Welcome to Wednesday Word, a weekly linkup for everyone, not just health and fitness bloggers. Each Wednesday you will have a single word prompt to write about. Let your imagination run free and share with your readers your interpretation of that word, or simply use it as inspiration for your post. Today’s word is modest…… I’d love to have you link up, and if you do, please remember to follow my six simple rules.
Today’s word has been bouncing around in my head for the past week as I wondered which direction I would go with it. Some weeks the idea pops in my head easily, and other weeks I mull it around like I’m trying to decide whether or not to buy a new car. My first problem was that I couldn’t narrow it down to which definition I wanted to write about, and then it hit me, I work in a gym and I’ve seen it all – I’d write about modesty in relationship to clothing.
Modest – Not showing too much of a person’s body:
Ah yes, not showing too much of a person’s body… What better place than in a gym to take a look at the extremes – from modesty to the complete lack of it.
I became the modesty police while working with a young lady who covered herself for religious reasons. She wore a hijab and loose fitting regular long pants and long sleeved shirts. I kept rubber bands for her to put around her pants legs and sleeves so they wouldn’t ride up and show too much skin when we did certain exercises, and if they did, I’ll pull her pants legs back into place, saying, “Modesty patrol.” She knew that meant a guy had just walked into the part of the gym where we were.
On the opposite end of the modesty spectrum, one can get an eye full when walking through a gym, because let me tell you, there are a lot of non-modest people there. Over the years I’ve seen it all. From the man in short-shorts who stretched in the middle of the floor letting it all hang out – if you get my drift, to the woman who spent hours on an elliptical in her underwear bra. I know, because I had the same bra on under my shirt. In her defense it was a sports bra, it just wasn’t the type designed to wear on it’s own. And it was thin and white, and she had dark – oh, never mind…
Then there was the dude who hiked both shorts legs and underwear up all the way to his waist band creating a high-legged speedo of sorts in front. He then proceeded to flex his legs and prance back and forth admiring his sculpting work on his very well defined quads. It was unbelievable, and when my client and I rounded the corner and saw his little show it was all we could do to keep from cracking up.
And we must not forget the naked ladies in the locker room… I’m not a prude and I’ll shower, wrap in a towel to walk back to my locker, dry off and get dressed – I mean, I don’t feel the need to get in my locker to get dressed, but if I’m going to spend thirty minutes doing my hair and make-up in front of the sinks where every bathroom user needs to wash their hands, I’ll at least put on panties and a bra.
To each his own, and I’m not here to judge; just to be entertained as I walk through the gym.
How are you modest?
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Next Wednesday’s Word: Inspirational
Been a while since I’ve belonged to a gym, but you don’t have to belong to a gym to get an eyeful!
I remember the time I was doing my long run, and a very heavy girl was riding her bike in front of me. While I silently applauded the fact she was out there & moving, I was also silently screaming I don’t want to be staring at your butt crack for miles!
Probably unkind of me but there ya go.
Judy @ Chocolaterunsjudy recently posted…Modest, me? Heck yeah!
I’m impressed that you were running and she was biking, and yet you followed her for so long! You go, girl!
LOL! I will wear just a sports bra on the treadmill in a hot hotel gym but I do think twice about it and make sure there’is no men from my conference before I pull my shirt off. I also stay covered in the locker room.
Coco recently posted…I Want To Run
HaHa – I ran in a sports bra for years, but I chose ones that were designed as outwear, not underwear! 🙂
I have seen some crazy weird stuff in the locker room ala ladies standing there naked rubbing products all over while looking in the mirror. Uh huh!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner recently posted…Will Run For Chocolate-What Do You Run For?
Where’s the rolling eyes emoji when we need it?
I could never get over those women who walked around the locker room, buck naked. I’m so modest, and I didn’t know where to look!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…TMI aka modesty on the run
Eye contact only!
This reminds me of the time I ran a half marathon behind a girl whose shorts would not stay up. She basically gave up trying to pull them up, so I saw 3-4 inches of her butt crack for the entire race. Test your clothing people! Ick.
This word was tough for me. I tried the other approach (“not too proud”) and every time I wrote something about modesty, I felt immodest. I gave up. LOL.
HoHo Runs recently posted…Where I Run
That’s an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction; especially for the runners behind the poor girl!
Next week’s word is inspirational. I think we will all find it much easier to write about inspiration than modesty.
The gym is entertaining! I agree full of some non-modest folks lol I guess if I had it I may let it all hang out too, but I always think I wouldn’t !
karen recently posted…Modesty
I no longer work in a large gym so I miss most of the excitement these days.
This made me laugh, Debbie… because I can totally relate to a few of the scenarios you described! Even a gym has a dress code – mine has signs up to remind people to keep it decent.
This reminded me of a Friends episode when a guy one of the gals was dating wore short shorts and let it all hang out in the coffee bar…no one needs to see that!
Dana recently posted…Some body to love
I don’t remember that episode, but ewww!
I am generally a modest dresser. I have become more comfortable wearing body defining clothes with my weight loss but even with that, they are not super tight or revealing. I surely dress in a manner that leaves the imagination working ;).
I can’t get the image of the man stretching and the speedo guy out of my head! Lol!!
I saw a cute meme that goes along with your comment about ‘dressing modestly and leaving the imagination to work’ while looking for images for my post. It said, “Modest is Hottest.” 🙂
You had me laughing with your examples of immodesty at the gym! I remember the naked ladies who like to haunt the locker room from my indoor swimming days. Some people like to let it all hang out and I think they must like to air dry instead of towel dry! I’ll never forget the day my dad had to stop taking my little sister through the men’s room with him on the way from the entrance to the pool area at our outdoor summer pool. I think the entire pool area heard her squeal at the top of her lungs “ewwww daddy what is that!?”
Meagan recently posted…Own It, but Don’t Boast
The boys hated going swimming at Worldgate with Bill for the very same reason. Apparently, the men like to prance around naked in the locker room as much as the women do!