A Letter To The Guy Who Watched My Zumba Class This Morning

Dear Guy,

It really ticked me off this morning when I arrived for my Zumba class to see you, walking up to the studio with your wife/girlfriend/sister/whatever and then pulling up a chair right next to the studio door. It was highly unusual, to say the least, that you didn’t just drop her off and then leave.

I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are a really nice guy who just cares about the interests of your wife/girlfriend/sister/whatever and decided to accompany her since you had nothing else to do for that hour. I’m not suggesting that you had sleazy motives at all, and believe me, I’ve seen sleazy. Example of sleazy? Sleazy was back when I was still working at my old health club and (true story) half of a minor league baseball team (who trained there) walked INTO the studio and took seats on the floor along one wall so they could watch one of our members, who had, shall we say, ample enough bosoms for two ladies, aerobicize her heart out. THAT, my friend, is sleazy.

I’m not accusing you of that, and in fact, your presence didn’t affect my workout very much at all: I still shook what my momma gave me as hard as I could because I wasn’t going to waste this valuable hour of fun exercise, which is my gift to myself. As a group fitness instructor, I’m used to being in front of lots of people in workout clothes, moving my body around in ways that would look silly on the street. The people for whom I am speaking are the ones who have major body issues and other insecurities. For some people, it’s all they can do to get up and move in the first place. Ladies in particular (though I’m sure that some men have issues as well) can develop huge mental blocks about working out in front of others because they are preoccupied with which body parts jiggle in different directions, and how tight their loose clothing suddenly feels.

In a class like mine this morning, in which there were only six of us in the small studio (all women), it was wrong for you to sit where you were sitting. I know you were playing with your phone a lot of the time, but I also saw you watching us, off and on for the entire hour. If you absolutely had to sit and wait for your wife/girlfriend/sister/whatever, it would have been more considerate to sit elsewhere in the lobby. Even if you wanted to be able to see, with the mirror’s help, your wife/girlfriend/sister/whatever, you could have picked other areas of the lobby in which to sit so we didn’t feel your eyes on us the entire time.

Another suggestion? Next time, get off your butt and join us. Zumba is for men too, you know.

Awkwardly yours,
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©2010 Suburban Scrawl

12 Comments

  • kat

    WTF? That is just wrong. Weird that his wife/girlfriend..whatever she was didn't say anything either. Hope he stays away next class.

  • Dawn

    Kinda makes me sad for the woman he was with. Imagine if that was his wife/girlfriend and he couldn't let her out of his sight for an hour? If so…that screams disfunctional relationship and she needs to run away. far, far away!

  • Lisa

    I am totally one who won't exercise in a class for the reason. i won't even exercise in front of MY husband let alone someone else's.

  • Mom24

    So, as an instructor, would it have been appropriate for the instructor to say something to him? That's really, really odd.

  • C. Walker

    Like my friend Angie says, "IT'S NOT THEATRE!" I can't stand the gawkers. Zumba isn't performance art! Move along creepo.

    He was probably snapping photos with his phone.

  • NYCPatty

    What a weirdo! That would have irked me too! Seriously what kind of woman needs her BF/husband/brother… whatever to escort her to the gym and wait for her. Thats just so weird!

  • Eternal Lizdom

    Your last line covered it for me. The instructor should have gone out and invited him in. Or told the female companion to tell him to bugger off. Harumph. I will say, I get irritated when I'm out for a run and I pass someone just sitting who seems to be extremely and purposefully slothlike… and it totally motivates me to kick into higher gear as I pass by them (this is true when I'm running a path around a pond near my office).

  • Mrs4444

    SO annoying. And VERY weird, not to mention inconsiderate. I think management should ask him to go outside if it happens again.

  • Lindz

    NOT a spectator sport. I hate it when people watch… and like you said, if you have the time to watch then you have the time to participate.

  • Michelle

    Weird weird weird. That's not nice, that's weird. I don't want my husband sitting around waiting on me. Is this what I have to look forward to on Wednesday? 😉