We Will Judge You

You walk into the gym. It’s cold. You take out your phone, look for the gym app, go to the barcode section, scan in. An unathletic fellow welcomes you in the same monotone voice he uses on everyone else. You walk around the circular front desk island. Cardio machines, a bunch of them. You look at your phone and think, what’s on the schedule today? The spot where you normally warm up is taken by some fools who don’t know what they’re doing.

Motivating, huh?

That’s how most people start their workout. And that’s the problem with modern day gyms.

Yes, I’m judgmental

Maybe I’m judgmental of places and people. I’m willing to accept this title. I call it a high standard. It’s not unreasonable if I hold myself to the same standard. I just want to be around like-minded people. A man can dream, or make it a goal.

Here’s how I see it.

Judgment free zones are a symptom. Planet Fitness started the model. It created a volume of lackluster members who get a hit off saying they went to the gym, or that they have a gym membership. The model, and the models like it (which keep getting more popular), work on volume. Lots of people paying, very few actually using it. And the time they do spend there is mostly treadmill time, which doesn’t count.

Who pays for it? Short term gratification types, yo-yo dieters, and the forever never starters. It all goes back to human nature. The cost is low, so it’s not a big bet on yourself. The no judgment promise means no pressure and no reason to try your best.

It’s a good business model, but a bad life one.

To be fair, there’s a minority who use these gyms to their actual capacity, and people who really can’t afford a better environment. This isn’t about them.

Like attracts like

This is something I truly believe. Like attracts like, and it transforms whoever isn’t like them yet.

People who are alike find each other. That’s why you get the hordes at these gyms. Then you have the few who aren’t like them. But by being around these people every day, they start to subconsciously adopt the same behaviors. They even form relationships. Their baseline for fitness and mentality drops, and they don’t notice. You can’t defend against it. It’s social proof. It’s human nature.

It works the other way too. There’s actual research showing people train longer and harder when they’re next to someone a little better than them. Your environment is either pulling you up or pulling you down. It doesn’t sit neutral.

These aren’t bad people. A lot of them are great in other realms of life. But you can be sure they aren’t aware of what that gym is doing to them.

So do the math. If you’re going to spend 10 hours a week at a place, 52 weeks a year, you’d want all the ROI possible in that domain. At these gyms the ROI is low.

Do I really care how people train at the gym? No. Do I care how they affect me, even subconsciously? Yes.

Judgment isn’t the enemy

Judgment is not a negative. If someone judges you, that’s information, about yourself and about them. Time is a finite resource. If someone spends their precious time judging you, you may be onto something. There are limits, some people just want to hurt you. But most of the time judgment is just somebody’s standard said out loud.

You can use it two ways. To critique yourself and get better. Or as fuel to push you to the next level.

A judgment free zone is really a standards free zone. That’s the product they’re selling.

Why I care this much

Fitness and health have been a part of my life to the point that I almost went to medical school over it. It’s a core concept of life. How you train is how you are. There aren’t many things more important than your health. Without it you can’t really do anything else, or enjoy anything else.

We look back at childhood and think, I wish I could run up these stairs with ease again. The truth is, you can!

Life got too easy

The age of being hardcore is dying out. Everyone is looking for the lowest energy option, no friction. To me that’s boring. The problem is fewer and fewer people think like me.

I suspect it’s because of how the environment has groomed people. Social media, food, medicine, convenience in everything. It’s all designed to make life easier, which is a good business model. But has life gotten too easy? So easy we can’t handle a little judgment, and every gym has to push a no judgment zone just to sell you a membership?

That’s a symptom of a much larger disease.

My problem

One of the hardest things about moving to a new area has been finding a worthwhile gym. I’m stuck between two choices:

1. Go to the nearest gym, which is judgment free.
2. Drive 25 minutes to a gym with athletes, which will grow me in more ways than one.

Gym-theory (something I just made up) says pick the gym closest to you, you’ll show up more often. My own theory, based on human nature, says train, but take your environment into consideration.

In this case the two collide. To the point that it has me thinking about creating a co-op gym. People who just want to be great at this. No BS. A semi-hardened judgment zone.

We will judge you. We will help you. You will get better.

My prediction

Old school gym culture is coming back. The when is unknown.

The disease has to run its course before it’s cured.