Keane+Formal+Essay

I the formal essay I chose to display is my classification essay. I chose this because it is the essay that I feel that I've written the best on. In addition to the quality of it, I also enjoyed writing about the topic of gym patrons. The essay about the different types of gym goers I have observed over the past few months. I go into detail on their gym tendencies, time spent in gym, and how I personally feel about them. Overall I think this formal essay was the best one I wrote all year and I hope you enjoy it also.

In the past few months I spent hours in the gym to shed off some weight I gained through my first year of college. My gym time was usually twice a day, from early in the morning to late at night, and even some afternoons. In that time I became very observant of my gym surrounding and its visitors. In addition to my observations in my main gym, I also spent time in other gyms around the county. The constant factor that tied all the gyms I visited, was the similarities of the gym members in each gym. In total, I came up with four types of gym member classifications, and no matter which gym I attended, I could guarantee to find all three types of gym member in each gym. First there was the casual gym patron and this type made up roughly 60% of the gym’s population. They were neither, too out of shape or in complete Olympic athlete form, but from what I saw, they were usually there to make sure they didn’t “get out of shape”. The casual member would come sporadically during a regular day, so at all times, I could usually find at least one of them exercising. They never hogged up any machines and they never sweat too much on them either. At most they would usually spend 45 minutes to 1 hour exercising and they may spend some time on the treadmill. Overall, this type of gym patron was the average people getting their daily doctor recommend exercise in before they went home and had dinner. The next type I saw was the stereotypical weight lifters and bodybuilders and they made up 25% of the gym habitat. Although they didn’t come at set times either, the bulk of them would usually come in the afternoon from three to six o’clock. Whether did it for the sport or the vanity, they were always mechanical in their exercises. They usually carried their logbooks, weight belts, and any other kind of equipment needed to make sure that they could do everything they needed to do. They never hogged any equipment, because their gym etiquette was mostly well mannered and respectful. It was most likely due to the fact that they spend a copious amount of time in the gym, at least more than the causal member, and they knew the unwritten gym rules better. Although this type may seem intimidating to a casual member, they were usually good people who would help anyone willing to ask. The third type was the weight-loss group and they made up about 10% of members. Although they are very similar to the casual group, the difference is their commitment to losing weight only. Another difference they had with the causal and bodybuilding group was the time they came into the gym. I would usually see them either very early near opening, or very late in the day near closing time. Their time was also different from the first two groups, being that they were very polarizing. This type could spend a few minutes in the gym or up to a few hours in it, it mostly depended on their health, motivation, and speed they were moving. I felt that they were self-conscious most of the time in the gym, which is understandable, that is why they would rarely come when the gym was full in the afternoon. These goers are the most unpredictable type of gym member because they would either stick to losing weight, or give up after a few days or weeks. The ones that did go through with it and reach their goal would then become a casual type or a bodybuilding type. The ones that didn’t go through with it would usually never be seen in the gym again, or try one more time a few months later. The fourth and final type that made up the rest of 5% was the annoying gym patron. They are usually the socializing type that comes into the gym to talk or do a few exercises and bother others. They don’t spend too much time in the gym, so their gym etiquette was mostly ill-mannered. They mostly come out of boredom, and most likely won’t take fitness seriously. Luckily this type is rare, and when they do show up, they leave shortly after arrival. Personally I been into the top three classifications before, hopefully I never become the fourth type, and overtime I expect everyone to fall into the first category eventually. The gym can even be seen as a microcosm of a small city. There are the hard workers who either do it for pleasure or to survive, the casual middle that do it for numerous different reasons, the lower class that has to work from the bottom to eventually make it to the top two, and the small annoying class that nobody likes, but is around to keep the balance. Hopefully, when I’m old I can still go to the gym, classify, and exercise because in all my observation, I rarely saw an elderly person.