Body Work: The curiously self-punishing rites of fitness culture
thebaffler.com
thebaffler.com
i can do this as easily for, say, education. you thought it was about people trying to learn stuff, but it's actually about drones doing rote memorization in ivory towers (which the urban poor can ill-afford), all for the benefit of soul-sucking corporations which will use that knowledge to destroy the world, even while the system oppresses those same students through massive loan debt.
or, how about programming? you thought it was about having fun creating stuff that people find useful, but it's actually about pencil-necked dweebs who got abused in high school and are now taking their revenge on the world through will-sapping social networks, even while the government lets them steal your private data consequence-free and lets them get so rich they all buy teslas (which the urban poor can ill-afford)
someone give me a topic, any topic! i can make it so sinister and hateful you'll soon be too afraid/cynical to do anything more than cower in your basement -- which, you thought it was just cowering in your basement, but it's actually about sociopathic loners hiding from the world, probably polishing assault weapons and stockpiling canned goods (which the urban poor can ill-afford) while forgoing their sacred duty to vote, thus allowing republicans and corporations to pillage the world
this really brings home for me why kim stanley robinson avoids writing dystopias.
That is, interpretation of any phenomenon--fitness, education, programming, etc.--can be done enthusiastically or critically, as an encomium or a critique. (There are other modes, but I'm focusing on these two here.) Being able to do both is central to understanding that interpretation or judgement is not an objective act of reception but a guided act of perception.
Without the skeptical mood, your narratives reveal that none of the acts of fitness, education, and programming are unalloyed goods or unmitigated problems. Rather, they are things that can be perceived differently depending on what one takes into account.
Knowing this enables us to make decisions with greater information and, hopefully, deeper wisdom, even as it complicates what from a more limited perspective may seem straightforward.
EDIT: add "more" in last sentence.
I often wonder how much controversy is directly the result of bored/hungry journalists duking it out in a highly competitive arena of ideas.
As far as I can tell, it's really status signalling. Once upon a time the wealthy were overweight, as a show of their superior access to resources; now that our society is so rich that anyone can be fat, the wealthy are fit, as a show of their superior access to the resources of time (to exercise) & money (to belong to a gym/hire a trainer/eat fancy engineered food).
And the thing is, I don't think it's actually relevant to the jobs of managing, directing or being CxO.
Being in good shape is a direct visible sign of self discipline, ability to work towards goals despite pain, resilience, impulse control, patience, long term thinking, and many other positive traits.
It's literally the diametric opposite of what you suggest, in many ways it's arguably the only truly meaningful status symbol you can't buy, inherit, or win via lottery. You have no choice but to work for it.
Not to mention, besides its usefulness as a proxy for positive traits, it also has direct effects. Exercise leads to improved mental health and other effects that are directly applicable to doing a better job.
The best example here was this body beautiful couple that never smiled in the gym for any reason whatsoever. When they wanted your machine, they would each man the machines on either side of you with very low weight and sit there slowly pumping reps on it whilst glaring at you to try and get you to give the machine to them. After a few instances of this, I responded by slowing down my routine and throwing in extra exercises just to mess with them because this was hella annoying. They could have just asked me when I would be done, which would have been in about 2 or 3 minutes, but apparently forming words was too much work for them so it became an eternity of 5 minutes instead.
When my membership expired, I left that gym and never returned.
It's always been that way... the dark, snarky side of Harvard's self-loathing. It's ideology is really the antithesis of what goes on at HN. Try reading some other articles in the Baffler....
That's exactly what makes a gym a palatable place for asocial types like me.
The most ridiculous claim in this essay is that gyms are classist towards employees when, in reality, getting certified as a trainer is one of the most accessible paths to a solid income for someone without a college degree. But that, of course, requires dedication and focus as well, so the author is blind to it.
I used to be very healthy when I went to my local boxing gym regularly. Unfortunately there's not a boxing gym near where I currently live.
Interestingly, I joined the local (regular) gym for a year (cancelled my membership in January) and I'm in the worst shape I've been in for about 9 years.
edit: added a word
If people want a good fun workout I think they should give combat sports a try. If they don't want to actually fight fitness boxing could work. Or spar and not get hit judo or bjj are good.
