There is definitely a lot of hard work that goes into owning a gym or fitness facility, but we also have our share of fun and funny moments as well. One of the things I learned from my mentors at the Iron Pit Gym is that you have to learn to laugh about certain situations and have some fun every chance that you get.
In that spirit I thought I would share three of my favorite stories. All of the identities have been protected of all parties involved in these special moments…..
#1. Don’t Do Crack: In my line of work we help people transform their body and with that comes a shift in the way that their clothes fit. When you combine loose fitting clothes and exercise classes I end up seeing my share of plumber’s crack if you know what I mean! I have often thought of selling NGPT brand suspenders to help out with this situation but I haven’t gotten around to finalizing those plans yet. The BEST story in this category involves a local businessman who was delivering a catering order on campus. His arms were full of food and his pants dropped straight down to his ankles in the middle of the parking lot! Now THAT is a testimonial for weight loss!
#2. The Ole 2.6er: One of the main joys of weighing in a hundred or so people every weekend is that I become very in tune with things like menstrual cycles and constipation. The guys are really bad about asking for help when they become constipated. Usually the conversation goes like this: (client) “Well this might not be good…I’m feeling kinda constipated”. (Adam) “Ok how long has it been since you’ve gone?”. (client) “Oh about a week….” I often wonder if these guys are trying to set some sort of world record at this point. I’m not really sure why they wait so long to tell us but we always have to get them on our constipation protocol provided by Nurse Marcey. One common cause of constipation is traveling by airplane. One of my favorite stories in this category deals with a medical sales rep that flew a couple times during his final boot camp weigh in week. He was very close to winning the “most weight lost” category and he was super competitive. When he came to his final weigh in his weight was down a little bit, but not as much as we had hoped. He then asked the magic question “How long are you going to be here today?”. Towards the end of my weigh in time period I received this text message “SUCCESS: I’m coming back!”…….he was down another 2.6 lbs……..and we recognized him for this “effort” at the boot camp awards ceremony with a special certificate.
3. Every Ounce Counts: As I mentioned above, we get up close and personal in that weigh in room. At first people are kind of modest, but after a few weigh ins we are close friends and they are stripping down to their tightey whiteys for weigh ins no prob! Every once in a while we have someone surprise me with full nudity. Back before I wised up to this I used to have my chair positioned so that I was facing away from the scale. I would type the client’s info in my computer and then turn around to weigh them in. I will always remember my first time…..Once again we were in the final weigh in weekend of a competitive boot camp. A group of friends had wagered some money on who could lose the most. One of the front runners entered the weigh in room and I went to my computer to type in his info. As I was typing I heard him say “every ounce counts”….When I turned around in the swivel chair I was eyeball level with his twig and berries! I was sure to get his info recorded lightning fast and then I proceeded to scratch my eyeballs out! After a few naked surprises I now keep a line of peripheral vision going in the client’s direction.
I have dozens of other funny stories about things that have happened at the gym, but we only have so much time to prep this blog so here are some honorable mention moments that I would like to acknowledge. If you are lucky, you might get to hear about these magic moments someday:
- “Who pooped in the trash can?”
- “Surprise Guest at Boot Camp Graduation”
- “Eye of the Tiger”
- “Breaking it down at the end of class”
- “Being paid in Salmon and IOU’s”
- “Class Gas”
Owning my own gym and fitness program has been a dream come true for me. We get to make a positive impact on people’s lives every single day. I’m just thankful that after eleven years of doing this I’m able to still have a great time and have a few laughs along the way!
Check out these videos that we have put together over the last couple of years for some more light hearted NGPT moments:
