The Gym Culture and Laziness
Gyms can be great places to go. They can also be extremely artificial. Sometimes I wonder if all the hundreds of different machines are really only useful for a competitive bodybuilder.
I also wonder if a conventional gym workout can wrongly replace other more functional forms of exercise. This picture and quote clearly captures that mentality.
From the Akron Beacon Journal (see the full photo at msnbc.com)
"I was lazy this morning," said Johnson. "I'm on the way to the gym myself. I wanted to make sure [the dog] got in a workout before I left."
Good on "Johnson" for intending to get some exercise - but something is wrong here.
Certainly I'm overthinking this - but I wonder how the gym culture works hand in hand with the marketable image of the "sculpted physique". Rather than focusing on goals such as better health, improved movement, balance, and functionality - we're focused on building the perfect abs.
Instead of "Johnson" running with his dog, perhaps he opted for doing 4 sets of DB curls - 10 reps done slowly - in order to build those "big guns".
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Great post, Jim, and I think you have a point there. A lot of people do have goals like that. You'll see them doing endless crunches and discussing fat burning supplements, but god forbid they hop on a treadmill or stationary bike, for example. When I walk the dog, I'm one of 3 people in my entire neighborhood walking, every day. Nobody walks their dog or walks for exercise, the only people I see are taking short walks to the bus stop. There is something wrong with that, especially since there are lots of elderly people here who have the time and could benefit from walking.
ReplyRemember the movie RUTHLESS PEOPLE? Bette Midler was kidnapped by a couple who were cheated by her husband, Danny DeVito. While she is being held captive in their basement, she decides to take advantage of her situation and begins to exercise and eat better to lose weight. Without spending a penny, she fashions weights by filling empty discarded paint cans. She mounts an old bicycle on cement blocks and rides that. She follows along while watching exercise shows on TV instead of lying around watching game shows. She proved that where there's a will, there's way.
ReplyGreat post.
I belong to a gym, but only for the Pilates and kickboxing. I work out at home. After being overweight and out of shape for SOOOOO long, I find that I enjoy the functional aspect of fitness, and don't need the gym for that.
Brian
ReplyThis is so true. I spend a lot of time at the gym, and I do lift weights, but I also spend a lot of time either spinning, running, or using the StairMill (and this is only when the weather is not amenable to outdoor training). I see people go who ONLY lift weights, and never do anything else. They often look like they are in pretty good shape, but are they really?
Of course, I think it is worth mentioning that even functional exercises benefit from some types of the "artificial gym culture" training.
ReplyThe person in that picture is pretty extreme. I've known people who go to the gym to work on the equipment and then they get their aerobic exercise elsewhere. Sometimes, the gym workout is in addition to other forms of exercise, not simply a replacement.
That picture in your post brings another issue to mind. What if a car comes too fast in the other direction? That dog could get run over.
ReplyLooks like the neighborhood in that picture doesn't have sidewalks. That's one of the big reasons I never walked around my old neighborhood. I didn't want to find myself embedded in the grill of a Hummer.
ReplyPastaQueen-
First off, I've read your book and it was great!
Everyone else-
I live in an area with a lot of sidewalks. However, I don't live in the best neighborhood and it is a little scary for me to be walking alone in the dark, even when I have my dog with me. I don't mind walking so much during the day, but I work two jobs, so sometimes I am not home during the day light hours. I tried to walk a couple of miles the other day during my lunch. I work in a fairly well off suburb of Indianapolis (IN) and I was surprised how much of my 2 miles didn't have sidewalks. I was walking on the edge of the road or on busier streets, on the grass. Not fun. On those days, I understand the desire for a gym with a treadmill.
And like someone else said, I don't consider the price of gym worth it unless they have a pool.
ReplyGreat post. I go to gym regularly and spend 2 hours daily. If I do not go for gym for any reason, I feel for the whole day as if I am missing something. And Jim the picture in this post create a bit of doubt in my mind about gym culture.
ReplyHeh. I walk for exercise, and now and then I'll walk by the gym down the street, right past the people walking or running on treadmills. I always get a kick out of people paying to do indoors what I'm doing for free outside. (And I bet most of them drove to get there!)
ReplyGym bodies are like having a Ferrari and keeping it in the garage! The entire purpose is defeated!
ReplyI love the photo... But, I'm less troubled than you about the "gym culture". Different people find their motivations in different places, and their motivations can change. Perhaps he has a friend at the gym he spots, and he likes the companionship. Or, perhaps he finds pleasure in the burn after a hard set. Who knows?
