Modern Gyms Are The New Clubs
With the amount of attention given to personal fitness these days, gyms are becoming like popular nightclubs that used to exist long ago. The gym lifestyle includes the obsession with designer fitness attire, prepared meals, supplements, subscriptions to online influencers, constant posting of progress pictures for social media, and other time consuming activities.
There is a dire need for society to become more fitness and health conscious, as the unsustainable public health systems are mostly failing in the education of wellness and preventative healthcare with their patients. Fitness will be key to restoring health for many.
Gyms generally help clients get more focused on their fitness goals, however the rising popularity of fitness with social media influencers have attracted a new demographic that see fitness as shortcut to fame and success. Gyms are now crowded with content creators and aspiring models taking selfies of their hard work for strangers online.
The original gyms of the 70s and 80s were mostly unattractive but helped young trainees stay laser focused on their goals and had less distractions of the typical gym of this decade (top 40 background pop music and sports media coverage on screens). Gyms of the past were also more practical in design and only to a very small niche of clientele.*
Investment into gym memberships could be better spent on reliable home gym equipment when you analyze it and it may become more of a luxury standard in the near future.
Why Gyms Are Quickly Becoming Overrated
Shortly after the Covid Pandemic of 2020 began worldwide, home workouts became a necessity to maintain personal fitness. The demand for online personal trainers began to replace gym memberships, as owners found it difficult to staff trainers while complying with stricter health and safety standards from the government.
The Pandemic also changed behavior patterns of individuals with their smartphones, as more people relied on the phones for their livelihood and information consumed from social media platforms during lockdowns. Once gyms began opening up, the smartphone culture became prominent for gym members to record their workout lifestyle everywhere they went.
This has created a ‘high surveillance’ atmosphere with gym members being recorded without consent and claims of sexual harassment rising on social media and making national television coverage.
Aspiring trainees are starting to have more anxiety because of gym bullying online that exists towards novices attempting to learn how to properly lift weights.
To avoid the hassle of overcrowded gyms with lax recording policies, some individuals will pay higher monthly fees in more luxurious or exclusive gyms.
The average gym membership these days is around $55, which will include most of the equipment needed to build a muscular and lean bodybuilder physique. Luxury gyms will start at $100 and can range up to $400 with certain chains (Equinox or Lifetime Fitness). Cheaper commercial gyms range from $10-30 a month.
To have exclusive access to gym classes, certified instructors, cafes prepped with organic food, luxury amenities, Eastern medicine aromatherapy, and physiotherapy treatment with the inclusion of more privacy, some individuals are willing to pay $4,000+ a month for this experience.
If luxurious amenities is your priority this would be your best option, as you will be sharing these amenities with less people at your gym.
Outside of these main two reasons, gyms are not ideal for many because the average person’s level of strength doesn’t require weight training. When challenged, the average person doesn’t have the functional strength to do 20 consecutive pushups or ONE pull-up:
Gyms are mostly beneficial for individuals that have developed strength training through body weight exercises and have a general understanding of biomechanics for moving their body through exercises. Commercial gyms are not designed around this particular client.
For commercial gyms to maintain their appeal and nostalgia, gym owners should be designing gyms of the future with the aesthetic appeal of the classic bodybuilder gyms of Venice Beach or Muscle Beach of the 1960s. These gyms had real equipment and were ahead of their time being positioned outdoors in the sunlight:
Exposure to sunlight during exercise produces vitamin D and serotonin in the body, which is beneficial for testosterone and mood regulation throughout the day. Most gyms are charging you to use crowded air conditioned facilities indoors with very small floor plans.
Solutions
The best gym that you can have is one that you ideally build on your own, especially one that suits your current needs at the moment.
For example, starting a strength program without any previous fitness training may only require a yoga mat and some push up bars. After a few months the purchase of a set of dumbbells would be a wise choice to increase resistance for other bodyweight exercises.
Building a gym slowly is crucial as this not only saves space within your home, but allows you time to see results in your physique before you commit to purchasing a full set of equipment. It’s better to gauge what’s necessary with your current living situation and your fitness goals (see How to Design A Workspace for Your Home Gym).
The Wrap Up
The rise in popularity of gym culture is both a good and bad, as society is acknowledging health and fitness as a standard for adults living in the 21st century. The intentions behind exercise has become more shallow and short lived, as many are into fitness culture for the attention and external rewards an outstanding physique can garnish you in the new online world. If this new culture is not something you’re accustomed to or care for, consider investing your hard earned money into a gym you can claim for yourself and enjoy for many years to come.
One Response
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