Grandma Fonda

I encountered yet another interesting character at the gym yesterday.  I've been sidelined by my foot injury for the past month so my visits to the gym have been rather sporadic and I have not had the pleasure of doing my regular people watching in the Torture Time classes.  I finally got into the gym yesterday and was highly rewarded for my efforts.

As I walked back toward the locker room a bright splash of color caught my eye.  I glanced over to see a lady wearing a leotard, complete with large flowery pattern and a shiny black vinyl belt around her waist.  At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me - I mean, I haven't seen anyone wear something like that since I used to do those Jane Fonda workout videos in the mid-80's.  You remember those videos, right? 

Now, this lady was no spring chicken either - she was definitely part of the Q-tip crowd with a carefully coiffed head of white hair, wearing full makeup and plenty of gold jewelry.  And not only was she prancing from machine to machine in a leotard, but at first glance it looked like that was all she was wearing!  It took a few more glances for me to recognize that she was wearing flesh-colored tights. I breathed a sigh of relief.

My first instinct of course was to cover my mouth with the copy of the exercise class schedule that I was carrying and stifle my convulsive laughter as I passed by.  When I came out of the locker room to start my workout I decided to watch this lady to see what she was up to.

Despite her seriously outdated outfit, Grandma Fonda exhibited some pretty impressive strength and stamina.  She was lifting some serious weight, all with excellent posture and form, unlike some of the meatheads who insist on violently lifting way too much weight.  The more I watched her, the more I realized that hey - this lady is in great shape!  She didn't have an ounce of flab on her body and she wore that leotard with great confidence.

So I say, good for you, Grandma Fonda!  If you've got it, flaunt it!  All she really needed to complete the look was a nice pair of leg warmers - that would have made Jane Fonda proud.