58 m.p.h.

so are bigger guys/people louder? they always are at the gym. well, not all the big guys there are loud, but it seems like whenever there is someone that is being loud, the person is usually a big guy. but why? its not like what they are doing is more difficult than what i am doing. just because they are doing military press with 110 lb dumbbells in each hand (like the guy today), doesnt mean that he is straining more than i am curling 40 pounds. his arms are 4 times the size of mine. yet he's screaming, 'come on! one more!' and huffing and puffing more than anyone else. but more weight doesnt equal harder. so it cant be that. maybe its confidence. perhaps being confident equals being louder. i dont know if that is an entirely accurate theory. some people are just louder by nature, but i know for example, that i tend to get louder on the soccer field, a place where i feel more confident than say, at the gym. perhaps that is because im not as intimidated on the field and so i dont fear talking or demanding the ball or something. if im playing with guys im better with and i demand the ball and i lose it, im upset i lost it, but i dont worry about what people will think or say to me because they couldnt do anything better with it. maybe its the same at the gym with the big guy, he knows he's one of, if not the strongest in the gym, what does he care if makes a scene? he wants to make a scene. he's in a gym and he's the strongest person in there, he's confident and wants people to notice him. i think we all do it to a degree when we are in a situation where we are confident.

two other things from the gym:
1. i saw a guy there that was using gardening gloves as his workout gloves. gotta love that. they were big and yellow and no mistaking that they are generally used for weeding. i respect it though. he probably went to buy gym gloves, noticed that they were a cool $20, or $22.50 if you pay for the 'cool' ones where they cut off the fingers for you. he probably, and rightfully so, thought that they were ridiculously overpriced and just picked up the $1.99 yellow ones that are stapled together with a cardboard piece of paper on them that says, 'yellow gloves.' the guy also was sporting a flat top. needs to be mentioned. im also pretty sure that the guy threw out his back doing lat pull downs. my back hurt just watching it. but, at least his hands were clean.

2. i respect the old guys (and young sometimes, but usually old) that wear tank tops and have more hair on their shoulders and back than they do on their head. its not a normal respect because its something i would never do, nor would i date a girl that was fine with a guy publicly sporting that much hair, but they are doing their own thing and wearing their coat of fur loud and proud and you have to respect that. plus, the guy is like 70 and he can still do a pull up.

finally, the other night we went to espn zone. they have a baseball throwing game where you get into a cage and throw a baseball into a screen and it tells you how hard you throw. anyways, i did three throws and topped out at 58 mph. 58. i was really bummed. major league players throw consistently at at least 30 mph faster than that and top out with their fastball over 35 mph faster. thats a lot. my shoulder killed the next day and im sure i threw out my arm and all i could do was 58. thats what 8th graders throw in little league. which was the last time i played organized baseball. that means i cant throw much harder than i could at the time of my retirement. i mean, it makes sense. these guys make millions so they better be much better than me, otherwise i could or any average person could be doing what they are doing and they shouldnt be making they money they make. but, at the same time, you dont, or i didnt think the gap between the players and i was so great. i know i cant throw a curve ball or a slider or throw 90 mph, but i figured i could at least top 60 and maybe even break 70. granted these people throw balls all day and have been for their whole life and i throw a ball once every month, maybe. but i should still be able to walk up there and throw a ball over 70 mph. just like i should be able to walk out onto a football field and outrun a cornerback in a nfl game and catch a touchdown. i mean, im fast, compared to no one, it just makes sense. well, i guess it doesnt. ill just have to sadly face reality that im not coming out of retirement any time soon.