Repeat After Me, Ladies: The Gym is for Working Out

I know you've all seen it: the girl at the gym in pink spandex Nike booty shorts, clingy tank top, perfectly straightened ponytail, and a face full of makeup.  Most often, she's not doing much besides walking at 3.5 mph on the treadmill, occasionally adding a slope so low that it's hardly noticeable.  The worst part about it is when I notice that she's got on a padded bra under her sports bra.  Ew.  How much is your chest sweating right now?  Moreover, why do you need to have an impressive bosom at the gym?

Is it just me that missed the switch when the gym went from a place to get in a good workout to a beauty contest?  I feel like I blinked and all of a sudden there's Playboy bunnies bounding around my gym, focusing more on the grunting, rugged men lifting weights, than on their own workout.  And to these bunnies, I want to say: Stop. 

As someone who has played sports year-round for thirteen years of my life, I care deeply about my physical fitness.  I go to the gym to reap the psychological benefits of the release of endorphins, to get my body in a formidable shape that I can feel good about, and to ensure that I will live a long and healthy life.  Moreover, when I'm doing this, the furthest thing from my mind is how I look.  My hair is pulled up into a tight ponytail with a headband so the loose strands don't get in my face.  All my makeup has been removed so it doesn't drip and clog my pores as I sweat.  When I get off the treadmill, my face is red, sweat drips off my entire body, and I'm breathing heavily.  At that point, I'm ugly.  I know it.  And, listen up ladies: I don't care.  This unsightliness is proof that I've just done something great for my body and my personal well-being.  

Despite my sweaty grossness throughout a work out and my typical attire of gym shorts and a t-shirt, I have been hit on by the gym (I still haven't figured out why..).  And, let me tell you, it's annoying.  Look, I'm here to accomplish something.  I'm here to make my body stronger and to thank it for all that it does for my on any other day.  A guy coming up to me and making forced conversation all the while flexing his biceps to the point where a new layer of sweat develops from the effort, is just an annoying distraction.  That's not what I'm here for.  

However, it seems that more and more girls go to the gym today with the intention of picking up guys.  It's almost like they use it as an excuse to wear skimpy clothes and pretend that their thinness is a result of hard work at the gym, rather than just good genes and a fear of any food with a fat index or carbohydrates.  For all those glamour girls out there, every time I see you bat you eyes at a guy over in the weights section, bend over and pretend to stretch so your booty is in plain view as you're "face down, ass up" as Luda would say, and check your perfectly-applied makeup in the reflection of your elliptical machine, I scoff at you.  I roll my eyes at you.  Have respect for yourself and come to the gym to do something beneficial for yourself, not to give the men here some eye candy.  

I'm sick of being distracted by these girls at the gym who seemed to have mistaken it for a swimsuit contest and can't wait until the day when these girl recognize how silly and desperate they look.  In the nicest way possible, either be here to use the gym for it's actual purpose, or get out.  

Riley Stauffer (@riley__cyrus)