sensitive, but her remark seemed to assume that I could go to the gym every day, but choose not to.
The whole experience reminded me of the lesson I taught the
week before to my K-2 Sunday school class, focusing on the scripture in which
Jesus warns others not to judge, lest you be judged yourself. Though I meant
the “lack of insulation” remark as a compliment, after consideration I realized
she might have taken it as an insult, and felt compelled to sling one in
return. If it’s wrong to judge me for the lack of time I spend at the gym, its
also wrong for me to judge why she spends so much time there. She could be
training for a race. She may simply love exercise and its results. Some people
enjoy the natural high the endorphins provide.
Others get satisfaction from exercise that they can’t find in other
areas of their lives. Who knows? But this I do know. It’s not for me to judge.
Though I was initially insulted and angered by the exchange
between us, I’m now thankful that her remark reinforced the lesson I had taught
just the week before: Do not judge, lest you be judged yourself. I can’t
prevent others from judging my life, but I can make more of an effort not to
judge theirs.
And if I fail? Well,
there’s always the bean burrito to fall back on.
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