Gyms - A product of trash culture?

Jason76 said:

In another thread, forgot where it was, I mentioned that people didn't like gyms - that they were full of bullies and show-offs. Anyway, those stereotypes are true. In fact, gyms are the most glaring "I hate nerds." display of the new culture out there. Anyway, as you'd expect, ordinary people are not welcome there. Well, they can ignore comments - and people claim they are tough guys (the misfits) and do - but they really don't . Note, I even heard an actual tough guy say he hated gyms - ironically, because it's full of people similar to himself - ha ha.

Of course, nobody's going to beat you up at a gym. That's not the point. The point is that gyms are a glaring extension of the "dumbed down culture".

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I would actual disagree with most of what you said. I go workout about three or four times a week. I generally mind my own business and do my workout and then go home. I am there to work on my own goals and to get into better shape and not socialize as some people do. You do generally see the same people most of the time.
I think the crowd may be a little different depending on when you go. The lunch crowd or late morning has more senior adults there than the evening time which tend to be more crowded.
I hate waiting to use a machine

jsimms435 said:

I would actual disagree with most of what you said. I go workout about three or four times a week. I generally mind my own business and do my workout and then go home. I am there to work on my own goals and to get into better shape and not socialize as some people do. You do generally see the same people most of the time.
I think the crowd may be a little different depending on when you go. The lunch crowd or late morning has more senior adults there than the evening time which tend to be more crowded.
I hate waiting to use a machine

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I too disagree with the op. Although I'm SURE such DOES exist, just rarely in my experience.

At the fitness center I use, folks do neither - neither "showing off" OR "putting down." Most do THEIR work and mind their business, although friendly conversation AND ENCOURAGEMENT happens.

I too find the participants varies quite a bit depending on day and time. Often it's lot of seniors and folks obviously desiring to loose some weight. The after work crowd (me) tends to be younger and more apt to be "fit." There are also centers limited to (or targeted to) specific groups: seniors, women, etc. That may be a good option for some.

Yeah..... true..... there can be some .... um..... nice looking folks. And there can be.... um..... interactions. But then that happens at Starbucks and the local pub too - even at church. Actually, I think that happens LESS at the fitness center than at some other places (most are simply doing their thing); certainly less than at a lot of bars.

Jason76 said:

In another thread, forgot where it was, I mentioned that people didn't like gyms - that they were full of bullies and show-offs. Anyway, those stereotypes are true. In fact, gyms are the most glaring "I hate nerds." display of the new culture out there. Anyway, as you'd expect, ordinary people are not welcome there. Well, they can ignore comments - and people claim they are tough guys (the misfits) and do - but they really don't . Note, I even heard an actual tough guy say he hated gyms - ironically, because it's full of people similar to himself - ha ha.

Of course, nobody's going to beat you up at a gym. That's not the point. The point is that gyms are a glaring extension of the "dumbed down culture".

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Huh?

What gyms are you going to? I've been to a few over the years and can't say I've seen what you describe anywhere.

I went to the gym for a time as a teenager. If I had to ask one of the really powerfully built guys to move a barbell because I couldn't even lift one end of it, nobody gave me any grief for it. If they had finished with it they moved it. SImple as that.

The first time I went to a gym as an adult I weighed nearly 300lb and couldn't run more than about 200 yards without having to catch my breath. Most of what I did at first was walking, even as the person beside me could run 10k and barely break a sweat. Nobody cared. By the time I left the area I could run 5k in under 25 minutes. Nobody treated me any differently, except that when I booked a personal training session they pushed me a bit harder.

I think you really need to stop painting everything with the broadest brush you can find.

Jason76 said:

Well, I think certain franchises - like Planet Fitness, are mostly trying to attract the obese. Rightfully so, these people would be put off on going to gyms the most.

As you are hinting at, people are possibly being over-sensitive/parnoid assuming they're unwanted - when they're not. But I think people have a right for "not liking gym culture". But that culture is just a product of our fallen world.

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But what is "gym culture"?

You're constantly talking as if setting foot in a gym with anything less than a ripped physique is tantamount to an invitation to be ridiculed. Then you start talking about "the stereotypes are true" as if it's a given, and a universal truth.

I've never been inside a Planet Fitness but from what I can tell of their deal it's about being a judgment-free gym. You know, you can be ripped and attend to get a slightly better defined body, or you can be built like a beach ball and just wanting to shed some of the excess flab, or you can be somewhere in between. As indeed every single gym I've ever been to has been - some people who are very strong and/or very fit, other people who are just starting out, and many people in between.

To be honest all I'm seeing here is taking the very worst stereotypes, insisting they apply universally (stereotypes very seldom apply universally), and then trying to discuss whether people are right to dislike the stereotype. It seems like little more than a circular argument based upon a flawed premise.

I love my gym. As was reluctant at first as a pretty private person myself. But now love them. As really I just workout and they leave me alone and I do the same thing. But they the people there are very sweet and nice.