Don't Be a Victim by Nancy Grace

Author:Nancy Grace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2020-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

Safety and Your Gym

Let’s face it: Gyms and workout places are magnets for creeps who like to watch women exercise and sweat. I took an aerobics class when I first started practicing law in Atlanta. The studio was sandwiched between a bar and a restaurant. Inevitably, within fifteen minutes we had to pull down the blinds because there would be ten or fifteen men ogling us. It was irritating. Those guys remind me of the pedophiles who hang around at hotels that are hosting beauty pageants or cheers and dance events for kids. You just know there’s a pervert or two in the bunch.

So, given the proximity of those pervs, you need to be on your game when the workout’s over and you head to your car. Many of our schedules put gym time at the end of the day and into the night. That’s all the more reason to be cautious. Be smart. Be all business about it.

Forget your phone. Be focused in your stride over to your car. The call can wait.

Have your bag under your arm and your keys out. Finish your sports drink or water before you leave or wait until you get home. Leave your laptop or purse at home, at work, or at least in the trunk. There should be no distractions, no fumbling around with three or four things in your hands.

Please ignore the idiotic suggestion to park at the end of the lot so you can get in some extra steps. That is horrible advice. Park as close as you can and under a light if possible. Try not to park in between two big SUVs or trucks. Those big vehicles provide cover for someone looking to do you harm. You’re like a sheep surrounded by mountain lions.

Many gyms offer swipe cards that grant you twenty-four-hour access—we value that round-the-clock dedication to fitness. Hey, look at her! Working out at midnight. That’s dedication! Well, I’ll be blunt: It’s plain crazy to be walking in a dark, empty parking lot to go work out in an empty gym, and then walking back to your car in that still dark, still empty parking lot at one a.m. or later. Don’t be crazy. Keep your workout hours sane.

Last but not least, take a self-defense class, preferably in person. These classes are offered year-round from organizations like the YMCA, police department, schools, universities, and women’s groups. Some are even free. Get up and get moving. It may sound far-fetched, but it makes a huge difference and actually changes the way you think and fight. Just like law school forever changed the way I think, self-defense classes change the way your body will respond to a threat.

Did you ever see one of my favorite movies, Miss Congeniality? I love Sandra Bullock. I actually showed it to Lucy on a plane. We both love the part where Bullock’s character, while undercover on the runway at a beauty pageant, improvises a “talent” with self-defense moves. Her mantra is SING: attack the solar plexus, instep, nose, and groin.

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