Taking it even further, exercising for me is all about making my everyday life easier. Being stronger than average means I have a much easier time opening jars, taking down kitchen machines from the top of the cupboard, moving around furniture and countless other things that people do all the time.
I started out not even being able to do a single pushup, and I felt like a fat slob (because that's what I was). Now I'm stronger and fitter and everything physical is just so much easier. I'm still not at my goal of getting rid of my beer gut, but so much better than where I used to be. I can run up stairs now, I couldn't even imagine trying to lug myself up the stairs at work if I weighed 200kg.
It's no longer just about being healthy; it's about social and virtue signalling. Even HN in't immune.
I had to make sure I wasn't mistaken about what a leg press is [1]. 270lbs on leg press doesn't draw spectators anywhere, it's a warm up set for most people. This line throws into question the credibility the rest of the article...
[1] https://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/SL45LegPress
Plus, Should I not workout, or workout at the gym because the janitor doesn't get health insurance? What was the point of that jab?
The whole article reeked to me of, "I don't understand this, therefore I have disdain for people who do, and they must be X, Y and Z."
I workout at a corporate center's free gym. I do powerlifting. I keep a log of my progress.
I also keep a log of when I do oil changes, and what groceries I need. I don't like to just "guess". That's all that means.
Not sure but i know 16 year olds that can do that much
>[Insert:] Despite the pulsing pop music and comfortable clothes, gyms are not sites of spontaneity and play.
>Working out very much resembles work, or a curious blend of physical labor and office work. Members not only lift weights, for example; they often carry clipboards on which to record the number of reps and sets and the amount of weight lifted for each workout, like a supervisor monitoring a factory worker’s performance.
God forbid people set goals for their bodies and approach them in an efficient, systematic manner instead of running around like children. This article is beyond useless, and there are few things I find more pathetic and loathsome than condescending social critics who squeeze other people's pursuits into their sentimental, rigor-averse narrative. Any lifestyle or socio-economic conclusions drawn from this set of assumptions about how a gym ought to be are just begging the question.
Could you please (re-)read https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the spirit of this site when commenting here? The idea is: if you have a substantive point to make, make it thoughtfully; if you don't, please don't comment until you do.
I worked at a group fitness company, really great concept which blends play and HIIT to create an inclusive, fun workout (essentially running around like children in sharp bursts, which is ultra effective). I kept trying to push the notion that we shouldn't be trying to convince people that they hate the gym, or that they should embrace group exercise when it's not right for them.
However, it's worth noting that broadly, the numbers back it up that the majority of people just don't like the gym regime. Churn, vacancy rates, MRR... all point to people trying to force themselves to do it, and then give up because they don't like it (50% will quit before 6 months - sure, it might be they achieve their goals in that time, but attendance rates would probably indicate otherwise).
My main critique of the piece is the lack of awareness that things like Zumba are specifically group exercises, randomly dancing in a normal gym is like body-popping in a morgue - if that's what you want to do, do it in a different place.
As ever with opinion pieces like the article, one person bemoaning other people's workouts isn't helpful. It's almost as if we are an amazingly diverse species with different drivers and motivations, isn't it?
> their sentimental, rigor-averse narrative
Me, I experience a positive correlation between gym-affinity and tediousness in the people I meet.
> there are few things I find more pathetic and loathsome than condescending social critics
Do you perchance derive a feeling of superiority from your rigorosity?
i find people who spend their days "coding for fun" or whatever tedious, but i don't attempt to ascribe their habits to sinister cultural forces or paint them as self-obsessed egotistical narcissists
Yes, because I'm a grown man who doesn't feel a deep emotional need to watch a bunch of men wearing spandex running around on some grass.
Playing sports is a really awesome thing, and everyone should do it. Enjoying the occasional game is probably okay. Following sports is IMHO a kind of mentally unhealthy extended adolescence.
> i find people who spend their days "coding for fun" or whatever tedious
I am tedious — but fortunately we live in a world where people with my kind of tedious personality are well-rewarded for our skills. A few centuries ago and no doubt I'd have starved to death.
