The Gym's a Lonely Place

I go to the gym to work hard. Usually I'm alone. Usually I have my headphones in with the music blasting into my ears. I move to the beat of the music. One day I decided to observe the atmosphere around me. I turned my music off and lifted my earbuds out of my ears.

...All I could hear were the sounds of the workouts around me...

Heavy weights being dropped onto the floor. 

Metal clanking together.

Feet pounding the treadmills at random and steady paces.

Squeaking of the ellipticals as they rolled up and down.

Grunting of the heavy weight champions as they peek in the mirror to check their form. 

Music coming over the speakers lightly... mostly undesirable or overplayed songs. 

From the studios, muffled loud music where all you can make sense of is the constant base. 

Some talking goes on, but mainly with people who are their to workout together. I rarely see strangers talking amongst each other. Gazes are shared by strangers because we are curious to see what others are doing - to compare ourselves, and to steal ideas. 

I used to have an amazing workout partner. She introduced me to the lifting world. Showed me women can and should lift weights. We always worked out well together: matched the same pace, shared the same machine height settings, and enjoyed increasing weights frequently. We stole weights from different parts of the gym to complete a full circuit in one area. She liked to talk and I liked to listen (only... I'm a really bad talker while I exercise). 

For almost a year I've been working out alone while she's recovering from her first childbirth. At first it was refreshing to listen to music and act spontaneously, stretching whenever I wanted. Going at whatever time I showed up. Picking any location around the city that was convenient for my schedule. Switching it up if I wanted to do something else.

Now it's getting old and I need an extra boost sometimes. From someone who challenges me but doesn't judge me if I fail. From someone who pushes me harder when I am feeling exhausted. Someone I can push and motivate in the same way. For a while I resorted to a personal trainer, but that's costly and I think I'm looking for a friend. 

Question is... Where do I look?  Is it creepy to reach out to someone at the gym? Ya know... even if strangers are not talking to each other? I see women who work really hard at the locations I attend. They know their technique and are focused to completing a goal. I can tell who might be approachable and not. Do I pick someone I want to look like? Do I pick someone my age? Am I overthinking it? Should I instead just remove the headphones and hope someone approaches me? And then, what if I disappoint them, or I can't keep up with them, or they can't keep up with me? This feels very much like a relationship. Especially if it doesn't fit, because then would it be awkward to go back to the gym? 

This is much more stressful than it should be. Does everyone think like this? If they do, maybe I'm not so far off and it's okay to be nervous. Now I need courage :-)