Rant - What's the point of excercising, then walking out of the gym for a cigarette break?

There was this girl at the gym last night who looked healthy and vibrant on the eliptical.  I found myself watching her in front of me and feeding off her energy to keep me going.  I often will be competitive with someone ahead of me who can't see me, and w/o their knowledge.  I pretend we're trying to see who is faster, stronger...whatever keeps me going and provides a challenge to get me through my workout. 

I finished my 35 minutes on the eliptical (YAY ME!!!), then walked a couple laps to cool down and stretch out my muscles.  When I was ready to leave, I walked through the front doors only to met by a big puff of cigarette smoke and looked to see who the offender was.  Well, you guessed it...my inspiration was sucking away on a cancer stick as she talked on her cell phone.  I thought to myself, "she wants to look great on the outside, but her insides are mush....and why does she have to smoke 2 feet away from the entrance to a health and fitness facility?" 

It's none of my business what she does.  It's her right to excercise, then fill her lungs with nicotine.  I just don't quite understand it that's all.  It makes me sad. 

On the other hand, the problem I have is with some smokers who have no respect for others.  I have a few friends who smoke and they are very respectful  and polite to others.  They go 10-15 feet away from entrances when they need to smoke. 

Smokers: please don't hate.  I'm not dogging you if you are a respectful smoker.  Only those that infringe upon the rights of non-smokers. 

Thanks for letting me get that out of my system!

Maybe she is trying to quit smoking, and you caught her smoking one of the few she still gets each day? You never know. I do know that many people battle nicotine addiction for years before they are finally able to stop smoking.

I do think that you may want to speak to the gym management and ask that they move the smoking area away from the entrance a bit, so that you don't have to walk through smoke entering or exiting the facility.

MOLLY

Well, I did think of the fact she might me trying to quit.  That's the main reason I didn't go back in and alert the staff.  And the facility has signs everywhere that state "no smoking" since it's a private facility, so she shouldn't be smoking on the property at all.  I wanted to give her the benefit of a doubt.

I agree with Molly (LE GASP!). You really don't know the circumstances under which she was smoking. Only that she was and it annoyed you.

Still.. Nicotine is a very addictive drug. I know it took my mom YEARS to quit. So addicted was she that once she started with the nicotine gun, she couldn't quite kick that either.. though at least the nicotine gum was better than actual smoking...

I can relate to her.. I am really trying to quit smoking. I have cut back a lot..

I exercise a lot.. I don't want to be unhealthy on the inside, it's just a bad habit that is hard to break.

Her doing it where it could bother other people right by the door may not have been the best choice on her part, but what she does (or me for that mattter) to her body is her business..

Trust me, I get so mad at myself when I work out and then feel the need to smoke awhile after (usually not right away though because I feel so good after a workout).. But it happens.

I've been quitting for about 1yr on and off and I find it easier when my bf is here partly because he can't stand it so for some reason it's really easy not to do it around him, but when he goes it's the first thing I reach for, and I get very annoyed with myself about it.

We all know how horrible it is, but I started way back when it was fashionable to do it and you were the odd one out if you didn't, also both my parents smoked.

So I would have just asked her if she could stand away from the door a bit, I personally wouldn't report someone for it.

Nicotine is more addictive than heroin believe it or not, so it isn't easy to give it up even though we want to. I will do it, the hardest part is keeping positive about it.

Well maybe when I go on Thursday, I can talk to her about her workout routine and tell her she's been an inspiration.  You never know...maybe she just needs more support in her life.  We can all use it, that's for sure.  Assuming she's open to talking, maybe we could be friends.  I'm open to anything.

I quit smoking when I became pregnant with my 1st child, entered ( and won 1st place!) a biathalon, and ran a marathon, then started smoking again while I was going through my divorce 12 years ago.    I finally quit after 1 year of going back to smoking because I literally felt myself deteriorating.  Smoking was somehow a comfort during a stressful time, and believe me I was pretty shocked at my own behavior after having quit for all those years. 

My point is that smoking is extremely addictive, and I know so many people who struggle with their habit daily.  I know now that I will never start up again because it was actually harder for me to quit the second time, and I never want to put myself through that again.  BTW my picture is just me being a silly maniac; that is not my cigarette!  As you can see I'm pretty tolerant  .

I would suggest that if the opportunity presents itself, you might want to compliment that girl for her strength and stamina.  It's always a good idea to focus on the positive and she may just need that extra pat on the back to move forward with a more positive choice.

 Edit: Just read you're going to do just that!!! Way to go!!!

 

 

Why is it always the smoker infringing on the nonsmokers rights?  When did smokers cease to have rights?  I know, the health club has no smoking signs...and you are right, she should obey that.  It just seems that lately all you ever hear about are the nasty smokers. 

