Internet users were left cringing in unison by a woman’s awkward encounter with a fellow gym-goer that was caught on camera.

As someone who loves to fit in an early morning exercise session, Kate Klug, 31, was working out at 5.30 a.m. when she experienced an embarrassing moment that she will remember for a long time. She was returning an attachment for some gym equipment when a man nearby reached out his hand. While still half asleep, Klug put her hand out to shake his in return, not realizing he was actually trying to grab the attachment.

She was overcome with shame afterwards, and Klug, from Youngstown, Ohio, told Newsweek that she felt like “a big dumb idiot.” Fortunately, the man laughed about it and jokingly said it was nice to meet her.

“I just thought he wanted to shake my hand, I have no idea why,” Klug said. “I had just taken the attachment off one of the cables and was walking it back to the rack and I guess when someone walks up to me with their hand out, my instinct is to shake it.”

“If a hole opened up in the ground, I would have willingly climbed into it. I’m really glad it was early in the morning, and I could blame it on not being fully awake yet,” she continued.

Her friend, who works at the gym, showed Klug footage of the awkward moment, and she couldn’t resist sharing it on TikTok (@katedigiacomo). The video has gone viral with more than 2 million views and 115,800 likes at the time of writing.

Layered over the footage, the caption reads: “If you’re having a bad day, here’s me shaking this man’s hand when all he wanted was the cable attachment in my hand. Enjoy.”

When Klug first discovered that the incident had been caught on camera, she was “so afraid to watch” it. It was difficult enough to endure the moment once, but the idea of reliving it was even more horrifying.

“I watched it with one eye open, kind of squinting, and I was so scared that it was somehow worse than I remembered,” Klug told Newsweek.

Since the clip was posted on social media, she’s been amazed by the overwhelmingly positive responses. Indeed, many of them left her crying with laughter, and they’ve reminded her that she certainly isn’t the only person to make this mistake.

Klug said: “The social media response has been insane. I was not prepared for millions of views on TikTok and was floored when someone sent me the video on Instagram. Overall, everyone has been so incredible, laughing with me, and sharing their embarrassing stories too.

“You never know what kind of response you will get on social media, but I have been met with so much kindness and am glad we can all laugh at this together.”

For now, Klug has made peace with her embarrassing gym moment, although she says it’s “going to haunt me for at least 25 years.”

In just a matter of days, the viral TikTok post has gained over 1,800 comments, with Klug’s cringeworthy mishap leaving internet users in stitches.

One comment reads: “You’ll think of this, 3am, 15 yrs from now.”

Another TikTok user wrote: “I’d never stop thinking about this, I’m so sorry.”

“You even had to switch the attachment to your other hand so you could shake with your dominant,” added another commenter.

One person joked: “Most iconic moment in AF history.”

Do you have any viral videos or pictures that you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to [email protected] and they could appear on our site.