ReplyI don't belong to a gym and I don't think I NEED to belong to a gym. I get great results from running and from lifting my dumbbells at home. You'd be surprised at how many different muscle groups you work by running.
ReplyWe belong to a gym and we go there to LIFT WEIGHTS because our intent on that front is to lift heavy and build muscle. But you better believe, when the weather breaks, we are outside and not in a gym doing our mountain biking! We were walking out of the gym on Sunday, in fact, and noticed some people walking and running on the treadmills. I commented that it was actually nice enough to be running outside, and who would choose a treadmill over the real world? But, hey, that's me!
ReplyI go to the gym and love it. Plus, I walk to stores and resteraunts with my husband on the weekend. I don't think the two things are mutually exclusive.
OTOH, all those machines in the gym are pretty much useless to me. Most are built for people taller than 5'2". I just use the free weights, the cable column and sometimes the assisted pull-up machine. Everything else is clutter as far as I'm concerned.
ReplyI agree, it seems many people are only focused on the physical aspects of going to the gym. I think we will grow in leaps and bounds when our top priority is feeling great because we want to feel great and not focus on what our present shape may be.
ReplyIt seems there is a lot of room for improvement in the weight loss, weight gain, and health arenas. I hope the health, exercise and 'ideal weight' models of the future will include cultivating all aspects of ourselves, not just purely the physical.
It seems we are multi dimensional beings and radiant health should result when we realize this.
Man why am I telling this story.
ReplyDo you ever notice how some people fight for the the parking lot closest to the front door of the gym? If we're going to the gym to get exercise, why not start in the parking lot?
ReplyReal bodybuilders should know better than to use 95% of those machines. Some cable setups and a few semi-free weights (like the T-bar) can be useful, but the bulk of it is pure crap. Anything that really "locks you in" should be avoided. I always get a good laugh out of the curl machines, even moreso than palm-up curls with the EZ curl bar.
ReplyLily, that is another thing that baffles me.
However, I go to the gym at night, and I do prefer the treadmill to the outside, for safety. When I got at lunch, I prefer it to the outside because of the heat. The only time of the day that I like to walk outdoors is early morning, when I do walk outdoors. At any other time, sign me up for the treadmill.
And I can't work out at home. My office is at home, or more like it, my home is at the office. I can't have a moment's peace to exercise if I'm here, I'm always thinking about work.
ReplyIs there honestly any real benefit from those machines? Surely learning how to squat correctly (without any weight) has gotta better than sitting on those things looking like you're about to give birth.
ReplyNot the part about you losing your dog! I'm sure that hurt and I'm sorry.
ReplyI belong to a fantastic fitness center. I have nothing but good things to say about it. Check it out..
http://www.ghfc.com/
I liked going to the gym for one reason - the treadmill it's much more comfortable using the treadmill at the air conditioned gym than walking outdoors - well at least where I live which tends to be quite warm and humid even in the winter.
I also agree with those who mentioned how useless some of those machines are for those of us measuring in at less than 5'2". I've lost count of the many times I had to get off a machine because it was physically impossible for me to do the exercise because my feet were dangling.
ReplyActually, the adductor machine is one of the very few machines I will defend, but its use is quite small. If you happen to be a serious bodybuilder, and you happen to have no definition on the inside of your thighs at low body fat, and it happens that isometric flexing and normal leg exercises don't bring it out, then you need an isolation exercise for the inner thighs. The adductor machine just happens to provide such an exercise.
ReplyAnother thing...I used to work at a fitness equipment store and my coworkers were big "gym buffs" and knew how to use all the machines and whatnot. But they all said they "hated cardio". Well, we all had to do the stress test that was part of a program that our new treadmills had. I whipped everyone's butt ;) You can work all your muscles on the machines, but if you don't work your heart, you're sort of missing a large chunk.
I do agree with the treadmill stuff though...In the winter I like the gym so I can use the treadmill or the elliptical. Still, it's not quite the same as running outside on varied terrain and braving wind resistance. I just like running outside so much better, I guess.
ReplyI guess it's better that some people even try working out. Even if their purpose is to gain muscles and not to be fit, it's still good that they do it compared to those who don't even try. The only problem is that they are not trying to develop, some are just satisfied with their current situation.
Replytreadmills are a waste of time. Do sprint training and intervals instead
ReplyI also "ditto" those who say *real* bodybuilders don't use the machines (or use only up to 5% of them).