At least she is trying to do something healthy by exercising.  How many people spend all week in the gym and eating healthy and then spend Friday and Saturday night drinking themselves into a state of total stupidity?  I'm guessing their insides aren't doing so well either.  So I guess you could just as easily say that they care about how the outside of their body looks but not the inside as well.  The only difference, in my opinion, is that one is still socially acceptable and one is not.

Just my two cents.

Original Post by sweetpea62:

 The only difference, in my opinion, is that one is still socially acceptable and one is not.

Just my two cents.

 No, the only difference is that cigarette smoke affects everyone around the smoker. Besides drunk drivers, you can't get killed by 2nd hand alcohol.

I do want to note that many of my friends are smokers and that's fine, but not everyone wants to breathe that in, so I know where the OP is coming from, I still find it funny when you see Doctors smoking (funny sad.)

Original Post by zimcassy:

Original Post by sweetpea62:

 The only difference, in my opinion, is that one is still socially acceptable and one is not.

Just my two cents.

 No, the only difference is that cigarette smoke affects everyone around the smoker. Besides drunk drivers, you can't get killed by 2nd hand alcohol.

I do want to note that many of my friends are smokers and that's fine, but not everyone wants to breathe that in, so I know where the OP is coming from, I still find it funny when you see Doctors smoking (funny sad.)

 Thank you Zim.  I was about to say the same thing.  We'll probably get someone saying, "well, then don't go around it".  Well, since the smoker is the one with the bad habit, why do I have to stop going where I want to go?  If they choose the habit, they choose the consequence.  Just like I take responsibility for the fact that when I overeat, the reaction from a man is probably not gonna be, "damn, girl. that's sexy!".  If I want to be accepted, I have to be the one to make the change. 

Next Tuesday will mark my 3 yr anniversary of quitting smoking.  for me I started eating right and exercising a year bfore I quit smoking so I could get in good shape and then after I lost 55 lbs and went down 5 sizes I quit smoking.  Prior to quitting I worked out everyday.

After quitting I continued to workout daily. 

Granted she'll be healthier if she quit- but believe me until she determines when its the right time to quit she'll have more success - its really not much different than an alcoholic- until they decide its a problem there really isn't much you can do to help them decide to quit.

Also I feel persons who drink more than one drink a day to be hurting their bodies - and I also know I need to cut my caffeine consumption but because these body killers don't pollute others I guess we don't look at them the same way???

I am one of those who will pump out an hour on an elliptical at max resistance then go to my car and light up. That's right. Get sad, get angry, it's ok, because it's MY body! :)

 

 

Well, personally I don't care what anyone does to themselves, be it smoking, or going home to shoot up heroin, to OD'ing on crack. I don't care unless it's someone I'm close to or someone I love. My mom has fought with smoking my entire life, she's "quit" more times than I can count. So I can understand, from a 2nd hand perspective (pun intended), how hard smoking is. She hasn't smoked in a few years, so I think this time might be the "real quit", and I'm proud of her for it.

Haha, I used to make her so mad when I was little. I would steal her ciggarates, and throw them out, man she did not like that.

I have friends that smoke, but I really don't enjoy second hand smoke, sometimes I just deal with it, but I do understand why people get upset when smokers get in the way, and effectively force second hand smoke on everyone. Sure, smokers have rights like everyone else, but they don't have the right to interfere with the life of others. I don't mind places like bars, or resturants and other private business making the call if they want to be non-smoking or not, I think that's there call to determine what's best for their businees. And in public, I don't think smoking should be illegal or anything, I just think it's disrespectful to expose people to second hand smoke, if it can be avoided.

I quit in December.  Today I am 7 months and 11 days tobacco free.  It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I was successful because it was my time to quit.  It didn't matter who tried to talk me into quitting.  They could talk until they were blue in the face, but until it was my time, I wouldn't quit.  I can see changes now in my stamina and I don't become as winded anymore.  I'm really glad that I am now free of the addiction but I know how hard it can be to overcome it.  Therefore I will never become one of the Smoking Nazis.  I won't put someone down for smoking or call them dirty or nasty.  I realize that they are addicted and hopefully will find the strength and determination to quit one day, but I will never put them down, nor will I assist in any way with the move to infringe upon their rights to smoke.  Unless they are smoking in a place that is clearly marked as a "No Smoking" area, I will just give them a wide berth.

I always feel like such a jerk when I'm smoking around nonsmokers. So I pay attention to wind changes and ask them to switch spaces with me so I can minimize any second hand smoke going their way. This had become a running joke with my friends. We look like we're playing musical chairs for the time it takes me to smoke a cigarette.

I've been smoking for a little over 8 years now. Started when I was 15. If I could get through the first 3 or 4 days, I could probably quit. I think someone would need to be talking me through it the whole time though. I have a routine and I'm obsessive about following it, smoking is included in there and if I don't follow the routine, I panic. Add that to the nicotine addiction that comes with smoking... quitting is going to be miserable.