Guess again, I haven't been to the gym in some time so my ego isn't at stake here. I look down on this article precisely because it couches a malicious attack in pseudo-innocent terms, not because it has anything to do with me.
I've run into people like this before who feel personally attacked because they "don't understand" why person likes X. It's always invariably something they think their culture is saying is good so they have to fire preemptive strikes against others (who are just trying to have a good time) for the sake of their own ego. Rather than shitting in other people's cornflakes why not just find something you do enjoy?
I’m reminded of the backlash against the “beach body ready” ad.
I work enough as it is, can I do a playout instead?
It's like one personality type has a lock on the whole habit. Maybe a more fun approach could draw in other groups of people.
Also outside of the classic gym - yogies, spinners, crossfitters - tend to be more social and evangelical during and after their workouts.
I've noticed this phenomenon as well I refer to it as working out in the prison yard. Everyone looks super serious and can't smile cause I might get shanked.
One suggestion to add on to what the others have said is find maybe a sport like tennis, racquetball, dodge ball, kickball and join a league. You'll meet people who take things seriously and you'll meet people that are having fun, ignore and lose to the serious people and laugh/learn from the having fun types. Find a buddy that has a similar mentality to exercise and go do goofy things in or out of the gym.
Also try a trampoline park(like Get Air). I work out several times a week lift weights, cardio, etc. Nothing was more sweat inducing than taking my kids to a trampoline park for an hour, I needed days to recover from under used muscles I didn't even know I had.
Of course. That's why people do activities like hiking, tennis, surfing, basketball, biking, etc. For many people they are just fun activities that also help with fitness.
Someone who goes to the gym to set PRs in weight lifting is going to be different than someone going spinning in winter to stay in condition for cycling in summer.
Also, different gyms have different styles. One gym I went to didn't have the largest weights because the owner felt that the people interested in that level of strength training would be better served at a different gym. This was also the gym where one of the members would practice his break dancing moves.
He later sold the gym to a chain, and the personality and member base changed. It went from a place I enjoyed going, with fun dance workouts, to the more "regimented dancelike experience" of licensed choreography, and their own line of exercise clothes and foods. I left that gym.
So, perhaps there's another gym that better fits what you want?
But I still do it. I've been out of it for a couple months and am trying to get back. I have to be somewhat systematic about it for two reasons: a) I have to do the proper lifts with the proper form; b) my body parts get tired and need a couple days' recovery before they're ready to go all out again so I have to do at least a two day split. But yeah, other than that it's just a matter of showing up, and finding and settling into a groove. I gamify it a bit: can I set a PR in squats today? Some days I'm just not feeling it, and I go home telling myself, well, at least you put in the work.
I think there have already been a lot of attempts to make workouts "fun", and the problem really is that the approaches that have worked, i.e, produced good fitness results, turn people into enthusiasts. CrossFit is notorious for being "cult-like" but it has inspired plenty of people -- especially women -- to get into fitness in a really hardcore way.
There's the guy who takes three towels and hogs three machines at once and gets all shirty if you ask to use one of them while he's elsewhere. Then there's the Iron Man who leaves at least 300 pounds of weights on a barbell after he's done with his sets. And there are the wolf packs of either women or dudes that alternate on a machine for 45 minutes straight exchanging war stories about WTFEver and not letting anyone work in with them.
I approach the gym like I approach work: as something to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible. One of them benefits my body and the other benefits my wallet. But even then, I genuinely enjoy a good run outside on a beautiful trail in the early evening or morning.
And all that said, I'll take my grim ritual over the sciatica, lack of endurance, and general lack of health I had previously.
Criticism of an article is totally valid, there are plenty of frontpage HN posts where people disagree with an author in the comments. And that's good, the author put out this article precisely because they wanted someone to read it and think about it (even if they disagree afterwards) (atleast most proper blog authors and journalists do that for think-pieces and commentaries)
I agree with you, I was merely replying to absurdity with absurdity.
Parent's criticism challenged the existence of the piece, not the substance.
Why should anyone take that premise seriously when every school age child knows that humanity has valued athleticism and fitness since at least the time of Ancient Greece?