I'm also one of those people who may seem like I'm only lifting weights; unless you're stalking me there's probably no way you can see me doing the other things I do.
ReplyI actually get my very best cardiovascular training from weights. For each bodypart you're working that day, pick an isolation exercise for that muscle and do 8 sets of 8 reps, taking only 15-30 seconds between sets. Hyperventilate during your rests. This is definitely not for the faint of heart, but now my legs are the limiting factor on the treadmill, not my lungs/heart.
ReplyImagine you are an athlete with no strength in the hip flexors/groin areas. If you do something that involves stop/starting, changing directions, etc, you need strength there. This goes along with my point that strength training that you do at the gym is sometimes necessary for other types of movements/exercises.
ReplyThe only time I join a gym is when it has a pool. We've moved around so much that I could only justify a gym membership once, and then I used it religiously - not only for the pool, which is my absolute favorite form of cardio, but for the weights, too. I lived in an apartment complex that had a "fitness center" that consisted of one broken down universal-type machine with frayed cables. Yikes!
I never bought into the "gym culture" - guess it's a side effect of being a gym teacher's kid (the kind of gym teacher that made his students do calesthenics EVERY SINGLE DAY!!). I didn't care how I looked in my old sweats and ratty t-shirt, as long as the clothes didn't get in my way. I found that I got a lot of looks from the Perky Girls, but I also got a lot of respect from the real exercisers there... the other ones who had actual sweat on their ratty clothes, too.
Now, my cardio takes place outside when the weather is nice, and when it's not-so-nice, it's on a refurbished treadmill that my dad purchased from a neighbor for $25.
The picture is cracking me up. I know people like that!
ReplyI don't really like machines either, but it takes a while whenever I join a new gym. I've been at this one for 4 weeks now. It has to go slowly. It starts like "now you get the ankle weights". Me: "Can't I just squat instead?". That is when the instructor tries to be a smart ass and asks me to squat to see if I do it all wrong and he can say I am going to bust my knees and that for safety reasons, I cannot squat. After we get past that, I have to then say "What about some deadlifts?" and "Instead of the triceps machine, can't I just use dumbbells?".
So week 4 and I am still doing the abductor, adductor, and glute machine, which are pointless, but I already got the deadlifts instead of the hamstring machine. I'll slowly get my way.
ReplyWow! Those are a lot of great posts. I'm part of the 'workout at home' group. I do Yoga five times a week in my living room, I walk my dog about 5km a day, I do about 50 pushups five days of the week and I stretch everynight before bed. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm hard pressed to find many other girls with arms as strong as mine. What do I use these strong arms for? Recreational sports of course! I do believe gyms are useful, especially up here in Canada where it is often to cold to get a good power walk in during the winter months, but they are only one component of a larger picture. I agree that we need to be working out for our health first! I think it's also important to have a reason for keeping a fit, strong body, like playing on a team or being able to keep up with your children. Lastly, I believe working out to look good has it's place as it can improve self confidence, but it shouldn't be our main objective.
www.thebestlifeever.com
ReplyRe the adductor /abductor machines, I have never seen a bodybuilder, let alone anyone who looks at all fit, use one. People at the bodybuilding boards I frequent refer to them as "gyno machines" and say that, not only are they useless (they don't actually target the muscles they are designed to) but can cause overuse injuries of the piriformis muscle.
ReplyLast time I went to the gym I nearly skewered myself on a bar -- the gym is small but they've loaded it with so many machines that it's almost a healthy and safety risk.
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ReplyMy gym too. You have to constantly watch your head, cause the benches and machines are piled close to one another.
What happens when you've got the "gyno chair machine" as I call it at it's highest resistance and it's still too easy? Damn my thighs of steel! lol ;)
Replyi live in the northeast u.s. during the winter it stays below freezing for months on end. the gym saves my health and sanity during those months. i can't workout in the cold because i get asthma attacks. in the summer i go to the gym, use the locker room, go outside and run, then come back. fortunately my gym is in a nice neighborhood :) many folks I know who live in dangerous neighborhoods work out at the gym because it is not safe to run outside. so the gym has its place. it's not the only place. natural sunlights has benefits for your health (so long as you wear sunscreen) and for your mind.
ReplyNice photo. It really shows how some of us are too lazy even just to walk the dog. I don't know why some consider it as a different form of exercise. In the gym, you'll still find almost any machine capable of different exercises.
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