And Gym Parties

My gym is having a party. But first we have to take this fitness-endurance test where they will check how long you can run at a stretch, how much weight you can lift (on different machines) - basically checking strength, stamina & endurance levels. Which is OK. The more difficult thing is getting out of the party.

Now, I go to a branded gym. One of the two major branded gyms in India I would say. Accordingly, the crowd that comes there comprises mainly of two kinds of people - the swish wannabe-Calcutta-Times-Page-3 set & the rich fat aunties from business families who come there to socialize with other rich fat aunties, do timepass & go back home and eat puris/pakoras deep fried in ghee - neither of whom I identify with.

So I have no friends at the gym, and therefore going to the party (that too on a Saturday night when I could be doing more fun stuff with friends) does not make sense to me. We can even get other friends to come. The entry fee is Rs 500 per person, and if you get friends along, they get 3 days of workout free at the gym. Like it really makes a difference to people! Would you want to go to a party organized by your friend's gym (!!) paying 500 bucs just so you can get 3 days of free workout? I think not.

Now, b/c of the revenue that is being generated from the entry fee, every trainer has a target in terms of the number of people they must convince to attend from amongst their clients. My trainer has been chewing my brains to pay up for the past 1 week. Till now I was being non-committal but today I decided I'd had enough & I told him I was not going to come b/c I did not want to! He seemed upset but he'll just have to deal with it. You can't force people to attend parties they don't want to attend!