30 Day Writing Challenge: Someone Who Fascinates You and Why

I find no one person so intriguing or mysterious that I would classify them as "fascinating". Odd, perhaps, attractive even, but not fascinating. To me that implies they hold my steady interest, they are an infinite enigma, a labyrinth of personality, impossible to figure out thus permanently mysterious. There is no one person that fits that description for me. There is, however, a group of people that I cannot understand, no matter how hard I try, and consequently, I find them fascinating.

They are the ever peculiar, utterly perplexing FITNESS JUNKIES.

You know who I'm talking about. You might even be one. They are my friends, my family, my coworkers, my neighbors. They are bumper stickers on the back of minivans. They are $80 LuluLemon pants, protein shakes and early morning lifting sessions. They are Instagrams and Snapchats in front of the mirror in the locker room at the gym. They're the ones who sweat for fun. They are crazy, and they fascinate me.

A quick Google search will bring up a plethora of articles and blog posts about the popularity of extreme fitness. Fitness trends are nothing new -- the burpee is just the new Thighmaster -- but with the advent of things like MMA and Crossfit, people seem to be taking health and fitness to new, more serious levels. When you meet these fitness junkies, whether they're runners or bodybuilders, you will quickly see that it isn't just a hobby for them. It's a lifestyle. Exercising dictates their diet, their schedule, their wardrobe, and it bleeds into every other hobby they have. Whenever I come across someone who lists their hobbies as "working out, lifting, running, swimming, hiking, biking, etc etc etc.", I'm immediately frightened. I mean, they must enjoy pain and torture. That doesn't sit well with me.

The funniest thing about my confusion and my absolute inability to process their love of fitness is that they probably all look at me exactly the same way. "You watch HOW MUCH television? You COSPLAY? What the heck is that? You go to COMICON? Well, that's one way to live your life! I can't believe you would EAT THAT! How do you NOT love working out?" It is like we are from two different worlds.

Don't get me wrong. I love my fitness junkie friends and family. I just don't understand them. They truly do fascinate me. I wish I was more like them. I wish I loved exercising. I wish I even liked exercising. There was a brief moment in my life where I didn't hate running, but I never liked it. There was also a few months last year where I really got into Taekwondo, but that was an art - not just grinding my body down until only muscle remained. I like doing Yoga, but the "lay down on the floor until I feel like falling asleep" Yoga, not the "bend my body until I feel like breaking" Yoga. I've had so many people try to explain their passion for fitness to me, and I can wrap my head around their explanation, but I still don't understand it. Looking good is not enough motivation for me. Neither is feeling good, because going through any amount of agony to feel good seems so ridiculous when I can just take a nap and feel good immediately.

Maybe one day, when I'm old and gray, I will go on a Paleo diet and do parkour and wake up at 5:00 a.m to hit the gym. But for now, if you see me running, you better run too, because something or someone is chasing me.

Image courtesy of mizunogirl.wordpress.com.