At the gym it’s possible to run into all kinds of interesting people. There are the sweaters who seem to leave a puddle at every machine they use, the grunters who you can hear all the way across the weight room and the singers who think their music is more important than everyone else’s.

But atop all those bothersome people there is a special category for the ones who feel the need to take pictures of their workout and post them on every social network. They bring all the reasons why you skipped the gym and went right to your handheld device.

Many young people think it is more important to post a picture on social media rather than cool down after a long workout. You had an awesome, hardcore workout and you feel so much better now. That is great and I know how you feel. Anyone who has ever worked out knows how you feel.

Every time I get on social media somebody is always showing off their pre-gym snack, tweeting while at gym or glorifying how awesome their workout was. Going to the gym used to be more of a personal experience where you knew how hard you worked and you didn’t care how terrible you looked while doing it. While those gym rats still do have a presence at the gym, there are many people who go to the gym for just as many social purposes as workout purposes. Guys want to talk with each other about what cool, new protein they are using and girls want to show off their latest Nike leggings.

There is a famous saying that claims it takes 4 weeks for you to notice your body changing and 12 weeks for the rest of the world to notice, but our generation has found a way to squeeze that gap with social media. If someone who posts about their 6.47 mile run with hashtags such as #TeamFit or #LegDay is not trying to show off then I am really not sure what their reasoning could be.

There are many different Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts specifically about going to the gym. Some accounts tweet clever one-liners to try and give people inspiration to get off their butt while others post memes about people who have no idea what they are doing while at the gym.

I see “workout of the day” posts and “progress” pictures on my newsfeed just about every single day. Without actually talking to anyone I know which protein powders make the best and worst drinks and I even know what mirrors in the Student Rec Center are the best for post-workout selfies.

I guess working out for the sole purpose of bettering yourself is not enough for some people. If the fact of knowing that you will be able to post a picture of your workout for all your friends to see helps you get up and go work out then more power to you.

I am not trying to bash on people going to the gym. Regular exercise is very important and with so many people in our generation exercising the future is bound to look healthy and bright.

Going to the gym is the new cool work out trend of this time period and those of us who are sick of the gym posts will just have to stick it out. There have been many workout fads that have come and gone fairly quickly in recent pop culture. In the ‘90s we saw mom’s working out to Tae Bo videos in the living room and dads pumping iron on the Bowflex in the garage.

During the 2000’s Wii Fit tried to get families to workout together and the surprisingly popular Shake Weight took the world by storm. It is only a matter of time until the next workout craze takes over and all the sexy gym pictures from 2014 get left behind and forgotten.

Follow Tanner Owens on Twitter @T_Owens21