A strange guy at the gym

There's this very strange guy at the gym. He's ambulatory and not obviously crippled in any way. He's overweight but not morbidly obese. Still, even though he looks like he's about my age, he moves like a 75-year-old whenever he sits in on our cardio classes.

I don't know what to make of him. The instructor tells us to march forward, and he just stays in place. We're told to pump our arms into the air, and he raises his hands to the height of his shoulders. He looks like he can move normally, but when it comes to basic exercise, he acts like an old man.

Now, I don't know the whole story here, and I want to be charitable. Still, he does seem like one of those guys who just moves lazily. You know, the kind of guy who's out of shape because he always uses the smallest, least strenuous motions that he can.

It's kinda hard to escape this conclusion. There are a good number of badly overweight people who attend these classes, but even though they're in pretty bad shape, most of them still move with more energy and alacrity. Ditto for most of the elderly people who attend these classes.

In a later post, I'll talk about some of the truly inspiring people who take these cardio classes. Boy, are they impressive!