It wasn’t until I stopped playing competitive sports that I began to realize how crucial physical activity is to my overall well-being. Aside from obvious advantages to vitality, like increased life expectancy and the prevention of various terminal illnesses, regular physical activity is inextricably linked to mental health. But what I have also noticed in recent visits to the fitness centers on campus is that exercising — particularly in a public setting — showcases a variety of fascinating social phenomena: some bizarre, many amusing and others troubling. Most of all, I’ve come to realize that nothing exposes the hilariously pathetic symptoms of vanity like a good trip to the gym.

First off, for a place designed to promote physical and mental health, the fitness center instills an awful lot of not-so-healthy (but fun to watch) behaviors. Consider the exasperated girls on the treadmills periodically turning their heads to see which creatine-infused frat guys are gazing at their spandex or the endless row of mirrors reminding you of what physical insecurity landed you in the gym to begin with. Be honest with yourselves — do you really use the mirrors to perfect your power clean technique or do you use them to remind yourself of how amazingly sweet you look in your cut-off fraternity shirt?

Sadly, the more I think about it, the more my own visits to the gym devolve from an attempt at self-improvement into the shameless scrutiny of people around me. I can’t help but laugh at the number of times I’ve found myself sizing up the guy next to me, even conjuring up some ridiculous physical confrontation between the two of us. Of course, I always win these imaginary confrontations. Because even on those rare and disheartening occasions when I encounter somebody clearly stronger than myself, I find some absurd reason why in the original state of nature I would prove victorious if push ever came to shove. Seriously, this actually goes through my head.

The desire to impress onlookers can drive lifters into complete denial, yielding a variety of interesting results. I personally enjoy watching people struggle with weights they clearly cannot lift, like the guys doing curls with dumbbells half their body weight so they eventually have to use their entire bodies just to put the weight back on the rack. It reminds me of a episode in high school when a student showed up at lifting session for the football team with a video camera to get some footage for the video yearbook. One of my more ambitious teammates decided to perform a standing shoulder press for the camera, an exercise that required him to fully extend the weight directly above his head. He was successful, until the barbell in his fully extended arms sent him crashing backwards into a concrete wall, putting him out of commission for the remainder of the season.

You may also run into those strange people who carry around tiny notebooks when they work out, recording in detail every last repetition as if it were some precious piece of historical data. Even more ridiculous is the idea of them actually reading these journals somewhere down the road. Is it really necessary to recall how many times you bench-pressed 185 pounds on July 18 of last year? Besides, does being so brutally concerned with your physical stature that you construct a personal almanac of your past performance reflect hard-work and discipline or does it reflect some really weird and unhealthy personality traits? All too often it seems to be the latter.

While exercising regularly is certainly a legitimate option for people who want to lose weight or stay “in shape,” the competitive atmosphere of a gym can also reinforce serious problems concerning body image, especially for girls. As a friend recently pointed out to me, girls never “want” to go to the gym, they “need” to, as if their immediate survival depended on burning off the Caesar salad they regretfully ate for lunch. Many girls seem pressured to go to the gym just because their friends go, and when they actually get to the gym, the sight of 12 emaciated blonde girls watching every last calorie disappear on a digital screen can be enough to trigger a nervous breakdown.

Physical exercise should be a part of every Cornell student’s daily routine. It helps relieve stress and promotes general health. But the gym is not a place for heightened social awareness; it should not be a place where you drive yourself crazy over perceived physical shortcomings relative to others around you. If you go to the gym — and you should — pay attention only to yourself and to your own personal progress. Just don’t make a journal out of it.

Ben Notterman is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be contacted at bnotterman@cornellsun.com. The Scorpion King appears alternate Wednesdays.